My Excitement is Dwindling..help!

[xcell]

Epic was our first NCL and if we judged NCL based on that ship, we would not be platinum today.

 

My wife didn't like the rooms, I didn't like the service in the MDR -- so we booked bigger rooms, specialty restaurants, ate at the buffet, etc...  we just changed with the times -- it's a vacation, you will have fun!

 

 

[Celebrate3]

Well, WE plan on having a blast!!Thanks for all of the replies

 

On 11/17/2018 at 1:32 PM, Shidah said:

I’ve sailed the Epic twice, still my favorite NCL ship.  Their thermal suite is awesome and it has the best Haven.  Shows are great, loved Priscilla.  Bars/ lounges are great and the music on the Epic has been better than i’ve experienced on others.  True, it does not have a waterfront, but the two trips we took on ships that did we never used it. Usually too windy and the one time we tried on the Getaway as soon as we walked out the door we were engulfed in cigarette smoke.  My daughter turned around and said nope.  Not sure if that was a smoking area and maybe that is why it was so bad. 

 

But you’ll be fine.  I was on the Breakaway solo this past March, and had a great time as well.   I was seated next to a young couple at O’Sheehans and listening to them talk it was hard to believe we were on the same trip.  They complained to each other the whole meal, said never again, worst vacation ever, etc.  They were made for each other, most miserable people ever.  So attitude is everything.  Fun 

people  have fun trips.  You’ll have a great time, don’t worry another second.

On 11/17/2018 at 1:32 PM, Shidah said:

I’ve sailed the Epic twice, still my favorite NCL ship.  Their thermal suite is awesome and it has the best Haven.  Shows are great, loved Priscilla.  Bars/ lounges are great and the music on the Epic has been better than i’ve experienced on others.  True, it does not have a waterfront, but the two trips we took on ships that did we never used it. Usually too windy and the one time we tried on the Getaway as soon as we walked out the door we were engulfed in cigarette smoke.  My daughter turned around and said nope.  Not sure if that was a smoking area and maybe that is why it was so bad. 

 

But you’ll be fine.  I was on the Breakaway solo this past March, and had a great time as well.   I was seated next to a young couple at O’Sheehans and listening to them talk it was hard to believe we were on the same trip.  They complained to each other the whole meal, said never again, worst vacation ever, etc.  They were made for each other, most miserable people ever.  So attitude is everything.  Fun 

people  have fun trips.  You’ll have a great time, don’t worry another second.

 

[zqvol]

On 11/17/2018 at 10:48 AM, Celebrate3 said:

Getting read for our 2nd NCL Cruise Feb.2 on the Epic. We cruised the Breakaway several years ago...had a blast. Was reading tons of reviews on the ship here last night and most are not favorable!  Many who say service was awful (20-30 minutes to get a drink), rude employees and general disappointment with NCL..would never cruise them again. Yikes....we are not hugely picky people..heck, not having to cook for a week is enough to thrill me but all these negative reviews (in fact more "poor" rated than "excellent") have gotten me a bit bumbed. Trying not to let it affect our excitement for vacation!! Any good reviews????

 

Commenting on is the time to get a drink. There are many bars on the ship. Bar service in general is very quick, the exception to that happens at the bars around the pool, there are too many people and not enough bars. Anywhere else on the ship you will find that you can get a drink as quick as any land based bar, and usually quicker.

 

As far as rude employees, what I find is that rude passengers cause employees to be rude. I also feel that too many passengers don't respect anyone except themselves, yet expect to get respect from everyone they come in contact with. It doesn't work that way. I have NEVER in multiple NCL cruises found a rude staff memebr, but I have seen lots of rude passengers, beginning ini the terminal, and going all the way through final disembarkation.

[fshagan]

The Epic is my least favorite NCL ship, but I would never tell anyone not to consider a cruise on her. We had a good time with great service, great shows, great entertainment and great dining. If price and itinerary are right we could cruise her again.

 

Our quibbles were with the weird room layout and the way the ship is designed so that you hardly ever see the water. I've only heard one other person complain about the second thing, so it's something we don't expect other people to even notice. The room layout is only going to be a problem in certain situations; a shy teen or pre-teen with you, two unrelated people sharing a cabin, etc. With a couple, it's usually not a big deal. But, if there's another ship at the same price and itinerary, we would choose that ship just out of preference. 

[kochleffel]

2 hours ago, fshagan said:

the way the ship is designed so that you hardly ever see the water. I've only heard one other person complain about the second thing, so it's something we don't expect other people to even notice.

 

My very first cruise was on the Epic, and I certainly noticed it even though there was only one sea day, especially with no promenade deck or walking track. I spent at lot of time at the Great Outdoors (wearing a jacket even though it was in a warm climate). The Epic would have been an excellent ship for my October cruise to Canada, where the sea day was in awful weather.

