A Truly Epic Cruise Dec 18 - 25!

[CanadianTwosome]

As I'm sure many are expecting, I can't say enough good things about the Epic!! I just wish we'd had more time to explore and try everything, because one week is definitely not enough. I am intending to write a 'proper review' very soon, so I'll post when I do. In the meantime, here are some things I loved (and a few I didn't :eek:):

 

Loved:

Storage in our cabin!! We had four people, five big bags (including one full of scuba gear) and three carry ons, and we had storage for everything. It was amazing!

The open bathroom!! I knew I would and I did!! It was so refreshing to not have to deal with shower steam - especially someone else's - to use the toilet or the sink. We also found the concerns over the frosted glass to be unfounded; even when we pressed our faces up against it, we couldn't see anything clearly. (but it was fun making faces at each other anyway! :p)

The waterslides!! The green one is definitely the most exciting, but the plunge is great too. It just got me giggling spinning around and around the bowl - and then tipping into the chute backwards. The funniest part was when my husband emerged though... and said, 'You know, now that I've done that slide, I kind of feel like crap...' :p

The food!! We have always loved the food on our NCL cruises, and the Epic was no exception. We ate at the Garden Cafe, Taste, Manhattan Club, Cagney's, Moderno, the Noodle Bar, Teppanyaki, and LeBistro.

The staff!! Every single staff member we encountered was smiling and friendly and helpful. We especially loved our room steward Rodrigo, who was nothing short of amazing.

The ice bar!! It seemed kind of crazy for us coming from the cold, but there was one night when I was so hot that all I could think of was that if I were home I'd go stand out in my yard to cool off... so I hit the ice bar! Ha ha ha They were quite surprised when I told them that I didn't want a cape, so I took one along, but it was great to feel that refreshing coolness. Interestingly, when our plane landed tonight the pilot told us that it was -10C here... the same temperature as the ice bar! ha ha ha

Blue Man Group!! I had only seen them on tv appearances in the past, and they were always just playing their drums and I thought that was all they did. The only reason I went was because they were included and I figured I should see what all the hype was about and we LOVED them!! Who knew they were funny? ha ha ha

I can't even think of everything... the pub crawl, the White Hot Party, Second City... well, pretty much everything. :)

 

Now for the shocker - there were a few things we didn't like!!

My daughter thought the cabin was too small. It didn't bother me and my husband and mom never complained, but my daughter was quite vocal about it.

The smoke. I really wanted to get on board and find that people were exaggerating about it, and I really didn't find it as bad as some have reported, but it was definitely there. When we went to the noodle bar, I had to request a move to an interior Shanghai table since we could smell it and I knew that if we sat where we were my husband would have gotten sick. As I said, it wasn't terrible, and really it was only 'bad' a few times, but I agree with those who have suggested that they re-think the smoking and non-smoking areas of the casino.

The 'cream of broccoli soup' in the Manhattan Room (and Taste as well I assume). My mom ordered it the first night and it was not what I'd call creamy at all, and it tasted kind of like water with boiled broccoli in it. This was the first item on any NCL menu that I haven't liked. (I have to say, though, the wild mushroom quesadilla made up for it... I should have added it to my 'loved it' list).

 

I'm still pretty tired and we just got back a couple of hours ago (we spent a few days before and after in Orlando), so I've probably missed a ton of stuff. Feel free to ask questions!! :)

[sdmike]

Welcome back!! Glad you had a great time.

[kerrytens]

Welcome home to Canada! Thank you so much for the mini review. I can't wait for the expanded one you mentioned:D. BTW, I totally understand the need to enter into the Ice Bar in order to cool down. Can't wait for my turn to do it.

 

It is interesting that you brought up the smell of smoke again. Initially we read that it was horrible and NCL seemed to add filters of some sort to try and counteract it. People seemed relatively happy with them initially but now we have read a few more accounts of the smell with your cruise. I hope that NCL is listening again and perhaps makes more changes (that have been discussed on these boards).

 

Thanks for taking the time to write this!!! Glad you had a great time.

[JRosamonda]

It is interesting you brought up the smoke.....I as a smoker found that there are very few places to smoke on the ship. I am conciencious (sp?) of others and would never smoke in my cabin nor will I smoke in non designated areas. In the casino you can on smoke on the sides and I found that often I was one of the few. On deck 7 outside...not on the track side there is an area and then up at the bar on the pool deck. There is no smoking in any of the other bars or night club like settings. I can even appreciate this being I love piano bars but even I choke on all the smoke in a smaller confined room....not on Epic...no smoking at venues or in bars.

