Semi-Live from the Epic | Transatlantic from Orlando to Rome | April 7 to 19, 2024

[mking8288]

6 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

Random observations

The Shanghai’s menu on the NCL app is a very pared-down version of what’s actually offered in the restaurant. I wonder if that keeps some people away?

 

Haha, as far as I know (seen) Epic's Shanghai Menu is "more" extensive compared to the BA and GA, which is printed on a narrow menu strip with 12 to 15 items in total, including dessert ... not what it used to be (we consider SHN to be more of a diner/counter food than a full restaurant with options) before the fleetwide Covid shutdown.  

 

Are you sure that it's checked off as "Cooking Lite" specials, given the petite sizes of those dishes ... we ordered doubled serving (being hungry) of the noodles soup instead, as they only fill it half full at best.  

 

Appeared that priority dining/Platinum status helped a little bit whereas, some people (more than 2023) flocked to eat there instead, not less than before - or else, the line & waiting wouldn't be more than 1 hour for the average cruiser.  Yay for the stealthy towel animal making a cameo. 

 

Keep your eyes out on the daily pillows presentation or arrangements on the bed, if any ... as that seemed to be the new "alternatives" to making towel animals routinely.  

[Maleficent's Dad]

2 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

I know shower beers are a thing, but cruise ship showers should really have a martini glass holder. 🍸 

 

The review is great, but this had me genuinely laughing out loud!

[OrcaGirl]

Catching up on last night…

 

I had a dinner reservation for 5:30pm at Le Bistro.

 

The food was spectacular. The cauliflower veloute in particular was amazing, and the steak surpasses anything I’ve had at Cagneys for the last few years.

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, I hustled over to the theatre to join some new friends at the hypnotist show. Not usually my thing, but it was actually pretty funny.

 

 

Then we headed to the Atrium, grabbing seats on the floor to watch the first round of Dance Fusion, aka Dancing with the Stars but on a cruise ship?

 

 

 

It was fun, though I thought the ‘judges’ prattled on a bit too long after each round.

 

The top crew+guest dancing couple from each of three (?) nights moves on to the final in the theatre later in the cruise.

Then it was time for me to cash out my bingo winnings from earlier, grab an espresso martini, and head to bed.

Random observations

 

Some people get really weird about a woman dining alone.

 

 

 

 

[bluesea777]

Great review and photos, love the Random Observations!

 

Suggest you have the pistachio martini as your nightcap rather than the espresso one! Save the latter as your morning joe … to wake you up more!

 

Enjoy the rest of you pond crossing. 
 

 

[schmoopie17]

2 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

 

I had a dinner reservation for 5:30pm at Le Bistro.

The steak surpasses anything I’ve had at Cagneys for the last few years.

 

I've said this for years. If you want a good steak on NCL, get it in Le Bistro.

After all, Filet Mignon is French...

[retiring soon]

Hi all! 

 

Referring back to that TA you mentioned. I did that last April on the Dawn & because of bad weather & icebergs St John's & St Pierre- Miquelon , the 2 ports I looked forward to were skipped & we didn't even get the port taxes back! 😔 

 

Enjoying reading about your TA as I've done 4, 2 each way & the other way is less tiring IMO.

Have a nice weekend & stay safe 

 

Jo

[The Traveling Man]

9 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

Random observations

 

Some people get really weird about a woman dining alone.

 

My wife used to travel for business.  A lot.  She is quite the adventurous gourmand, so no room service meals in the hotel room for her.  Sometimes she would meet up with colleagues for dinner, but since many of them fell into the rut of Dunkin for breakfast, McDonald's for lunch, and KFC for dinner, she frequently would dine alone.  Take a book, ignore the stares, and savor the flavors.  Bon appetite!

[The Traveling Man]

8 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

I've said this for years. If you want a good steak on NCL, get it in Le Bistro.

After all, Filet Mignon is French...

The best steak I ever had on a ship was in La Cucina on the Epic.  The steaks in Cagney's are OK, I suppose, and those in Le Bistro are spectacular, especially when they still had the Five Pepper Steak on the menu (Boeuf au Cinque Poivre), but that steak in La Cucina topped them all.

[The Traveling Man]

2 hours ago, retiring soon said:

Enjoying reading about your TA as I've done 4, 2 each way & the other way is less tiring IMO.

