NCL EPIC Fail

Just returned form my First and quite possibly last NCL cruise. Ill break it down to the Readers Digest version.

Cabin, Mini Suite, large room great balcony tons of storage, what is with NCL putting the toilet, shower and sink in the sleeping area. Weird. Crew, very unfriendly, if I got a smile it was forced, Buffet, constantly running out of food, attendants did not seem to notice or care. Condiments for buffet were depleted and not replenished, Coffee machines, NEVER worked for breakfast. Ignored by 2 Maitre'd's while I was trying to check in for Specialty dining. (The ones you have to pay extra for???) Soda package was a total loss. You only get a 8 oz plastic cup filled with ice for your beverage, Everywhere not just in the pool decks, so you only get about 5 oz of soda. Then wait and wait till the bar tender wants to notice you to get another. No instructions for disembarkation in my cabin, Luggage tags were only in guest service area and that was two days before the end of the cruise. Good luck on which one you choose and where to meet for debarkation. Maybe this works for some but for me NCL is Never Again

...what is with NCL putting the toilet, shower and sink in the sleeping area. Weird.

Epic is the only NCL ship with that setup.

Awesome review

I see you have been a Cruise Critic member for many years. I sure hope you knew about the bathroom setup prior to boarding the ship. Any teeny tiny amount of research and you could have found hundreds of comments about the bathroom setup.

That setup does not bother me. Cruised once on Epic, and 2 more booked.

Cruised twice on Epic and loved it!

If you understand the Epic balcony cabin limitations and account for them, you probably won't have an issue.

You were, apparently, ignorant of those limitations in design, but that's your fault (they are clearly documented,) so it's on you.

Sympathy == zero, sorry.

7 trips on the Epic and never had a problem. Love the ship! No failure from our perspective.

Epic not one of my favorite ships.....Quirky cabin setup, and you feel like your in a closed in resort. Has to be the least amount of outside space/views of any ship. Very poor design!

I see you have been a Cruise Critic member for many years. I sure hope you knew about the bathroom setup prior to boarding the ship. Any teeny tiny amount of research and you could have found hundreds of comments about the bathroom setup.

That setup does not bother me. Cruised once on Epic, and 2 more booked.

Unfair comment. Bathroom layout is not really a thought about topic.

I too have been a member for many years and recently took my first NCL cruise. I have perused these NCL boards for almost a year and the topic of bathroom layout has not been discussed.

On my cruise, I was surprised by how small the mini suites were and how small the balcony was. None of this was discussed either.

Unfair comment. Bathroom layout is not really a thought about topic.

I too have been a member for many years and recently took my first NCL cruise. I have perused these NCL boards for almost a year and the topic of bathroom layout has not been discussed.

 

On my cruise, I was surprised by how small the mini suites were and how small the balcony was. None of this was discussed either.

Bathroom topic is one off the most talked about on a weekly if not daily basis and the inward design not many ocean views so sorry yes it is no excuses for a person who is on these boards not to know.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

Didn't take long for the messenger to get AK-47'd on this thread.

"the topic of bathroom layout has not been discussed" BWAHAHAHAHA

Unfair comment. Bathroom layout is not really a thought about topic.

I too have been a member for many years and recently took my first NCL cruise. I have perused these NCL boards for almost a year and the topic of bathroom layout has not been discussed.

 

On my cruise, I was surprised by how small the mini suites were and how small the balcony was. None of this was discussed either.

Lol, bathroom setup is the #1 Epic topic! Plus the fact that the balcony and mini suite cabins on the megaships are basically the same size, with tiny balconies.

Epic not one of my favorite ships.....Quirky cabin setup, and you feel like your in a closed in resort. Has to be the least amount of outside space/views of any ship. Very poor design!

The quirky cabin setup of the Epic really wasn’t an issue for me and my wife. What we didn’t like was the resort feel and disconnect from the sea. I really missed having a true promenade deck and you don’t even see the ocean walking through the ship on decks 5, 6, and 7.

If I wanted a vacation that felt like a resort I would have booked an all-inclusive resort. Although I’m not a fan of the Epic I have booked another cruise on her in 2020.

You can get more than one soda at a time at least that is my experience.

