No so Epic Cruise...

[CruisingNole]

1 hour ago, 3catnight said:

 I won’t go into a long, detailed story of how bad things were but the level of service is definitely reduced.  I believe they’ve reduced the crew.  Broken down coffee and juice machines weren’t repaired for ten days, service was slow (but on the plus side, photographers weren’t hounding us in the dining rooms), didn’t see as many crew members repairing, cleaning and polishing as we have in the past.  I think they reduced bar servers purposely so all the people on the UBP couldn’t drink as much!

 

Are the recent reports of meals in the dining room taking 2.5 - 3 hours accurate? And how long did you have to wait for a drink at the bars? Were servers good about walking around the pool deck / theaters to take drink orders?

 

NCL Epic is really sounding like an Epic fail. 

[3catnight]

2 minutes ago, CruisingNole said:

 

Are the recent reports of meals in the dining room taking 2.5 - 3 hours accurate? And how long did you have to wait for a drink at the bars? Were servers good about walking around the pool deck / theaters to take drink orders?

 

NCL Epic is really sounding like an Epic fail. 

Dinners took a long time in the MDR and once in Manhattan we actually were given our appetizers and salads together which made eating them awkward with so many plates on the table.  I’d estimate most dinners took 1 1/2 to 2 hours. We didn’t spend much time by the main pool so I don’t know what the bar service was like there, but we sat in Spice H2O and rarely saw a server. We played cards in the same area of the Maltings bar most days and didn’t see servers there most times. Most times we just went up to the bar ourselves and usually waited ten or fifteen minutes to order. In the theater was another story and also at the Latitudes cocktail party. There were plenty of servers at both. NCL also changed that cocktail party so that all levels were at one party. It was much too crowded that way. They should have left it so there were two separate parties as in the past. All in all, our group of friends had a good time as we always do.  But I’d say that the numerous small missteps and larger issues made this cruise a fail for NCL. 

[CruisingNole]

5 minutes ago, 3catnight said:

Dinners took a long time in the MDR and once in Manhattan we actually were given our appetizers and salads together which made eating them awkward with so many plates on the table.  I’d estimate most dinners took 1 1/2 to 2 hours. We didn’t spend much time by the main pool so I don’t know what the bar service was like there, but we sat in Spice H2O and rarely saw a server. We played cards in the same area of the Maltings bar most days and didn’t see servers there most times. Most times we just went up to the bar ourselves and usually waited ten or fifteen minutes to order. In the theater was another story and also at the Latitudes cocktail party. There were plenty of servers at both. NCL also changed that cocktail party so that all levels were at one party. It was much too crowded that way. They should have left it so there were two separate parties as in the past. All in all, our group of friends had a good time as we always do.  But I’d say that the numerous small missteps and larger issues made this cruise a fail for NCL. 

 

Thanks for the details. I can't believe waiting 10-15 minutes for a drink was the norm. I've never had that bad of service on any cruise. That's just ridiculous. I feared the bargain price I found was too good to be true.

[CruisingSince1982]

On 11/25/2018 at 10:07 AM, 20165 said:

We were on the Epic western Caribbean cruise last week and my plan was to make a comparison between that cruise and the RCL oasis cruise we were on in Aug. but the Oasis has it beat in every category with the exception of overall cost of the cruise so ill give some highlights of our not so Epic cruise last week.

What went right.

Itinerary was great and the main reason we picked the cruise.

Coco Key – Snorkeling was great once you found the right spot. It was easy to find lounge chairs and there were plenty of places for the kids to explore.

Jamaica – not one of favorite ports so we booked an all day excursion so we weren’t wondering around town.  We did the Dolphin swim and duns river climb tour and both were great.  We did a Dolphin swim in Cozumel a couple cruises, but liked this one better.  They let you interact more with the dolphins and there was more to do at the resort area after the swim.  Dunns was pretty fun as well, although our 12yo was a little hesitant about the climb but once we started doing it, he was fine.  Overall, great way to spend the day in Jamaica.

