Epic Photo Review – Specialty Dining - Menus - Freestyle Dailies - Deck Tours

Looking aft from Deck 18 down to the Deck 16 sunbathing platforms, the pool and below, the Great Outdoors dining area...

Looking down from Deck 16 to Waves Bar and the port side of the Great Outdoors...

Waves Bar looking aft from the Great Outdoors...

Towel Station opposite Waves Bar

Now go up by Posh elevator to Deck 18, as per the route detailed in post 59. This is the view forward as you exit. Behind the glass partition to the centre, and extreme right, are deckchairs stacked high that never seem to be in use...

Another empty deck with loads of deck chairs available...

Aside from the rather austere unwelcoming look of the two long open decks forward Posh on both starboard and port side, there is another area all the way forward, spanning the width of the ship. Here is the Quiet Zone, an alternative spot to Posh that has exactly the same comfy chairs and, as the name implies, quieter; well it certainly doesn't suffer noise from the pool band. The great thing about it is that it's free. The majority of passengers never even visit deck 18 and those who do probably turn around and leave because the open deck that greets you is rather unappealing and it is not immediately obvious the Quiet Zone is all the way forward. Of course this Quiet Zone was not a solution for me, because of the lack of shade... Perhaps an option would be to bring your own clip on sun umbrella? Available from your favourite online retailer...

A sneaky peak into the Haven, looks very peaceful...

Stairs up from Deck 18 to the Freestyle Deck, for topless sunbathing I guess...

Actual deck area is very small...

The lifeboats are on Deck 7 and block the view from the promenade deck.

Jogging track on Starboard side...

Deck games like shuffleboard on the Port side...

From the steps, presumably in an abandon-ship emergency, you board the lifeboats before they are lowered...

Finally a few shots on the open decks by night...

ABBA themed deck party called FABBA, hosted by the entertainment staff – but not exactly “fab” on this sailing...

NCL illuminated on the ships funnel...

Thank you, these are wonderful pictures!

I was kinda looking forward to the "FABBA" party. Curious why you said it wasn't very much fun?

Megacruiser, question: can you just walk into the different entertainment venues (Fat Cats, Headliners, ...), when performances are happening or do you always have to get reservations at the box office to be able to enter?

Thank you, these are wonderful pictures!

Thanks.

Regards

megacruiser

I was kinda looking forward to the "FABBA" party. Curious why you said it wasn't very much fun?

There were some folk dancing and enjoying themselves but it wasn't very busy, so lacked atmosphere.

Regards

megacruiser

Megacruiser, question: can you just walk into the different entertainment venues (Fat Cats, Headliners, ...), when performances are happening or do you always have to get reservations at the box office to be able to enter?

Hello again,

Certain shows are bookable online from 42 days in advance of sailing. Other "lesser" shows are not known until on board. I wrongly assumed you could just walk in to any of them. However only a few did get booked up, mainly at peak or popular times. However, even then it was very often possible to get in by turning up 10 minutes before the performance, on a first come first served basis to fill the no-show spaces.

Another little snippet, if you download the NCL app you can check what is ahead on the planner. Unfortunately, sometimes it was inaccurate and in particular it very frequently said certain shows were sold out for the whole week; this was very true of the Beatles, when in fact the only night it was really busy was the first time they were on.

Even the ship's own displays got some shows wrong, like saying a performance was to be in the Epic theatre when it was actually in Headliners. If there is something you realy want to see, check your Freestyle Daily, and book it at the Box Office Kiosk outside the Theatre to play safe. Still, many shows, even the major ones like Blue Man Group and Legends, had space available on the night, from 10 minutes before the performance.

Regards

megacruiser

Enjoying your review!

Love the pics!

Great review!!!! Will look forward to exploring and finding the hidden sun deck on 18 when I board in August!

Thank you for the awesome pictures! They are better than the ones NCL uses! Ha!

Sophie :)

Hi Megacruiser,

 

I'm making a couple of 'cheat sheets' (I got most of the tips from CruiseCritic threads), perhaps they can be useful for you?

 

Two tips I collected for good 'lounger' locations:

 

• Cabin and ship: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz28zgmezEyFeEZZa0VlTDJLVHM/edit?usp=sharing
  
• Food: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz28zgmezEyFZDEzanFtaEk2Y2c/edit?usp=sharing
  
• Entertainment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz28zgmezEyFeEh2VHdBNzhtbHc/edit?usp=sharing
  

 

Just checked, guess I also have to change the description for Cirque to "No photography", instead of "no flash photography"...

WouterC:

Your "cheat sheets" are fantastic! :D I've downloaded them to my own Google Drive 'Cruise 2014' folder and will print them up to give out to the family before we go. One question - I might have missed it on your sheet, but I thought I read on CC somewhere that the internet cafe isn't a bad place to crash if you want quiet. Do you recall seeing this anywhere too? One of my sisters has NO interest in being outside unless there's shade, and she mentioned wanting a quiet spot. I suggested the cafe -- but explained that getting on an actual computer would be crazy expensive! :eek::eek:

WouterC:

Your "cheat sheets" are fantastic! :D I've downloaded them to my own Google Drive 'Cruise 2014' folder and will print them up to give out to the family before we go. One question - I might have missed it on your sheet, but I thought I read on CC somewhere that the internet cafe isn't a bad place to crash if you want quiet. Do you recall seeing this anywhere too? One of my sisters has NO interest in being outside unless there's shade, and she mentioned wanting a quiet spot. I suggested the cafe -- but explained that getting on an actual computer would be crazy expensive! :eek::eek:

Thanks! Always happy to be able to help. Keep in mind that there may be some mistakes, since I've never actually been on the ship myself. Yet, three weeks to go!

