Ben & David Epic

[tomato tomato]

Ben and David ugh. ☹️

 

Ben and Jerry hug! 🙂

[Menocchio]

It's funny that we're calling them drama queens when they themed the video around seeing if reviews from this website were true or not. (Also they seemed to many knock the Epic in comparison to other NCL ships, both the newer Breakaways but they also named the Jewel as an older ship they thought was in better shape)

 

Anyway, it seemed like maybe some of the problems were coming from the engines covering everything in soot. Which looked like they may have been addressed while they were shooting. That was only part of their complaint, but if everything is covered in ash I'd be far less forgiving of other problems. 

 

I'll be on the Epic in early '26, after the planned drydock. Hopefully I'll find a better experience but it's also a port-heavy itinerary so I'm sure I'll have a good time even if mostly on land. 

[RMS Olympic]

I watched this YouTube video twice…the first time with the sound off, the second with the audio on. I wanted the visual first.

Having sailed the Epic in her third month of operation, I wanted to see how she held up without listening to opinions.

The ship is a disgrace, period. The soot reminded me of the Norway in 2000….soot on the pool deck, torn carpets etc.

My impression is that NCL is running her till they can sell her off.

NCL was never happy with her from the start. For me, never liked the ship, however when I sailed her, the food, service and entertainment was great. The show in the Speigel tent…wonderful.

Would I sail Epic….no.

Ive been sailing NCL since 1978…..so I’m not an NCL hater….currently booked on Viva, Aqua and Prima. 

[Sunwanabe]

We are looking at alternative cruise lines from our usual Princess sailings. Watching this video review, it definitely gave us pause that NCL is not for us. If the company won't invest the needed funds in maintaining their asset, then it shows poorly in how top management runs it's operations. Not something to be proud of, considering the ever increasing $ amount to cruise. Epic failure is a good title.       

[david_sobe]

49 minutes ago, Sunwanabe said:

We are looking at alternative cruise lines from our usual Princess sailings. Watching this video review, it definitely gave us pause that NCL is not for us. If the company won't invest the needed funds in maintaining their asset, then it shows poorly in how top management runs it's operations. Not something to be proud of, considering the ever increasing $ amount to cruise. Epic failure is a good title.       

But the kicker is that NCL does maintain its ships.  Ben and David say countless times  in the video how shocking the ship was because of their experience how spotless and well maintained the rest of the NCL fleet is.  They documented how well maintained the Haven area was and the restaurants are still fancy, clean and well maintained.  If you did not know this was a NCL ship you would think the pool deck was of a bankrupt cruise line.  Granted the engine soot and the water slides being out at the same time could be a fluke.  But how poorly maintained most of that pool deck is pretty shocking.  No way anyone can stage a photo with rows of broken lounge chairs, missing pool tiles, and the mold growth all over the deck.  Why not clean the elevator windows?  Does NCL executives ever visit ships for an inspection?  Some of the stuff is bad timing and mechanical breakdown. But much of the other stuff is pure neglect.   If you go to cruise critic right here others are documenting the same thing.  Ben and David thought it was all staged and an exaggeration until they saw it first hand. 

[Ellis1138]

2 hours ago, Sunwanabe said:

We are looking at alternative cruise lines from our usual Princess sailings. Watching this video review, it definitely gave us pause that NCL is not for us. If the company won't invest the needed funds in maintaining their asset, then it shows poorly in how top management runs it's operations. Not something to be proud of, considering the ever increasing $ amount to cruise. Epic failure is a good title.       

 

Princess is a more premium experience, but basing NCL off the Epic is like basing it off the Pride of America. It's a unique ship with issues that could impact some peoples' enjoyment of the cruise.

Meanwhile, I found the Jade, the Sun, the Escape and the Prima to be well kept. 

Maybe the Epic will get some good stuff in drydock.

