KandJCruising

What about the spa suites on the Epic?

Awesome cabin, access to the spa facility, Haven access and the full list of suite amenities. It is a pretty good hike to the Haven complex, but good for working off calories. :)

Interestingly, for the first time in my experience, I saw a dog onboard the Epic TA. A lady had a Maltese with her, I assume as some type of service dog since that's the only exception I'm aware of. It was sitting on her lap during the Dating Game show at Bliss (she was a contestant) and I saw her again at the gym a few days later where the dog was happily accompanying her in a purse/bag. I have no idea what type of service the dog may have rendered, but it was absolutely quiet and well-behaved.

Usually the morning of embarkation. While I'm researching and definitely looking forward to the cruise, I'm generally too busy to fully enjoy the anticipation. The week prior is always ridiculously busy getting ready to go plus getting work caught up/ahead, so I don't fully get to relax until we're in the port city and ready to board. Once I have my cabin key and head to the gangway the giddiness ensues.

Check with me Sat morning to gauge the giddiness factor. :D

Hi,

I hope someone has the answer..... I don't remember anyone mentioning sauna and/or steam room on this ship.

I am pretty sure that they exist, but are they free or require a SPA membership?

Thank you

The Epic does have the saunas/steam room in the spa, but it requires a spa week/day pass to use. It can be crowded on occasion, but is a great area to get away and relax for a while.

I believe the Courtyard area also has a steam room and sauna.

The breakfast and lunch at Cagney's is an awesome perk and free for suite guests/VIPs. The surcharge restaurants are the same fee for all room categories.

I think that we are in a limited era of cheap cuise fares and they will be a fond memory in two or three years.

I'm afraid you're probably correct. Barring some further economic decline, I think we'll all look back to the last couple of years and wish for the same prices.

I try to get a passport stamp from each port (have varying levels of success), and I try to mail myself a postcard from each location w/ local postage. Both make for great keepsakes.

One thing I enjoy doing is collecting passport stamps from the different ports of call, but it's generally a hit or miss affair. Most ports don't seem to actively stamp passports, but a stamp (some official, others merely a tourist souvenir) can be found in most ports.

I understand the risks of carrying a passport into port and am always extremely careful to keep it under wraps.

Just wondering who has certain tips or tricks or locations to get a stamp in the various ports.

Here are my recent experiences:

St Kitts: there's an office to the right as you enter the main building at the end of the pier.

Tortola: there's an official cutoms building (red tile roofed) in town right on the water. It's just a few minutes walk from the pier. I don't have good directions handy, but it was simple to find after asking a person or two.

Barbados: also an office to the right inside the main building/shopping area at the end of the pier. Had to ask a couple of folks, but didn't have any trouble getting a stamp.

Labadee, Haiti: the only case where I got the stamp while onboard. Customer service took our passports the night before we hit port and got stamps for us.

St Petersburg: customs/immigration was right on the pier and you had to process through it. I had to ask, but got a stamp both days.

Warnemunde, Germany: there was an office within the main building at the pier.

Helsinki: got a tourist-type stamp, but can't recall where.

Anyone else's thoughts/experiences are appreciated.

We had a guy in our group that got the crowd around the pool going every day...john was nowhere to be found.

 

They had a crew party on night on our repo. FABULOUS party....two guys from our group AGAIN, got a conga line going as well as got everyone at this party dancing and having a great time, while John was constantly in front of the ship videographer making sure he was being filmed.

 

No...he wasn't at the top of his game on our sailing.

Let's just hope the CD on the Halloween Epic sailing will make it a memorable event.

John Ibrahim, one of my absolute FAVORITE cruise directors! Just goes to show you how diverse a group we are.

Interesting. We just cruised with him on the Dawn and enjoyed him, as well. He's not my favorite, but we thought he did a pretty good job. The Quest he hosted was pretty good, though I thought allowing other teams to just come up with their numbers and take credit for whatever item/activity detracted from the game a bit.

They played on the Dawn as of 5 weeks ago. I've seen/played it on 2 of 3 NCL cruises.