Just booked the Epic ... leave in 11 days!

Realized I really didn't know what I was thinking when I did this just a little bit ago, but the price was so good, we just couldn't resist. I thought it was a little farther out, but here we are and it's only 11 days away! We have cruised mostly RCCI, have also sailed on HAL and a couple of times on Carnival. We've never sailed on NCL so am interested in some input from you people. We have a MD Mini Suite on the 9th deck and I believe it's located on the 'hump'. I read a lot on CC and have heard some good and not so good reviews, as well as things about the 'included' places to eat and the extra charge ones. Is the dining package worth it? On other cruises we usually just eat in the dining room or buffet for breakfast and only occasionally have we done the Specialty restaurants. On the website it says to book the shows and I've heard that even for the complimentary shows, tickets are needed but the website isn't all that clear about that, so any info there would be good. We did this on a whim .... it's been a rough winter on a lot of fronts and I had neck surgery just 8 weeks ago and am actually still doing Physical Therapy. The thought of just lazing around on a warm cruise ship sounds pretty good to us right now. We don't have a lot of high expectations other than to relax. We've got a busy Spring ahead as well ... meeting our daughter, son in law and granddaughters in Disney World in April and a new grandson coming in May, so we thought this might be nice ... except now I'm thinking .... OMG, I've got so much to do! LOL!! We will drive from GA to Miami and stay somewhere the night before like we usually do for cruises, so I'll need to book that as well as parking and someone to take the dog, lose 10 pound, LOL, pack, etc.!!! Any info on NCL, the Epic or suggestions for the entire trip would be great! Thanx! :)

Realized I really didn't know what I was thinking when I did this just a little bit ago, but the price was so good, we just couldn't resist. I thought it was a little farther out, but here we are and it's only 11 days away!

There are some great deals right now, and glad you were able to take advantage! I and my family will be on that cruise with you in 11 days, along with a very active and growing Roll Call group (do join us!).

I read a lot on CC and have heard some good and not so good reviews, as well as things about the 'included' places to eat and the extra charge ones. Is the dining package worth it?

This will be my first time on Epic, so I cannot speak from experience. But, my overall reaction to the reviews is that, for most people, if you go in determined to have a good time, and avoid fretting over the small stuff, you are likely to have a GREAT time on Epic. And, it seems to me the more recent reviews have been much more positive than negative.

As for dining -- and I do have experience on other NCL cruises -- I think most of the food is fine (unless you are a serious "foodie"). So, if you are used to eating in the "free" restaurants on other ships, I suspect you will be fine doing so on Epic. If you think you will want to eat in the specialty restaurants every night, then the dining package (UDP) might be worthwhile, otherwise, skip the UDP and just pay for the nights you actually go to a specialty restaurant.

On the website it says to book the shows and I've heard that even for the complimentary shows, tickets are needed but the website isn't all that clear about that, so any info there would be good.

You will want to make a reservation for any show you want to go to (that accepts reservations), but you don't necessarily have to do that before you board. If you are a major planner (as I am) and the specific date/time is critical to your plan, then do book now. Keep in mind that Epic's theaters, etc., are smaller rooms than on many older ships, and so everyone cannot be accommodated in one or two shows.

The thought of just lazing around on a warm cruise ship sounds pretty good to us right now. We don't have a lot of high expectations other than to relax.

I am with you on that! And, with that mindset, I am sure you will have a great time!

Gary

Have a great cruise!!

Congrats! There's lots of information on the Epic in my signature area, including links to a few reviews that should get you going. There's also a link to a NCL documents page that has their dining guide, wine list and other things you might want to review.

have a great trip!

If you dont mind me asking.. what was the price?

Good for you. EPIC has some unreal prices right now on Studio's that I was just looking at. $329. Crazy.

Unfortunately right now the last minute airfare prices from out here in the midwest are crazy high.

Good for you. EPIC has some unreal prices right now on Studio's that I was just looking at. $329. Crazy.

 

Unfortunately right now the last minute airfare prices from out here in the midwest are crazy high.

What?! just $329.. even cheaper than book an apartment for a week...

There are some great deals right now, and glad you were able to take advantage! I and my family will be on that cruise with you in 11 days, along with a very active and growing Roll Call group (do join us!).