[cruiseracer]

I watched their review. Well, as much as I could. The drama was a bit much for me. Sailed on the Epic in 2016 and a group of us are booked in November. It was great in 2016 and I'm sure it will be again. One can pick apart any ship that is more than a year old. The funniest issue of all relates to how the ship looks from the outside. It's kinda tough to see the outside of the ship while onboard, but for some - it's all about appearances. 

 

We like the "unique" bathrooms and curvy cabins. We also like the bigger venues. To each their own. As many say - it will be as good as you wish to make it. Our group will definitely enjoy it.

[stinkyharriet]

When I was on the Prima last year the waterfront deck was covered in soot and that was, at the time, the newest ship.  Have they fixed that issue on the Prima (and I assume the Viva)?

 

The brief clips they showed of a few of the venues, like the Cavern Club, looked huge compared to other ships.  The Cavern Club on the Joy is minuscule!  It looked like you could fit 4 of them in the one on the Epic.

[reeves35]

Epic has always been a bit of an orphan and it is not surprising the series stopped at one ship.  Some of her faults such as the strange cabin design and awkward exterior can never be fixed and you can't see NCL holding onto her for 30 years which is the average lifespan of a cruise ship.

 

Would it put me off sailing on a different NCL ship?  No; some of their newer ships look great though NCL's reputation for sacrificing general space for The Haven as well as being known to relentlessly nickel and dime passengers probably concerns me more.

 

NCL does send the revitalised Spirit downunder seasonally and she receives rave reviews.  She will probably be my first NCL experience.

 

[Mississippian]

I've only sailed NCL twice, and the Epic once. I did not like the Epic. I'm giving NCL a third try this fall, and kind of looking forward to it. There are some good things about NCL.

[Ondine]

53 minutes ago, reeves35 said:

Epic has always been a bit of an orphan and it is not surprising the series stopped at one ship.  Some of her faults such as the strange cabin design and awkward exterior can never be fixed and you can't see NCL holding onto her for 30 years which is the average lifespan of a cruise ship.

 

Would it put me off sailing on a different NCL ship?  No; some of their newer ships look great though NCL's reputation for sacrificing general space for The Haven as well as being known to relentlessly nickel and dime passengers probably concerns me more.

 

NCL does send the revitalised Spirit downunder seasonally and she receives rave reviews.  She will probably be my first NCL experience.

 

 

Norwegian Sun is doing several cruises out of Melbourne this summer.  I am doing Melb - Auk and B2B Auk -Melb and looking forward to seeing what Norwegian is like.

[zackarykeef]

I, too, take their videos (and all videos) with a grain of salt. The turning point for me with them was when they released a glowing review of the Prima, followed by a pretty nasty review of the Viva. They’re the same ship. It had nothing to do with crew or food or things that could vary. Things they raved about on Prima they criticized on Viva, which made no sense and made them lose credibility.

 

However…most of us on this board are NCL fans (I’m platinum and definitely an NCL fan), but we can all watch that video and see for ourselves a lot of what they said is true. They praised the same things NCL is known for…good food, great crew, etc. I skipped over their complaints of the ship layout…most of us understand it’s odd and take it for what it is; not much to be done there. But just as someone else said, the outer decks are in such disrepair it was shocking. The upper deck they took the (dirty) elevator to truly looks abandoned. I was shocked at what I saw, as that is not the NCL I know.

 

There is a very big difference between outdated ships and run down or dirty ships. Older ships tend to be outdated and are not typically our style, but we can still appreciate it. We sailed Crown Princess last year, and although it is much older, it was still extremely clean and in good shape. There really is no excuse for the Epic to look like that.

 

I guess we can all just be thankful for its upcoming dry dock, and I look forward to seeing the after product.

[dhanakorn]

Wow I almost book the Epic for the last minute cruise later this month. I dodged the bullet and booked Viva instead. 
 

I saw the Epic has a scheduled dry dock from 4/15-5/8. I’m not sure they can do the complete overhaul within less than 3 weeks timeframe. 
 

I feel bad for those people who paid a high price for subpar cruise experience on Epic. 