I agree that Westbound TAs are more relaxed, with their 25 hour days, than Eastbound, with their 23 hour days.  OTOH, losing one hour of sleep each night for six or seven days is a lot less stressful for me than losing an entire night's sleep (I never have been able to sleep on a plane) and trying to stay awake for 34 or 35 straight hours.  I can manage the flight back from Europe.  We get home in time for a late dinner, then it's straight to bed after being awake for about 21 or 22 hours. 

[Mommapadraig]

14 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

The best steak I ever had on a ship was in La Cucina on the Epic.  The steaks in Cagney's are OK, I suppose, and those in Le Bistro are spectacular, especially when they still had the Five Pepper Steak on the menu (Boeuf au Cinque Poivre), but that steak in La Cucina topped them all.

I agree. The best meals we had were in LaCucina on the Epic. It was so good we went back a 2nd time using our latitudes reward meal. The steak was wonderful and the lasagna was some of the best I’ve eaten. In the past this was our least favorite restaurant but not anymore.

[OrcaGirl]

Saturday sea day recap, what I remember 😂

 

Today started a little rough again. I forgot to change the time on my phone last night before bed. So I woke up at 8:40am but oops it’s actually 9:40am and I’ve got a Canvas by U session starting in 20 minutes. No time for coffee.

 

I’ve got no artistic talent, but this was fun. Maybe not exactly how it looked in my head, but decent.

 

 

After painting, I grabbed a quick breakfast at not the Local, to the melodious sounds of the bowling pins being knocked over and reset. So relaxing.

 

I then returned to my cabin, where my cleans laundry (sent out just yesterday) was ready and waiting for me.

 

I attended the sushi demo in the Atrium, which had me craving sushi, so I immediately canceled my La Cucina reservation for that night and made plans to meet some people at Wasabi instead.

 

 

I wandered around for a bit, but it was cold and rainy up on deck, even for a Canadian. 🤣

 

I joined in on the progressive trivia again. My proudest moment was correctly guessing “what animal is in the painting on Rizzo’s bedroom wall in Grease” 🐴 

 

After trivia I headed back to the cabin for some work and rest, before getting ready for dinner.

 

The sushi was really good, almost on par with the good stuff in Vancouver. I used a Platinum coupon, and 8 items easily fed the three of us with more than we could finish.

 

 

 

 

The sake was also delightful.

 

 

After dinner I grabbed a drink and headed to the Atrium for the second round of Dance Fusion.

 

 

Then it was back to the Bliss Lounge for more karaoke to close out the evening. For me at least. 🤣 

 

Random observations

 

There was a Code Alpha called around 3pm. First one I’ve heard all cruise.

 

I thought it was hilarious that Dune was the movie playing in Spice H20. Spice is life!

 

 

I found my first cruise duck of this trip in a stairwell, and rehid it in the Bliss Lounge.

 

 

Apparently the ship is running out of the ingredients for the off-menu pistachio martini. The bartender warned me this might be my last one.

 

 

Lots of people brought their cowboy hats on this cruise. 🤠 (Although I’m guessing some are all hat, no cattle.)

 

Hope someone at NCL head office renews the digital charts license… 

 

[zqvol]

Enjoying your review. Thanks for the effort. 

[OrcaGirl]

Another time change, another morning that I forgot to change my phone time. I slept in until 11am, but thought it was 10am and was confused as to why the buffet and not-the-Local were no longer serving breakfast. Oh well, a BBC is practically breakfast. 🍌 

 

I met some new friends in the hot tub for some Prosecco because they are very good bad influences.

 

 

We hung out in the hot tub until it was time for the progressive trivia finals.

 

Apparently our team was sitting in third going into the final round. We won’t know who wins until it’s printed in the Freestyle Daily, as the hostess needs to verify the scores. Lots of shenanigans and disagreements.

 

After trivia I went up on deck for an hour or so of soaking up the sun. A little (lot) windy but still nice.

 

Then down back down to the Atrium for more trivia, this time cartoon characters.

 

Time for a siesta and shower before the evening frivolities.

 

 

Random observations

 

“Who played Ken in the Barbie movie (2023)?” is a very tricky question! Yes, of course Ryan Gosling was the accepted answer, but Simu Liu, Kingsley-Ben Adir, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans and John Cena also played Ken.

 

The pool is open! 
 

[OrcaGirl]

Sunday evening recap

 

Headed to the martini bar for a pre-dinner cocktail. The rum cake martini is an acceptable substitute for the now-unavailable pistachio martini.

 

 

Chilled in the Atrium and watched the start of the Salsa dance class.

