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New to: NCL, Haven and CC! Norwegian Epic Haven 2 bd Med review 06/20-06/27


hatchie33
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Hi All,

I've been reading through CC for the past year or so and have gained so much insight from everyone's experiences - thank you for sharing. My family and I just got off the Epic, and since she gets so many mixed reviews, I wanted to share my experience in case it helps anyone!

Some background - I am 45, DH 45, DS 18, DS 14, based in Los Angeles. We're all pretty active but also love video games lol. We've previously cruised on Carnival and Princess. Because of my kids' school and sports schedules, we rarely get to travel longer than a few days, but we decided to clear out the schedules for 2 weeks once my sons graduated (high school and middle school) and splurge on the Haven since who knows when we can go again all together. We saved for a year, so I had high expectations, and was crossing my fingers up until we got on the ship! I also planned the whole trip - DH has no patience and a busy work schedule so I just told him the dates and siphoned off money every month and he was good. So if you don't mind a lengthy review (those kinds are my favorites, at any rate), here it goes (PS please forgive me for any faux pas - it's my first post but I promise I'm not a troll!):

 

We left LAX June 18 due to arrive in Rome June 19 at around 5:45 PM. We had a stopover in Heathrow for about 3 hours or so. I get anxious pretty easily so I was worried about what issues could come up with the connecting flight but luckily no issues at all, and we even landed about 30 minutes early. I had arranged for WheretoRome to pick us up and get us to Civitavecchia. They were there even with our changed arrival time, clean van, and off we went. I think it was about 130 euros. We tipped 10 euros (again based on tipping threads off CC). We stayed at Alibrandi Palace, about $150, booked through travelocity. Nice place in the middle of everything, not modern by any means, but bathroom was great, it was across the street from the National Archaeological Museum, McDonalds, various boutiques, and there were restaurants within 2-5 minutes walking distance, lots of them. I thought Civitavecchia was great, I regret that we only spent the night there before the cruise! (tipped 2 euros for housekeeping)

 

June 20: Embarkation day (Wednesday)

I arranged for WheretoRome to pick us up at 9 AM for a 4 hour tour to Tarquinia before boarding the ship. 4 passengers, Mercedes van, and drop off right at the cruise ship terminal: 233 Euros. In Tarquinia we went to the necropolis (underground tombs), the archaeological museum, walked the streets, shopped at the flea market, took tons of photos, visited a church - it was lovely, not crowded at all, but not very big. We were back on our way to Civi by 12:00. We had our driver stop by the supermarket to get some potato chips (teenage boys eat all the time no matter what) and he drove us right up to the door of the terminal at around 1:00. (We tipped 20 euros) There were about 5 people ahead of us in the security line. When I got to the front, the guy told us to bring our bags to the other side for porters to take, even though we all only had one carry-on bag - we had planned to walk on/off with our luggage ( this was due to me reading on CC to pack light!) anyway, I was momentarily miffed that my plan was changed, especially since I saw other passengers going through with the same size bag, but oh well - that lasted about 2 seconds. So back in the security line, now about 6 people ahead of us. Straight through, and up to the check in lines - the Haven line had no one in it. We got checked in, and the nice lady walked us to the VIP lounge where we met Omar our head concierge. He introduced himself, asked us if we wanted anything to eat or drink (sandwiches, sweets, juices, water). My kids and hubby grabbed a few sandwiches to go because Omar had Joecent waiting there to take us on the ship! We didn't want to make him wait. Off we went, my kids were duly impressed at the VIP treatment since that's not how we usually roll. (Score one for mom). On the ship, we were ushered into the elevator to deck 16. Our butler Romel met us there and introduced himself, and led us on a tour of the courtyard and, lounge, and the restaurant, and had us sit down (it was all very rushed, and I was appraising him all the way and deciding what to write about him on my review - hahaha terrible, I know. I really wanted to see the gym, sundeck, etc, but oh well. I remember from CC threads embarkation days are usually busy. Lunch at the Haven restaurant was top notch. Food was fast, hot, delicious, service was great. After we ate, we went straight to 16003 and our luggage was already there! Melita our steward introduced herself, and we inspected the room. I noticed that the stuff I requested from the pre-concierge was not fulfilled. Pillow menu? nope. Pullman bed down? nope. Mini-bar? still full. BUT - I didn't mind at all - I was just wondering if the pre-concierge requests would work. I told Melita about the bar and the bed, and she fixed it right up. We just explored the ship - Not too crowded at all (I mean, it was a port day, I guess). The boys found the basketball court and would be there all night, and have room service for dinner. We went to Le Bistro at 5:30 as one of our the UDP meals. Soo delish, fancy, and again, service was perf. We strolled around the ship some more and then went to bed. Then we all woke up around 1 AM! I guess that's jetlag? The four of us went down to O'Sheehans for darts, pool, and pub food. Service was great, drinks delish, food was solid. They we really did all go to bed! Florence and Pisa in the morning!