[david_sobe]

Welcome back CanadianTwosome

Glad you had such a great cruise. Do did I. I regret not attending the CC meeting but there was just too much to do on board. I missed Jeff Hobson and so many other things and wanted to try so many different restaurants.

 

I did see you though. Unfortunately you left too soon before I could say hello. I loved your Santa Boots. I got to see you and your beautiful daugther sing Boston "More than a Feeling" at Bliss one night. You guys sounded great, real Karaoke professionals. Once they announced you were from Saskachawan, I knew it had to be YOU. How many people from Saskachwan could be on board and blogged they loved singing Karoake ;)

You left too fast after your song before I could introduce myself but I also saw you dancing at the White Hot Party. It looked like you were having a blast.

Cant wait to read your review. I already posted mine.

[mel-b]

Welcome back! I'm looking forward to the remainder of your review! Like other reviews I've read, I love the opinions and pictures. We sail the Epic March 12th!

 

Melissa

[CanadianTwosome]

Thanks for the replies!

 

I just wanted to clarify about the smoke... I mentioned it because we DID notice it. However, I do want to be clear that it was not bad all the time, and even when it was, it was nothing like some of the other casinos I've been in. There was not a constant cloud of smoke hanging anywhere. I just thought that because it did necessitate us moving in the noodle bar, and it was enough to notice it a couple of other times, that I needed to include it. Most of the time we had no problem walking through, though, and even commented more than once on how little smoke there was. :)

 

David, I'm glad you enjoyed our rendition. I am fortunate that my daughter doesn't complain to me about the classic rock I listen to in the car, and she even sings along. The two of us belt out Boston, Kiss, Ted Nugent, Queen, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. We especially love the songs with really high notes, and after we hit them, we invariably high five... we may have even done it while we were singing karaoke. It's come up a few times since then; my daughter loved performing, hearing the applause, and knowing that she hit that note 'when it counted'. :) I wish you'd introduced yourself during the White Hot Party. All that dancing was fun, but my classic rock affinity was unfortunately not satisfied at all - come to think of it, that's probably the thing that disappointed me most about Epic (of the few disappointing things!). Even when I approached the DJ in Bliss and requested some rock music (I didn't even stipulate 'classic'), he played HALF a song. Then at the White Hot Party, some mix included the entire intro to 'Welcome to the Jungle' and then right when the vocal part of the song was about to start, the music changed!! It was quite a tease!!

 

As for the Santa slippers... My daughter and I were shopping for new Santa hats prior to the cruise and we found some big red, curly toed, pompommed slippers that even had little sound buttons to play Christmas midi. We picked them up with the intention of wearing them to the meet & greet along with our hats, but the overwhelming reponse they got from every crew member and many of the passengers we met was just too fun. We ended up wearing them every day for the rest of the cruise unless we were going outside. We even wore them with our formals!! I have to admit, though... they were definitely more comfortable than my heels. We also had a beautiful holiday wreath cling that we had on our cabin door. We received many comments, and our room steward also told us that many people had commented to him, both staff and passenger. On Christmas eve, when there were costumed characters in the Atrium mingling and posing for pictures, I was wearing my hat and slippers and a red top, and a little girl tapped me gingerly on the shoulder and then asked very quietly, 'May I have my picture taken with you?' Ha ha ha I laughed and explained that I would be happy to pose with her, although I was just a passenger. Her dad and I had a little laugh and so did one of the professional photographers, who had gotten to know us a bit because we posed every chance we got, having purchased the photo cd.

 

Oooh... the Photo CD. I forgot about it earlier. I have to say that for us, this was a fantastic innovation. I know that people think it's overpriced at $300, but for me to have ONE professional photo sitting here, I would pay that amount or more, and I wouldn't have the collection of amazing photos we got last week. We brought home three CDs, and I'm actually going to have to make some difficult decisions about which family shot to display, and which picture of my daughter I'll want to frame. That's going to be the hardest, actually. They had some great sets available daily, and we got some incredible shots. We saw some truly gorgeous shots of other people as well, especially with some of the holiday outfits families wore.

