Is the EPIC an EPIC fail?

I've been wanting to cruise NCL and EPIC is the most convenient ship for me. However, all I read on cruise critic is how awful the ship is. Too many people, poor design, long waits, no pool chairs and so on. Does NCL just not know how to "cruise big?" I read good things about the smaller NCL ships, but everything EPIC is negative.

I've sailed several times on RC Oasis class ships, which are much larger than EPIC (size and passenger count) and never once did I feel like there were too many people, or it was crowded, or I couldn't find a pool chair. I like the big ships. Does RC just do a better job at planning these "mega-ships?" I can't help but wonder if NCL realized they had a loser on their hands based on the fact that there is no sister ship. It's very odd for cruise lines not to have sister ships, especially ships less than 10 years old.

That being said, I'm getting the vibe that my first sailing on NCL should maybe be on Sun or Sky...

We have sailed on 16 NCL mega ship cruises. 7 of them on the Epic. Don’t believe everything you read. We have enjoyed every cruise on the Epic.

Similar to Oasis and Quantum class ships, they are big ships and you have to understand the difference to the “old fashion” small ships.

We have sailed on 16 NCL mega ship cruises. 7 of them on the Epic. Don’t believe everything you read. We have enjoyed every cruise on the Epic.

 

 

 

Similar to Oasis and Quantum class ships, they are big ships and you have to understand the difference to the “old fashion” small ships.

Bird Travels, you always give sound advice on these boards. I for one appreciate it. Thanks!

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We have sailed on 16 NCL mega ship cruises. 7 of them on the Epic. Don’t believe everything you read. We have enjoyed every cruise on the Epic.

 

Similar to Oasis and Quantum class ships, they are big ships and you have to understand the difference to the “old fashion” small ships.

Thanks for the feedback. I try to take the reviews with a grain of salt, but I went to the cruise critic reviews for Epic and sorted from new to old, and it was negative after negative after negative. Which is why I'm really hesitant now.

I think Epic is the worst of the NCL mega ships.

We’ve been on Getaway and Escape and feel they fixed the things we didn’t like about Epic on those.

Plus, some people are really weird about the bathroom. I didn’t really mind it other than the strange motion censor light in the toilet area of ours.

I wouldn’t personally sail Epic again, but it wasn’t an awful vacation. Just make all your dinner and show reservations as soon as you can and the lines won’t impact you as much.

I’ve never been on Royal, but I do prefer ncl jewel and away class ships to the Epic.

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If it were an Epic fail, then NCL would have trouble filling it, and then the cruise fares would be much lower than they are now.

I think that it was the first step for them in building, selling cruises on larger ships, so there may be a few things that people did not particularly like, and then they improved on those things, with Breakaway, Getaway, Escape and so on.

I have read many reviews here and elsewhere, where cruisers who have sailed on the newer ships, still say Epic is their favorite.

Sadly I did not get to take my Epic cruise as planned, but hope some day to cruise that ship, or another in the fleet. Epic still appeals to me, though I must admit, that I would likely, book Breakaway or newer, just for the Waterfront.

The major problem with Epic, as well as the breakaway and Breakaway plus class, is the crowding on the pool deck. It’s the one thing that really tends to turn people off. The pool deck is the only place I’ve ever felt crowded on any of those ships. For me, the pool deck isn’t really that big a deal, so it doesn’t effect my cruise at all. Epic also has the added misfortune of the terrible room layout. Like anything else, some people don’t mind it. Some people HATE it. Personally, I’m not really a fan, but it’s not a deal breaker. My least favorite thing about Epic is that it feels very “closed in” compar d to NCL’s other mega ships. I prefer the Breakaway ships mostly because of the Waterfront. I’ve been on Epic twice and they were both great cruises, it just wouldn’t be my first choice when put agains the Breakaway ships. But you can’t compare ANY of NCL’s mega ships to Oasis class. NCL’s ships are very big, but Oasis class are much bigger, and I do think they feel more open just due to the sheer size.

There's a reason the Epic doesn't have a sister ship. Having said that I enjoyed my cruise on the Epic but there were issues.

Epic is our second-favorite ship. Don't believe everything you read. People are great about posting negative opinions, but don't often post positive!

The only thing I didn't like about the Epic was the bathroom layout. What were they thinking??? Otherwise, no complaints. Great food, entertainment and loved their Mandara Spa!

Epic may not be the best but you can still have a wonderful time.

The only thing I didn't like about the Epic was the bathroom layout. What were they thinking??? Otherwise, no complaints. Great food, entertainment and loved their Mandara Spa!

What were they thinking, indeed! I have sailed on several NCL ships and most are fine. I would never recommend Epic to anyone, though, because of the cabin/bathroom setup.

kathy

we book on itinerary

first sailing Caribbean

2nd Canaries

3rd Med

4th will be transatlantic

not our favourite ship [prefer smaller ones] but no deal breakers

There's a reason the Epic doesn't have a sister ship. Having said that I enjoyed my cruise on the Epic but there were issues.

This sums it up quite well. We were on the Epic last March, in a balcony cabin. I really didn't mind the odd bathroom setup, but had problems with the bed. Because the walls are curved the beds are too, and if you're over 5'7" your feet are probably going to hang off the end. The ship also doesn't have a traditional atrium, and feels a bit closed in, at least to me.