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Day 2: Florence and Pisa

I booked Nicola Scovenna car service - 500 euros for a private Van to Pisa and Florence. I looked at the ship tours first, but they wanted $199 pp for the big group tour, so I felt this was a cheaper alternative. (I know that it's even cheaper to take the trains, buses, etc. but with my anxiety and my hubby's impatience, it would have been a recipe for disaster to try and navigate - I decided to pay up and ensure we would get where we needed to go, and comfortably, I didn't want to spend the day either fighting or worried ha). Plus, I was able to pay online way before the tour, so I didn't feel the pain in my wallet too much during the cruise. Claudio met us at the cruise terminal at 8AM, and off we went to Pisa - we were there by 8:45 and it was breathtaking. Much better than we expected! Walked around, took vids and pics, and on our way to Florence by 9:40 or so - which was just fine because busloads of tourists came flooding in. Florence was hot, packed, and beautiful. Claudio took us to some tourist spots for pics, and we encountered our first pay toilets (1 euro each) it was all good. We had an appointment at the Accademia Gallery (The car service made the appointment for us) - got in after a 30 min wait - David was spectacular, but it was not a very big place - we were out of there in about an hour. By then the tourists were legion, the streets were packed. I was hanging on to my fanny pack and wary of people getting too close (haha thanks CC posts about pickpockets) while my sons and husband wondered what the heck was wrong with me) Took lots of pics, had lunch at a little pizzeria with air conditioning, hung out the the Basilica of Saint Mary, and started walking toward the Ponte Vecchio but the throngs of people made me change my mind. Claudio, back to the ship, please! (we tipped him 40 euros) Dinner at the Haven restaurant (Prime Rib, yes!!!) then the boys went to play ball while we checked out the casino. Played the $1 slots and got $800. Played an old penny slot machine and got $470. I took that as a sign, and went to bed. I didn't want to spend my millions, plus we were so tired . We did watch just about every movie while on the ship. Free for Haven guests, why not?

 

Day 3: Cannes

I didn't book a tour, because I was being cheap. I thought we could wing it. I was wrong, it was hot, and collectively we had no patience. After breakfast, we walked along the beach, not knowing where we were headed and too lazy to ask directions. My boys were of no help - they were busy trying not to stare at all the topless ladies at the beach (although I must say, not trying too hard). We gave up after taking some pics and spending about an hour on shore . We headed back to the ship to the empty haven pool and it was perfect! Nobody there at all and Jomel the pool valet was on point. Loved our time in the sun! Fell asleep around 4 and missed Burn the Floor. Oh well. We had dinner at the Haven Resto and movies and casino for the night. Thought about possibly heading to the Bliss Lounge for the DJ and dancing, but we were lazy (are you sensing a theme yet?)

 

I'll be back later to post more - have to work now!

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Thanks for the review so far, looking forward to more. How did your boys find the second bedroom? We are scheduled to be in a 2 br with my 3 boys but they are quite a bit younger.

 

They LOVED the room! They're 5'10" and 5'11" so I thought it might be crowded, but they didn't care. Lots of storage in there, they enjoyed having their own bathroom, and with the pullman bed down, they didn't have to share a bed. My 5'11" 160 lb son said the pullman was very comfortable, my other son said the couch was comfy too. No complaints from either.

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Day 4: Palma de Mallorca

I booked the NCL tour - beach break and Palma views ($49 each; 4 hour tour). We were to meet at the Bliss lounge (or was it the Manhattan room?) at 2:00 sharp. We got there 1:57 by my watch and they were already moving along out to the bus. The bus was nice, in good condition. They drove by pretty fast through the sights - no stopping or getting off. I didn't catch the guide's name her accent was fairly strong, but it wasn't much of an issue as she wasn't going into very heavy detail about anything. They parked us in front of a hotel right across the beach, and said they would be back at a certain time at the same spot, and off we went! That beach was HOT. We didn't know what to do, but other beachgoers just told us to grab some seats under an umbrella and some guy would come around and we would pay him. That's exactly what happened. 18 euros for 3 loungers and an umbrella. One of us always stayed with the bags in case of thievery, but we saw lots of folks leaving their stuff behind. The water was cold but tolerable, there were people smoking everywhere but not a lot of litter on the beach and air quality was not bad (I am a light smoker and my three guys detest smoke) no complaints from them, so I guess it was ok. There were lots of restos and bars around, drinks were around 8 euros or less, we didn't eat any food since we would be back on the boat before long. I will say the NCL tours are well organized and move along at a fast clip. The bus came right on the dot as we were finishing off our drinks and off we went back to the ship. I watched closely as I was sitting near the front - no one except one person tipped the driver and guide. We gave 5 euros to each. It wasn't a really informative tour, but the beach was what we were after and it was fine for that.

 

I was nagging my husband that we had reservations for Priscilla and he was like - what? You're going to make me watch a show? No thanks, I hate musicals. I think we had Burn the Floor reservations on another night and my boys vetoed that. Sometimes I hate being the only girl, but only sometimes! I finally got him to agree on a show (Priscilla) but we fell asleep after getting back on the ship then woke up too late - had dinner and missed our reservation. He wasn't too bummed about it. ( This happened to BTF too - we're terrible with waking up, but excellent at napping. We were on full vacation mode, no alarms!)

 

I am not sure if it was this night that we had Wasabi as DS #2 wanted sushi. We went, no waiting at the sushi bar. I was waiting to see if the service outside of the Haven was less than - but it was not! Everyone was friendly and treated us great! At one point the bartender overheard me saying I wish we ate at Teppanyaki so that I could have fried rice - he had one of the cooks make an extra batch and give it to me no charge! This is the only place where the food took a little longer than usual, but nothing too bad. Maybe 15 minute wait? The drinks were great too. We wanted to try the Ice bar after (btw, kids can go in too, they'll just have non-alcoholic drinks) but we didn't have a reservation - I was surprised by this- I didn't think we would need one for a bar, but oh well.

