EPIC- March 7-10 2018-- 3 Night Bahamas

We just completed our first NCL cruise. I heard all the complaints about Epic, but the cruise fit our schedule so we gave it try.

I went in with a very open mind having read all the complaints about the size and layout of the ship, the configuration of the cabins and bathrooms, the service and the food. I did not let that effect me as I wanted to form my own opinion. I find that some people overly complain.

My wife and I cruise about 2 times a year mostly on RCCL, both 60 something professionals. Here is my review. Just my opinion, of course others will differ. Take it for what it is worth..lol.

Let me say out the outset that I will not comment or complain about the spring break thing (except for one mention below). That is on me for not doing more research. Plus I heard the immediately preceding cruise was worse off in that regard (at least no one on our cruise fell overboard!)

THE GOOD:

Embarkation was a breeze. We were group #3 and on board 20 mins after embarkation started.

Like everyone else, we got a drink and headed for lunch. We grazed at most of the available lunch spots. We found the food to be very very good and hot. A shout out goes to the hamburgers—they were grilled and not steaming in their own juices. Access to the buffets was easy and quick. I do however think that they put out less of a variety of foods than other ships I have been on. Service at the food stations as well as the bars was excellent all trip long. I do tip a bit at the bars so that may have helped. Maltings and Shakers were particularly good. We also settled in at the bar in Cagney’s a few times—a true find. It was never crowded and they make great cocktails.

The appearance of the ship was exceptional. It was clean, bright and had nice décor.

Entrainment was also very good, but subjective. You either liked or hated Priscilla. The live music was also top notch. We especially liked the duo that played at various times and locations.

The private island was nice. Lunch there was fair. The clam shell lounger was a good get. Bacardi’s Bar was a lot of fun.

The Japanese/sushi restaurant was very good. We did both the table seating and the sushi bar.

Walk-off disembarkation was also a breeze. Left our room at 7:30 was at the sidewalk before 8 am.

THE BAD:

The ship layout was as bad as the reviews say. Difficult to navigate, lack of sufficient elevators, bad signage. The casino smoking was a minor annoyance but an annoyance just the same. We heard from smokers that while at the bars that they would use the casino as an adjacent smoking lounge and just sit at the slots and smoke.

The cabin ( 10081) layout is awful. While the sq. footage is comparable to other ships, the long narrow room is a problem. My wife and I couldn’t pass one another. It was so narrow there is no table in the room. We had to put our breakfast tray on the bed. The bed is short. The curved headboard makes it seem even shorter. There is only ONE duplex outlet in the entire room and it is near the balcony end of the room. In this day and age a couple may travel with one or more laptops, two phones, hair drier, curling iron…. This is totally unacceptable in a relatively newer ship. The bathroom arrangement is horrible. You have probably read all the bad reviews on it. They are not wrong!

We saw our room steward only once, which is ok as we don’t require much...we are way past towel animals.

The usual crowds were at the pool and loungers. To be expected. Even on a port day (Nassau) the pool was crowded. I guess the free beverage package kept a lot of us on the ship…me included.

THE UGLY:

Lastly there were two things the drove me nuts!

The Pool Towel Situation.. you have two blue pool towels in your room that you must bring to the pool. The towel station is only for exchange. In my opinion this is crazy. I like to walk around the ship without having to carry towels (or reserving deck chairs if I’m not at the pool). If I wind up at the pool and care to take a dip or hit the hot tub, I have to go back to my room first. I much prefer to get towels at the towel station, even if you have to secure it with your key card.

The Lime Fiasco… by the end of the Day 1 most bars and I mean most, had no limes left.. you think that doesn’t sound like a big deal? Try having a Gin & Tonic, Margarita, Corona, Caipirinha, Mojito, Mule or any tequila or rum cocktail without one. Now back to the spring break thing. We were told by at least two bartenders that the previous cruise used up all the limes and they only restock every 7 days. The spring breakers had two sea days due to rough water and no tendering. They finished they off all the limes. It seems like they didn’t cut them off from drinks at least they could have rationed their lime access, lol. I know it sounds petty, but all of the drinks I listed are my favorites and what I look forward to on my vacation. This little ‘thing’ made my vacation much less enjoyable. ( I did find that Cagney’s still had some limes, I guess the spring breakers didn’t make it there).

Taking everything into consideration, I will not cruise with NCL again. I know others said you shouldn’t judge NCL by the Epic, but I see no reason to give NCL another shot.

Like I said just my opinion. We all put different values on different things.

Thanks for taking the time to write a great review! We have cruised on the Epic 7 times and understand your concerns (including the great lime caper) :) We still really like the ship and wouldn't mind cruising on her again in the near future.

