My View: The Epic Beauty/Beast

[APDMOM]

Arrival in Grand Cayman:

 

 

Tenders were already out and about to transport passengers from other ships:

 

 

The submarine went “right past” our balcony:

 

[APDMOM]

Beautiful weather!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Since we had been to Grand Cayman several times, we decided to skip the hassle with tenders, and enjoyed the views from the ship. We saw several airplanes land - right from the comfort of my lounger on the balcony:

 

 

We also saw these bobbing dots…

 

 

Upon closer inspection of the zoom lens, we found this - "right there" outside our balcony:

 

 

Speaking of the balcony: I will never be able to go back to a regular-sized balcony (okay, unless I HAVE to, like on Harmony in November):

 

[APDMOM]

Since we spent the day on the ship, I decided it was a good time to explore some of the other ”secret areas” I had learned about here on Cruise Critic. Follow me to deck 18…

 

When you exit the Garden Café area, turn left to the outside elevator by Great Outdoors. The left side elevator is for public use. The right side elevator is for the Haven Elite (they have a better cruise budget than I have [emoji16]). The elevator ride:

 

sMu1tidhmdE

 

A view of the slides from deck 18:

 

Edited March 28, 2018 by APDMOM
video

[APDMOM]

When I got up to deck 18, I saw these nice loungers through this door:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, the door was open and I entered like any good Unofficial Cruise Critic Research Executive would do. (I actually did not know where I was going- I really thought it was public).

 

 

 

Only when I came back out did I see the code pad which normally keeps this door locked from us commoners. It turns out, I had walked right into Posh Beach Club:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A view from the very front of Posh... Oops! Did they forget to drop that anchor? :')

 

 

I must say, after that visit I did not see what all the hype was about on Epic. It seems like it is more of a worthwhile expense on Escape - not so much on Epic. Maybe someone will let us in on insider information that was not obvious on my accidental free tour of The Club.

[APDMOM]

The detour through posh club was not in vain. Outside that door (in the public area where I was now a totally legitimate citizen) there is a set of stairs that leads to this little surprise nook. I would guess it must be deck 19. It is called Freestyle Sundeck on the deck plan. If you can zoom into that sign on the wall, it states “Bathing Suits Required in this Area”. I don’t know what happens behind the closed door to the left, though I have read some stories on CC… [emoji16]

 

 

Since we had a nice view of the slides from here, and I forgot to post this video of the “Toilet bowl/Tornado” slide, I will insert it here. Okay, it is really more like a high efficiency toilet flush, because it is pretty slow!

 

K67xhWepDOI

Edited March 28, 2018 by APDMOM
add video

[APDMOM]

…and since we are passing the pool bar (Waves), here is a tip. The Waves bar drinks were either too strong for me, or they would not make the drink right when they run out of an item and don’t want to bother looking for a new bottle of the item.

 

In fact, the White Russian I ordered from here was way too heavy on the Vodka. For another drink, they emptied the last few drops from a bottle, and just filled the drink up with some icy mix. So, we avoided the pool bar.

 

However, the frozen drinks, which are served on the other side by the towels, were excellent. Hence, growing hips from too many Bushwhackers and BBC’s!

 

Waves bar:

 

 

The “Mobile” bar with the frozen drinks:

Edited March 28, 2018 by APDMOM
tip

[APDMOM]

These two spots are also secrets from right here at CC:

 

When you go all the way aft, there are these outside stairs that you can take from deck 8 to 13 or 14. It is not pretty, but you can hear the ocean!

 

 

On deck 13 forward, you can see the bridge action from the bridge viewing room. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take pictures of the bridge, but there is a nice display area with plaques from the ports of call, especially of Epic’s inaugural year.

 

We found this model of the SS Norway there:

[APDMOM]

My View: Other ships in Grand Cayman

 

Carnival Vista:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Liberty of the Seas:

 

 

 

 

That Half Pipe Slide will definitely have to go on the bucket list! Look at them riding tandem:

 

 

If you ever get a chance to sail Liberty of the Seas (Or a sister ship), book 7708 or 7408 or 1700 or 1400. Those are secret corner aft balconies that are AWESOME! (But you will have to research details elsewhere, since we are on NCL boards now [emoji846]):

 

[APDMOM]

DH asked what ship this is, and I confidently stated that I know exactly what that ship’s name is… I stalled...

 

 

…until my camera could zoom in… A girl has to know her cruise ships! From any angle! By any means! [emoji23]

 

 

And then there was The Club Med 2 - not the kind you accidentally stroll into, even as an Unofficial Cruise Critic Research Executive:

 

[APDMOM]

Too soon, it was time to say good bye to Grand Cayman. Not because we were leaving a beautiful island, but because it meant that all 4,100 plus passengers were now back onboard.