 

 

 

This will be my first time on Epic, so I cannot speak from experience. But, my overall reaction to the reviews is that, for most people, if you go in determined to have a good time, and avoid fretting over the small stuff, you are likely to have a GREAT time on Epic. And, it seems to me the more recent reviews have been much more positive than negative.

 

As for dining -- and I do have experience on other NCL cruises -- I think most of the food is fine (unless you are a serious "foodie"). So, if you are used to eating in the "free" restaurants on other ships, I suspect you will be fine doing so on Epic. If you think you will want to eat in the specialty restaurants every night, then the dining package (UDP) might be worthwhile, otherwise, skip the UDP and just pay for the nights you actually go to a specialty restaurant.

 

 

 

You will want to make a reservation for any show you want to go to (that accepts reservations), but you don't necessarily have to do that before you board. If you are a major planner (as I am) and the specific date/time is critical to your plan, then do book now. Keep in mind that Epic's theaters, etc., are smaller rooms than on many older ships, and so everyone cannot be accommodated in one or two shows.

 

 

 

I am with you on that! And, with that mindset, I am sure you will have a great time!

 

Gary

Thanx Gary! Yes, unbelievable deal, just couldn't pass it up .... I'll check in on the roll call later today. I agree with you on the reviews. I read them, sift thru them but we've never had a bad cruise ... some were better than others, but never a bad time. We don't ask for much, we like our cabin/balcony time, but for the most part, a lot of the little things some complain about doesn't really bother us. I'm sure we'll enjoy every minute! Thanx for the advice on the dining. Since we've never done the 'freestyle' with NCL we really didn't know what to expect. However, like I said, we are pretty easily pleased and figure you're right ... we'll go with the included dining and then just pay for whatever hits us at the moment that we want to try. I am a big planner, like you, but with time so short we just may 'wing it'!! LOL!! I'll try and get some tickets before we go, but if not, we'll just go with the flow and see what we can. The smaller venues sound nice. I did book everything ahead when we went on the Oasis as was recommended. There was one I couldn't get, but that too was no problem. We that show right after we boarded. Thanx again for the response! Got a lot of things we have to do today, but when I get home, I'll be looking at everything I can find on the Norwegian Epic and dreaming of WARM!! It's REALLY cold here today ... BRRR!! :)

Congrats! There's lots of information on the Epic in my signature area, including links to a few reviews that should get you going. There's also a link to a NCL documents page that has their dining guide, wine list and other things you might want to review.

 

have a great trip!

Thanx for the info! A friend dropped by last night so I didn't have time to look at your links and we're off with a million things we have to do today but when I get back I'm looking forward to reading every word!! LOL!! This is really exciting .... love doing something we've not done before and can't wait to read all about it! Thanx again for responding and the info! :)

If you dont mind me asking.. what was the price?

Not at all .... the email stated $649 for a mini suite. I was looking around and landed on the one that was $669 .... last one on the hump mid ship on deck 9. Still couldn't believe it, so called. I figured there just had to be a catch ... you know, the too good to be true thing! LOL!! The girl said the others were guarantee which also didn't bother me as we've done that before and she said there were no bad mini suite guarantees but by the time we talked about it, the computer wasn't showing some of the availability to her so we decided to just take what I had already started to book online. I believe there are still some guarantees left, so who knows, those people may just get an upgrade! As long as we have a mini suite, we're good and we've NEVER gotten a price this cheap before! So, we're happy! :)

Good for you. EPIC has some unreal prices right now on Studio's that I was just looking at. $329. Crazy.

 

Unfortunately right now the last minute airfare prices from out here in the midwest are crazy high.

