We were on the Jan. 29 sailing; first time on Epic and first post-covid cruise. Can't comment on the aft balcony issue as have never stayed in one, though assume may a challenge for many ships. Actually didn't mind the split bathroom/shower, though the sink being separated was a bit odd. Balcony we had on deck 8 was good sized. Liked the additional storage space compared to many staterooms we've been in. Elevators were spaced too far apart - we were mid ship and was a healthy walk in either direction to get to the elevators. Fitness center was quite spacious and decent equipment. The outdoor "track" on deck 7 being on just one side of the ship was odd. Should note we got off to a bit of an inauspicious start as the entire ship had a brief power failure about 75 minutes before departure (fortunately we weren't in an elevator at the time). May have delayed our sailing by 10-15 minutes (to get all the systems back up and running and prep for departure).
Didn't know in advance that stateroom service would just be once a day. It was a pretty healthy jump in the gratuities charge considering this change; and miss not having towel animals or chocolates. Barely saw our stateroom attendant. Food was alright, though seemingly not as much variety as in the past. Also limited food venue options at certain points of the day (late morning and after 9:30 pm). And no late night buffet (or ice carvings or chocolate) on the pool deck either. Not sure how much is lack of staffing vs. general cost-cutting.
On itinerary, we actually received a "schedule change" a few weeks prior to the cruise adjusting the St. Kitts departure time and San Juan arrival time (was 6pm departure and 7am arrival initially, which shifted to 4pm departure and 6am arrival - though we actually left St. Kitts at 5pm). I'm guessing they needed a bit more turnaround time in San Juan than originally envisioned - which may have also caused the delayed availability of the staterooms for the OP. Think ours opened up around 2 pm or a bit after. We also had no significant delays in boarding on departure day (had selected 2pm, but ended up arriving at the port around noon and got through the process fairly quickly).
Bonaire stop was certainly rushed (our first time there), and really would have preferred a longer visit during regular hours. Not exactly much to do at 6 am when sunrise was at 7 am. Would like to have visited Klein Bonaire, but didn't think it would be worth it for the limited time we could be there. Understand they squeezed in a 5th port visit, but timing for both Bonaire and St. Lucia stops were not great. We didn't get into St. Lucia until 1:15 pm and there was a huge crowd/line to get off the ship and transport to any destination. I'd probably suggest going back to more traditional 4 stops for the Aruba route from San Juan and leave more time for each stop.
Probably wouldn't sail Epic again, unless for a unique itinerary. And sounds like will be moving to Europe year-round later this year anyway. Not giving up on NCL altogether at this point, but see a lot of criticisms of the new Prima class ships. Though itinerary and pricing are likely the most critical factors.