 

Oh well! There is always the balcony:

 

 

 

Leaving Grand Cayman and the other ships in our dust...ahem smoke... ahem clean and safe effluent from the environmentally friendly incinerator:

 

[APDMOM]

Taste menu for tonight (No food pictures, sorry!):

 

DH loved the Grilled Salmon. I had the Steak Diane, which was mediocre. DS had the NY strip steak, which was grizzly. No more steak for us on NCL...

 

 

[APDMOM]

Day 5: Freestyle Daily

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

My View: End of Day 5

 

[APDMOM]

That is it for today. I will be back with my Views of Cozumel tomorrow. ¿Hablas español?

[APDMOM]

Following. Thank you for such a detailed review and with tips. You have a beautiful family.

 

 

Thank you [emoji846]

[moopetguy]

Hi APDMOM! What a great review so far! Your reviews are always so thoughtful and meticulously detailed :D

 

It's great reading about another cruise line/ship, as you know I only have familiarity with RCI! I've also not visited most of the ports from your sailing, so your review has provided a taste of what each has to offer :)

 

Thank you for everything you've posted to date! Looking forward to the rest!

[bluesea777]

When I got up to deck 18, I saw these nice loungers through this door:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, the door was open and I entered like any good Unofficial Cruise Critic Research Executive would do. (I actually did not know where I was going- I really thought it was public).

 

 

 

Only when I came back out did I see the code pad which normally keeps this door locked from us commoners. It turns out, I had walked right into Posh Beach Club:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A view from the very front of Posh... Oops! Did they forget to drop that anchor? :')

 

 

 

I must say, after that visit I did not see what all the hype was about on Epic. It seems like it is more of a worthwhile expense on Escape - not so much on Epic. Maybe someone will let us in on insider information that was not obvious on my accidental free tour of The Club.

 

That is NOT the Posh Beach Club area. It is the Haven Sundeck.

 

The Posh Club is accessible via the RIGHT elevator (the other elevator) as you exit the Garden Café. You need your keycard in this elevator - if you bought Posh Club pass for the cruise it will accept your card. You can see the main pool area from the Posh Club.

 

The forward elevators go to Haven if your card can take you there.

[purepixie67]

Thank you for all the photographs; only 431 days till we board her

[APDMOM]

That is NOT the Posh Beach Club area. It is the Haven Sundeck.

 

The Posh Club is accessible via the RIGHT elevator (the other elevator) as you exit the Garden Café. You need your keycard in this elevator - if you bought Posh Club pass for the cruise it will accept your card. You can see the main pool area from the Posh Club.

 

The forward elevators go to Haven if your card can take you there.

LOL! Obviously, I am just a commoner :') Thanks for the correction.

[APDMOM]

Hi APDMOM! What a great review so far! Your reviews are always so thoughtful and meticulously detailed :D

 

It's great reading about another cruise line/ship, as you know I only have familiarity with RCI! I've also not visited most of the ports from your sailing, so your review has provided a taste of what each has to offer :)

 

Thank you for everything you've posted to date! Looking forward to the rest!

 

Hi, moopetguy! Thanks for stopping by! :) As you can see, the 'live' review just did not happen. NCL internet is definitely not as good as RCL. It is much more expensive too. With our diamond discount and free day combination on RCL, we paid about $60 for a week. NCL was $125 for 250 minutes :eek: We had 250 free minutes that we just used to keep up with family. Hope spring is in the air up north!

[moopetguy]

Hope spring is in the air up north!

 

No such luck :( The long-range forecast for next week includes...snow :eek::eek::eek:

 

Let's hope the meteorologists are wrong...

[bluesea777]

LOL! Obviously, I am just a commoner :') Thanks for the correction.

 

NP! That door is supposed to be closed and locked but at times if there are too few ppl there they open the door to let a few in. One TA cruise we got passes for the Posh Club and we spent a lot of time there.

 

Great review and superb photos. Brought back memories of our 3 cruises with Epic (total 44 days, and two were B2B). Since the Breakaway class ships came out we haven't fully decided whether or not to return to the Epic because, although Epic has much better dining venues (for their location, size and ambience, and also Garden Café) than other ships, she lacked several things that are on other ships (e.g. waterfront, observation lounge, aft outdoors). BUT there is one Epic TA itinerary for fall 2019 that we are interested in!! We'll see!

 

Again, great review and photos!!! ENJOY the remainder of the cruise!

[Desert_ Dweller]

APDMOM,

Great review and even greater (if possible)photos.

Can I ask you to take a picture from the pool deck looking at the two elevator towers, going up to deck 18.

I can't get my head around what they may look like from the cabins they are somewhat in front of. I think they are H2 cabins but it looks like theses cabins would have an obstructed view .

Any help or photos would be very much appreciated.