Good deals to be sure. We're lucky in that we're in GA and can drive to port. We like our little 'road trips' .... we take our time, usually stay somewhere within an hour of the port, have dinner, get a good night sleep and head out for a short drive day of. I got our parking in POM yesterday ... now just have to find a place to stay somewhere not too far off the night before. Maybe you'll luck out and get a good airfare at some point to take advantage of these kinds of fares! Good luck! :)

Good deals to be sure. We're lucky in that we're in GA and can drive to port. We like our little 'road trips' .... we take our time, usually stay somewhere within an hour of the port, have dinner, get a good night sleep and head out for a short drive day of. I got our parking in POM yesterday ... now just have to find a place to stay somewhere not too far off the night before. Maybe you'll luck out and get a good airfare at some point to take advantage of these kinds of fares! Good luck! :)

So glad you were able to book Epic AND to get to sail so soon! We have a 400+ day wait till our next cruise! :eek:

Epic's a fantastic ship! We're also from Georgia, so it's a long but fun drive to port. We ate at the complimentary restaurants mostly during the week, but did go to Moderno and Le Bistro. We ate at Moderno the very first night, and had the restaurant almost to ourselves. We had a great view by the window, and it made the experience that much better. We were very pleased with the food throughout the whole week (complimentary and specialty dining included). I highly recommend O'Sheehans for breakfast and lunch. It's also complimentary, and had some good options, easy to get into, etc. We preferred it because we don't particularly like buffets and liked not having to look for a table, as the hostess seats you in O'Sheehans.

Blue Man Group was so much fun! It's apparently not for everybody, but this was one of the many, many highlights of our week. They did Fabba one night at Spice H20, and that was so much fun (IF ABBA is your thing - again, not for everybody). The service was phenomenal. We're not "suite people", just your average passenger, but we were treated like royalty all week. It was absolutely amazing. Kinda crazy that we took a 7-day cruise on a cruiseline that I'd never been on, and had not one single complaint.. it was fantastic, and I would recommend it over and over.

We did the Ice Bar. A really cool experience (downright freezing is more like it)! We were in there with a bunch of northerners, so it was more difficult for us to deal with the temp.. lol

SDMike has great resources in his signature! Definitely check those out if you haven't!

I hope you love Epic as much as we did!

Congrats! You will love Epic. Our favorite ship. Aside from SDMike's review and info which is awesome, you can check out my 2 reviews below.

Congrats! There's lots of information on the Epic in my signature area, including links to a few reviews that should get you going. There's also a link to a NCL documents page that has their dining guide, wine list and other things you might want to review.

 

have a great trip!

Thanx Mike! Finally had a chance to look over all the links and it was very good! Really enjoyed it all. We're very much looking forward to this trip ... can't believe we'll be leaving in a week ... so much to do! lOL!!

So glad you were able to book Epic AND to get to sail so soon! We have a 400+ day wait till our next cruise! :eek:

 

Epic's a fantastic ship! We're also from Georgia, so it's a long but fun drive to port. We ate at the complimentary restaurants mostly during the week, but did go to Moderno and Le Bistro. We ate at Moderno the very first night, and had the restaurant almost to ourselves. We had a great view by the window, and it made the experience that much better. We were very pleased with the food throughout the whole week (complimentary and specialty dining included). I highly recommend O'Sheehans for breakfast and lunch. It's also complimentary, and had some good options, easy to get into, etc. We preferred it because we don't particularly like buffets and liked not having to look for a table, as the hostess seats you in O'Sheehans.

 

Blue Man Group was so much fun! It's apparently not for everybody, but this was one of the many, many highlights of our week. They did Fabba one night at Spice H20, and that was so much fun (IF ABBA is your thing - again, not for everybody). The service was phenomenal. We're not "suite people", just your average passenger, but we were treated like royalty all week. It was absolutely amazing. Kinda crazy that we took a 7-day cruise on a cruiseline that I'd never been on, and had not one single complaint.. it was fantastic, and I would recommend it over and over.

 

We did the Ice Bar. A really cool experience (downright freezing is more like it)! We were in there with a bunch of northerners, so it was more difficult for us to deal with the temp.. lol

 

SDMike has great resources in his signature! Definitely check those out if you haven't!

 

I hope you love Epic as much as we did!

Thanx for your post and info! So far all I'm reading about the Epic sounds wonderful! Where in GA are you? We're in Acworth. We're really looking forward to getting out of this COLD!!! So much to do in such a short time, but that also makes it a little more exciting, LOL!!

Good for you. EPIC has some unreal prices right now on Studio's that I was just looking at. $329. Crazy.

Newbie here... what is Studio's?