Epic fail

My parents just got off the Epic today and were very disappointed. This is the 2nd cruise with NCL. I don't have a lot of details but one of the main things is the buffet, where they only eat, forces you to a single file line to get food, even if you want something small at the end of the line. So the hot food you put on your plate is cold by the time you are out of line and at your table.

My parents just got off the Epic today and were very disappointed. This is the 2nd cruise with NCL. I don't have a lot of details but one of the main things is the buffet, where they only eat, forces you to a single file line to get food, even if you want something small at the end of the line. So the hot food you put on your plate is cold by the time you are out of line and at your table.

Sorry your parents were disappointed!

Im heading on the epic in dec so i would love to know if there was other things they were disappointed in...

The buffet is one of many places to eat so avoiding it for me would not be an issue. ..

Curious how old are your parents. ?

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I don't remember waiting on line for anything in the buffet I wasn't getting the 2 weeks I spent on it. OP not sure the point of your post. Is it just to bash the Epic and worry future cruisers?

We were on the Epic not too long ago and this did not happen; I wonder if there was a good reason for this.

My parents just got off the Epic today and were very disappointed. This is the 2nd cruise with NCL. I don't have a lot of details but one of the main things is the buffet, where they only eat, forces you to a single file line to get food, even if you want something small at the end of the line. So the hot food you put on your plate is cold by the time you are out of line and at your table.

Not true. The buffet is set up in multiple parts. It also repeats on both sides. There is a popular misconception out there, and not just by your parents,that you need to queu up like you are in a high school cafeteria.

What is meant to happen is that you walk up to a station,pick your items, then go to another, not in any forced order.

Sorry your parents did not find this to be true....

No bashing at all, just an fyi. Thought maybe others were just off the same ship and can submit another side to the story. My dad is 73 and is very active, still runs his own business. Mom is 67. This is there 10th cruise. They have done a few with us along with some of there own. Because they dont like to dress up, they prefer the buffets as they can eat when they want, what they want.

My parents just got off the Epic today and were very disappointed. This is the 2nd cruise with NCL. I don't have a lot of details but one of the main things is the buffet, where they only eat, forces you to a single file line to get food, even if you want something small at the end of the line. So the hot food you put on your plate is cold by the time you are out of line and at your table.

Huh??? I've been on the Epic twice, and it definitely wasn't single file lines ... there are different stations for different types of food, on both sides. It's one of the easiest buffets to navigate, and even when full of people, it never seems overly crowded.

I was on the Epic in July and this didn't happen. You just went to the section where you wanted to get your food. Maybe your parents didn't get how it worked.

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To the OP: Sorry your parents did not enjoy the Epic. Eating and the restaurants are one of the best parts of EPIC IMHO.

The buffet has the best lay out. As others pointed out, it has multiple parts and duplicates itself on the other side. So having been on Epic twice, I never saw a long buffet line for one item because there is another area to get that same food option.

Should have tried the specialty restaurants a few times.

Not a cheerleader type but I see zero reason to start a negative thread when you have zero details especially when the one thing you post is false.

Odd.

No bashing at all, just an fyi. Thought maybe others were just off the same ship and can submit another side to the story. My dad is 73 and is very active, still runs his own business. Mom is 67. This is there 10th cruise. They have done a few with us along with some of there own. Because they dont like to dress up, they prefer the buffets as they can eat when they want, what they want.

They don't have to dress up on Epic so there was no need for them to even go to the buffet. But I've been on Epic 5 times and the Garden Cafe is multiple food stations. At most maybe 2-3 other people queuing for say the carved meat.

I'm sorry your parents didn't understand this..

Not a cheerleader type but I see zero reason to start a negative thread when you have zero details especially when the one thing you post is false.

 

Odd.

Wow just trying to get clear info from others. Its not false to them, this is how it was in there mind. They don't like main dining rooms too stuffy for them. Just because it did not happen to you does not mean it did not happen. Funny how some people take ownership to a cruise line. Im just posting to have questions and answers when they get back in a few days. No need to get harsh.

Wow just trying to get clear info from others. Its not false to them, this is how it was in there mind. They don't like main dining rooms too stuffy for them. Just because it did not happen to you does not mean it did not happen. Funny how some people take ownership to a cruise line. Im just posting to have questions and answers when they get back in a few days. No need to get harsh.

If they entered in the back, by the bathrooms, there is usually a line by the burgers and hotdogs. From there, it wraps around to the salads and cold items. There are other stations after that - like sandwiches and other things. I bet they thought they had to wait in the burger line to get to the other stuff. You don't, but I can see how they could have made that mistake. If they entered by the drink area, they would have noticed the different stations right away. I bet when you spoke to them they came into the buffet by the burgers.

I suppose if there was a noro outbreak. the op description would be accurate / correct, with a single line with the NCL staff "serving" food.

I've found it good practice to never say always or never.

Because they dont like to dress up, they prefer the buffets as they can eat when they want, what they want.