We just completed our first NCL cruise. I heard all the complaints about Epic, but the cruise fit our schedule so we gave it try.

 

I went in with a very open mind having read all the complaints about the size and layout of the ship, the configuration of the cabins and bathrooms, the service and the food. I did not let that effect me as I wanted to form my own opinion. I find that some people overly complain.

 

My wife and I cruise about 2 times a year mostly on RCCL, both 60 something professionals. Here is my review. Just my opinion, of course others will differ. Take it for what it is worth..lol.

 

 

Let me say out the outset that I will not comment or complain about the spring break thing (except for one mention below). That is on me for not doing more research. Plus I heard the immediately preceding cruise was worse off in that regard (at least no one on our cruise fell overboard!)

 

THE GOOD:

 

Embarkation was a breeze. We were group #3 and on board 20 mins after embarkation started.

 

Like everyone else, we got a drink and headed for lunch. We grazed at most of the available lunch spots. We found the food to be very very good and hot. A shout out goes to the hamburgers—they were grilled and not steaming in their own juices. Access to the buffets was easy and quick. I do however think that they put out less of a variety of foods than other ships I have been on. Service at the food stations as well as the bars was excellent all trip long. I do tip a bit at the bars so that may have helped. Maltings and Shakers were particularly good. We also settled in at the bar in Cagney’s a few times—a true find. It was never crowded and they make great cocktails.

 

The appearance of the ship was exceptional. It was clean, bright and had nice décor.

 

Entrainment was also very good, but subjective. You either liked or hated Priscilla. The live music was also top notch. We especially liked the duo that played at various times and locations.

 

The private island was nice. Lunch there was fair. The clam shell lounger was a good get. Bacardi’s Bar was a lot of fun.

 

The Japanese/sushi restaurant was very good. We did both the table seating and the sushi bar.

 

Walk-off disembarkation was also a breeze. Left our room at 7:30 was at the sidewalk before 8 am.

 

THE BAD:

 

The ship layout was as bad as the reviews say. Difficult to navigate, lack of sufficient elevators, bad signage. The casino smoking was a minor annoyance but an annoyance just the same. We heard from smokers that while at the bars that they would use the casino as an adjacent smoking lounge and just sit at the slots and smoke.

 

The cabin ( 10081) layout is awful. While the sq. footage is comparable to other ships, the long narrow room is a problem. My wife and I couldn’t pass one another. It was so narrow there is no table in the room. We had to put our breakfast tray on the bed. The bed is short. The curved headboard makes it seem even shorter. There is only ONE duplex outlet in the entire room and it is near the balcony end of the room. In this day and age a couple may travel with one or more laptops, two phones, hair drier, curling iron…. This is totally unacceptable in a relatively newer ship. The bathroom arrangement is horrible. You have probably read all the bad reviews on it. They are not wrong!

 

We saw our room steward only once, which is ok as we don’t require much...we are way past towel animals.

 

The usual crowds were at the pool and loungers. To be expected. Even on a port day (Nassau) the pool was crowded. I guess the free beverage package kept a lot of us on the ship…me included.

 

THE UGLY:

 

Lastly there were two things the drove me nuts!

 

The Pool Towel Situation.. you have two blue pool towels in your room that you must bring to the pool. The towel station is only for exchange. In my opinion this is crazy. I like to walk around the ship without having to carry towels (or reserving deck chairs if I’m not at the pool). If I wind up at the pool and care to take a dip or hit the hot tub, I have to go back to my room first. I much prefer to get towels at the towel station, even if you have to secure it with your key card.

 

The Lime Fiasco… by the end of the Day 1 most bars and I mean most, had no limes left.. you think that doesn’t sound like a big deal? Try having a Gin & Tonic, Margarita, Corona, Caipirinha, Mojito, Mule or any tequila or rum cocktail without one. Now back to the spring break thing. We were told by at least two bartenders that the previous cruise used up all the limes and they only restock every 7 days. The spring breakers had two sea days due to rough water and no tendering. They finished they off all the limes. It seems like they didn’t cut them off from drinks at least they could have rationed their lime access, lol. I know it sounds petty, but all of the drinks I listed are my favorites and what I look forward to on my vacation. This little ‘thing’ made my vacation much less enjoyable. ( I did find that Cagney’s still had some limes, I guess the spring breakers didn’t make it there).

 

Taking everything into consideration, I will not cruise with NCL again. I know others said you shouldn’t judge NCL by the Epic, but I see no reason to give NCL another shot.

 

Like I said just my opinion. We all put different values on different things.

Was your cabin a balcony?