For example the spa pass prices are wrong, as you may have read. I'd appreciate it if you let me know if the sheets were useful and accurate for you and your family on your trip.

Oh yeah, quiet spot: perhaps the library?

Thank you for the quiet zone pics & detailed location.

Thanks! Always happy to be able to help. Keep in mind that there may be some mistakes, since I've never actually been on the ship myself. Yet, three weeks to go!

 

For example the spa pass prices are wrong, as you may have read. I'd appreciate it if you let me know if the sheets were useful and accurate for you and your family on your trip.

 

Oh yeah, quiet spot: perhaps the library?

You'll be able to tell me as I won't be going until December, so if you have any updates after your cruise that'll be fantastic.

I just think it's helpful when I find anything like your spreadsheets because anything that helps me get some basic ideas -- especially on price -- (even if they adjust somewhat) is at least somewhere to start. So it's still all appreciated. Here's hoping that when you return, you can update your spreadsheets some! :) But once again thanks so much and will watch for more from you in the future.

Tonight was the performance of the Blue Man Group in the Epic Theatre. A crystal clear announcement was made before the performance that all forms of photography were prohibited. The photograph shown here is a copyright-free photograph taken from Wikimedia. I am pleased, if a little surprised, that NCL have the policy of no drinks service during the performance. To sacrifice possible revenue rather than disrupt the full enjoyment of the theatre presentations shows is the correct thing to do and should be commended.

I am not going to attempt to describe in detail what the show is about. It's a sort of abstract avant-garde performance presentation involving three men with blue masks, a lot of percussion, highly skilled stunts and audience participation. Members of the audience seated in the front few rows are issued with transparent waterproof over garments...

My first thoughts were this is just plain weird... I wondered where it was going but decided it didn't really matter. It is visually engaging and the percussion is fantastic, aided in part by a truly superb sound system. I don't think I would ever have paid to watch such a show but I'm glad I had the opportunity to see it as part of my cruise entertainment, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

It was off then to Le Bistro for my first of two dinners taken there as part of my Ultimate Dining Package. I returned on the last night and will state which dishes I thought were better, when I cover the second visit, but of course this is all down to personal taste and preferences.

I started with Coquilles St. Jacques. This was pretty spot-on. The scallops were nicely seared and perfectly cooked. The creamy sauce was well executed and the slight acidity from the tomatoes and the crunch from the pine nuts brought this excellent dish together admirably...

Then onto the Soupe aux Quatre Champignons... I remember this dish well from many visits over the years, when it used to be served in a large, round sourdough bread loaf that had been hollowed out. I would love to know the recipe because they have this just right. Perhaps it’s the particular combination of four kinds of mushrooms that produces such a beautiful intensity of flavour that is deeply satisfying. This is probably as good a mushroom soup as I have ever eaten anywhere and the standard remains as high now as it ever was going back more than a decade.

The Bistro Special, Fruits de Mer, was the main course and the normal $10 supplement levied is waived when you have the UDP. A rectangular piece of puff pastry is sliced in half lengthways and the upper part is used as a lid to cover the filling of lobster, shrimps and scallops. This is a very nice dish but did not quite live up to my highest expectations. The sauce lacked a certain little je ne sais quoi and, unfortunately, the lobster that I got in my dish had a rather stringy texture. A potato accompaniment was also noticeably absent...

On the other hand the warm Apple Tarte Tatin was absolutely excellent. The upside down pastry base was beautifully crisp, the thinly sliced apples remained firm and were nicely caramelised, the walnuts worked well and the essential vanilla ice cream finished the dish perfectly. Highly recommended...

Thanks again for the update.

What puzzled me is that there seem to be overlapping times for Graffiti Classics and Perfect Couple Game show... do you know what's up with that?

And how was your dinner in Le Bistro?

Then off to Fat Cats, the regular venue at 9pm, 10pm and 11pm for the Beatles Celebration tribute band. It was pretty busy on this, their first night of five. This is a terrific band. Instrumentally, they were absolutely faultless. The harmonies were also excellent. If their lead vocals had been a little stronger they would have been indistinguishable from the real thing.

I was very impressed by the fact that the repertoire was truly expansive and that they were more than happy to do requests, even of relatively less well-known Beatles songs. I heard one or two great ones I had almost forgotten – like “Things We Said Today”... For me they were undoubtedly the icing on the cake of the excellent entertainment on offer on the Epic...

Thanks again for the update.

 

What puzzled me is that there seem to be overlapping times for Graffiti Classics and Perfect Couple Game show... do you know what's up with that?

 

And how was your dinner in Le Bistro?

Hello again,

Probably just another example of the screens being plain wrong.

I described the dinner in what I posted. Three of the four dishes were excellent and I would rate it as an 8 out of 10, by cruise standards.

Regards

megacruiser

I'm loving your well-written review and great photos ! It was good to see some Le Bistro dishes we haven't tried. We're considering the Epic RT Barcelona for next year. Steve