Grand Cayman – There were 6 ships in GC when we were there so do the math on the number of people in town that day…  We did the sunken Ship snorkel tour which was also good, but a little deep to Snorkel.  We could see if fine, but it was a little too deep to hold your breath and  dive down to.  Definitely on our bucket list to scuba dive when our kids are certified. That took most of the day so we did a tiny bit of shopping and then back to the ship. Another great day.

Cozumel – One of our favorite islands.  We did Snuba which the kids loved.  We have done it before so everyone had an idea of what to do which made it even easier and more enjoyable for our youngest given it wasn’t his first time so he was more relaxed. After that we had lunch on the water, did a bit a shopping, and then back the ship.  Also, the port where the ship docks has a great shopping area.  Think outdoor mall.  Very clean, restrooms, great stores.  Probably not the cheapest place to shop on the island, but had everything we wanted and the prices weren’t bad.

What went wrong

Ok, so if you are a diehard NCL cruiser, you may want to stop here because this is going to get ugly.  

Room Steward - This was the first cruise that we actually had a bad cabin steward.  Not that all of the other ones were perfect on our 20+ past cruises which I wouldn’t expect, but this one just didn’t give a you know what.  We had 2 balcony cabins side by side, one for us and one for our 2 kids.  We asked him to separate the beds when he made the up for the night which he said no problem.  We even left him a note on the bed before we went to dinner and when we returned ready to put the kids to bed, the beds were not separated. He responded to our note with another note telling us to call a number to get them separated.  When we called, they said they would do it in the morning which was not acceptable so after some arguing, they finally sent someone up to do it.  Ok, so bad taste in our mouth on day 1, but we figured, that would be it.  Nope, he only left 1 towel in the boys room on multiple occasions, no ice was ever filled in either room, sometimes we would get a next day itinerary on our beds, but usually only in 1 room, not both.  Icing on the cake was on the last day, he informed us that he would not make up our room that night because he had to pack to get off the ship in the morning.  So no clean towels and no info on disembarkation the next morning.  I know there will be a lot of comments on why we didn’t complain, and my wife and I did contemplate that, but decided to do it after the cruise given he has access to a lot of our belongings that would not fit into the safe.  Laptops, ipads, cell phones, etc. 

Overall service – Some of the crew members did admit that they were short staffed, but it was also pretty obvious.  One of the three sides was closed because they didn’t have anyone to operate it, bar staff was way understaffed, especially at the pool area.  We waited close to 30 minutes to get a drink at the main bar and on sea days, it was sometimes 3 people deep just get to the bar to order something.  Bar staff walking around and taking drink orders was almost nonexistent.  We were asked 1 time if we wanted a drink from someone walking around.  Restaurants were not much better.  They were also short staffed and servicing way too many tables.  We ate at the MDR once given it took close to 3 hours to get through the courses.  My wife and I could handle it, but the kids got restless.

Restaurants – We bought the 3 specialty restaurant package and had a hard time using it because everything was booked.  We found out that on day 1, people would book multiple restaurants each night and just show up for the one they wanted. Give that and the short staff, it was really hard to get in anywhere.

Construction – I never thought this would end up in one of my reviews but they were doing construction on the ship which closed off a good portion of the pool deck.  I believe it was where the putt putt golf area was.  I know there are necessary things that need to be done on the ship, but thanksgiving week with a lot of kids sailing probably isn’t the week to do whatever they were doing.

Summary

I think its obvious that we had a bad experience on Epic and I don’t think we are being overly critical because we sailed on Epic on 2013 and had a wonderful experience so the service level on NCL has either gotten really bad over the years or this cruise was just a fluke.  The only positive was it was considerably less expensive than our Oasis cruise in August but you get what you pay for.  I wouldn’t say we will never sail NCL again because itinerary is very important to us so we may have to, but they will be way down on the list when we look at a cruise for next year.

