Semi/Live: an "Epic" TA, 15 nights NY to Barcelona 04/22/23 - 05/07/23

[LauraAnneC]

20 hours ago, www3traveler said:

Hi,

Just saw your posting on the Bliss thread.  Thought I would bring to your attention a cruise some friends of mine are making next June on The Spirit.  It is a Hawaiian Island cruise from Honolulu, a sea journey to Alaska, and an Alaskan cruise ending in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  Your Cruise Next person could give you more information.

I hadn’t seen that cruise but just looked it up. It looks fabulous!

[mking8288]

As usual, there's a line outside the Manhattan MDR tonight around 7:45 pm, prime dinner time and they were out of pagers for the expected 45 minutes wait, unless one has a confirmed reservation - so much for the spirit of Freestyle Dining, which we know is gone with the wind upon the arrival of mega ships sailing near, at and above double occupancy. 

 

Epic, according to one of the asst. dining room manager, hasn't seen crowds this large until this TA, not even when it was sailing out of Old San Juan during spring break.  

 

If there was a separate check-in for Platinum & priority dining, it was gone but I asked upon reaching the hostess station, she said we'll still have to wait but ... In about 20 minutes, our pager went off & we got a nice table not far from the dance floor, not too noisy and can hear live music.  Being Sapphire does help a little. 

 

Pork pate, grilled Mahi-Mahi and lemon creme brulee + fruit plate on the menu we're all good.

 

The stage / dance floor was jammed pack once the duo singer resumed, 15 couples doing their Cha Cha - a few pairs stayed the whole 30 minutes doing their routines 🫢 good for them, not sure if the dining team mind a 3 hour turnaround. 

 

Our meal took about 70 minutes and when we left at 9:25 pm, several tables that were seated nearby 10 to 15 minutes were on their soup, salad & appetizer. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Tomorrow is Day 7, tonight - we move our clock ahead by 1 hour again, "lose" another hour of sleep as we are now a day, 700 nm from Ponta Delgada. 

 

[mking8288]

On the Epic, the foam mattress is partially recessed into the seat back - pull under & out to get full width use of the twin bed.  Downside is that access to the closet and balcony is tight and challenging, and if that 4th bed that drop down from the ceiling as an upper bunk, there's hardly any room to move around.  There is a good amount of storage but practical living space for 3, let alone 4 - not so much.  It's fine for 2 adults, aside from the short/recessed main bed.

 

Regardless, our combo sets of assorted size packing cubes do help a lot to keep everything clean, neat, organized and easy to store. 

 

The biggest - absence of USB or regular outlets by the bed, the LED adjustable reading lights can be easily upgraded to add USB charging ports, IMHO 🤔

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by mking8288

[YVRteacher]

Why is there cha-cha happening in the MDR during dinner on the Epic?  All I want when dining is chew-chewing, not cha-chaing.

[Oakman58]

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

As usual, there's a line outside the Manhattan MDR tonight around 7:45 pm, prime dinner time and they were out of pagers for the expected 45 minutes wait, unless one has a confirmed reservation - so much for the spirit of Freestyle Dining, which we know is gone with the wind upon the arrival of mega ships sailing near, at and above double occupancy. 

 

 

Late in 2019 I noticed that the registered trademark "Freestyle Cruising" had been painted over to match the color of the Epic and that freestyle was a now a thing of the past.  I had to enhance my photo so you can actually see the painted over trademark.

 

[spenecer]

2 hours ago, mking8288 said:

As usual, there's a line outside the Manhattan MDR tonight around 7:45 pm, prime dinner time and they were out of pagers for the expected 45 minutes wait, unless one has a confirmed reservation - so much for the spirit of Freestyle Dining, which we know is gone with the wind upon the arrival of mega ships sailing near, at and above double occupancy. 

 

Epic, according to one of the asst. dining room manager, hasn't seen crowds this large until this TA, not even when it was sailing out of Old San Juan during spring break.  

 

 

There were 4400 on my Spring Break sailing out of San Juan compared to your 3825.  I wonder if the MDR is more crowded because families with kids prefer the buffet to the MDR.  There was always two short lines in front of the Manhattan room during my sailing: one to get a pager and one to turn in the pager and be seated. 

[dexddd]

20 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Nah, perhaps the catalytic converters are missing 😁🙊😬

 

And, don't bust www3travelers' chops, maybe if we get on a NCL sailing with a stop in Oregon and if he isn't on a cruise, we can just do a quick meet & greet at the cruise pier and have coffee or high tea.  