 

The boys went off to explore while DH and I went to the Humidor Lounge. He doesn't smoke per se but will indulge in a cigar once in a great while. While there we met some nice people there. When there's one or two couples in there, it's not bad at all, but there ended up being 10 people in there at one point and I had to leave. It's nice that there's a server in there for drinks though. Also, outside the Humidor Lounge, we didn't smell any smoke at all. (But, my clothes smelled after the encounter with 10 smokers) When I got back to the room, the boys complained.

 

Luckily, it was laundry special night! $19.99 and everything you can fill a laundry bag with gets washed. Awesome. We sent it off ( be warned tho - I had to itemize the bag. long, boring, and unpleasant - think used basketball clothes. hahaha) I tried to get express next day service for $10 more, but they said that didn't work for the bag special. Oh well.

 

OK talk to you guys later I gotta go for now.

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Hi All!

 

Continuing on with Day 5: Barcelona

Tried to have breakfast at the Haven Restaurant as we did most mornings, but we all woke up late! - (BTW the food was always delicious and hot, but I was beginning to understand other reviewers' observation that you start to feel the lack of variety - I was tempted to go down to the buffet) but there was no time, we had to meet our driver at 8:30AM. We booked an 8 hour private tour with skip the line tickets at Park Guell and Sagrada Familia at 99 euros per person. We were actually delayed docking as there was a passenger that passed the night before, so when we finally did dock, the mad rush to the elevators caused some delays. Gemma our driver was there with another Mercedes van..yay! We apologized for the delay and explained that we skipped breakfast and still ended up late - and she decided to take us to her favorite cafe to eat! It was awesome. They boys enjoyed the doughnuts and breakfast sandwiches, as did my husband. While they were eating I asked if there was a pharmacy around as I needed to get some contact lens solution, and it was right around the corner so off we went!

 

Next stop was a park overlooking the city, where she explained much of Barcelona history and pointed out landmarks. We took tons of photos and walked around a bit, then drove around some neighborhoods while she pointed out famous buildings. She was engaging and energetic, and kept our sons interested and off their phones - which I appreciated! Park Guell was next, it was beautiful, although getting packed, and we had about an hour to explore, which we appreciated. I will note that she walked us all the way up to the ticket booth and made sure the guards knew that we had an appt, skip the line, etc etc. so that was great.

 

Headed to Sagrada Familia next, and it was simply breathtaking. There was mass going on at the time in the bottom floor, and hearing the cantor sing was unbelievable, and the feeling was heightened with the sunlight coming in through the stained glass - just wow. We wandered around the little museum area they had there, took tons of pics again, and Gemma took us to a restaurant

in a neighborhood by the beach and recommended some dishes for us to order - the menu was in 6 different languages though so we had no issues. Ordered paella and calamari and it was bomb. Loved it! After lunch, we did an impromptu walking tour of the neighborhood where she explained more about the architecture and history. We ended up strolling along the beach as well, which was great. After about an hour we drove to some of the famous buildings in Barcelona, like the House of Bones, and a couple others (I forgot their names) took more pics (can you ever have enough?) We also stopped by the town of Born for some shopping and exploring - it was great! I had to say - I got so much bang for my buck with this tour - Loved all of it!

 

We headed back to the boat around 4:30 - tipped her 45 euros and she was thrilled. We had reservations to La Cucina that night, but we were SOOO full from our late lunch I knew it wasn't going to happen we rang Romel and he showed up with 3 pizzas, wings, fries, and a pitcher of ice water and a pitcher of apple juice. Oh and two orders of fish and chips! (I guess we were hungry?) I must say that we called him after showers and naps all around! later that night we walked around and did the Casino, kids played ball and napped some more.. very relaxing!

 

I'll be back with more in a bit!

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Thanks for the review! We are scheduled for the same cruise next June 26! I will be in the same room also with my mom, sister, and my son who will be 2. Hoping we won't be too cramped, but I think we'll make it work.

 

Hi! How fun! I think you guys will be just fine! I'm jealous - I wish I had a cruise to look forward to next year!

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Day 6: SEA DAY and all my ship notes from the trip:

Hello!

I was really looking forward to this sea day - with such a port-intensive trip, I was looking forward to this opportunity to enjoy this ship!

Breakfast was in the Haven restaurant, we were up early, like a little before 7:30. I was surprised that the Haven sundeck already had a myriad of books, towels and whatnot spread out on the loungers. omgsh - chair hogs?! I will say - every single time before this one that I walked past the sundeck, it was pretty empty. Maybe two or three groups (Yes, there were almost always children, but mostly they played among themselves in the pool, not even really the hot tub. There was no running on deck, no screaming or throwing things, so yay!) But on this day, sea day - it was packed with... books and towels! I resisted the urge and continued to breakfast. After breakfast, we walked around a bit and changed to gym clothes and headed to the main gym. (Note: my older son used the Haven gym for the first few days - once I convinced him to try the big gym, he never went back to the smaller gym!) So the gym in the EPIC is huge - two stories. Main floor has tons of machines, cardio equipment, free weights and a couple of smaller rooms for stretching or independent workouts. The bottom floor has a TRX room, which was awesome. There is a sign that says 16 and older only, so there weren't any young kids around. Even though it was a sea day and fairly busy, there were lots of machines (cardio and resistance) available and no waiting. There were towels available and water, of course.

 

I made my way to the Haven pool area around 11:30. There was one lounger available out of the 52 there. Jomel the courtyard valet greeted me right away and asked if I needed anything. I ordered a drink and settled in. I was being really nosy and kept watch over the loungers that I saw had been "saved" from the early morning. a few were now occupied, but about 6-7 were still empty by the time I left a little after 1 PM.