Just returned form my First and quite possibly last NCL cruise. Ill break it down to the Readers Digest version.

Cabin, Mini Suite, large room great balcony tons of storage, what is with NCL putting the toilet, shower and sink in the sleeping area. Weird. Epic is the only NCL ship with this design. Crew, very unfriendly, if I got a smile it was forced, Buffet, constantly running out of food, attendants did not seem to notice or care. Did this happen just once or did this happen every day? Condiments for buffet were depleted and not replenished, ditto Coffee machines, NEVER worked for breakfast.Looks like you went to the Garden Café just once and decided not to return, right? Ignored by 2 Maitre'd's while I was trying to check in for Specialty dining. (The ones you have to pay extra for???) Soda package was a total loss. You only get a 8 oz plastic cup filled with ice for your beverage, Everywhere not just in the pool decks, so you only get about 5 oz of soda. Do you have a picture of that 8oz plastic cup? Was it given to you with the Soda Package? Then wait and wait till the bar tender wants to notice you to get another. No instructions for disembarkation in my cabin, the disembarkation instrux are always left in your cabin during the evening turn down - maybe you trashed them without seeing them Luggage tags were only in guest service area and that was two days before the end of the cruise. this is the common practice Good luck on which one you choose and where to meet for debarkation. Maybe this works for some but for me NCL is Never Again

Other NCL ships do not have the bathroom set up as the Epic does. Other NCL ships are better than Epic. But I guess you won't give them a try.

Of my 45 cruises Epic has the worst layout I have yet to encounter and I actually had a suite in the Haven. I will never sail her again. However I love the Star.

I have perused these NCL boards for almost a year and the topic of bathroom layout has not been discussed.

You've never seen me post the following video?.....

Thanks for the warning - the bathroom setup sounds like a total dealbreaker for us. We will not be sailing on Epic. Meanwhile, we are repeat NCL happy customers. I am responding to this at the Port of Tampa waiting to board the Dawn. We have cruised several lines and NCL is our favorite.

As for customer service, we have found that SOME employees do have the attitude you describe. But to us that’s still preferable to being on a run down ship with super friendly staff (our experience with one other line in particular...)

Unfair comment. Bathroom layout is not really a thought about topic.

I too have been a member for many years and recently took my first NCL cruise. I have perused these NCL boards for almost a year and the topic of bathroom layout has not been discussed.

 

On my cruise, I was surprised by how small the mini suites were and how small the balcony was. None of this was discussed either.

I've seen so much about the Epic bathrooms over the years that I feel like an expert without ever having been on it. I wouldn't be surprised if the first ever thread on the Epic was focused on the bathroom.

Unfair comment. Bathroom layout is not really a thought about topic.

I too have been a member for many years and recently took my first NCL cruise. I have perused these NCL boards for almost a year and the topic of bathroom layout has not been discussed.

 

On my cruise, I was surprised by how small the mini suites were and how small the balcony was. None of this was discussed either.

No where near an unfair comment. Almost every thread or post about the Epic mentions the bathroom. As others have already commented after you posted this. And if you had just done one quick search like “Epic mini suite”, you would have many posts that said it is hardly any larger than regular balcony. Pretty much guarantee it would have mentioned crazy bathroom setup also.

Unfortunately it looks like the OP also took a short spring break cruise too. Those are never as calm and relaxed as the normal 7 day cruise. Again, research or ask a question about that ahead of time, and that too you would have been made aware of.

The quirky cabin setup of the Epic really wasn’t an issue for me and my wife. What we didn’t like was the resort feel and disconnect from the sea. I really missed having a true promenade deck and you don’t even see the ocean walking through the ship on decks 5, 6, and 7.

 

If I wanted a vacation that felt like a resort I would have booked an all-inclusive resort. Although I’m not a fan of the Epic I have booked another cruise on her in 2020.

Totally agree... but not the part about going back on the Epic!!! LOL

Lol, bathroom setup is the #1 Epic topic! Plus the fact that the balcony and mini suite cabins on the megaships are basically the same size, with tiny balconies.

We didn’t find the balconies the same size. The Breakaway and the Getaway had the smallest, the Escape was a tad bigger and the Epic had a balcony that was big enough to hold loungers.