Personally, I'm much happier on mid-size and smaller ships but there was still fun to be had on the Epic.

There's a reason the Epic doesn't have a sister ship. Having said that I enjoyed my cruise on the Epic but there were issues.

Epic doesn't have a sister ship because NCL got into a disagreement with the original builder and canceled any further contracts BEFORE they even took possession of Epic. They wouldn't have known about the problems of Epic by the time they cancelled other orders.

I love the Epic!!! Great ship and crew! I can always find a chair and never waited too long for anything.

We are heading out on the Epic tomorrow. We are big fans of NCL and the casual atmosphere that is embraced in all their ships. One poster describes it as a vibe that separates NCL from other cruise lines. The Epic has many postive attributes and frankly some of the comments on the washroom layout border on paranoia. We love all the NCL mega ships and would not hesitate to cruise on any of them, including the Epic.

The only thing I didn't like about the Epic was the bathroom layout. What were they thinking??? Otherwise, no complaints. Great food, entertainment and loved their Mandara Spa!

I traveled with my husband and I understand that makes a big difference in how one views the bathroom on Epic. I absolutely LOVED the bathroom on Epic. I loved the natural light that comes into the the bathroom spaces and the soft lovely light at night that illuminates the bathroom spaces. We have always cruised in either inside or standard balcony cabins and none of those cabins had natural light in the bathrooms. Without the light on, those bathrooms are black holes.

On the Epic, I also really liked the sink in the main cabin area. Once person could be using the toilet room and the other can be taking a shower. One person can be at the sink while the other can be using the toilet room or the shower room. The bathroom set up is so versatile and functional.

I have been on a total of 43 cruises and The Epic is at the top of my list of favorite ships.

We sailed on Epic this past November and last year on Breakaway. I prefer Breakaway or Gem. It's tough to say there's any one big bad part of epic, just a few annoyances. The bathroom was nbd, but our steward always seems to have just woken up. The ship was crowded but several of the bars didn't open until late on the day. Breakaway has taste and savor, epic only one. The crew at the meet and greet on Breakaway were engaging, the epic just stood around uncomfortably. The gym was pretty good on epic, Breakaway was crowded. The outside of Breakaway has dining and bars, epic only on the top.

I can't put my finger on it exactly, but we probably wouldn't do epic again unless there was a reason. We're looking at

Gem next.

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Breakaway has taste and savor, epic only one.

 

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Just to clarify, do you mean dining rooms? Because this isn’t true - Epic has the Manhattan Room and Taste. Unless I misread, and you were talking about something else - entirely possible, as it’s late and I’m having bourbon. ;p

OP - I sailed on Epic with much trepidation about a year ago. I’m a fan of smaller ships. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I loved Epic. I’m sailing on her again later this year, and will definitely sail on her again in the future. I never ran out of things to do onboard, and the staff was beyond amazing. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Epic.

Thanks for the feedback. I try to take the reviews with a grain of salt, but I went to the cruise critic reviews for Epic and sorted from new to old, and it was negative after negative after negative. Which is why I'm really hesitant now.

For what it is worth, we sailed the Epic on her recent Jan 13-20 sailing (our 105th cruise) and we will NOT sail that ship again! BTW, we presently have the NCL Dawn booked for Mar 11-18, 2018 and the Bliss booked for Apr 21-28, 2019. We fully expect our experiences on our future NCL sailings to be superior to our recent Epic sailing.

Epic is our least favorite NCL ship because it's hard to actually see the ocean ... it feels like it's more of a floating resort that is focused inward. Even on the outside promenade deck the lifeboats are mostly in the way of seeing the ocean. The only worst fate I can imagine is being on a RCL ship with a balcony cabin that faces into that silly courtyard / shopping mall they have. People love it, but it's not for us.

The two other main concerns are the bathroom set up and I can see people who aren't intimate with each other having a problem working around it. Families with teens, for instance, might have to work out a schedule. We don't sit by the pool, as we would consider that a waste of time on a vacation, but someone who likes to sit around the pool is going to be packed in like sardines and probably hate their cruise.

But, I'll take it over a LOT of other cruise line ships because of the excellent entertainment and great dining options.

I spent 14 days on the Epic this Fall and didn’t feel overcrowded in the least. Would definitely cruise on this ship again!

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Been on most of the current NCL ships and the Epic is hands down the worst of the bunch. You won't have a miserable vacation on her, but she has so many little problems that add up to a lot in the end.

Been reading one after another negative posts on Epic to the point that I can't wait to cruise on Epic, so much to the point that I booked a 15 Nt. TA to Barcelona inside final payment just 2 weeks ago. Did you know it came with the sweet UBP, 4 SDins and OBC ALL for $1099 Balcony on one of the best TA itineraries imaginable.

Not sure if it's ever possible to really pay you Looser gals and guys back in anyway ..... but got to say,,,,,thanks to All your negative work I was able to secure one of the best possible TA deals EVER !!!

By the way, AND No, I won't be writing any Snippy Geeked out Overly Boring POS Review. ;p