 

SHIP notes:

Smoke smell: We walked all over the ship, deck 5 and 6, went to the casino and around it, we never smelled smoke. There were nights when I was actually smoking in the casino in the smoking section, and obviously that smelled, but once I walked over to the non-smoking section, nada. My husband gambled 4 nights of the seven, he said smoke smell outside of people actually smoking in his immediate vicinity was very low. We went to the atrium bar one deck under, no smell.

 

Service: I read many reviews that said service was poor, the staff was glum and didn't seem happy to be there. Haven areas or no, I did not have one bad or less than happy experience with the staff. They were always happy to help and quick to respond to any questions. I sent my sons to the bar by themselves to get sodas, they were helped right away.

 

HAVEN Service (Butler and concierge): Romel had a rocky start as our butler in the beginning (chalk it up to embarkation day) when we saw him again the afternoon on the second day, he was more relaxed and chatty. He brought us snacks from day one (canapes and chocolates) as well as a welcome fruit basket and large water bottle. One the third day, I happened to catch him and I apologized for the snacks going to waste as we just weren't into them. He immediately asked if there was something else we preferred. I told him PBJ and keep the pitchers coming. Ever since that time, we received 4 PBJ sandwiches with potato chips every afternoon as well as occasional sweets and always two pitchers: Apple juice and ice water. No charge, in case you are wondering. As for the concierge, on the first day Juan (Omar's assistant) helped explain the upgrade to unlimited internet for me ($82 to convert my free 250 minutes of internet) and to help my kids both purchase the social media package for the cruise ($104 each) They both had a $200 budget for the week to spend on the boat, they thought it was a good buy. I was worried it would be spotty and not work, but we put our phones on airplane mode, turned off roaming and cell data, and just went on the ship's wifi - worked most of the time pretty quickly - there was about 20% of the time in the evenings or nearing port that it would go wonky for a little bit, but no real complaints from me or the boys. We kept missing or forgetting our show times and the concierges (Omar, Juan, and David) would just change them for us if we told them. They also got us last minute spots at restaurants a couple of times. Another time, we had a question with the charges on our account, and they patiently explained them.

 

Onboard account: We started off with $300 non-refundable OBC as a promo. We do not have credit cards and I was afraid of putting my debit card down (thanks to CC again) so in the months leading to the cruise I bought another $550 of refundable OBC, spread out so that I didn't feel the pain so much! Per the NCL website, we should have put down $1200 in cash for our accounts, but I decided to go with my $850 total OBC and see what they said. No issues whatsoever. When asked if I wanted to put down a credit card, I said nope, cash account. She said ok, and explained where guest services was to add $$$ when I wanted to. Because we ended up doing a lot of shopping, we went negative ( I think over a hundred dollars). The charges went through, they just discreetly told us to go to guest services when the bill was signed. At the end of the cruise, I sent the hubby to guest services on disembarkation morning at 7:30 ish. He picked up our $69 refund in cash, he said no line/no hassle.

 

Guest services: The longest line I saw was three people. We went in the evenings usually - you would think everyone would be there, but nope.

 

SHOPS: Clothes (Nike, Roxy, Tommy Hilfiger) watches, jewelry, and purses and accessories. Those were on deck 7. I think on deck 6 or 5 was a sundries shop that sold souvenir stuff, snacks, candies. The atrium cafe sold cigarettes, just red or white. The shops were closed in port and opened in the evenings until 9-10 pm I can't remember fully.

 

SPA: Mandara Spa was beautiful and huge. We used the Thermal suite - got a pass for $39 each for the day - although we used it at night lol. Not crowded at all, I think there were 7 people in there total. The heated loungers were awesome. There was one couple that decided they wanted to roughhouse and yell at each other while in the big pool - so annoying, but we were on our way out by the time that all started, so it didn't annoy us for long hahah - they had spa water too, it was refreshing.

 

Barber/salon/spa services: With our winnings in the casino, we decided to splurge a little. Hubby went to the barber - there was a $99 special, you get three services as a bundle, I think facial, shave, and arm massage? He came back underwhelmed. It was sufficient, but I don't think he would do it again.

 

Spa service: On another day, we were given a flyer for spa services - again a bundle for $119 I think - three 1/2 hour services. He called and asked if that was available. They said yes, would he like to make an appointment? ***BTW this was for the HAVEN spa*** He said not right now, still thinking about it. The girl who gave us the flyer saw me walk to the Haven sundeck and followed me out and asked me to book the appointment - ! I got a tingly feeling, this feels a little high pressure. I said no thanks, he's still thinking about it! She found him in the Haven Bar and asked him the same. FINE. He made the appointment. He left to go, but on his way to the Haven SPA he stopped by the concierge to ask a question. She called our cabin to check on him, and I said he already left. I guess she wanted to make sure, two minutes later she was knocking on our door to pick him up! I wasn't too happy about that. He came back after the service... She talked him out of what he already booked and said those services weren't that great - he should book the bamboo massage for $179. So he did. He said the massage was good, but the upsell I didn't like at all.

 

I gotta finish this, but I need to log off a bit - TTYL.

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That's awesome - we want to try the Jewel next! How did you like it?

 

We really liked it! The Haven area is smaller and I liked that. Our Butler wasn’t fabulous, but I assume most are (the evening Butler was so very nice!). The Haven restaurant is a short flight down 1, directly at the stairs. The concierge seems a little stern at first but is easy to “warm up”. The private deck is ahhhhmazing!

