Epic Review Jan 4 -11 2015

Here's a review I posted on CC:

Just returned from a 7 day western Caribbean cruise on the Epic sailing from Miami in a studio cabin. I’ll break the review down into a few segments to keep my thoughts on this trip organized.

Embarkation/Disembarkation – No problems here. Arrived at the port and was on the ship in an hour. Terminal very busy but the line kept moving. Cabin was ready as I boarded at 1pm. Bag arrived a few hours later. On departure day I walked off the ship with my own bags at 9am with no problems. Processed through customs with no wait and shuttled to MIA to pick up a car.

Ship Overview – Epic was the first mega ship with lots of razzle dazzle when launched in 2010. Let’s be honest, it’s an ugly monstrosity with the Haven area looking like it was dropped on to the top of the ship as an afterthought. Epic is showing its age in places. The big problem with cigarette smoke around the casino and open area spanning decks 5,6 and 7 seems to have been solved or there weren’t many smokers onboard. Skimping on a set of mid ship elevators still creates havoc on this ship. Elevators were always jammed. I use the stairs but it was easy to tell that it creates a lot of congestion. Finding deck space on sea days an issue too. Many of the ‘First at Sea’ venues sat empty most of the time. I rarely saw anyone bowling or in the Ice Bar.

Crew/Guest Relations etc. – Crew seems to be pretty happy overall on the ship. Everyone was pleasant and helpful most of the time. Guest relations was fine given that they are faced with some real issues that are not easily solved at times. They helped facilitate a move when the person in the adjoining cabin was very noisy.

Captain, Senior Officers etc. – The Captain was visible all week. Cruise director was good and around a lot too. Jovan was the coordinator in the studios and was a fun guy with a quirky sense of humour. There was a major issue with tendering in Grand Cayman involving the senior crew but more on that later.

Entertainment – Epic excels at entertainment. The shows were all very good. Musicians top notch. I wished they had promoted the hypnotist Nadeen a little better. I would certainly have attended her show/shows and the seminar she also hosted. Options thin out later in the evening. Expect that anything that happens after midnight outside of the casino will be catered to those under 30. It was the same top 40 club crap over and over at Bliss. The one night they actually played some fun ‘retro’ music from the 80’s and 90’s it lasted all of an hour and then right back to the annoying 25 songs they played over and over.

Food – The quality of the food on the Epic was good overall. Service can be very inconsistent. There was a lot of confusion in the pub restaurant between the food and drink servers. The buffet was nuts some mornings. Finding a table and congestion were major issues. La Cucina was very good but the server brought out the mains and pasta course at the same time and put two plates in front of us. They should know better as an Italian venue. Le Bistro was good too but items were missed despite it not being overly busy. The same at Cagney’s, a 30 minute wait between apps and main course despite no one asking for a steak cooked over medium. Noodle bar was very good.

And now on to my two major complaints: This week was not selling well right into December. I booked the studio in early December and received a ‘Latitudes’ rate. A week later NCL started a major promotion where they dropped balcony rates substantially plus added perks like free specialty dining, a free beverage package or OBC. There were couples on board who paid less per person in a large family balcony with free drinks included than what I did for the studio. And NCL would do nothing when I called them and when my TA called them. It feels as though they think that with the studio program they are the only game in town and don’t have to work very hard to keep this market. So I was stuck with a nice bill for specialty dining and drinks for the week where others were getting it for free. And it irked me further when I realized the chardonnay I was paying $8.34 a glass for with tip sells for 5 bucks and change by the bottle at Publix.

The other incident was the tendering fiasco in Grand Cayman. They were using 3-4 lifeboats from the ship as the primary tenders. They also had two small tenders from shore. Getting off the ship to shore took 45 minutes. Getting back onboard for some took up to three hours. We left port three hours late as a result. There were some very unhappy cruisers. At first the Captain tried to downplay the incident as being much like a traffic jam etc. despite the other ships in port having no such problems. Then in a subsequent announcement the Captain was almost belligerent in stating that they had done all they could and it was shameful for some passengers to be angry with the crew. He even went so far as to say that if anyone felt they could have done better that they should send him a note. Well lo and behold a few hours later a rather apologetic Captain was on the PA again sounding a little more conciliatory thanking the numerous passengers who had taken the time to write him. Even the cruise director was sent out in the theatre to try to chat up the crowd. Why did the Epic get the furthest anchorage from the pier despite being the largest ship? Who knows? Why did they not get shore based tenders that are expert in moving large groups of people? Who knows? No one was actually talking about it. It was a mess and professional mariners would have been embarrassed.