[Sparky38]

It sounds like you had a fabulous time and you have only made me even more excited about our holiday - we fly from the UK on 4th March for two weeks on the EPIC. I love the way you threw yourselves into your holiday and were so positive about everything!! And the Christmas outfits sound great! Please post more......

[joyy7403]

You loved her as much as we did! I would love to go for 2 more weeks to do it all over again! I agree about the smoke, it is annoying sometimes. I did talk to Richard (Asst. Hotel Director) about it and they're working on a solution. I just don't think those air purifiers are going to fix the problem.

 

But, she's big, beautiful, fun & highly recommeded for a wonderful cruise experience!!!!

 

Joyce

[AnnArbor_707]

Canadian: Are you a bigger girl ? Unless there's 2 sets of women wearing santa slippers at the buffet it had to of been you. Wish I would have known to say hi.

 

About the broccoli soup: I had it every single night I was in the main dining rooms. I'm a picky eater and don't even like broccoli (and I'm not a soup eater), but that soup was amazing! Funny how that works... but one of my favorite things on the cruise.

[silkhair1]

Nice review, fun slippers!

[CanadianTwosome]

Canadian: Are you a bigger girl ? Unless there's 2 sets of women wearing santa slippers at the buffet it had to of been you. Wish I would have known to say hi.

 

About the broccoli soup: I had it every single night I was in the main dining rooms. I'm a picky eater and don't even like broccoli (and I'm not a soup eater), but that soup was amazing! Funny how that works... but one of my favorite things on the cruise.

 

How diplomatic! Ha ha ha Yup, that was me. There were exactly two pairs of those slippers on board and they belonged to me and my daughter - though we did have many offers and requests, especially from crew members who wanted us to leave them behind so that they could wear them the following week! :p

 

You know, when I tried my mom's soup and we agreed that we didn't like it and it wasn't what we were expecting, I said exactly that - that there were surely many people who loved it. I do love being right!! ha ha ha

[CanadianTwosome]

Another 'love' I forgot to mention...

 

The wing sauce at O'Sheehan's is nothing short of delicious. I say 'sauce' instead of wings because while the wings are yummy, I found that they were very messy, so to enjoy the flavour while not having to get the sauce all over my fingers, I came up with a 'special combination' snack:

 

To anyone going on the Epic, I highly recommend ordering the spinach dip, then asking for some wing sauce and blue cheese dressing on the side. Add the sauce and dressing to your dip, stir, and enjoy with the tortilla chips. Divine!! :)

[tomsuelaw]

Canadian Twosome, I was very much anticipating your return from your cruise so I could hear all about it. Thank you for the mini review to hold me over until you do your grand finale review :D.

 

I am so pleased to know you had a fabulous time, I figured you would as you usually do. You and your family are very nice and fun people to cruise with. Your have a fantastic cruising attitude and that is why I am so excited to hear your opinions of the Epic!

 

A couple questions for you, as I have long awaited to pick your brain on Epic issues:

 

1. How does Epic compare to the Pearl?

2. Will you cruise other NCL ships again other then the Epic, now that you have experienced her granduer? ;)

3. Does Epic have a veranda deck (like deck 7) on the Pearl where you can walk around whole ship while covered in the shade?

4. Is there an ice cream bar?

5. Are the french fries as good as the ones on the Pearl? haha! love the fries on the Pearl!

 

No rush in answering these as I am sure you busy busy! Thanks in advance!

[Tideone]

We sailed on the Pearl Thanksgiving and were on the Epic with twosome and her family... love those shoes...

IMO, you can't compare the Epic to the Pearl or any other NCL ship for that matter. The Epic is one of a kind... what other NCL ship do you enter through the casino?

Our Thanksgiving cruise on the Pearl was our fourth cruise on her and IMO was one of the worse cruises we have ever had... one of our biggest concerns was the food... it just wasn't as good as it had been on other cruises.

Some members of the crew were outstanding, while others weren't so outstanding.

The Pearl used to be the pride of NCL but now it is having to take a back seat to the Epic.

I am sure we will still cruise other NCL ships, especially the Dawn, IMO she is just the right size.

The thing we missed most from the Pearl and other NCL ships was deck 7, where you can look out across the water, sit and relax or walk around the ship for exercise. This is missing on the Epic, something that will be changed on NCL's next two new ships. They will also include a library and a chapel.