Im happy to answer any questions and would like to hear from someone else on Epic last week to hear their experience.

 

Herein lies the problem with automatic gratuities. I'm sorry you experienced that. It's not at all acceptable. 

[3catnight]

And not everyone finds a bargain price! 😊 Maybe NCL will realize they need to step up the service. Our experience in the past has been a much better cruise following a bad cruise.  Perhaps they really do pay attention when people complain.  Just got my survey email from them - they may regret asking! 😆 Hope your next NCL cruise is one of the great ones!

[CruisingNole]

On 11/25/2018 at 10:07 AM, 20165 said:

The only positive was it was considerably less expensive than our Oasis cruise in August but you get what you pay for.

 

We were on Oasis recently as well. It's becoming painfully obvious that NCL will not be delivering the same experience. But as you point out, you get what you pay for. So true. 

[20165]

1 hour ago, CruisingNole said:

 

We were on Oasis recently as well. It's becoming painfully obvious that NCL will not be delivering the same experience. But as you point out, you get what you pay for. So true. 

The frustrating part is we have been on Epic before and had a great time so it didnt always have bad service, they have just let it go downhill over the years.  

[cdnsteelman]

1 hour ago, CruisingNole said:

I can't believe waiting 10-15 minutes for a drink was the norm.

On the Dec 5-15 sailing this was definitely not the case... even when slammed o sea days the pool bar was providing my drinks in 2-3 minus regularly. I was at Shakers on a regular basis - always a very busy place with complicated orders - and never once waited more that 3-4 minutes of a drink. Think I waiting ~5 minutes once at Matings for a draught beer but it was during one of the scheduled events - the LBGT group was meeting there nightly I believe.

 

Manhattan was very busy for dinner for the first ~90 minutes after opening each night as people lined up to get in to try to eat before one show or another. The one time I ate there was later in the evening (~8:15 pm) with a large group including a b-day celebration and the food came at a reasonable pace and was of high quality. Libations were served quickly and plentifully throughout that meal.

 

Everyone has different experiences but I enjoyed excellent service and food quality throughout this 10 day sailing on the Epic and the large group I socialized with all have similar feelings.

 

Jeff

[Georgia_Peaches]

17 hours ago, BarnCat1 said:

 

Did you say something about this service in the MDR?  Was it a very busy cruse?  3 hours is a very long time to wait.  All these negative reviews are really not making me feel good about my choice of sailing on this ship. 

 

You have to remember that for every bad or negative review you read, there are many, many happy and satisfied people who never take the time to write a review.  I would take it all with a grain of salt.  Not discounting others' negative experiences, just saying that everyone has their own threshold for what constitutes a bad cruise experience.  The Epic was launched in 2009.  In nine years there's  been +/- 3500 reviews about the Epic written for CC.  I think that's less than the capacity of the ship for one sailing. Thousands upon thousands of people have never taken the time to review their experience.  I suggest you stop reading reviews, go with an open mind, and have a great time!!

[Georgia_Peaches]

31 minutes ago, cdnsteelman said:

On the Dec 5-15 sailing this was definitely not the case... even when slammed o sea days the pool bar was providing my drinks in 2-3 minus regularly. I was at Shakers on a regular basis - always a very busy place with complicated orders - and never once waited more that 3-4 minutes of a drink. Think I waiting ~5 minutes once at Matings for a draught beer but it was during one of the scheduled events - the LBGT group was meeting there nightly I believe.

 

Manhattan was very busy for dinner for the first ~90 minutes after opening each night as people lined up to get in to try to eat before one show or another. The one time I ate there was later in the evening (~8:15 pm) with a large group including a b-day celebration and the food came at a reasonable pace and was of high quality. Libations were served quickly and plentifully throughout that meal.