 

 

Then up to Teppanyaki. Fun as always. Too much food, as always.

 

 

 

 

Teppanyaki took sooooo long that with a 7:15pm reservation, I still didn’t make my 9:30pm reservation for Burn the Floor before they opened up the standby line. The theatre was completely full, and we ended up standing at the back.

 

It’s an okay performance, but I’d seen it before four years ago. It’s probably time for a refresh. The one dude playing guitar in a face mask was giving me major Fury Road vibes. Or maybe Bane?

 

 

Random observations

 

Huh, I thought it would take longer than 4 hours to get to Lithuania from Spain.

 

 

Lines for the 7pm Burn the Floor performance were already looooong at 6pm. 💃 

 

I still wish they’d kept Priscilla Queen of the Desert, or at least replaced it with another Broadway-style show.

 

The day 8 MDR menu for my fellow nerds who track such things:

 

 

 

 

Don’t forget sunscreen! Even if it’s windy and cold!

 

Why do people act so affronted when they’re told that they can’t film or photograph a live theatrical performance?!? “I wasn’t filming, I was trying to turn my phone off!” Sure, dude. And if you are going to break the rules, at least turn your flash off!

[Panhandle Couple]

We love the Rum Cake martini!!

 

We were told by one stage manager that Burn the Floor is a turnkey operation. NCL contracts with them and the company supplies all the talented performers.  Stage props are not too hard to do compared to Six or Jersey Boys.

It will probably be around for awhile.

[KforKitty]

My husband also loves an after dinner Rum Cake (or 2).  Roll on 45 days 🍸🍸

 

Catherine

[mking8288]

Wow, already passed the 2/3 milestone on a TA, thank you & enjoy following it. 

 

MDR menu as posted, look no different than 2023, meaning NCL hasn't make noticeable changes to the overall rotation or come up with new ones (better, hopefully).  

 

More time zone changes or clock/smartphone adjustment ahead ... 

[OrcaGirl]

Oh dang, they just cancelled our stop in Gibraltar. Engine problems.

 

Guess I’ve got more time to get caught up on recapping yesterday. 🤣

 

 

[OrcaGirl]

Set my alarm AND adjusted for the time change, so I woke up on time to head to my 8am massage appointment. So weird walking across the pool deck while it was still dark.

 

 

The massage was delightful, and she incorporated their sunburn cream since I apparently got a lot more sun than I thought the day prior.

 

I had a quick breakfast in the buffet, still bitter about the lack of hash browns and eggs benny.

 

 

And then I decided some hot tub time — avec mimosa — was appropriate. 

 

 

It was super windy but delightful. My shoes only went flying away once.

 

After getting dried off and changed, we went to Taste for lunch. My Asian sliders were good, the caprese salad was a little sad (needed balsamic and riper tomatoes). I should have known better. 

 

 

 

We hustled over to the theatre just in time for Wheel of Fortune. I had low expectations; I was on the first or second sailing of the Escape when it was introduced and it was just… confusing. But this was okay; I think our cruise director this time had a bit more personality and explained the game better.

 

 

I ended up winning ‘fastest solve’ for one of the games, winning a little Bluetooth speaker. And then placed fourth overall on the random portion of the game, winning an NCL umbrella. Ooooooh. Aaaaaaah. 🤣

 

 

 

 

Next I headed to the CruiseNext repositioning cruise presentation. Oh look, more cruises that I shouldn’t book but definitely want to.

 

 

The CruiseNext presentation went long, so I had to miss the end and hustle over to Headliners for bingo. Alas, my lucky streak did not continue. Didn’t even get to stand up.

 

Took a little post-bingo siesta in my cabin, before venturing out to Maltings for a pre-dinner Eastern Legacy.

 

 

Was originally planning to join the solo group at Taste for dinner, but the menu wasn’t compelling and I wasn’t particularly hungry, so instead went to not-the-Local for fish and chips. And the raspberry brownie cheesecake.

 

 

 

Then to the theatre to grab seats for the magic show. I’d expected more of an illusionist, and this was more card tricks, but it was pretty good. Not the best magic show I’ve seen at sea, but definitely not the worst, either.

 

 

Then hustled over to the Atrium for the final round of the Dance Fusion qualifiers. Some excellent, enthusiastic performances. 💃 🕺 

 

 

But a real shame that no one dared to grab a bottle of water and really get into the spirit of Flashdance. 

