Post Review —Epic 2/5

[marysb]

Thank you laudergayle and srpellot for your reviews.  It is so good to hear some positives on this cruise.  We really liked the itinerary, so we booked and I was starting to regret it when I saw all the negative comments everyone had to say.  …and this turned out to be a pricy trip getting flights and hotels in San Juan.  
Usually, we can enjoy a vacation and let go of neg reviews- after all it’s a tropical vacation without the snow!  Lol, don’t hear too many complaints about the ports and this is more port intensive cruise. So I think all is good 😊 

[laudergayle]

52 minutes ago, marysb said:

Thank you laudergayle and srpellot for your reviews.  It is so good to hear some positives on this cruise.  We really liked the itinerary, so we booked and I was starting to regret it when I saw all the negative comments everyone had to say.  …and this turned out to be a pricy trip getting flights and hotels in San Juan.  
Usually, we can enjoy a vacation and let go of neg reviews- after all it’s a tropical vacation without the snow!  Lol, don’t hear too many complaints about the ports and this is more port intensive cruise. So I think all is good 😊 

Best advice I have is to try to stay ahead of the crowd.  Know exactly where you want to go and try to go around the crowds in mid ship deck 5&6.  Deck 7 was typically easy flow (except post theater event) to go end to end.

 

Breakfast outside buffet was always less crowded and had most of what was inside. If you want an omlet, it’s just inside of door starboard side.  Or all the way forward inside was less congested.

 

Follow my suggestion on port arrival time to get onboard early. Make dining reservations for MDR as soon as you get on ship. They were doing them outside of LeBistro Deck 5. Then off to box office outside Epic Theater on Deck 7 for entertainment reservations. 

 

Pool servers were quicker than standing in line at pool bar. At night casino bar snd Maltings were less crowded. The only day chairs were limited was sea day…but even then we found chairs.

 

Ports are beautiful…no hassles from locals.  Have fun let me know if you have any other questions .

[Mcg9900]

Wondering what excursions you took, if any, and which ports?

we are on this cruise end of March.

Edited February 23, 2023 by Mcg9900

[laudergayle]

On 2/23/2023 at 4:30 PM, Mcg9900 said:

Wondering what excursions you took, if any, and which ports?

we are on this cruise end of March.

In Aruba we took public bus to Eagle Beach. $5 pp round trip. Easy.  Off ship walk to the Main Street then right. At the blue building in the left…go thru passway to the bus terminal. You will see the ticket booth.

 

Curacao—we did NCL Taste of Curacao.  Not recommended…kinda hokey.

 

Bonaire we rented a golf cart from Bonaire Cruisers. $100 plus $100 security. no Amex but other cards,  they have a tent along the row of tents when you get off the boat.  If you can’t get an advanced reservation go there and get kn the standby list.  They release reservations at 9 am.  The road before the airport was a little hectic…but then it opens up to mostly tourist traffic.  Fun.

 

st Lucia…we did an NCL catamaran cruise.  Much fun.

 

St Kitts…BEST BEST BEST place to get souvienrs  for a good price.  We only walked the ship to the shopping area…and got the rest of souvenirs we needed…at a great price.  Go to the far end for best prices.

 

have fun!!,

[red lobster]

Thank you for taking the time to do this review, we are getting on the Epic this Sunday. I'm so glad you found it to be a fun vacation. Like some other's posted I've mainly seen folks post negative comments. My family hasn't been on a cruise since 2019, so for a while I was a little concerned, I had made a bad choice.

[laudergayle]

1 hour ago, red lobster said:

Thank you for taking the time to do this review, we are getting on the Epic this Sunday. I'm so glad you found it to be a fun vacation. Like some other's posted I've mainly seen folks post negative comments. My family hasn't been on a cruise since 2019, so for a while I was a little concerned, I had made a bad choice.

Awwh, thank you.  You know the ship will be packed…but if you follow some of my tips, it will help you navigate the crowd.  Wishing you and your family an amazing vacation.

[david_sobe]

Wow, I keep reading on the cuts to entertainment but what is written in the Daily is surprising.

[laudergayle]

10 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Wow, I keep reading on the cuts to entertainment but what is written in the Daily is surprising.

Surprising in what way?  Enough to entertain yourself…or what’s up with this?

 

For us…it was a bunch of fluff.  The Elton John Tribute were two lounge entertainers who were average, as were the other bar performers. The comedians were just ok.  Burn the Floor is pretty much the same anytime you see it.  The Diva Tribute was one of the Howl at the Moon performers.  No Beatles (but I think they’re back now).  No Broadway type show.  But we still had a great cruise…the casino got a little more of our attention…and we got more sleep…lol.

[david_sobe]

12 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Surprising in what way?  Enough to entertain yourself…or what’s up with this?

 

For us…it was a bunch of fluff.  The Elton John Tribute were two lounge entertainers who were average, as were the other bar performers. The comedians were just ok.  Burn the Floor is pretty much the same anytime you see it.  The Diva Tribute was one of the Howl at the Moon performers.  No Beatles (but I think they’re back now).  No Broadway type show.  But we still had a great cruise…the casino got a little more of our attention…and we got more sleep…lol.

The part that was reminding guests the entertainment was free so dont complain about it 😆.  NCL was once the pioneers of top notch entertainment.   I remember for Epic in 2010, they had 3 shows directly from Vegas:  Blue Man, Legends In Concert, and Cirque Dreams.  I am not even counting the other stuff that normally comes with cruising like piano bars, comedy, etc.   It seems the pendulum is swinging back towards the typical cruise line entertainment that existed before Epic.

Edited March 6, 2023 by david_sobe

[laudergayle]

27 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

The part that was reminding guests the entertainment was free so dont complain about it 😆.  NCL was once the pioneers of top notch entertainment.   I remember for Epic in 2010, they had 3 shows directly from Vegas:  Blue Man, Legends In Concert, and Cirque Dreams.  I am not even counting the other stuff that normally comes with cruising like piano bars, comedy, etc.   It seems the pendulum is swinging back towards the typical cruise line entertainment that existed before Epic.

Yes. Exactly. It does seem like entertainment was (previously) NCLs competitive advantage.  I posted a question for Ask the CEO questioning if NCL knows where they want to position the brand and what are we likely to see (and when).  Then again, the brand might be lost until the NCLH executive team balances revenue generation with guest experience.  I’m not bailing yet…but 2024 is wide open for other cruise lines and land-based adventures.