I am not sure about an ice cream bar because I am not a big ice cream eater but I do love french fries and the Cagney fries on the Epic are just like the Pearl. I had some of their regular french fries and I really loved them.

[CanadianTwosome]

Ha ha ha I keep remembering things...

 

I wanted to comment about the buffet. The food was really good, the selection was great, and even with 4,400 or so people on board, we could always find a table, and they all had great views of the ocean.

 

Also, I made a point of noticing if there were crowds, and I can say that they only time I felt like there were real 'crowds' was on embarkation day while people were waiting for their cabins to be ready. The only time we waited for anything was when we attended events in the Spiegel Tent, or when we were watersliding.

 

Now to answer some questions:

 

1. How does Epic compare to the Pearl?

From my perspective, all of the things that make a cruise a cruise were there on both ships - great food, transportation between ports, and a little mini-community where I met some great people and had a lot of fun. Both have waterslides (though I never did get around to trying the one on the Pearl), both have the same specialty restaurants (except Moderno), and many of the organized activities are the same. Where the Epic truly differs is in its entertainment. For me, it was really as close to 'my type of entertainment' as I've ever had on a cruise. I'm not really a big fan of traditional cruise entertainment, so the variety and style of the entertainment on Epic was much more suited to my tastes. Also, the cabin... oh, the cabin. I wish all cruise cabins had similar setups. I could have used a bit more 'moving around' room, but the storage was amazing and the split bathroom was perfect for my family.

 

2. Will you cruise other NCL ships again other then the Epic, now that you have experienced her granduer? ;)

Absolutely!! The Epic is the Epic, and I loved her. I've loved every cruise ship I've ever been on, though, and expect that to continue. Size means nothing to me, and amenities are all just bonuses as far as I'm concerned, so whether a ship has more or less of them is not as important to me as the basics - that I'm away, sailing from port to port, and dining well (whether freestyle or traditional).

 

3. Does Epic have a veranda deck (like deck 7) on the Pearl where you can walk around whole ship while covered in the shade?

Apparently Epic does not have this particular amenity. I never missed it, but I'm much more of a 'find a spot and enjoy it' than a 'walk around in circles' type. I kind of found it funny how many people have complained that there aren't enough views of the ocean on Epic, because I spent so much time enjoying just looking at it. I saw it from the upper deck, at every meal (practically all of the dining venues have a view), and from my balcony.

 

4. Is there an ice cream bar?

There appeared to be ice cream in abundance! I can verify that there is both hard and soft ice cream in the Garden Cafe, and I'm pretty sure I also saw a machine outside on the pool deck. My daughter LOVED it! They also deliver ice cream and jello via room service - but you don't get to pick the colour of your jello. :p (I learned this when my daughter explained why there was orange jello in our fridge...)

 

5. Are the french fries as good as the ones on the Pearl? haha! love the fries on the Pearl!

This is a tough question for me since I'm not much of a fry eater. I do love Cagney's fries, though, and I can tell you that the two I ate on the Epic were as delicious as ever. That truffle oil really makes a difference! As for the rest of the venues, though, I can't answer from personal experience, but my family seemed to enjoy them.

[justcake]

Just wanted to add to what David said about your daughter and you singing in Bliss. The two of you were wonderful to listen too. It brought the kareoke to a new level. I wish we could have heard more.

 

Did your daughter not go to the kids crew? My on daughter was there every night but the other one went only a few times. They had a really good time there and met some nice friends.

[coffeebean]

I found myself giggling as I went round and round in the bowl too. LOVED the slides...well, the green one was a bit to fast for me with too many turns. I was dizzy after using the green one but I loved the purple one and the Epic plunge.

 

Is the music still very lound on the pool deck? I found the music to be an uncomfortable level and it ruined our time at the great outdoors. Live music or the pre-recorded music were so loud, it was difficult to carry on a conversation. I surely hope they have corrected that.

[david_sobe]

Since some have brought up Cagney's fries. I noticed the Cagney's fries changed from my last NCL cruise earlier this year. They were still yummy sprinkled with cheese? But have changed the style and cut and not as good as the original.

 

Anyone else notice that?