[david_sobe]

Last night when I was in bed youtube's algorithm suggested another Epic walkthrough review.  The walk through review was only 3 months old and from this same itinerary.  On the pool deck the reviewer mentioned that the waterslides did not work all the time.  The pool deck was clean and had no soot.  I did not see rows of broken chairs.  It looked very typical and what you would expect.  I have a theory that NCL started some major maintenance on Epic.  Very typical of NCL and other lines they usually try and keep this secret so they don't get flooded with complaints. In David and Ben's video  the engines were being worked on with scaffolding around the stacks.  Soot was flying everywhere.  The row of broken chairs could have been put there to be worked on.  What's the chances of an entire of row of chairs all broken on a pool deck.  This does not explain some of the other areas that need repair but the major stuff that makes you say OMG when you watch the video could explain this horror show.  What's the chances that David and Ben show up on this cruise.  Talk about fate 🙈

But I think most passengers would feel disappointed sailing a ship with this going on. 

Edited September 10 by david_sobe

[luv2kroooz]

This might be a bit of a stretch, but ......if you look at the NCL company youtube page, you will see that the company engaged the services of various content creators from youtube to make videos for NCL. This was like 8 months ago. No idea if this was paid or not, but I wonder if B&D were not selected by NCL and maybe they could be throwing some shade NCLs way as a result. 🤷🤷

[david_sobe]

2 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

This might be a bit of a stretch, but ......if you look at the NCL company youtube page, you will see that the company engaged the services of various content creators from youtube to make videos for NCL. This was like 8 months ago. No idea if this was paid or not, but I wonder if B&D were not selected by NCL and maybe they could be throwing some shade NCLs way as a result. 🤷🤷

I dont subscribe to their channel.  I think they are way too spoiled.  But they are critical of every line and proudly say they refuse the free cruises all the other cruise vloggers get.   I admire that part of them.  Even when they stayed in a big RCCL suite they pointed out the shortcomings with what you get.  I think many of their criticisms are just.  I find the vloggers who get paid by lines and just give glossy reviews far more annoying than ones that will give both good and bad of their experience.   There are so many of those types that when someone points out some issues it freaks people out. 

[luv2kroooz]

Just now, david_sobe said:

I dont subscribe to their channel.  I think they are way too spoiled.  But they are critical of every line and proudly say they refuse the free cruises all the other cruise vloggers get.   I admire that part of them.  Even when they stayed in a big RCCL suite they pointed out the shortcomings with what you get.  I think many of their criticisms are just.  I find the vloggers who get paid by lines and just give glossy reviews far more annoying than ones that will give both good and bad of their experience.   There are so many of those types that when someone points out some issues it freaks people out. 

Fair points. Maybe I should step back and watch the video. Thanks.

[Capitan Obvious]

8 hours ago, reeves35 said:

Epic has always been a bit of an orphan and it is not surprising the series stopped at one ship.  Some of her faults such as the strange cabin design and awkward exterior can never be fixed and you can't see NCL holding onto her for 30 years which is the average lifespan of a cruise ship.

 

Would it put me off sailing on a different NCL ship?  No; some of their newer ships look great though NCL's reputation for sacrificing general space for The Haven as well as being known to relentlessly nickel and dime passengers probably concerns me more.

 

NCL does send the revitalised Spirit downunder seasonally and she receives rave reviews.  She will probably be my first NCL experience.

 

 

A key to doing a proper review is to be fair, objective, and unbiased. A reviewer cannot allow thier review to be influenced by the prior reviews of others. Doing so only calls into question the motives of the reviewer.

 

That said, you denounce faults like "strange cabin design" and "awkward exterior". You also repeat the "relentlessly nickel and dime" trope.

 

Then you turn around and state: "She will probably be my first NCL experience." thus admitting that you've never been on an NCL ship. So every criticism you offer is based on second-hand information and not on direct personal experience. Peconceived opinions are the anthesis of a decent and useful review.