So all in all a decent vacation but NCL seems to fall short in some important areas. The other lines would be wise to add solo cabins or look into changing their policy on single supplements. I think if I was cruising as a couple I would choose Celebrity again. My experience on Silhouette sailing from Venice last August was a much nicer cruise.

We were on the same cruise, and I would like to add my two cents on the "tendering fiasco" in Grand Cayman. Yes, it was a mess! As the day went on, the swells increased, and caused one of the lifeboats to slam into the dock in Grand Cayman, causing extensive damage, putting that tender out of business, and causing the line to get back to the boat to back up immensely.

I said it on our roll call, and I'll say it here. I applaud the crew and captain for doing the best they could, in a really bad situation. No one was injured, which could have easily happened, and even though we left quite late, the captain got us to Cozumel on time.

We ate in the same specialty restaurants, and everything was perfection, for us. Everything was served in a timely manner, when it should have been.

We did bowl (don't bother, the lanes are awful!), and went into the ice bar (very cold, but worth it!!).

The entertainment, singers, etc. are the best we have ever seen at sea, and better than a lot of land shows we've been to!

Overall, we loved Epic!!:)

Thanks for your review! We'll be sailing the Epic for the second time, leaving this Sunday. I'm glad to hear entertainment and food is still as good as it was on our first sailing, though I'm somewhat concerned about tendering in Grand Cayman. Hoping for calm seas!

We are some of the folks who will be bowling. :) It was kind of a challenge when we sailed the Epic last, because the seas were slightly rocky. Neither of us bowled over 100, but we had a great time doing it, and that is definitely on our to-do list for next week.

Thanks for the info; considering this ship for some time in March. I do have a few questions, though, since it's been years since we've cruised NCL.

1. Can you bring wine aboard like other ships; one bottle PP?

2. Do all balcony cabins have a sofa?

3. Where do you eat if you choose not to do the optional restaurants; buffet only or is there a regular DR? Asking this because we have a choice of booze package, dining package or gratuity package.

4. Do you REALLY not have to get dressed? We are jeans and T-shirt people and to me it would be a blessing. :)

P.S. Grand Cayman can't be a problem for us, since we stopped doing this port a long time ago. ;)

Thanks for the info; considering this ship for some time in March. I do have a few questions, though, since it's been years since we've cruised NCL.

 

1. Can you bring wine aboard like other ships; one bottle PP? All wine is charged a $15/bottle corkage fee.

2. Do all balcony cabins have a sofa? Yes.

3. Where do you eat if you choose not to do the optional restaurants; buffet only or is there a regular DR? Asking this because we have a choice of booze package, dining package or gratuity package. There are two main dining rooms on the ship, along with the buffet and O'Sheehan's the 24-hour sports bar-type restaurant.

4. Do you REALLY not have to get dressed? We are jeans and T-shirt people and to me it would be a blessing. :) For dinner in the main dining room, they do not allow shorts. Taste is the less formal than Manhattan. You will be fine with jeans for either, but if going to Manhattan, I'd try to put on a nice shirt. If you search around the boards, you'll see the dress codes for the MDRs -- one is always a little dressier than the other(s).

 

P.S. Grand Cayman can't be a problem for us, since we stopped doing this port a long time ago. ;)

We will be on the Epic the second time at the beginning of March. I'm really looking forward to the trip!

Thanks for the info; considering this ship for some time in March. I do have a few questions, though, since it's been years since we've cruised NCL.

 

1. Can you bring wine aboard like other ships; one bottle PP?

2. Do all balcony cabins have a sofa?

3. Where do you eat if you choose not to do the optional restaurants; buffet only or is there a regular DR? Asking this because we have a choice of booze package, dining package or gratuity package.