I think you wrote a really balanced review and thanks for sharing. I can’t say I blame you for not wanting to go with NCL again. In all fairness though, you picked the worst type of cruise, short, out of Florida, and during spring break. Couple that with being on the Epic (a terrible ship design), and you have the perfect formula for a lousy cruise.

I made a similar mistake a number of years ago when I forgot all about spring break and booked an AI in Cancun. That memory still haunts me.

I’ve been able to check out towels by the pool on NCL before, has this changed?

Was your cabin a balcony?

Yes it was. It's called a mini-suite.

I’ve been able to check out towels by the pool on NCL before, has this changed?

I don't know if it has changed. I can only tell you what happened to me on the Epic on this cruise. In all honesty, I must confess, I gave the towel guy 5 bucks and got my towels from him without having to go to my room. He remembered me the rest of the cruise.

You can check out towels from the guy on the pool deck. If you don't return the towel, there is a charge on your room account.

You can check out towels from the guy on the pool deck. If you don't return the towel, there is a charge on your room account.

Not my experience. At least not on Epic, not on that cruise. I think the towel location is clearly marked "TOWEL EXCHANGE". I would have save 5 bucks if that was the case, lol.

I was on this cruise as well. Also first time NCL. I agree with some of what you stated. We did have a different opinion in the end.

My husband was always offered lime with his beer in the atrium bar(name?) By taste and dinning rooms. I didn't mind the layout of the ship (room 11154) mid ship inside. We also didn't mind the bathroom layout.

We Found the food and service to be good throughout the ship.

We never officially met our room steward, pass him I think in the hall a few times. Our room was always well cared for so no complaints there.

We overheard lots of complaining throughout the 3 days. On our way home I said I can't think of 1 negative thing. The husband agreed and then said oh wait, the room temp. It was so warm we couldn't sleep with the blanket all night. The thermostate was all the way down but never felt cooled. I am cold natured to the point I never put on a swimsuit the entire time, and the room was too warm at night for me. Minor to us in the long run. The good out weighed the bad. We will be back on NCL.

Sorry your experience was sub par.

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Thanks for the review and sorry to hear about your bad experience.

The unconventional Epic cabin layout has been widely reported since its first cruise. Anyone who is considering a cruise on the Epic and is put off by this should consider a different cruise.

A paucity of outlets is not unusual for any cruise ship and precisely why most would recommend bringing a power strip. I have had no problems charging all variety of camera batteries, cell phones, my electric razor, and powering Pam's hair straightening iron in one outlet with a single compact power strip. Also there is usually another outlet in the cabins behind the TV if needed.

Not seeing the cabin steward in the hall is one thing but was the cabin still attended to every day? Were the towels changed and the bed made? It seems that the stewards are being assigned more and more cabins each year on all cruise lines so it probably means that they are busy cleaning a cabin rather than chatting in the hall. But I've always continued to have my cabins on NCL thoroughly cleaned every morning and turned down and refreshed again at night. Was this not the case on the Epic?

As for the pool towels I am sorry to hear that they apparently placed a limitation on them. Perhaps it was another consequence of the spring break crowds? We've never experienced any limitation as you described.

Regarding the limes, I would have been annoyed for sure as some of the drinks you listed are my favorites as well. I'm surprised by your finding that they only replenish the limes once a week for a ship that size and during the spring break season. But for your fellow passenger's review from that sailing it seems that there were certain bars that still had them. That is one thing that I have noticed on NCL, just because one bar says that they don't have something doesn't mean that the entire ship has run out. One bar may run out of Rum Runner mix on the second day but a different bar will have plenty until the end of the cruise. I'm not sure why the supplies are rationed in that way but it is something that I have experienced on multiple occasions before. So now I try to use the less popular bars on the ship, not only for faster service, but because they are less likely to run out of certain things during the cruise.

We also settled in at the bar in Cagney’s a few times—a true find. It was never crowded and they make great cocktails.

Can you go there without having to eat at Cagney's? We're skipping any specialty dining on our cruise and it would be nice to still be able to check it out!

Bombay Sapphire and tonic without a lime, no way! Would have definitely “talked” to the Food and Beverage Manager about that. I know, what can he do? You might be surprised :cool:

Haven’t encountered a towel exchange before. I’m sure the towel guy/gal doesn’t see very many tips, so that was really, really nice of you. Glad he took care of you!

Am I the only one that doesn’t care if they see their cabin steward? As long as the jobs getting done. Any time I’ve had a special request I’ve just left them a note and it’s been taken care of.

Can you go there without having to eat at Cagney's? We're skipping any specialty dining on our cruise and it would be nice to still be able to check it out!