But, that is whole philosophy of Norwegian ANY restaurant doesn't need to be 'dressed up' for and EVERY restaurant is eat when you want, there are no assigned dining times. Unless of course, a dining venue is closed when one is hungry -- but that's what O'Sheehan's is for! Its open 24 hours a day with no charge :D

Wow just trying to get clear info from others. Its not false to them, this is how it was in there mind. They don't like main dining rooms too stuffy for them. Just because it did not happen to you does not mean it did not happen. Funny how some people take ownership to a cruise line. Im just posting to have questions and answers when they get back in a few days. No need to get harsh.

I don't see how posting a thread titled *Epic Fail* is "trying to get clear info from others" sounds like you are bashing Epics buffet line and doing it second hand~ sounds to me like others who have been on the Epic have not experienced the issue your parents talk about. Might have been a bit more helpful if you posted your thread as that *A question*~ haven't been on the Epic so I can't tell you my experience~ but that's how I read your post~ but again this is just my opinion~

No bashing at all, just an fyi. Thought maybe others were just off the same ship and can submit another side to the story. My dad is 73 and is very active, still runs his own business. Mom is 67. This is there 10th cruise. They have done a few with us along with some of there own. Because they dont like to dress up, they prefer the buffets as they can eat when they want, what they want.

OP, I have a few thoughts about this thread.

First and foremost, I think one of the primary reasons you are receiving so much negative feedback, is that you chose to title the thread "Epic Fail." In all honesty, that title lends the reader to believe there were serious issues with the cruise. To then read the first post and discover that it was quite a small matter, makes no sense whatsoever.

Also, you say this is your parents' second cruise on NCL, yet the bolded section of the quote above shows me that they haven't realized the full benefit of Freestyle cruising. There is absolutely NO reason to dress up for any of the main dining rooms on NCL, and your parents have the luxury of eating what they want, when they want it, anywhere on the ship. That is the very epitome of Freestyle.

I do hope that after your parents arrive home and you've had an opportunity to really find out what things disappointed them, you'll come back and give us a bit more information.

:)

We got off the Epic last Saturday. We didn't have the lines but the food was cold and not completely cooked. Also some of the staff were being reprimanded in front of the passengers. Another employee was complaining to us as we were walking out of the buffet that the person who sprayed your hands with hand sanitizer was too loud, that she didn't need to be so loud. Really? You are going to complain about another employee to passengers? Have been on 7 cruises. This was the worst.

As another poster indicated, there may have been noro symptoms onboard which definately change things up in the buffet line. We experienced this on the Gem a couple years ago and the buffet was crazy for the first half of the cruise. By the second half, they suspended noro safety and went back to the regular buffet routine. There definately was a difference in the way the buffet ran due to the noro scare.

I don't see how posting a thread titled *Epic Fail* is "trying to get clear info from others" sounds like you are bashing Epics buffet line and doing it second hand

Exactly!

My parents just got off the Epic today and were very disappointed. This is the 2nd cruise with NCL. I don't have a lot of details but one of the main things is the buffet, where they only eat, forces you to a single file line to get food, even if you want something small at the end of the line. So the hot food you put on your plate is cold by the time you are out of line and at your table.

Interesting.. sometimes the 'free for all' that is often NCL buffet is a problem too. Grabbing the last piece of chicken with your bare hand as if it is the last food on the ship. Seriously? Darting from one station to the next careless that you're going against the traffic flow? And on and on..

I think I'd prefer somewhere in between NCL's usual Garden Cafe and Carnival's "line" buffet, but to each his own.

Wow just trying to get clear info from others. Its not false to them, this is how it was in there mind. They don't like main dining rooms too stuffy for them. Just because it did not happen to you does not mean it did not happen. Funny how some people take ownership to a cruise line. Im just posting to have questions and answers when they get back in a few days. No need to get harsh.

That's a shame. Maybe they can talk to some experienced NCL cruisers, because dining in the MDR on NCL is more like going to your local restaurant ... not stuffy at all. No dress code to speak of, no formal nights, no assigned seating. You wait and get seated at a table for two if there are two of you. It sounds like NCL is the perfect match for them, but for some reason they were on "auto-pilot" and maybe didn't realize the differences between NCL and the other lines.

I assume you were not there and are posting second hand? Judge Judy would never approve. Wink.

How did they try to address this issue while on board? The Manager of the buffet? What did he or she say? If they did not address this while on board, how could NCL try to cortect it? They want pax to be happy and satisfied.

Sorry, if something like this means FAIL to you guys. Hope you, I mean them, can find another cruise or vacation that meets expectations.

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The epic has 21 different dining options available.it seems strange that anyone would only go to the buffet for 7 days if it was not a good place to eat.why not try out someplace else?why don't the actual cruisers post some accurate descriptions about their actual first hand experiences?then we could debate the merits of the various dining options with epic cruisers or those thinking about it.