4. Do you REALLY not have to get dressed? We are jeans and T-shirt people and to me it would be a blessing. :)

 

P.S. Grand Cayman can't be a problem for us, since we stopped doing this port a long time ago. ;)

One bottle of wine, per person, $15 corkage fee. I believe all balconies have at least a small sofa. There are 2 complimentary dining rooms, Taste (which is casual...jeans and tee shirt okay), and Manhattan (which is a bit dressier). O'Sheehan's is also complimentary, and no dress code there either. They have a couple specials, one night it was a prime rib dinner, and another night fried chicken...both were very good! The buffet sometimes had a theme for dinner also...they had prime rib also, and it was excellent! Another night was Asian, and they were carving Peking duck, also excellent!

The only restaurants that have a dress code are the Manhattan, and Le Bistro. I know shorts are not allowed in those two, not sure what else, thinking jeans and tee shirts are probably not acceptable either, but all the other restaurants you really can wear what you want! That's one of the things we love so much about NCL!!!

One bottle of wine, per person, $15 corkage fee.

Fee to bring wine on board is $15 (Magnum is $30), but you are NOT limited to one bottle per person.

Two questions:

Did you have to wait in line for tender tickets?

What are the operating times for the main restaurants at dinner?

I feel your pain here. NCL will typically offer you an upgrade or 25% of the difference back in OBC if you contact them after a price drop in a category for your specific sailing. I think loyal guests that book in advance should be rewarded for it but unfortunately, that's rarely the case. In NCL's defense, its in their best interest to fill every cabin despite the cost so they can recoop more back. I would recommend booking Carnival Early Saver if you're firm with dates. By booking in advance, you are refunded the full value of price drops up until you sail.

Here's a review I posted on CC:

And now on to my two major complaints: This week was not selling well right into December. I booked the studio in early December and received a ‘Latitudes’ rate. A week later NCL started a major promotion where they dropped balcony rates substantially plus added perks like free specialty dining, a free beverage package or OBC. There were couples on board who paid less per person in a large family balcony with free drinks included than what I did for the studio. And NCL would do nothing when I called them and when my TA called them. It feels as though they think that with the studio program they are the only game in town and don’t have to work very hard to keep this market. So I was stuck with a nice bill for specialty dining and drinks for the week where others were getting it for free. And it irked me further when I realized the chardonnay I was paying $8.34 a glass for with tip sells for 5 bucks and change by the bottle at Publix.

I was on the Epic the week prior (New Years cruise)

Yes, I definitely agree that Epic is an ugly looking ship and the Haven looks really weird and out of place. On the Jewel-class ships and the Breakaway-class, the Haven blends in but on the Epic, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

As for Bliss, did you mean the DJ caters to people under 20 instead of 30? I kid. Seriously though, I would drop by Bliss every night and when it's just the same songs over and over again, it's just grrrrr. Like you, I also love it when they play music from the 70s or 80s. I still remember when I was on the Getaway, the DJ played 90s hip hop in Bliss and that was easy to get down to. However, after like 10pm, DJ began playing the same top whatever club hits.

For Grand Cayman, I signed up for an excursion so tendering to port was hassle-free. Tendering back to the ship was also hassle free as I returned to the ship a lil before 1pm. However, my parents told me that it took a while to tender back to the ship as there was a huge line. It's pretty bad for the Captain to lose composure and say something like "if you can do better, come leave me a note."

Cagney service took forever and a half for us too. We were there for almost 2 hrs.

Thank you all for your responses. I know enough not to go to the DR for dinner wearing shorts. :) Now my decision will be whether to take the beverage package or the gratuity package. Food package would not be an option since we are not foodies anyway. I suppose grats will will and I'll just buy my wine.

Forgot to ask this too: how about bottled water and Pepsi? Can I bring those on, or not?

The beverage package is worth almost $60 per day per person. It would have saved me a lot of money. If it was up to me I would choose the beverage hands down.

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Forgot to ask this too: how about bottled water and Pepsi? Can I bring those on, or not?

Yes...you can bring water and soda on board. We plan on bringing a case of water in a few weeks.