 

 

And then I headed back to the cabin, to get ready for my busy day in Gibraltar… 🤣

 

Random observations 

 

Maybe you don’t like the Prima, but don’t be a dick and contradict the CruiseNext staff when they’re giving a future cruise presentation in the Atrium. 

 

On a related topic, why so many dudes putting their bare feet up on the furniture in the indoor public spaces?!?! Pool deck? Sure. But in the theatre?

 

Day 9 MDR menus:

 

 

 

 

 

I miss the little fishies that swim forward.

 

 

 

[OrcaGirl]

Woke up at 7:40, and was just brushing my teeth when the PA did the bing-bong tone and the captain came on. Never a good sign. Apparently there were generator issues? So we haven’t been able to go as fast as needed, and the repairs took longer than expected, so we are skipping Gibraltar.

 

 

Oh well. It happens. (I did notice a heavy officer presence in the Atrium this morning, probably so anyone upset could yell at them instead of the poor guest services staff.)

 

Since I was already up and dressed, I headed to Taste for breakfast. Eggs Benedict makes everything better.

 

 

After breakfast, I grabbed my laptop and headed up on deck to get some sun in and schoolwork done.

 

 

Once I finished a quiz (only 95%? Must have been the BBC’s fault.), I went for a swim and then into the hot tub for a good long while.

 

Random observations 

 

I don’t think the Brit in the hot tub talking about the Premier League was impressed by my “if it’s not Roy Kent, I don’t know who you’re talking about” comment. 
 

 

Didn’t think a dance mix of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit would ever be good cruise music, and yet…

 

Surprised (or maybe I’m not?) that the in-room TVs don’t have the navigation screen.

[rbxlady]

On the Epic right before you, I noticed the carpet didn't have any way of indicating fore vs aft, at least not that I picked up on. I did have to re-orient myself because it was my 6th cruise, and I realized that we've always stayed on the port side, not by choice but by chance. We were starboard this time, and it totally threw me because I kept thinking the ship's orientation was opposite.

 

I also wondered if any of the non-NCL entertainers would stay on for the TA, but we had a different magician.

[The Traveling Man]

3 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

I headed to Taste for breakfast. Eggs Benedict makes everything better.

 

 

Knowing that you're from Vancouver, this may be a sacrilege to ask, but have you ever tried Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon in place of the Canadian bacon?  YUMM!

[OrcaGirl]

1 hour ago, The Traveling Man said:

Knowing that you're from Vancouver, this may be a sacrilege to ask, but have you ever tried Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon in place of the Canadian bacon?  YUMM!

Actually not a fan of smoked salmon, although I’ll eat salmon sashimi or in sushi no problem.

 

My absolute favourite though is the pork belly Eggs Benny at Jam Cafe, about a 10-15 min walk from the Vancouver cruise terminal. (But usually has an hour wait for a table on weekends.)

[OrcaGirl]

4 hours ago, rbxlady said:

On the Epic right before you, I noticed the carpet didn't have any way of indicating fore vs aft, at least not that I picked up on.

The main cabin corridors have the fish that swim from the aft to the bow; it’s just the solo cabin corridors that don’t.

 

[OrcaGirl]

I grabbed a quick lunch in the Garden Cafe, keeping a weather eye for Gibraltar dolphins but didn’t see any.

 

 

After lunch, I went up to deck something or other to scope out a spot for cruising through the Strait of Gibraltar.

 

 

The view was a little hazy, but it was neat to see Tangier, Morocco on one side of the ship, and then Spain on the other.

 

The front sun deck of the ship was already crazy crowded, and we had a good hour at least until we were in the Strait proper. Just being up on deck for 20 min or so had me boiling, so I eventually gave up my spot and headed inside.

 

 

I made it to the Atrium just in time for movie kiss trivia. I got seventeen out of twenty right, but lost by one point.

 

 

And funnily enough, had to explain why this picture was absolutely, definitely from The Empire Strikes Back and not from Star Wars to the other contestants.

 

 

After trivia, I headed out on deck 7 to see the views as we passed through the Strait. Hi Gibraltar!

 

 

And then up to Spice H20 to check out the wake view of the Strait.

 

 

I closed out the surprise sea day afternoon in the hot tub again. The pool deck was as busy as it has been all cruise. 
 

 

 

Random observations

 

Although I missed out, other people mentioned seeing dolphins from the ship today. 🐬 

 

Gonna tell my (entirely fictitious) grandchildren that was the Strait of Gibraltar.

 

 

Meanwhile back in Canada…