Inside Guarantee

[sillypuppy]

Looking for opinions and guidance on whether or not to book an inside guarantee room on the Epic. First time cruiser on NCL. To pick our own cabin is over $500 more and to go to a balcony is almost $1000 more. 
 

Also any advice on the Epic would be much appreciated. Good, bad?

[MagnoliaBlossom]

Before you book do a bit of research.
Look at available cabins in each inside category, make a list.
Then go to the deck plan and study the location of each of those cabins. Are they above or below a high traffic or noisy area - pool, galley, buffet, weight room, the theater. Those are all bad locations.

If there are a good number of cabins in a quiet location then you might want to roll the dice and go for it. It’s a personal thing, you may be a sound sleeper and noise doesn’t bother you, or a night owl who is out all night enjoying the nightlife.

And depending on how far out the cruise is, there is the possibility that the better cabins will book up before they begin assigning the guarantees.

Good luck.


76 past cruises
Upcoming:
CCL Dream 8/22/2020. Western Caribbean
NCL Breakaway 1/10/2021 Western Caribbean
CCL Dream 5/16/2021 Western Caribbean
NCL Star 6/27/2021 - Scotland, Norway & Iceland

[BonnieJeanne]

Looking for opinions and guidance on whether or not to book an inside guarantee room on the Epic. First time cruiser on NCL. To pick our own cabin is over $500 more and to go to a balcony is almost $1000 more. 
 
Also any advice on the Epic would be much appreciated. Good, bad?

I don’t know if it matters to you, but, the guarantee cabins do not come with any perks (i.e the open bar[emoji6]). A half way decent glass of wine can be upwards of $17 so if you like a few drinks.... Been on Epic twice. Nice ship, but, I feel like it doesn’t have enough outdoor space. Pool deck and that’s about it. If you like a promenade, out of luck.


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[Budget Queen]

The Epic is a “different “. Ship 🤩. With some strong opinions.   I happen to like it a lot.  Was on it again 3 times last fall as example.   Check out images of the cabins.      
 

I don’t care anything about a cabin and book guarantees.       You have to be accepting of any cabin and I have gotten a few-  that would be considered- undesirable       

[spanishguy1970]

2 hours ago, sillypuppy said:

Looking for opinions and guidance on whether or not to book an inside guarantee room on the Epic. First time cruiser on NCL. To pick our own cabin is over $500 more and to go to a balcony is almost $1000 more. 
 

Also any advice on the Epic would be much appreciated. Good, bad?

WE have been on the Epic 4 times. We like the ship a lot, others don't. The bathroom lay out for some is unacceptable, for us at first it was odd but then it became an none issue. We have booked 2 inside guarantees and 2 Balcony guarantees and we have always been happy with the staterooms we got. Like Budget Queen says you have to accept what you get because it is a gamble.

[stormynow]

Done the IS Gty many times and always been happy with cabin.

[mugtech]

Most seem to love or hate Epic, the gty cabin question is the same for all ships.  You should try at least one other NCL ship after cruising Epic to get a better idea about NCL and possibilities. 

[The Traveling Man]

We've sailed four times on the Epic.  We booked an Inside stateroom three times and a Balcony once.  One of Inside rooms was a guarantee, but there weren't any Insides available, so we received a Balcony instead.  You're taking a chance with a guarantee, though.  You might get a free upgrade or you might get a room under the pool, a restaurant, or other place where they drag things around the floor or vacuum the carpets above you at 3:00 AM.  Another consideration is that guarantee staterooms usually do not include "Free at Sea" options such as beverage or specialty dining packages.  We have found that if you are going to drink more than a couple of glasses of wine per day, sample a few specialty restaurants, or take NCL sponsored tours in most of the ports it actually costs less in the long run to skip the "savings" of a guarantee stateroom.

 

Probably the most distinctive feature of the Epic is the provision for toilet and shower facilities in the staterooms.  Instead of a separate bathroom, there is sink next to the bed, a glass-enclosed shower stall on one side of the cabin door and a glass enclosed toilet room on the other side of the door.  There is no partition or even a curtain separating the shower and toilet areas from the bedroom, so there is little or no privacy.  It's OK for a married couple, but I don't recommend the Epic for two casual acquaintances traveling together.

[MeHeartCruising]

3 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

...There is no partition or even a curtain separating the shower and toilet areas from the bedroom, so there is little or no privacy...

 

I don't agree with this.  We had a curtain that could be pulled across to provide more privacy for the bathroom portion of the cabin when needed.  Search for pictures online.  You can see the curtain.

 

I've been on the Epic twice and enjoyed it.  It's not my favorite ship, but I like it.  It's got some interesting things about it, but it's a good ship.

Edited June 1, 2020 by MeHeartCruising