Yes!! Absolutely. It is the bar for both Cagney's and Moderno . We didn't eat at either. They make a great caipirinha , with brown sugar. Thank god it was the only bar with limes!

Yes it was. It's called a mini-suite.

That is the cabin type we r going to book. Did u have a shower with a tub? We're u looking down on cabins on the balcony?

Am I the only one that doesn’t care if they see their cabin steward? As long as the jobs getting done. Any time I’ve had a special request I’ve just left them a note and it’s been taken care of.

Same with us. I guess you are past towel animals too!

That is the cabin type we r going to book. Did u have a shower with a tub? We're u looking down on cabins on the balcony?

No tub, but I must say a very large shower. It is behind an opaque sliding door IN your room, same with the toilet. The sliding doors are heavy.... and noisy, as my wife found out on one of my many nocturnal trips there.

We had a clean view from deck 10, lifeboats a few decks beneath us.

Thanks for the review and sorry to hear about your bad experience.

 

The unconventional Epic cabin layout has been widely reported since its first cruise. Anyone who is considering a cruise on the Epic and is put off by this should consider a different cruise.

 

A paucity of outlets is not unusual for any cruise ship and precisely why most would recommend bringing a power strip. I have had no problems charging all variety of camera batteries, cell phones, my electric razor, and powering Pam's hair straightening iron in one outlet with a single compact power strip. Also there is usually another outlet in the cabins behind the TV if needed.

 

Not seeing the cabin steward in the hall is one thing but was the cabin still attended to every day? Were the towels changed and the bed made? It seems that the stewards are being assigned more and more cabins each year on all cruise lines so it probably means that they are busy cleaning a cabin rather than chatting in the hall. But I've always continued to have my cabins on NCL thoroughly cleaned every morning and turned down and refreshed again at night. Was this not the case on the Epic?

 

As for the pool towels I am sorry to hear that they apparently placed a limitation on them. Perhaps it was another consequence of the spring break crowds? We've never experienced any limitation as you described.

 

Regarding the limes, I would have been annoyed for sure as some of the drinks you listed are my favorites as well. I'm surprised by your finding that they only replenish the limes once a week for a ship that size and during the spring break season. But for your fellow passenger's review from that sailing it seems that there were certain bars that still had them. That is one thing that I have noticed on NCL, just because one bar says that they don't have something doesn't mean that the entire ship has run out. One bar may run out of Rum Runner mix on the second day but a different bar will have plenty until the end of the cruise. I'm not sure why the supplies are rationed in that way but it is something that I have experienced on multiple occasions before. So now I try to use the less popular bars on the ship, not only for faster service, but because they are less likely to run out of certain things during the cruise.

Funny story about power strips.. we used to always bring one. But the last two times on RCCL it got me sent to the penalty box. I guess NCL is more liberal.

Funny story about power strips.. we used to always bring one. But the last two times on RCCL it got me sent to the penalty box. I guess NCL is more liberal.

As long as it doesn’t have a surge protector, NCL will let them on board.

I was on this cruise as well. Also first time NCL. I agree with some of what you stated. We did have a different opinion in the end.

 

My husband was always offered lime with his beer in the atrium bar(name?) By taste and dinning rooms. I didn't mind the layout of the ship (room 11154) mid ship inside. We also didn't mind the bathroom layout.

 

We Found the food and service to be good throughout the ship.

 

We never officially met our room steward, pass him I think in the hall a few times. Our room was always well cared for so no complaints there.

 

We overheard lots of complaining throughout the 3 days. On our way home I said I can't think of 1 negative thing. The husband agreed and then said oh wait, the room temp. It was so warm we couldn't sleep with the blanket all night. The thermostate was all the way down but never felt cooled. I am cold natured to the point I never put on a swimsuit the entire time, and the room was too warm at night for me. Minor to us in the long run. The good out weighed the bad. We will be back on NCL.

Sorry your experience was sub par.

 

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app

Didn't get to the atrium bar..my bad.

I can't believe the lime situation. Thanks for sharing your comments.

Didn't get to the atrium bar..my bad.

No worries, just my observation. One bar told us they were out of mint. I was like what? He said they'd have it by that evening but we never returned to see.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app

Funny story about power strips.. we used to always bring one. But the last two times on RCCL it got me sent to the penalty box. I guess NCL is more liberal.

My sister got sent to the penalty box on the NCL Pride of America because she accidentally brought a power strip with surge protection. I had my usual non surge strip in my carry on and they allowed it.

You could also get one of those one into three outlet splitters at your local hardware store instead of a power strip.

Thank you for sharing your trip report.

Keith