Review from Epic 2/10/18 - 2/17/18

This LONG review is for our sailing on the NCL Epic 2/10/18 through 2/17/18. Ill preface this by saying this was our 12th cruise. We have sailed on NCL many times, along with Costa, Royal Caribbean, and Carnival. We have sailed on similar sized ships to the Epic.*

We flew in on Frontier. First time using them, and had no complaints. They are a pretty basic airline. Flights there and back were both right on time. Seats were roomy enough and comfy. They did not recline. Water is free, everything else is paid. On the way down I had wine, which was in a can and was pretty decent. Husband had a diet and rum. They gave him 2 shooters to go with it. When we arrived at MCO, we quickly retrieved our bags and went to meet our hotel shuttle. It was a little weird because I thought the baggage level was the bottom level, but there is yet another level below that where we had to meet up. No issues with the shuttle. Got settled in to our hotel, Wingate by Wyndham by the airport.* The hotel was nice enough, clean, and modern furnishings. Beds were comfy. The hotel is located by several restaurants, many in walking distance. Chili's was right across the parking lot.* We felt safe walking there though it was dark out.

The next morning we got up and had a decent hot breakfast which was included.* We then awaited our shuttle, which was through Cortrans. They were right on time, if not a hair early. We had to make 3 other nearby stops at hotels for other cruise passengers and off we went. The drive is an easy one, and took about an hour. The shuttle is comfy enough. It seats around 14 and is air conditioned. We got to the port at around 11. The port is within eyesight of the Kennedy Space Center which was neat to see, though at a long distance.*

The port area appeared quite busy for those driving in, with some backed up traffic. We dropped off some passengers to another ship and then headed to ours. When we arrived at our drop-off, we dropped our luggage with the porters and headed in. You head up an escalator and into the check in area, with security coming first. It was a little backed up at security, but we got in soon enough. When we got past security it was a big clustered mess. We were unsure where the line started and were directed to go a certain way, which we found out was actually the line to get on the ship after receiving your boarding group pass. The line for check in started somewhere in the middle, which was odd. We THANKFULLY, found the latitudes line and shot right up front. There was a hugeeee line for the regular check in. I wonder how many that were latitudes members stood in the wrong line, as they were not very clearly marked. Im not sure why, but the attendants checking people in seemed to take much longer than at other ports, though our lady was speedy. We got our group number and had a seat. We only sat for maybe 20 minutes before being called. They seemed to be running through the groups fairly quickly.*

Once on board we promptly headed to a bar, as our room wasn't ready and they indicated they wouldn't be until around 1:30. We popped over to the Martini bar and had some drinks. There we met Khumar and Norman. They were the best bartenders we had throughout the cruise. Personality plus on these guys. They are very efficient, also. We visited several other bars through our trip. The atrium was consistently packed and seemed short-handed on staff. Maltings bar was always packed with no room. I got mudslides several times and was surprised there were several bars with no ice machines, and thus, no ability to make frozen drinks, including the casino bar. Surprisingly the frozen drinks area on the pool deck had the best/strongest mudslides, despite them coming from an ice cream type machine which were pre-made. We paid for the ice bar... Let's just say, don't. Waste of money. It's a very small room. They don't have any of the ice chute type-things I thought they would have. It's essentially a small room with 2 ice sculptures and 2 ice benches. The bar is made of ice. Drinks are pre-made and are disgustingly strong.... and we like to drink. They were undrinkable. I saw many people put their drinks down after 1 swig. If you decide to not heed my advice, they take reservations, although we weren't aware, and the two of us were able to get in without reservations.*

Back to our room... we had a large privasea balcony room (Hull balcony). Our room was a nice size. Seemed modern and clean, though the carpet is a little worn. We had no issues with the bathroom setup at all. It is pretty narrow between the bed/couch and the storage areas. I thought the beds were comfortable, and we didn't have the egg crate on it. Storage was plenty enough*though the drawers in areas were somewhat shallow in depth. I didn't really understand what the purpose of the basket under the sink was for. Was it for trash or for storage? It's plastic-lined, so it was confusing on its intended use. Conditioning shampoo is not so conditioning and would recommend bringing your own conditioner. The rooms were quite silent, as I did not ever hear our neighbors on either side of us. Our room steward introduced himself on the first day. He willingly cleaned out our fridge at our request. Good luck to those of you who drink anything out of the mini bar, as he just set everything on top of the shelf above. This means all beer and pop were just left to get warm, and then go back in to get refrigerated again. Skunky beer at a premium price anyone? Our balcony had plenty of room for loungers, though we didn't request them. We could not sit and see the water at the same time, but it was fine. I heard many complain before we left for our cruise about dim lighting. I put on make up every evening and had zero issues. I did not bring a separate mirror. Between the plenty of light in the room and the light from outside, there were no problems. Also, for the input ports on the TV to plug in audio visual cords, they were easily accessible on the side. I saw spots for the red, yellow, and white cables. TV had news channels, sports with Olympics, a favorite TV shows channel, and a favorite movies channel. Movies were of newer release, like The Mummy, King Arthur, etc.*