 

Everyone has different experiences but I enjoyed excellent service and food quality throughout this 10 day sailing on the Epic and the large group I socialized with all have similar feelings.

 

Jeff

The only real place that I found an extra long wait for a drink was O'Sheehans.  We just didn't have good luck there so we usually went to the bar near the casino instead.  

[totalee]

This was my 3rd trip on the Epic. I did a T/A on 2013 and the food was good, I made some good freinds and had a great time though service was lacking and some things were just not well coordinated. I tried it again in 2015 and you can see my 5 star review of that trip on here. Given that positive experience 3 years ago I was extremely disappointed last week. O sheehans was always good food and service, but you can only have wings and turkey sandwiches so much. The MDR food service and food quality was exponentially worse than 3 years before. I know that in spite of the design issues they u and can do a good job, but they obviously are not trying. On previous cruises when I have had an issue I took it to the Maitre D and they issue never happened again. Here they heard you and said thanks for telling them but they made no effort to fix the issues. That is why I am screaming out to people to avoid this ship.    I have 20 reviews here on CC you can see that me being upset about a cruise is a definite outlier.

[mapleleaves]

5 hours ago, BarnCat1 said:

 

The cruise I am taking on her is 5 ports in 7 days, so there isn't much time on the ship.  The destinations are the prime reason  I booked the cruise and no other NCL ships are doing all these ports.  All the stops are 8am-5pm, so days will be very busy.  I also have  speciality dining for 3 of the 7 nights.  I might only go to the MDR once or twice with all the other choices for complimentary dining.   

 

There is one other cruise, on the Encore, that is around the same timeframe (Spring 2020), that I am looking at, but only goes to 3 ports and San Juan is arrival at 5:30 pm to midnight.  Brand new ship, but so many of the things on it have no appeal to me or my groups ages.  But the thought of a new ship is very tempting., especially the more I read negative reviews of the Epic.  

 

How many issues could there be a one cabin?  We've never had any issues on past cruises that needed any attention.

 

 

I'm on the Epic next yr for a Med cruise.  I chose this cruise for the itinerary, not the ship.  I'm totally unphased by the negative reviews.  So far I haven't read ANY that would ruin my trip. If dinner takes 2 hrs at Manhattan, I can eat somewhere else, or if I have a surly room attendant, I don't care ... I'm not spending the day with him, and if my drinks don't come for 15 minutes, who cares, where am I going? I'm on vacation.  As for the glass doors on the shower ... I don't want to watch my cousin shower so guess what, I'll pull the curtain.

You gotta remember that we all have different expectations and tolerances.  So as you read thru the negatives,  ask yourself ' would that bother me', ' would it ruin my trip'.   As I said, so far I haven't read any that would negatively impact my enjoyment.

 

My priority is the itinerary .... if I have good service, good food and good entertainment as well,  what a bonus!  If those things stink, who cares, I still had that great itinerary and was able to see and do the things i wanted. 

[3catnight]

“My priority is the itinerary .... if I have good service, good food and good entertainment as well,  what a bonus!  If those things stink, who cares, I still had that great itinerary and was able to see and do the things i wanted.l

 

in response, your last point may have hit on the big difference in perceptions between various people.  For us, the itinerary is secondary.  After so many cruises, we’ve seen most of the Caribbean so for us, cruising has been about the excellent onboard experiences - food, entertainment, activities, service.  When those are lower quality than our past experiences, we notice.  If we have an outstanding experience, we always let the cruise line know that, as was the case last year on the Sun. Maybe having such a great cruise that trip made the issues on this one worse.  Nothing was horrible, but the overall feeling was that standards have been relaxed and service has suffered. Crazy things happened that we’ve never seen before like broken equipment not being repaired or replaced, no half and half until day six (you can’t believe how upset some people got that they didn’t have cream for their coffee, lol), bathrooms running out of paper towels and such. Nothing we couldn’t handle, but not NCL’s best performance.  As for reviews, I always take them with a grain of salt since everybody has different standards and some people just like to complain!  I hope our recent experience is a fluke and everybody booked or considering booking an NCL cruise has a great trip!