 

My favorite restaurant was unexpectedly La Cunina and my husband and sister agreed. Have fun! 😁

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Ship Notes continued:

Since we had casino winnings, DH urged me to go get something done at the salon - on vacation, pamper yourself, etc. So I decided to get a trim since I workout almost every day back home and my ends get thrashed with the constant washing and hair ties. Made the appointment after seeing that the price for a cut was $59. A little steep, but not terrible. "M" met me in the waiting area and straight to the salon, with large windows overlooking the sea. There were about 4 hair stations and 3 nail stations that I could see. We went over what I wanted - (1 inch shorter, and refresh the existing long layers. No bangs. I showed her pics in instagram and confirmed the price of $59. She confirmed it all, then suggested a treatment that would make my hair super soft and silky for two weeks, just $39! OK, fine, sign me up. I was expecting some kind of upsell, so I just took it. Who doesn't want soft, silky hair?

 

She started with the shampoo, and the delicious smelling treatment - so far, so good! During the shampoo, she started talking about her time with NCL< she loved it, food for the crew was great, and the people were nice, but she only got paid $800/month, so thankfully her clients helped her out by tipping so she could send money home to her 4 kids. Ugh. I was already going to tip, no need to lay it on so thick. I didn't know what to say to that, so I just smiled and listened. The cut started, and she had me bow my head to get to the back. Later on, I looked up, and my hair that was halfway down my back was gone. I had a thin layer of long hair in the back, but all around were layers starting at my eyeline and everywhere else. I panicked - what is this?? You never want to get upset at anyone currently taking scissors to your head, but still! She said, don't you like it! I got a recognition for layering at beauty school - looks good, right? I basically got the "Rachel" cut from 1996 or whenever with a thin layer of long hair in the back. I was like, nooooo - this doesn't look like any of the pictures I showed you nor like anything we discussed! She was genuinely confused.

 

I had her cut off the mullet portion in the back so I ended up with a Rachel bob. DH came in and plastered a thin smile on his face. I could tell she was feeling stressed about it, so to diffuse the situation, I asked maybe she could do a dye job on my husband's beard - just black all over to eliminate grays. She brightened up - YES I can do that! She runs to the back and has him sit down when she returns. I asked to look at the tube she was going to use - it said medium blonde. Awww hell nah! I think you grabbed the wrong tube, I say with a smile. Oh no, she says - we ran out of black, I think this will work! We got out of there. I gave her $40 cash tip anyway for the worst haircut of my life, but I only got mad after I saw the bill - there was a $20 tip included. UGGGHHH. Oh well at least my hair was soft and silky till my next shampoo. Then it was dry as usual. Lesson learned- no salons/spas/barbers on ships. Except for the thermal suite - that was awesome.

 

Crowded feeling/Elevators/Ship Size:

I know we were in the Haven, but even when we ventured out the ship never felt crowded. The closest I felt to being crowded (outside of the muster drill in he theater)was going through O'Sheehan's around 8PM or so - but only because the walkway narrowed - in the restaurant itself there was always seating. We never stayed around the pool area so I can't speak for the loungers there, but there was room in Spice H20 all the time, tables at the buffet, no line at the sports court, no line to get coffee at the atrium cafe.. There were definitely people on the ship, and when we boarded the NCL excursion to Palma yes there was a line, but in general I didn't feel the ship to be crowded.

 

Elevators were poop. Those were often slow. during dinner times they'd get packed, but late night and very early morning it wasn't a problem. During port days around 7:30 on there would be a wait. The HAVEN elevators were great, besides the dedicated one for port days, there was one behind the concierge desk for overflow and one in the Epic lounge to take you down to either deck 15 (buffet and main pool) or deck 18 (Posh). That one was never busy, no matter what time of day.

 

It was daunting sometimes to get to the other wend of the ship - especially after a long day at port! We didn't get lost or anything, but man! Our cabin was forward, we rarely made it past mid-ship!

 

Specialty restaurants:

We tried Moderno: Great meats, awesome service. The head waiter saw me wandering aimlessly around the salad bar - I was looking for any rice or potato to go with my meats - there was none! I explained this to him, he said not to worry. Within minutes, he had sent over to our table 2 bowls of rice and 2 bowls of grilled sweet bananas. It was awesome, Drinks were awesome too! delicious! Good dining experience.

 

Le Bistro: Fancy, quiet, great service, we had two appetizers each, one entree ( I had shrimp, he had steak) and chocolate fondue for dessert. Delicious!

 

Wasabi - already mentioned previously, great, attentive service, sushi was good.

 

Cirque Dreams and Epicurean - The show was good, not on par with Cirque Du Soleil, but entertaining. Food was meh. Had better at Haven and Le Bistro. They sat us at 7:45, and served dinner at 8:30. They had a bunch of characters walking around to take pictures with (for money, of course) we declined. The show started at 9:15. By then we were getting so antsy! Just get on with it already. There was sleeping to be done, ha!

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Day 7: Naples

 

I booked Astarita Car service for Naples and requested a trip to Pompeii with private guide, some time in Positano, and the some time in Naples to look at the San Gennaro catacombs. I was on the fence about the private guide to Pompeii - I mean, at 120 euros for two hours, it seemed a lot! But - since this vacation was already so expensive and I would likely not get to come back any time soon, I booked it and hoped to get my money's worth. The full tour including tickets to pompeii and private guide (all arranged by Astarita) Came to 585 euros. I paid 400 euros early via paypal (my choice, I wanted to get as much paid for before the vacation started) and brought the rest in cash with me that day.