Two questions:

 

Did you have to wait in line for tender tickets?

 

What are the operating times for the main restaurants at dinner?

You can "reserve" a time for tender tickets, then go to Manhattan dining room when it is your time. Didn't take very long.

I believe the MDR's are open from 5:30-9:30.

Fee to bring wine on board is $15 (Magnum is $30), but you are NOT limited to one bottle per person.

I stand corrected....Carnival limits you to one bottle per person! :)

I stand corrected....Carnival limits you to one bottle per person! :)

Carnival limits you to one PP without extra charge.

 

Forgot to ask this too: how about bottled water and Pepsi? Can I bring those on, or not?

We sailed on this cruise and brought 2 cases of water, one case of pediatric soy supplement for my son and one case of Dr. Pepper. The porter said, "We are not supposed to take soda, but I will do it for you". I'm not sure if this is true or if he was just hoping to get a better tip by "doing us a favor".

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Fee to bring wine on board is $15 (Magnum is $30), but you are NOT limited to one bottle per person.

I took one bottle on board the Epic and it was charged to my account. But nearing the end of the cruise, I had not opened it. So I took it to a bar near guests relations and handed it over until the final day. As a result, the corkage was credited back. After picking it up, I gave it to my cabin steward who was glad to get it.

Hi. If your on a trip through ncl at grand cayman do you join the main queue for tenders or do they have a separate queue for quest on trips. (Before and after ncl trip)

We were on the same cruise, and I would like to add my two cents on the "tendering fiasco" in Grand Cayman. Yes, it was a mess! As the day went on, the swells increased, and caused one of the lifeboats to slam into the dock in Grand Cayman, causing extensive damage, putting that tender out of business, and causing the line to get back to the boat to back up immensely.

 

I said it on our roll call, and I'll say it here. I applaud the crew and captain for doing the best they could, in a really bad situation. No one was injured, which could have easily happened, and even though we left quite late, the captain got us to Cozumel on time.

 

We ate in the same specialty restaurants, and everything was perfection, for us. Everything was served in a timely manner, when it should have been.

 

We did bowl (don't bother, the lanes are awful!), and went into the ice bar (very cold, but worth it!!).

 

The entertainment, singers, etc. are the best we have ever seen at sea, and better than a lot of land shows we've been to!

 

Overall, we loved Epic!!:)

Thanks for your comments, I always wondered about the bowling.

Hi. If your on a trip through ncl at grand cayman do you join the main queue for tenders or do they have a separate queue for quest on trips. (Before and after ncl trip)

Not sure how NCL handles it, we just did our own thing, but when we booked an excursion with Carnival, we met in the theater, and were taken to a tender as a group. After the excursion, we had to join the line to get back to the ship.

Thanks for your comments, I always wondered about the bowling.

You're welcome! We had fun bowling, even though the ball has a mind of its own! It was interesting.:)

For those of you that want to snorkel in Grand Cayman, we found out about a place that's easy to get to from one of the islanders.

When you leave the port area, turn to the right. Maybe a quarter mile down the road, there is a restaurant with a green roof. Right beside it, there is an entry into the water, which is a marine park. It's free to enter the water, and there is a stand by the restaurant where you can rent snorkel gear, and they also have small lockers. We have our own gear, so didn't cost us a thing, and the snorkeling is good!

It's maybe a 10 minute walk from the pier. You should be able to see the restaurant from the ship, if there isn't another ship in the way!

Help! Trying to book our last excursion for Cozumel and it we are supposed to meet the guides at 9:45. Only problem is, Epic isn't scheduled in port until 10am. What time were you guys able to disembark in Cozumel?? We leave in 10 days!!

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We sailed on this cruise and brought 2 cases of water, one case of pediatric soy supplement for my son and one case of Dr. Pepper. The porter said, "We are not supposed to take soda, but I will do it for you". I'm not sure if this is true or if he was just hoping to get a better tip by "doing us a favor".

 

 

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They gave you a hard time about soda? The last time we sailed on Epic we slapped a luggage tag on a 12 pack of Diet Coke and put it in the bin with the rest of the luggage to be loaded on the ship. Nobody said anything and it was delivered right to our room.