[jules181]

I have to say I'm a big fan of Ben and David, I find that their reviews are usually fair and objective, they always show the good with the bad, and, especially with the cruise they took in the middle east on NCL (Dawn, I think) they have been quite positive towards NCL. 

 

I've sailed on the Epic 3 times.  December 2019, January 2022 and January 2023.

 

I love the ship, it has everything I need, the thermal suite with the outside balcony is fantastic.  

 

However, I did notice a difference in both service/condition on the 2023 cruise.  

 

Lots of maintenance issues, instances of flooding, backup in drains.  Service seemed strained and rushed, you could feel the cuts, bar lines were massive.  (And don't give me that "well just go to another bar" crap).  At 6pm for your pre-dinner drink, you're pretty much stuck with the bars on 6, 7 and 8, and they're all jam packed.  We were waiting 20-30 minutes on service.  

 

Also, the ship seemed like it was straining, when your glass of wine was sitting on the table in the MDR, you could see the vibrations from the engine, more so than any other ship I've been on.  

 

I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'm not sure when/if I'll be sailing on the Epic next.  

 

I think it's fair that they're pointing out there are issues with the Epic, because there are.  Hopefully they can address the ship specific issues in the dry dock scheduled for next year.   Some people have a love hate relationship with the Epic, but I was in the love section before my last cruise, now it's a 'meh'.  

[Oakman58]

Not just the Epic, I believe NCL has let service and maintenance hit rock bottom. Especially after reading YVRteacher’s recent thread on the Jewel, and mcmomny’s thread on the Breakaway, I get the feeling NCL has gone downhill across the board.  I have lowered my expectations on my cruise this month on the Breakaway.

[Laszlo]

Soot is across the boards. Our first cruise on NCL on the Gem in a Aft suite we had a ton of it every day on the balcony. On a cruise on the Escape their was a lot of it on certain days on Spice H20. Once again in June on the Gem we noticed soot in the Great Outdoors

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

Soot is across the boards. Our first cruise on NCL on the Gem in a Aft suite we had a ton of it every day on the balcony. On a cruise on the Escape their was a lot of it on certain days on Spice H20. Once again in June on the Gem we noticed soot in the Great Outdoors

Same.  This was before the shutdown, but sailed the GEM in an Aft cabin.  Soot on the balcony every day.  Kind of defeated the purpose of having an AFT cabin.

 

The rest?  Sailed Epic in the Mediterranean last October.  She was wall kept.

[swjumbo]

4 hours ago, Capitan Obvious said:

 

A key to doing a proper review is to be fair, objective, and unbiased. A reviewer cannot allow thier review to be influenced by the prior reviews of others. Doing so only calls into question the motives of the reviewer.

 

That said, you denounce faults like "strange cabin design" and "awkward exterior". You also repeat the "relentlessly nickel and dime" trope.

 

Then you turn around and state: "She will probably be my first NCL experience." thus admitting that you've never been on an NCL ship. So every criticism you offer is based on second-hand information and not on direct personal experience. Peconceived opinions are the anthesis of a decent and useful review.

You do enjoy telling people off and telling them they’re wrong don’t you?

 

[Capitan Obvious]

36 minutes ago, swjumbo said:

You do enjoy telling people off and telling them they’re wrong don’t you?

 

 

Sorry that the fact that my opinion differs from yours bothers you so much. And while you might think it is OK for someone to offer harsh criticism of something they haven't experienced, I don't. Wrong? I dunno, its not that they are wrong, but that they know so much that just isn't so.

 

But you have to expect that given that this is a public discussion forum and not simply an echo chamber, right?

[swjumbo]

45 minutes ago, Capitan Obvious said:

 

Sorry that the fact that my opinion differs from yours bothers you so much. And while you might think it is OK for someone to offer harsh criticism of something they haven't experienced, I don't. Wrong? I dunno, its not that they are wrong, but that they know so much that just isn't so.

 

But you have to expect that given that this is a public discussion forum and not simply an echo chamber, right?

We have a saying in the UK about pots and kettles!

Happy cruising.