 

One unique (afaik) feature of the Epic is that there are no conventional oceanview staterooms - every stateroom with an outside view has a balcony. This is great if you want a balcony, because there are more of them, not great if you just wanted a window.

[Daytonasailor]

On 11/17/2018 at 4:27 PM, Phaedrus78 said:

Thanks, folks. It sounds like it’s mostly what I’d expect, if you stay on the Internet long enough the negativity will eventually wear you down. 

 

Our first cruise was was on the Carnival Glory. We certainly enjoyed our time, but to be honest the ship was a bit... haggard. It just had kind of a worn out look in a few places, one of the hot tubs was broken for the whole trip, little things like that. It wasn’t like it killed the trip, but we did wish we’d been on a better boat. I’m hoping the Epic is an improvement. 

 

Our last Epic cruise was as good as the first. It's all about the attitude. Our last cruise we had a meet and greet with the captain. The meet was open to discussion and someone asked what they did with the stuff that goes down the toilet. The captain replied they bottle it and sell it to Carnival Cruise Lines as water. You didn't drink the water did you? We are on the Epic again in Dec and love it. It's one big party in my opinion.

[Oakman58]

On 11/17/2018 at 9:48 AM, Celebrate3 said:

Getting read for our 2nd NCL Cruise Feb.2 on the Epic. We cruised the Breakaway several years ago...had a blast. Was reading tons of reviews on the ship here last night and most are not favorable!  Many who say service was awful (20-30 minutes to get a drink), rude employees and general disappointment with NCL..would never cruise them again. Yikes....we are not hugely picky people..heck, not having to cook for a week is enough to thrill me but all these negative reviews (in fact more "poor" rated than "excellent") have gotten me a bit bumbed. Trying not to let it affect our excitement for vacation!! Any good reviews????

 

As long as you understand the uniqueness of the Epic you’ll have a great time.  Many folks don’t like the layout of the cabin or the layout of some of the public decks.

 

I’m not a fan of the Epic but my wife and I have booked a cabin for a West Indies cruise on her in 2020.  I think you’ll have a great time.  The only bad cruise is the one you don't take.

[BaWBarmy]

On ‎11‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 4:51 PM, Phaedrus78 said:

Yeah, I understand this.  We're taking our first Norwegian cruise on the Epic on January 23.  I booked it because it was a good price for a 10 day cruise, and the Epic looked cool.

 

Now the more reviews I see, the more I worry that maybe I made a poor ship choice.  I hope it's great, I'm trying to convince my wife that an annual cruise would be a great thing.  She had a couple issues with the first cruise we took on Carnival so I'm hoping this one goes well.

Remember the Epic holds upwards of 4000 passengers per trip and there are probably no more than 10 bad reviews on CC per cruise. You should give the reviews a miss or take most of the bad ones with a pinch of salt. They don't like it but they go with a set of criteria which may differ wildly to your own. Go with an open mind and enjoy YOUR cruise rather than trying to relive theirs.

 

FYI I really loved the Epic.

[newmexicoNita]

On 11/17/2018 at 9:48 AM, Celebrate3 said:

Getting read for our 2nd NCL Cruise Feb.2 on the Epic. We cruised the Breakaway several years ago...had a blast. Was reading tons of reviews on the ship here last night and most are not favorable!  Many who say service was awful (20-30 minutes to get a drink), rude employees and general disappointment with NCL..would never cruise them again. Yikes....we are not hugely picky people..heck, not having to cook for a week is enough to thrill me but all these negative reviews (in fact more "poor" rated than "excellent") have gotten me a bit bumbed. Trying not to let it affect our excitement for vacation!! Any good reviews????

Have no idea where you are reading all these negative reviews, but I am sure if you tried you would find as many positives. To be honest, yes, the Epic has some problems like most ships. Some people do not like the bathroom situation. We happen to think, if it is a couple together it is rather nice. For a family maybe not so much.  The other draw back some have gripped about is the casino set up, which creates more smoke smell than enclosed casinos We did not notice this  

 

She is a mega ship which you should like if you liked the Breakaway. They are similar ships. They are the NCL 2 mega ships we have cruised and had no serious problems with either. We just do not happen to be mega ship fans. 

 

We had no long wait for drinks ever and the food was standard ship food. Some was to die for, some I might rather die than eat. 

 

Service, as with most mega ships the service in the MDR can be on the slow side, but I have never found the crew to be rude, just the opposite. Our cabin stewardess wasn't the best we have ever had, but she certainly wasn't rude or bad. The service in the specialty dining rooms was great, just like on other NCL ships and the entertainment is top of the line. 

 

Two things to remember when reading reviews: People who are unhappy are more  inclined to bitch than those who are satisfied are to praise. We expect to have a good experience so are not as apt to let the world know when things go as planned and the other thing, always check date on reviews. As for the Epic, the older reviews were not as positive as the newer ones. Many people had trouble adapting to mega ships. I think if you stop looking for the negative you will get excited all over again.