calling all NCL Epic balcony aficionados

last night my wife and i were researching all the balcony options on the Epic. does anyone have recommendations?

options included uncovered, hull, large balcony, aft, family balcony, ones on decks 8-12, and of course the mini suite.

I'm afraid we got paralysis by analysis.

right now we have a hull balcony on deck 8 forward near elevators, but we will mostly take stairs to 5-6-7 common areas. our room is directly above Bliss bar/club. a little noise wouldn't bother me. I've never seen a hull balcony before... might love it/might not but I do know what I'm getting into in advance. c'est la vie!

it's a 10+ day cruise and my biggest concern is my wife having ample room to shave/get ready especially considering the peculiar Epic bathroom setup. is the mini suite shower area that much of a difference to warrant upgrade?

thanks, in advance, for your thoughts.

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My parents had a mini suite on the Epic while I had a studio and the shower area was nice and huge. They were on the 12th floor and it was a very nice room toward front right near elevator.

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You might want to consider a spa balcony.

This is a discussion that was started back in 2011, but it is a very thorough listing of all of the Epic balconies. I found it very helpful when researching past Epic sailings.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1522322&highlight=epic+balcony

I would not do a hull balcony on the Epic. They are not the same as on the Jewel class ships. From what I've read on the Epic you cannot look out at the ocean while sitting on your balcony because the hull opening is too high. Here is link to a youtube video of Epic 9000 which on SD Mike's list is shown as one of the "better" Epic hull balconies because the opening is wider.

Here is link to youtube video of Epic 12015, also a hull balcony.

If the links aren't clickable you can copy and paste into your browser.

On my 3 Norwegian cruises we have had traditional balconies. It’s more important to me to be near the elevator than to have a particular type of balcony. As long as the view isn’t obstructed, I’m good!

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We love aft facing balconies and have had them on several ships. Epic aft facing balcony 10318 ...... bed is by the balcony which is location we prefer. It is one of the outside edge balconies. On the Epic these are wider so there is room for a lounger (or two). Here is link to a thread where I posted some photos of the "secret stairs" and also posted photos of 10318 balcony.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...ncl+epic+10318

Here is link (you'll probably have to copy and paste in browser) to a well done youtube video of an aft facing Epic balcony. They didn't show room number but it isn't one of the outer edge balconies since as you can see there is no room for a lounger but it is one of the aft facing staterooms with bed by the balcony.

never thought of YouTube videos...thanks. my teens are on vacation. ha.

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In the past we have booked balcony's they were great. Leaving on the epic Sept 5 and have an aft facing balcony booked for the first time.

Let you know about our experience when we return.:cool::cool:

My sister and I stayed in a Spa Mini Suite this past March. I decided to go with the mini suite because the shower area was a little bigger. We were in 14163 and enjoyed this location because it is close to the aft elevators and only one flight up to Spice H2O and the pool deck.

The balcony was not massive but was plenty big for the two of us.

We were just on the Epic. We had the balcony sailaway and was assigned 8094. It was uncovered and on our only sea day it rained so we could not use it.

On the Epic there are a few mini suites that have both a tub and shower.

The large balcony’s I believe are angled and therefore less privacy

after viewing videos, Epic mini suite is out. wife doesn't care for tub. we saw video from escape mini suite restroom and it was niiiiiiice.

I'd like to pull trigger on aft facing balcony but our OBC would drop $200 with today's rates.

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