In regards to dining, we ate at Taste, Manhattan, La* Cucina, Moderno, O'Sheehans, Cagneys, the Cirque show, and the buffet. The service in all were pretty good, except O'Sheehans, which seemed consistently slow. I'm not sure if this is where they start their new servers or not. Husband had the wings and thought they were good, but did find pin hairs in some, which was disgusting to me. We also had the nachos which were good, black and bleu burger (tasted like a regular old burger.. Nothing special at all), Chipotle chicken sandwich which was good, and fries which I was able to have them put the liquid cheddar and bacon on and made them tasty. We never got any dessert from here. In La Cucina we had a great view from our table, overlooking the water and sunset. We had the Angus steak which was ok and the filet which was very good. Moderno is usually our favorite, and this time it was subpar. The filet had a weird flavor I've not tasted before in our past trips. The picana was very good, and my husband thought the pineapple was very good. In Cagneys my husband couldn't stop raving about his crab cake. We both had the filet which were very good. This was a Valentines dinner. There was nothing special about it. They did put up some decorations around the ship, but that was it. Also nothing was done for Fat Tuesday. I was hoping for some paczkis, but wasn't holding my breath. In the buffet, breakfast was pretty standard everyday. We had bacon and eggs, as well as biscuits and gravy. The search for crispy bacon sometimes took a bit of looking. The biscuits were always hard. I thought the lunch selection was pretty disappointing. There seemed to be a lot of the same things. We did not eat in the buffet for dinner, but did eat up on the pool deck for a nighttime snack. This usually always included pizza, a bread choice or two, a Mexican type food, like empanadas, and cookies, which my husband loved and said were fresh. Food in Taste and Manhattan weren't that exciting. I was hoping for more beef selections. The peppercorn steak was good one night and tough on another. The prime rib was one of the worst I've had, just tough and pretty tasteless. They don't give au jus separately (and waitress didn't come around in time for me to ask)* and they didn't bring any*horseradish around. I had the molten lava cake twice. The first was good, second was more like a brownie with no meltiness inside. We had lunch in Taste one day and the menu was very similar to the one from a sailing I was on a year before. The Cirque show was great. It is a small up-close venue. I was able to take non-flash pictures. The filet in there was great and is served with potato wedges that were pretty tasty and shrimp which I gave to a neighbor. The desserts were lacking and dry.* Our waits for food were minimal to none except on the last day at Taste when we had about a half hour wait and got a buzzer to notify us when our table was ready.*

Tendering was easy peasy. We set up our tenders on our TV and were able to get group 1, though we didn't go out right off the bat. They made us gather in the Epic lounge where you had to wait for the tender to arrive and then you were walked out through a door at the bottom of the theater by the stage and led to the tender. The water was not rough and was a smooth ride over. Tendering back was also the same experience. This sailing I didn't notice the ship putting out water and lemonade containers like they usually do, and also no moist towels, not that it mattered to us, just an observation.*

We went to Breezes in Nassau. The bus or "jitney" was a pain to find, getting very non-descript help from 3 people on the island, we finally wondered upon a bus that was stopped and got on. I later saw there are actual bus stop signs,* with the bus numbers on them. I think 10 says 10a. Breezes was $90 pp, and we did not book ahead, as I had read it was $80 if you didn't book ahead.* It is NOT worth $90. I would say $50 max. It is worn and dated. We were not able to get a lounger and had to set our stuff on the pool deck. So essentially, we paid $90 for a lunch of a hot dog and fries, a pool, and a limited bar. They had 2 beers, that's it, and they are local beers, and at one point said they ran out of one of them. I also had a mudslide which was no bueno. The water temperature was pretty nice in the pool.*They played some music and had someone playing games with drunk people.