 

Alessandro met us at 8:30 - we were a tad late, my two teens were getting tired of waking up early every day on vacation LOL. He was so glad to see us though! He said he's had many experiences of clients booking him starting at 8 AM and showing up at 9:30 or 10! So 8:30 was pretty good considering our agreed upon time was 8:15. He had waters and wifi in the van which instantly brightened the boys' mood. Van was spotless, cool and off we went! Positano was first cuz it was the farthest - The drive there was beautiful - Just as it looks when you google Positano =)We stopped in a couple of vistas to take pics and get some fresh air. Once we got to Positano, we looked around a bit and had breakfast, did some window shopping, and took more pics! I will say on the way there Alessandro explained a bit about the region, and pointed out landmarks as we drove past. That was cool.

 

Off to Pompeii, where we meet our guide Josie at noon. She was so fun and friendly! Immediately upon getting into Pompeii, her tour began. She spoke of all the noteworthy buildings, pointed out frescoes, answered our questions. Because we had her and not a map, we were able to move from site to site as swiftly or as slowly as we wanted, lingering when we wanted and skipping through some stuff. The brothel was great, she also pointed out the phallic symbols on the ground and in the walls (think hidden Mickeys at Disneyland hahah) and of course, the bath houses, steam room - and how those all worked. It was wonderful! I know for sure we would not have been able to really appreciate Pompeii without a guide. If you are planning a visit, please consider it - she really made it come to life for my two teens - they were really into it! (DH and I were, too!) The two hours went by too fast - but we saw so much! We met Alessandro and headed back to Naples - the San Gennaro catacombs, dating back to the third and fourth centuries. Amazing! Going underground was cool, a little spooky but so interesting. Our guide Miriam explained about how people were buried in ancient Naples, the famous Clergy buried there, and showed us St Gennaro's tomb. It was only an hour tour, but definitely memorable and Alessandro was impressed that we picked it out over the usual tourist spots in Naples ( I kinda dislike crowds). We did a little more poking around Naples, and then back to the ship - we were so tired! Tipped Alessandro 45 euros for being awesome and taking such good care of us, and then boarded the Epic!

 

It was our last night on her, and we were a little sad - we love the Epic! We had dinner and decided to pack. We actually didn't pack though - after dinner it was basketball and casino hahahaha then movies then late night snacks! We're pretty terrible at responsibility and chores.

 

more to come...

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We popped up early on disembarkation day and started packing around 6:30. DH went down to collect our surplus cash from guest services, and we went about making out our tip envelopes for the staff. Even though I paid the DSC up front, I knew that the Haven staff didn't always share in the DSC, so I planned ahead and budgeted out tips months before the trip. I figured out the amount I would be comfortable paying, and would decrease if I think they didn't merit it. I will share what we tipped with you - mind you, this was a lot for us, but then on land vacations (or at any time in our real lives) we don't have butlers, concierges, or even room stewards. Those folks really made us feel special and pampered with their personal attention and ready smiles. Butler Romel: $140 - Aside from our special requests, he would help our room steward make up the room, check on our kids if they needed anything when we were out, ensure that the snacks for the boys kept coming, asked after any missing persons if we were less than a foursome headed out to dinner. Room Steward Melita $140 - super sweet, prompt, room was immaculate - I think she tracked when we left and snuck in there super quick to clean up! brought me an iron, handled our laundry quickly (one special bag, one non-special bag totaling $54) and even put the laundry away. She answered our questions, and gave us tips on where to eat! Concierges Juan, David, Omar $50 each - they all helped us daily, whether escorting us to elevators, answering questions, coordinating plans for the night (even when we ended up as no-shows or canceling) Jomel courtyard valet: $25 even though we didn't really ask much from him aside from the occasional drink, he really did his best to look after us, asking if we needed an elevator, walking ahead to see if he could catch one for us, making small talk, greeting us whenever he saw us.. Michelle Haven waitress $40 She was pleasant, quick, remembered our preferences, and even made sure that we could get off menu items in the Haven resto when a craving struck. She was kind to the boys and made them feel comfortable even when dining without us. Mark, Haven assistant maitre d: Mark was very solicitous, when he realized we were bread pudding addicts he waited until it was bread pudding night in the main dining room and arranged with Romel to have 7 bread puddings and 2 lava cakes delivered to our room after dinner (and we never even stepped foot in the main dining rooms), that was so nice of him. $25. Carol Haven Bartender $25, gave us the most attentive service, made me specialty coffees, knew our preferences, and we really appreciated getting to chat with her before and after dinner.

 

After our last breakfast, we were escorted off the ship by Omar, and bye bye Epic! We hope to return to you!

 

Post Cruise: I arranged for Tiber Limo to pick us up at 8:30 (4 passengers, Mercedes Viano Van, waters) Leonardo was there and ready to take us to Villa Adriana in Tivoli, We slept most of the way lol we were tired! but Villa Adriana was huge, beautiful, and with the audio guide (50 euros total for the 4 of us with audio guides) it was easy to get through. The place is fantastic. After a couple of hours there, we went to Tivoli, and had lunch at Sibilla - omgsh, so beautiful! Located off a little cobblestone street, the patio is on a verdant hillside, with ruins onsite, and waterfalls as part of the view! Charming, impeccable service, amazing food! We ordered apps, drinks, four desserts - I think we forgot we were off the cruise ship - we got shocked when we got the bill!!! hahaha I think about 150 euros (that sobered us up) but well worth it for a great dining experience. Plus we knew the rest of the trip would be budget eating! After lunch, we were too full and tired to go to Villa D'este which was also in Tivoli, so we asked Leonardo to take us to the mall! Which he did =) we shopped in air conditioned comfort for about an hour or so, and it was time to take us to the hotel. He dropped us off at around 5 pm and got a 4o euro tip for the day.