[marktwothousand]

I've done the Epic MED itinerary twice. I'm starting to think that NCL put this ship on that itinerary intentionally because they know most people take this sailing to see the ports, and therefore don't need to focus on how poor the ship is. Passengers are too busy marvelling over the spectacular destinations and are content to use the ship as simply a vessel to get from one place to another and see it all within a week.

 

It might be a waste, for instance, to put a Breakaway-Plus class ship on this sailing. There's so much to do on those ships in comparison to Epic, that you wouldn't even scratch the surface as you'd be too busy seeing ports on a Med itinerary.

Edited December 17, 2018 by marktwothousand

[fabnfortysomething]

1 hour ago, marktwothousand said:

I've done the Epic MED itinerary twice. I'm starting to think that NCL put this ship on that itinerary intentionally because they know most people take this sailing to see the ports, and therefore don't need to focus on how poor the ship is. Passengers are too busy marvelling over the spectacular destinations and are content to use the ship as simply a vessel to get from one place to another and see it all within a week.

 

It might be a waste, for instance, to put a Breakaway-Plus class ship on this sailing. There's so much to do on those ships in comparison to Epic, that you wouldn't even scratch the surface as you'd be too busy seeing ports on a Med itinerary.

We have been on Epic several times

Caribbean

Canary Isles

Med

and a transatlantic

I think it tends to be used for European cruises as Europeans aren't as freaked out about the bathroom set up

It's not my favourite ship-personally prefer the smaller older ships but we go for itinerary

however we certainly found enough to do on the Transatlantic

[17cruisesnsl]

posted the first 3 days of the Dec 5-15th Freestyle daily to a new thread

[GUEST71919]

25 minutes ago, 17cruisesnsl said:

posted the first 3 days of the Dec 5-15th Freestyle daily to a new thread

Going to check now... oh happy day. And thanks for letting me know, appreciate this! I will hang tight for the rest. Thanks again!!!

[dd likes to cruise]

I was on the November TA and had a good enough time that we are going on the reverse TA in April. Other than 2 slow MDR nights, (13 night cruise) we had no trouble dining. Even those 2 slow ones we still made it to the show and ate our dessert also. 

 

Entertainment was wonderful.  Had a great cabin steward, met our few special requests. Had a towel animal everynight, this was not a request 🤪.  

 

Never waited more than a few minutes for a drink.  Longest was at the pool bar on a hot sunny day - I would think that was to be expected. 

 

Elevator waits we felt were not horrible either. Only really bad time was right when theater let out and disembarking.  We try our best to walk the stairs when we can anyway. 

 

We found the crew to be pleasant and never encountered ones that seemed to be brand new. 

[BarnCat1]

On 12/17/2018 at 2:33 PM, mapleleaves said:

 

I'm on the Epic next yr for a Med cruise.  I chose this cruise for the itinerary, not the ship.  I'm totally unphased by the negative reviews.  So far I haven't read ANY that would ruin my trip. If dinner takes 2 hrs at Manhattan, I can eat somewhere else, or if I have a surly room attendant, I don't care ... I'm not spending the day with him, and if my drinks don't come for 15 minutes, who cares, where am I going? I'm on vacation.  As for the glass doors on the shower ... I don't want to watch my cousin shower so guess what, I'll pull the curtain.

You gotta remember that we all have different expectations and tolerances.  So as you read thru the negatives,  ask yourself ' would that bother me', ' would it ruin my trip'.   As I said, so far I haven't read any that would negatively impact my enjoyment.

 

My priority is the itinerary .... if I have good service, good food and good entertainment as well,  what a bonus!  If those things stink, who cares, I still had that great itinerary and was able to see and do the things i wanted. 