Is that why you have the extra three rollers is to pack the large ship converters home?

 

Just joking with www.  Been up that way twice.  Very nice area, once on Star.  The PC are nice but short generally.  A TP closest we've done is POA from SFO to Hawaii. Other was Paul Gauguin in FP.  Fantastic time.

 

Tomorrow I think we see you in port?

[dexddd]

19 hours ago, www3traveler said:

Some cruises stop in Astoria, Oregon (near the mouth of the Columbia River--Portland is a good 90+miles upriver).  Astoria is a very historic community.  William Clark and Meriwether "wintered" near Astoria in what has become Fort Clatsop.  Fort Clatsop has been re-built and is extremely interesting.  The Bar at the mouth of the Columbia River also has an interesting history - once known as 
The Graveyard of the Pacific" because of so many ships lost trying to cross the Bar (even now, the Bar can be very dangerous.

 

 

  

We did the Star there.  One of the best days ever.  Went to the fort, the beach with high school doing gym at Cannon beach, a bit farther south, then Astoria.  We docked, Pearl or Jewel anchored and Princess docked by us, busy day.  Locals at dock very nice, maybe they could send some to Nassau to teach how to welcome visitors.

[mking8288]

@dexddd 😊 Good morning to all, rise-and-shine at 11:25 am ship time, 7:25 am in NY 😎 

 

Beautiful sea day, about 350 nm from PD with breakfast on the balcony.  

 

 

 

P.S.  we packed along zip lock bags in our rollers, came in handy to "transport" and store certain items. Converters need export & transit certificates, so for NCL's convenience, not going to touch them.  The blue exhaust hasn't been seen in last 2 days, that's a good thing. 

 

Latitudes reception ( with hundreds onboard, 2 decks invited at a time) being held in the Bliss Lounge indoors instead, Breakaway - Getaway - Escape were held in Spice H2O outdoors, the soot & particles might explain the change in venue. 

 

Incidentally, haven't seen any door decorations on our deck ... Notice in the FS Dailies on its prohibition ☹️  Wheelchairs & strollers aren't a problem blocking the corridors or egress, we only seen 3 younger children thus far and heard there's very few in tota - maybe just a handful toddlers & pre-schoolers.

Edited April 28, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Epic's Bridge & Operations - senior leadership team as of April 28, 2023

zoomable for close-up view

@www3traveler - FYI to re.post

[mking8288]

LeBistro menu, note the selections & items with upcharge.  Originally booked tonight at 6 pm, cancelled with the Latitudes gathering & will reschedule for a later date / time or dine elsewhere.

 

 

[www3traveler]

38 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Epic's Bridge & Operations - senior leadership team as of April 28, 2023

zoomable for close-up view

@www3traveler - FYI to re.post

Thank You  Posted Captain, Staff Captain and Chief Engineer.  I know all three of them.  That would be a fun bunch especially if you added the General Manager.

[mking8288]

Atrium bar was busy at lunch, the line & wait was over at Taste, again.  Partially, there are lots of solo and many dining solo by choice.  DW only seen 1 very young toodler thus far plus the 3 earlier, very few children otherwise.  

 

Line for dinner started at 5 pm at Taste again, doesn't open till 5:30 - a bit crazy to spent time standing.  

 

WiFi today is the slowest thus far, upload wise - half of normal speed. I don't think it's the server used for speedtest to ping for results.

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Lines for tonight's Latitudes - CruuseNext gathering, divided by decks, started before 5:30 outside Bliss for the 6 pm doors opening ... 

 

Captain introduced his senior team onboard - after a round of music & cheese and crackers 😳 ☹️  Coming up short & brief, even with some Ambassador members present (sailing since 1967) - at least, no long presentation on CN and the new Prima class ships.  No drawings or door prizes, as expected, has been this for a long, long time now.

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Latitudes benefits - among the perks, 2 x free laundry for each member on a long 15 days cruise, 4 for our cabin on this itinerary, is a good reward valued at $29 per full bag.  Send out midday yesterday & got them back in a wicker basket this afternoon, nice - itemized, valued at $112.  Despite the smaller & thin paper bag, we rolled tightly & squeeze it all into the plastic liner 😂

 

For all others, ship is offering another $29 laundry special tomorrow.

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by mking8288

[depplep]

5 hours ago, mking8288 said:

LeBistro menu, note the selections & items with upcharge.  Originally booked tonight at 6 pm, cancelled with the Latitudes gathering & will reschedule for a later date / time or dine elsewhere.