 

Post Cruise Hotel: Ecce Roma Suites, near termini station (literally a 5 min walk to station I think. Colosseum 15 min walk away, and all around the hotel were bars, trattorias, souvenir and gelato shops. I think it was $402 (in dollars) for 3 nights, booked and paid well in advance with travelocity.

 

Post cruise tours:

Rome Shuttle Limousine: 80 euros in a van for two hours, and we told him to take us to Piazza Navona, Colosseum at night, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and a couple of other places. He did, it was great, lots of pics and very little walking, 20 euro tip

 

Walks of Italy: I paid $730 US total for three services, 4 people:

Pristine Sistine: 3.5 hour tour of Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums, and St Peter's Basilica. We had a group of about 15, and our guide, Emma, was phenomenal. I learned so much, as did my hubby and kids, and of course the history was amazing. We loved it (we were soooo tired though - lots and lots of walking and crowds to fight through) .

 

Colosseum/Arena Floor tour: 3 hour tour of Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Roman Forum. Again, wow - the ruins were amazing, Andrea our guide was on time, organized, kept our group together and made accommodations for those that couldn't keep up. Worth our time and money - we enjoyed this one, even though it got hot fast... and crowded. boo.

 

Transfer to FCO from Ecce Roma Suites - We had them pick us up at 4:45 AM and there he was! helped us with bags, drove straight to the airport and we got to our terminal in plenty of time. 10 euro tip.

 

**For the other two Walks of Italy Tours, we gave each guide 20 euros, but we looked and really no one else tipped, maybe one or two other persons. I know there's a lot of consternation about tipping when you "shouldn't" but in our case, we were happy with the services, and we just wanted to show appreciation. Not trying to influence anyone in whether they should or should not tip, just wanted to share what we did.

 

This trip was really the trip of a lifetime, not just our awesome cruise or the wonderful sights we saw and food we ate, but because I got to experience it with my two sons and DH - none of us had been to these areas before. We spent more than originally planned, which I think happens to a lot of us on vacation. Unfortunately, I don't think I will get to cruise in the near future - a week before this trip, I was diagnosed with cancer, and treatment will start next month I think, and I don't know what that will bring. I think going into this trip knowing I may not have a chance for a while made us all appreciate the time away together and .... made us spend more than usual? =) anyway, thank you for reading my review, please feel free to ask any questions, and happy cruising everyone!

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Hi All!

 

Continuing on with Day 5: Barcelona

Tried to have breakfast at the Haven Restaurant as we did most mornings, but we all woke up late! - (BTW the food was always delicious and hot, but I was beginning to understand other reviewers' observation that you start to feel the lack of variety - I was tempted to go down to the buffet) but there was no time, we had to meet our driver at 8:30AM. We booked an 8 hour private tour with skip the line tickets at Park Guell and Sagrada Familia at 99 euros per person. We were actually delayed docking as there was a passenger that passed the night before, so when we finally did dock, the mad rush to the elevators caused some delays. Gemma our driver was there with another Mercedes van..yay! We apologized for the delay and explained that we skipped breakfast and still ended up late - and she decided to take us to her favorite cafe to eat! It was awesome. They boys enjoyed the doughnuts and breakfast sandwiches, as did my husband. While they were eating I asked if there was a pharmacy around as I needed to get some contact lens solution, and it was right around the corner so off we went!

 

Next stop was a park overlooking the city, where she explained much of Barcelona history and pointed out landmarks. We took tons of photos and walked around a bit, then drove around some neighborhoods while she pointed out famous buildings. She was engaging and energetic, and kept our sons interested and off their phones - which I appreciated! Park Guell was next, it was beautiful, although getting packed, and we had about an hour to explore, which we appreciated. I will note that she walked us all the way up to the ticket booth and made sure the guards knew that we had an appt, skip the line, etc etc. so that was great.

 

Headed to Sagrada Familia next, and it was simply breathtaking. There was mass going on at the time in the bottom floor, and hearing the cantor sing was unbelievable, and the feeling was heightened with the sunlight coming in through the stained glass - just wow. We wandered around the little museum area they had there, took tons of pics again, and Gemma took us to a restaurant

in a neighborhood by the beach and recommended some dishes for us to order - the menu was in 6 different languages though so we had no issues. Ordered paella and calamari and it was bomb. Loved it! After lunch, we did an impromptu walking tour of the neighborhood where she explained more about the architecture and history. We ended up strolling along the beach as well, which was great. After about an hour we drove to some of the famous buildings in Barcelona, like the House of Bones, and a couple others (I forgot their names) took more pics (can you ever have enough?) We also stopped by the town of Born for some shopping and exploring - it was great! I had to say - I got so much bang for my buck with this tour - Loved all of it!