In Jamaica we chose to stay on the ship and enjoy some amenities. The port area itself looked nice enough and looked as though they had put a little money into it from my view up high. We rode on the water slides with no wait. The green and pink slides, more so the pink (completely enclosed the whole time for those that are claustrophobic, green is also enclosed part of the way) have the seam lines when going down that hit your back and can be painful when they hit. We also did the plunge slide. That was really fun. You go down on a 1 person tube. The pool was a really nice bath water temperature, which I enjoy. It was not busy. You cannot take drinks in the pool which is a bummer and a change from other sailings. Spice H20 has a tiny pool. I never saw anyone in it. There are also I believe 2 hot tubs in H20, though we didn't get in. I wish the bar in H20 was down by the pool instead of up a few flights of stairs. The casino had a great selection of games in many denominations. Servers were around frequently for drinks. I was able to order a mudslide, despite the casino bar not having a blender, so am thinking they headed to the atrium possibly to get drinks. You can use your room key card for your players card and also have the ability to charge money to your onboard account from the machine for a 3% fee.* We enjoyed many games of darts in O'Sheehans. It's $1 a person per game, which can also be charged to your card. We didn't play, but they had 3 lanes of bowling, an air hockey table, video games, ski ball, basketball, and 2 pool tables.*

In Grand Cayman we were set to go to Stingray Island, but it closed due to the waves. We took the public bus for $2.50 pp USD (much easier to grab a ride on then in NASSAU... you just flag them and they stop). We went to Royal Palms, with entry for $2 pp. The beach looked nice and there were many chairs and umbrellas available for purchase, as well as cabanas. Water was too cold for my liking, so we lounged in the pool, which was a really nice temperature. We got there early and stayed for a few hours until it started picking up. There is a swim-up bar in the pool, but we didn't order anything. There is also food available for purchase. Caught the bus back just as easy by standing out front and waving at them.*

This was our first time stopping at Great Stirrup Cay. On arrival it appears a bit industrial. We tendered in and pre-booked a clam shell. There are 2 types, one with mesh in the back, and one without. They have the island broken down into I believe 3 sections. We went with the one closest to the ship, "Patron". You just head over and select your clam. They have a person that comes and checks on your reservation and can set up*your shell if it's not already. There are tons of loungers available which are closer to the water than the shells. We headed into the water. It was a bit cold, but you just have to get the shock over with. There are medium/large rocks in the water in spots. Some spots are just sand. In one spot there was some wire fencing which seemed a bit dangerous. I ended up renting a floating lounger. This cost $15 and we were able to use the room key card to charge it while on the island. This was well worth the cost. We were able to lay and/or hang onto it while snorkeling. Snorkeling was just ok. There were about 5-7 kinds of fish. It may have been better out closer to the rocks, which we weren't willing to go near, as we didn't want to get pulled into them by the tide. The water further out in the water was decently clear. The tender back was easy and quick. They had enough running that you didn't have to wait long for them to take you back. Riding back we could see some fish in the water and the one worker indicated there was a small shark we saw when passing by.* While on our balcony on the 11th floor we could see things in the water including 3 larger things that appeared to be moving around together, not sure if they were sharks. We also saw several stingrays.*

We were able to get to Titou, the magician/comedian? This show was ok. Pretty basic stuff. Some drunk guy in the front row was amazed though.... "OH MY GOD... JESSSSUUSSS!"* We also went to Priscilla which I really enjoyed, but I also love drag queens.*It is a longer show. We left an hour and 15 into it because I wanted to beat the crowd to dinner.

For disembarkation we chose a little later time. We got off and found our luggage. There was a huge line to wait to get to customs. Do yourself a favor, get a porter. This was the best money we spent, even though we had 2 suitcases. The porter breezed by everyone and right up to customs. If we would've waited, we probably would've been in line at least an hour. Outside we walked to the shuttle area and a Cortrans shuttle was there and waiting and off we went. Our flight home was just as pleasant.*

All in all we had a great time. The majority of the staff were very friendly and the ship was excellent and on par with the others we've sailed on. Now to book our next.....

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

We were on the Feb 3rd - 10th sailing and the food in the MDR's were a bit blah.