 

 

I am LOVING this menu!

[mking8288]

Passing the Epic Theater, doors open for this evening's show, no lines ... unlike Burn The Floor earlier in the week. 

 

Lines outside both Taste & Manhattan MDR again, 30 to 45 minutes wait unless reservation was made - checked Shanghai Restaurant/Noodles, 30+ minutes but being Sapphire, should get us priority for a shorter wait.  10 minutes later, pager vibrated & we're seated promptly - ordered, eat, done and out of that busy place in an hour. 

 

Food was okay, spring rolls & salad get an A minus, noodles/soup & combo fried rice plus 2 entrees get a B minus at best, just lurk warm in food temperature & tasted odds, can't explain it easily.  Soup broth is hot & the rest of the dishes tasted & looked as if those served at a buffet place and not as hot. Desserts get an A.  Overall service an A minus, too hectic & busy as a whole for them to be attentive.  Food ratings are - FWIW- always personal, subjective and difficult to compare ... YMMV.  

 

Bring us back to the Dawn's Blue Lagoon days ... It was good back then, I know, been like 20 years since we first ate there before switching to the old O'SHEEHAN'S. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

EMC's satellite WiFi has been sluggish in the past 18 to 24 hours.  It's 00:15 or just midnight + ship / PD port time.  Smooth sailing overnight, about 105 nm from port, speed at 16 to 17 kt. - should dock by 8 am or earlier. Sunrise 6:49 am & room service hot breakfast ordered for 7:30 to watch arrival AND to avoid dealing with lines or crowds, that's worth paying a little extra for, plus a cash tip. 

 

Forecast of rain in the afternoon, daypack ready to go ashore - will adjust plans for the day accordingly, lunch in town for sure, maybe seafood & tapas.

 

 

[mking8288]

Garden Cafe has the crepe station, made to order - yummy, DW said & I agree.

 

Checking out the smaller buffet with fewer stations and less varieties in choices vs. the Getaway or Joy, seating is tight & limited, tables & chairs with minimal spacing.  There are clusters of buffet hogs that stalked their popular choices corners & sections all day long, apparently - annoying & frustrating to others trying to find a spot to eat, very inconsiderate & oblivious to being a good cruise neighbor on the ship.

 

Also, 2 of the stations on either side by the pool aren't open, closed all day - maybe a direct reflection of lesser choices in the buffet.  Despite the obvious presence of a sizable # of Asian pax onboard, there is no hot noodles soup or congee station during the AM and PM hours, also limited are Indian food, typically always found. 

 

Later tonight, the new show - The Company Men - Vocal Group will be performing in the Epic Theater, 7:30 and 9:30 pm as we sail next with a full sea day ahead toward Funchal next.

 

 

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by mking8288

[YVRteacher]

Yay for crepes!!! Did you have one?

[AtSeaAlways]

With respect to the Garden Cafe, the Hotel Director said in his talk they often have 1000 kids aboard and if I remember right a passenger load up toward 5000.  So business up there is not at peak this voyage. Warmer days open up a lot of tables on the well designed pool deck. 

 

Kudos again on the scones after 2:30 - chocolate chip - mmm.  The Indian was good at lunch.  Table clearing is speedy which helps move the lines.  I wish they would toast the English muffins on Eggs Benedict.  I found some asparagus soup - not bad.  

 

The lines this trip are for the MDR spaces.  Service and food are good.  The Fleetwide Day 11 menu had many chouces.  The music and dancing are just right.  

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by AtSeaAlways

[mking8288]

Woohoo 🎉  ...  land & hillside ahead. We have arrived into Ponta Delgada ...  local time is past 7:05 am, not yet at a full stop.

 

Welcome to Portugal - we have LTE signal 😊

 

 

 

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

 

Sun rising from behind the clouds & mountains to our east, cloudy just as we settled for our room service delivered hot breakfast, to be eaten on the balcony leisurely & enjoy, skipping the lines & crowds in the MDR and buffet. 

 

 

 

 

Jewel of the Seas, we're on her 20+ years ago on a Canada/New England cruise - an old friend, looking fine after all these years.

Edited April 29, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Pictures - Port at Ponta Delgada, Portugal 

 

Gangway on Deck 4, cleared & okay to proceed ashore at 8:35 am with all abroad at 4:30 pm

 

 

 

 

LTE cellular data, unlimited & not throttled, hotspot (WiF) enabled to support multiple devices - roaming free at no extra charge, not relying on satellite data here.

Edited April 29, 2023 by mking8288