 

We headed back to the boat around 4:30 - tipped her 45 euros and she was thrilled. We had reservations to La Cucina that night, but we were SOOO full from our late lunch I knew it wasn't going to happen we rang Romel and he showed up with 3 pizzas, wings, fries, and a pitcher of ice water and a pitcher of apple juice. Oh and two orders of fish and chips! (I guess we were hungry?) I must say that we called him after showers and naps all around! later that night we walked around and did the Casino, kids played ball and napped some more.. very relaxing!

 

I'll be back with more in a bit!

***Booked our excursion with Barcelona Day tours. Quick to respond via email, I was able to pay months ahead via paypal, and they very clearly spelled out what to expect on the tour! Would recommend them heartily!

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Thank you so much for a great review! I'm so sorry about your diagnosis and wish you the best with treatment and recovery! My question may not be applicable, in the face of such news, but I'm curious if you think your trip would have been as good without the Haven experience? I'm looking into a European cruise, and they are all so port intensive, I'm wondering if you get "your money's worth" in the Haven? The 2-bedroom works good for my group of 3, and I have it again on an upcoming cruise, but it is not port intensive and we've been to the stops before. I'm wondering if 2 balconies would work for Europe... that being said, experiences like yours and spending time with the family is priceless (well sort of ), so I know you don't regret it... just curious if you'd thought about it. BTW I too travel with my kids, 22 and 24 now, can't get rid of them for some reason :)...

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Thank you so much for a great review! I'm so sorry about your diagnosis and wish you the best with treatment and recovery! My question may not be applicable, in the face of such news, but I'm curious if you think your trip would have been as good without the Haven experience? I'm looking into a European cruise, and they are all so port intensive, I'm wondering if you get "your money's worth" in the Haven? The 2-bedroom works good for my group of 3, and I have it again on an upcoming cruise, but it is not port intensive and we've been to the stops before. I'm wondering if 2 balconies would work for Europe... that being said, experiences like yours and spending time with the family is priceless (well sort of ), so I know you don't regret it... just curious if you'd thought about it. BTW I too travel with my kids, 22 and 24 now, can't get rid of them for some reason :)...

 

Hi Deb! I booked the Haven primarily because I was wary of crowds, this being our first Mega Ship experience. However, now that I experienced Epic during a time when I thought it would be super packed, I think we would've been ok outside the Haven, although I would book rooms closer to the action to limit the use of elevators. Those were really the only times that I felt irritable with slow moving or inconsiderate folks - it was a long enough wait to get on an elevator, and people would shove in and out or one time this kid kept pressing all the buttons=) . I would happily take stairs - good exercise, anyway.

 

In fact, because this cruise is so port intensive, we didn't get to use the Haven amenities as much, anyway - there was a Haven sauna, I only used the sundeck twice I think, we didn't hang out at Posh....

 

I think for a transatlantic or something like that, I would book Haven for the nice pampering experience, but if I were to go on this itinerary again and got a deal on two balconies, I'd jump at it. (I would maybe even do a family balcony suite, but alas, sharing a bathroom with three men is not high on my to-do list)

 

What made Haven "worth it" for me:

No anxiety at all about getting to do anything. I have two jobs back home, and I am always rushing to get somewhere. In the Haven - I miss something? Someone will get me in at another showtime

Really pampering experience - it's a small enclave, they know you by name and what you like

RUSH elevators!

Free movies (I tell you, I think I watched 10 that week)

Help - if I had questions, needed anything - it was a phone call away (but I am sure yit's that way outside the haven - the whole ship was so nice)

No waiting in any lines, from getting on the ship to getting off - even back from shore excursions! along with crowds, I don't like lines. No waiting for food, no waiting for anything, really

 

Now - I know it's likely that our next cruise won't be in the haven (it was very expensive for us to begin with) but I'll just be so happy to be able to cruise i'll be just fine as long as I can see the ocean!

 

I hope this helps - have fun on your next trip!

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Thanks so much for your reply.... yes you covered many of the things I was thinking about... both for and against Haven for a port intensive itinerary. We stayed in a non-haven suite on our Alaska cruise, which was fantastic. I decided to go full-on Haven for our November trip out of New York in part because really, can you go back? and in part because I assume the weather is only going to be so-so, it will be nice to have the interior haven courtyard (fingers crossed for not a ton of misbehaving children!). We would definitely miss the perks of the Haven in the future, but I'd also be sad if I spent that much more money and didn't use it to it's fullest... Nice problems to think about. Thanks again and I hope you get to cruise again soon!

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That's awesome - we want to try the Jewel next! How did you like it?

 

We loved it! Now a huge part of that love was (a) our Haven Suite and (b) the amazing Alaskan views. In other words, it’s impossible to separate all that out of our overall reaction. The only downside was our butler who was not friendly or helpful (Akhmed), but everyone else was great and super nice and his issues didn’t really dampen our trip. The Haven 2br2ba was perfect for 3 adults (my sister sailed with us)! And we liked how small this Haven was - not sure how much we will like the larger version on the Epic, so fingers crossed. Honestly, we turned around and booked another pretty quickly, that is how great that Cruise was 😺

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Your review was great, I won’t be on escape but the breakaway next month in haven 2 bedroom, also a port intensive cruise so I am happy to have some peace in haven when back on board.

Very sorry about your diagnosis sending positive energy and good karma for successful treatment and healing

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  • 3 months later...

I literally just cried at the end of this amazing post. I hope your treatment is going well....Your trip sounded so amazing! We are on the same cruise and will have the aft penthouse with the Haven. Seeing you say you never really went to the back of the ship because it was so far has me worried lol. Better not forget anything when hanging out in the haven for the day ....

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