Review of Epic Week After Thanksgiving

For starters, we are loyal NCL cruisers, having only used another line 2 times. We are approaching Platinum status and cannot wait.

We cruised the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This will be a short overview and hopefully a real review later. We boarded the ship very early as we had driven in and were there and ready. We were probably among the first 25 on the ship. We wanted the Posh if available and the Spa package. I went to the front desk and Posh was available so I booked for DH and I. DH went to the Spa and booked us both for the week long package. Great so far! (by the way we have concluded we did not need both, in the future we will only go with the spa since we did not have time to use Posh much, though it was very nice). We did feel a bit like the "outsiders" there, not the haven passengers but that was just a perception, nothing was every actually said. Actually, it was deserted most of the time. Do not expect to order lunch from the Epic Club there, no matter what you have heard, they do not allow it.

This was a R&R vacation. DH has just retired but I have a few years still to work. We got this cruise "free" through CAS, though as anyone knows who uses them there are still charges. So what, we were still elated to get it.

We spent our sea days relaxing at Posh or the Spa, most meals were eaten in the main dining room. We loved Taste but thought the Manhattan Room was entirely too noisy and hectic. Hence, we mostly ate at Taste.

We had our Meet & Greet on Sunday morning and many thanks to our organizers of that. After that we had a Slot Pull where we all game out $6.00 ahead! We had an ornament exchange which was a nice touch. The best part, though, was the introduction of officers handled by the Hotel Director. He was most amusing and enjoyable to listen to. All the officers we met seemed friendly and helpful. We were given a card with their direct phone lines and told that if we had issues they would appreciate it we would call them and try to get them resolved rather than return home irritated and talking about it on Cruise Critic. They reiterated they did read Cruise Critic.

About the second day we had 3 different instances involving restaurants (not the main DR's) that were annoying and not something we had on previous cruises. I decided to call the Hotel Director. He answered right away and after I explained our issues he apoligized profusely and told me he would see that these issues were rectified. One was a misunderstanding but he told me he would take care of it nonetheless. The other was a service issue. For the rest of the week we encountered nothing short of exemplary service at these restaurants. In addition he sent a personal letter to our cabin offering us dining for 2 at any specialty restaurants with a bottle of wine for our problems. He offered that his secretary would make our reservations and all went perfect. We had a delicious dinner at Cagneys. This was not why we complained, but it is good to know they hear and read Cruise Critic issues.

We had not excursions planned, just wandered around the ports. We really used those days as more R&R days.

We liked all the shows, Blue Man Group, Cirque Dreams, Legends, Second City. I would say Cirque was by far our favorite. Legends did not fit our taste in musicians but that is just because of our era. Second City seemed pretty stale and there are Second City shows I have enjoyed quite a bit more.

We do not go to bars so I cannot comment on that. I did spend quite a bit of time in the casino. I do not like how it is spread out with passengers coming through constantly. It was very loud at night. But it was very good to me so who's complaining.

Embarkation and debarkations went very well. We had a wonderful room stewart, Jose, who could not have done a better job. Caps off to him.

That is about it. It was a very enjoyable trip, we will go again. I do think, though, the Pearl remains our favorite ship. We will probably take it to Alaska this summer. The ship was decorated for Christmas but with the Caribbean weather it just did not seem to fit as we come from a cold climate.

Any questions, just ask.

Welcome home and thanks for the review. Glad you had such a good time. A FREE Epic cruise!!! I am WAY JEALOUS :)

I love details so what was the service related issue that had you call the Hotel Director?

What kind of cabin were you in?

Thanks for your comments!

Thanks for your review of the Epic!:)

For starters, we are loyal NCL cruisers, having only used another line 2 times. We are approaching Platinum status and cannot wait.