Nice review. We are leaving on Epic on Saturday, and your review will be helpful. As an aside, I've had prime rib twice before in NCL main dining rooms (Star and Epic), and both times it was nearly inedible. Never complained, but had two deserts.

Thanks for the review, will be leaving on the epic in 6 days!!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thank you for your detailed review! Very helpful information :)

Thank you for your review. We’ll be boarding in a month.

One question...at check in, you mentioned a latitudes line. Is this for certain levels or anyone that has sailed NCL before? This will be our third NCL, so I guess that makes us bronze.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Hello

Thank you for sharing your review.

What time was your flight home? You mentioned you picked up your luggage before heading out. We have a 1:15 flight and I want o know if I can send my luggage down and still have time to get to airport. We really don't want to do the self walk off the ship.

Thank you for your review. We’ll be boarding in a month.

One question...at check in, you mentioned a latitudes line. Is this for certain levels or anyone that has sailed NCL before? This will be our third NCL, so I guess that makes us bronze.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Anyone that has sailed NCL before

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

Hello

Thank you for sharing your review.

What time was your flight home? You mentioned you picked up your luggage before heading out. We have a 1:15 flight and I want o know if I can send my luggage down and still have time to get to airport. We really don't want to do the self walk off the ship.

Our flight was at 2:20. We got began walking off at around 9:15 or so. Security at the airport was quite backed up with very long lines, but I tjink we probably got through security in 30-45 mins. We had at least 3 hours before our flight.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

Thank you for your review.

Keith

Thank you for your review. We’ll be boarding in a month.

One question...at check in, you mentioned a latitudes line. Is this for certain levels or anyone that has sailed NCL before? This will be our third NCL, so I guess that makes us bronze.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

When we did our Jan 27 cruise we also went in the latitudes line. What I thought was strange was the checkin lady asked me 3 or 4 times if we were diamond or something. I kept saying no. We are bronze. There was no indication that line sign other than latitudes.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Anyone that has sailed NCL before

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

Great, thank you.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

When we did our Jan 27 cruise we also went in the latitudes line. What I thought was strange was the checkin lady asked me 3 or 4 times if we were diamond or something. I kept saying no. We are bronze. There was no indication that line sign other than latitudes.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Ok, then we will look for the latitudes line. Is it easy to find? Our sailing is completely sold out, so i assume check in will be crazy.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Ok, then we will look for the latitudes line. Is it easy to find? Our sailing is completely sold out, so i assume check in will be crazy.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

It was on the right as you walk in small sign

Sent from my iPad using Forums

It was on the right as you walk in small sign

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Ok thank you

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thank you for your review it was very detailed. Do you happen to have photos of your balcony? We will be staying in a hull balcony as well on our upcoming epic sailing

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

Thank you! Wow very large

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I really hope NCL reviews these posts and implements strategies to remedy some of these inconsistencies related to Latitudes check in. The signs are confusing and the reps on duty offer conflicting information. We were told on our Epic cruise in November that the Latitudes line was for platinum and above only and were directed to the regular check in line (we are gold). On our Epic cruise last week it seemed like they were allowing all Latitudes members into the line. We didn’t bother since the regular check in line was shorter than the Latitudes line. We have experienced similar issues in Miami and New York. NCL needs to clarify the check in process and align them with the Latitudes benefit that clearly states “priority check in at the pier” for all Latitudes members.

Wow, great helpful review.

We are on deck 13 (13048).

Any perspective you can share would be greatly appreciated. We are newbies.

Anyone that has sailed NCL before

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

I am Bronze, my two friends who I am sailing with (different cabins) are newbies. They can check in with me correct? We each are in our own studios.

Priority Check-in applies to all Latitudes levels. You can review the rewards here: https://www.ncl.com/latitudes-rewards-program

Nice review. We are leaving on Epic on Saturday, and your review will be helpful. As an aside, I've had prime rib twice before in NCL main dining rooms (Star and Epic), and both times it was nearly inedible. Never complained, but had two deserts.

We were on the Epic in January, in the Haven. The prime rib in the Haven Dining Room was one of the biggest disappointments of the cruise. The meat was tough and tasteless. The au jus was like a thick, burned, canned gravy. Having had delicious prime rib on previous NCL cruises, I was very disappointed. I am wondering whether this was just the Epic, or it is now the case throughout NCL. I guess I will find out on our next cruise.