Canadian, I agree with you about the lack of crowds. It freaked me out how there were empty tables everywhere. I noted in my review that the night we left St Maarten, there was a full moon, and both hot tubs at Spice were empty. Several times during the cruise, I kept saying, where is everyone at?

We were alone in the Ice Bar on Xmas eve (although I heard it was sold out thursday night).

[coffeebean]

It is interesting you brought up the smoke.....I as a smoker found that there are very few places to smoke on the ship. I am conciencious (sp?) of others and would never smoke in my cabin nor will I smoke in non designated areas. In the casino you can on smoke on the sides and I found that often I was one of the few. On deck 7 outside...not on the track side there is an area and then up at the bar on the pool deck. There is no smoking in any of the other bars or night club like settings. I can even appreciate this being I love piano bars but even I choke on all the smoke in a smaller confined room....not on Epic...no smoking at venues or in bars.

I appreciate that the smoking policy is quite strict on NCL ships. Smoking is restricted to all interior spaces with the exception of the cigar bar and the casino. This is the reason the majority of smoking inside is done in the casino. There are folks in the casino and at the bar who don't gamble but just go there to smoke. I used to do just that when I was a smoker.

[tomsuelaw]

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question Canadian Twosome! I appreciate your input and value your opinion!

 

I for one would really miss the veranda deck. I love to walk in circles when the circle is a large cruise ship surrounded by water with nice weather...gotta burn off those extra calories somehow. I didn't gain a pound on the Pearl thanks to that veranda deck. Plus, we have a baby who loves her stroller walks and a toddler who loves to run!

 

With that said, it does seem that the Epic has so many other activities to keep one busy that perhaps walking would not make the top of my list ;). Sounds like the Pearl is more of a laid-back ship compared to the Epic.

 

You Rock! Keep being you, I am glad we have CC members like you!

[CanadianTwosome]

Just wanted to add to what David said about your daughter and you singing in Bliss. The two of you were wonderful to listen too. It brought the kareoke to a new level. I wish we could have heard more.

 

Did your daughter not go to the kids crew? My on daughter was there every night but the other one went only a few times. They had a really good time there and met some nice friends.

 

Thank you, I'll tell my daughter; she'll be thrilled. I thrive on applause, but this was the first time she was really eager to perform, so I'm glad we were able to do a good job! :)

 

She actually did not ever go to Kid's Crew this trip! We were both surprised when we realized that it was Friday night and she hadn't been once. She had every intention of going the first night to meet everyone, but had an upset stomach and ended up sleeping all evening. After that, it was just a whirlwind of here, there, and everywhere, and the only Kid's Crew oriented activity we did was the family Pictionary (which our team won!).

 

Coffeebean, I think the music was still a little louder than it needed to be, but it worked out well for us since it was perfect from our balcony! :p

 

TomSueLaw, thank you for the nice compliment. I like to just present my opinion as my own personal viewpoint and give as much information as I can so that other members can tell whether they might feel the same way. As far as walking on the Epic, there's plenty to be had! Unfortunately, most of it is indoors, but even though there isn't a wrap-around track, the pool deck is really quite large and I'm sure you could make an enjoyable loop there if you wanted. :)

 

David, I did notice that the Cagney's fries seemed a bit different, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. As I said, I only eat a couple at any one sitting. I never have room!! They were definitely still delicious, especially for a non-usual fry eater like myself. :)

[sdmike]

I found I got a lot of walking in between my cabin and the spa. It's along trip! :)

[CanadianTwosome]

I found I got a lot of walking in between my cabin and the spa. It's along trip! :)

 

Ha ha ha It is, isn't it? Something I found curious, though, was that as the week went on, the walk seemed shorter and shorter... I guess I was just getting more used to it, but the first day while I was walking from the Spa back to my cabin - which was midship nearer the fore elevators - the corridor seemed to go on forever! By the end of the week, I think I'd walked it enough times that the familiarity made it seem shorter.

[sdmike]

Ha ha ha It is, isn't it? Something I found curious, though, was that as the week went on, the walk seemed shorter and shorter... I guess I was just getting more used to it, but the first day while I was walking from the Spa back to my cabin - which was midship nearer the fore elevators - the corridor seemed to go on forever! By the end of the week, I think I'd walked it enough times that the familiarity made it seem shorter.

 

Yeah, a little shorter, but since we were up in 14022 even forward of the fore elevators it WAS a long walk. :)