 

We cruised the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This will be a short overview and hopefully a real review later. We boarded the ship very early as we had driven in and were there and ready. We were probably among the first 25 on the ship. We wanted the Posh if available and the Spa package. I went to the front desk and Posh was available so I booked for DH and I. DH went to the Spa and booked us both for the week long package. Great so far! (by the way we have concluded we did not need both, in the future we will only go with the spa since we did not have time to use Posh much, though it was very nice). We did feel a bit like the "outsiders" there, not the haven passengers but that was just a perception, nothing was every actually said. Actually, it was deserted most of the time. Do not expect to order lunch from the Epic Club there, no matter what you have heard, they do not allow it.

 

 

Nor should they !

 

We pay a lot of $$ to be in the Heaven..........................

Can you advise what was the cost of the Spa and what services you utilized. Do you need to sign up immediately? Can one just get a day pass for a sea day? Can you purchase is single day pass early? I'm assuming only a limited number are sold.

Taking my first cruise in March and would love to try the spa but not sure I can afford a full week.

Thanks!

Can you advise what was the cost of the Spa and what services you utilized. Do you need to sign up immediately? Can one just get a day pass for a sea day? Can you purchase is single day pass early? I'm assuming only a limited number are sold.

 

Taking my first cruise in March and would love to try the spa but not sure I can afford a full week.

 

Thanks!

One of the "studio group" had the week spa pass(was on the same cruise as the OP) and it was $146 dollars. She went right to the spa after boarding to get it. Plus she did a facial and a couple of other treatments(those are in addition to the pass).

And one of the guys did get the day pass, but I don't think he mentioned how much it was.

The free cabin was an inside. We just use it to sleep and shower so we do not care. We could have upgraded but chose to spend the money elsewhere.

I believe that was about the price for the spa for the week. I do not know the daily price but daily usage is only available if they do not sell out the weekly.

The service issue was in regard to a restaurant situation but as I said it was resolved immediately.

As for paying for Posh, if NCL includes that as an extra that can be purchased, we pay our money for it, then it is totally our right to be there.

Thanks to those of your with appreciative comments.

Also, we used the general spa mostly. We loved the heated loungers, therapy pools, hot tubs, outside area. I did get a swedish massage. It was quite nice but I do not enjoy the sales pitch afterwards.

Thanks for the review!

Thanks for the review. I've never been on the Epic, we've lately been sailing the jewel class ships the jewel and the gem. We also get CAS rooms (we upgrade to an aft ph). I'm wondering if the casino on the Epic is a lot better (bigger) than the jewel class ships? I love the gem and would only think of spending the extra money on the epic if the casino was MUCH better as that's our main entertainment. Thanks in advance for any info!

I don't know if I would classify the casino better except that it is very large. It spreads out for a quite a way. The only drawback is that it is in an area where people just have to pass by it to get through so there is a lot of traffic that way.

There are tons of machines and tons of tables. Bar service is very quick. We were treated very well there. We do love the Jewel class ships as well and since I play video poker it doesn't much matter to me what size the casino is. If you are looking at table games, though the selection and number of tables is much, much larger.

We're probably looking at the Pearl next but I would certainly enjoy the Epic again in the future.

I don't know if I would classify the casino better except that it is very large. It spreads out for a quite a way. The only drawback is that it is in an area where people just have to pass by it to get through so there is a lot of traffic that way.

 

There are tons of machines and tons of tables. Bar service is very quick. We were treated very well there. We do love the Jewel class ships as well and since I play video poker it doesn't much matter to me what size the casino is. If you are looking at table games, though the selection and number of tables is much, much larger.

 

We're probably looking at the Pearl next but I would certainly enjoy the Epic again in the future.

We too play video poker. We play at the $1 denomination. The lesser denominations have very bad paytables. We play penny slots when we are losing at VP. How were the paytables on Epic?

What were the 3 issues at restaurants that you mentioned?

Pay tables were awful. I don't think dollars were much better as I did play them some. They had multi play machines but those just seem to eat up my money in no time. I won a royal on deuces wild so the pay table did not matter much at that point ($1,000). I was playing at one the bar machines. I also hit 4 deuces twice for $500 more.

I sound like a real gambler but I went to a little casino in St. Maarten (Phillipsburg) and did well there as well as at Atlantis. It was a very profitable cruise for me.

Enjoyed your review.

Keith