 

 

I am going for the itinerary as well.  The bathroom is not a concern at all, actually I think I may actually like this set up better.

 3 hours in a dining room could be a concern, but we'll have to find these things out for ourselves.  I generally don't have any complaints about most things or places I have gone anyway,  so I'll have to wait and see.  It's just a little discouraging that the negatives outweigh the positives when it comes to this ship. 

[cruiseguy2424]

We were on the same cruise and had a horrible cruise, we actually changed butlers. Orlando the butler admitted that he was new to the ship and couldnt find things. Room steward was hit or miss, but worse we have encountered with NCL. Stops were fine drink service was laughable.

[Vyhanek]

I wish that your NCL experience was something other than repeating the Epic.    I am an NCL loyalist but I really despise the Epic.   I think comparing the Epic to pretty much any similar age/size ship it would lose.     Except for the Epic's fabulous Haven.   The Epic has the best Haven experience by far.   Literally by far, I've been in most of NCL's Havens.

 

Everyone else has basically said.    A poor Room Steward experience is really very rare.    You almost never hear of this issue.   I've cried on all major lines and NCL's cabin stewards fall right in with RCL, Princess, Carnival.    

 

As far as bar service, this again seems unusual.    I've been on the Epic twice in the last 5 years and have had absolutely no issue with bar service.   On the pool deck, if you were waiting for 30 minutes, I would think a short walk into the Garden Buffet where they have a full bar and rarely anyone in line, you would walk in there for service.    Or go inside, up one floor or down one floor to the many bars inside the ship.    But this again, would be a last resort because usually there isn't a big line at the bar, at all.

 

I think you hit on something about why the Epic can compete.   It's the price.    The ONLY way I think the Epic can compete is because of the price.   I think the whole design of the ship is so very inferior they have to lower the price.    But a lower price drives a whole different clientele.   A group of customers not typical on other NCL ships.   

[marktwothousand]

1 hour ago, Vyhanek said:

I think you hit on something about why the Epic can compete.   It's the price.    The ONLY way I think the Epic can compete is because of the price.   I think the whole design of the ship is so very inferior they have to lower the price.    But a lower price drives a whole different clientele.   A group of customers not typical on other NCL ships.   

This. +1

Hoping they pull this ship out of the fleet and replace it with something better. Yeah, I know its not gonna happen any time, soon, but here's to hoping! *crosses fingers*

Edited December 19, 2018 by marktwothousand

[GUEST71919]

9 hours ago, cruiseguy2424 said:

We were on the same cruise and had a horrible cruise, we actually changed butlers. Orlando the butler admitted that he was new to the ship and couldnt find things. Room steward was hit or miss, but worse we have encountered with NCL. Stops were fine drink service was laughable.

We loved our last Haven cruise except for the Butler -  when I called to make my request for this cruise, like what I wanted in the refrigerator juice wise, I actually requested a good Butler 🤷🏼‍♀️ Fingers crossed!  

[CruisinNewbie11]

I have sailed on the Epic for 7 times, including a TA in November.  I have 2 more booked in the future.  I absolutely love the ship, the service, the employees and activities.  Are there flaws? Of course, but I am a firm believer that a vacation is what you make of it.  There are those who will never care for this ship.  But, there are people like myself, who sing the praises.  That is what makes the world go around.  I would not hesitate to recommend the ship.   Love the Epic!

[cruiseguy2424]

14 hours ago, 2Beeze said:

We loved our last Haven cruise except for the Butler -  when I called to make my request for this cruise, like what I wanted in the refrigerator juice wise, I actually requested a good Butler 🤷🏼‍♀️ Fingers crossed!  

I honestly believe they are just overworked. Multiple times people would call them from the Haven pool with NO answer from them on the phones. We had not that happen from a NCL butler. Although you could usually get George the night butler, he was a condescending little fella.

Edited December 20, 2018 by cruiseguy2424