Epic review 2/4 - 2/11

[Glen&Kathy]

The following is my review of our EPIC cruise from 2/4 - 2/11. It won't be as detailed as some but hopefully it will help. Of course, I will answer any questions. Thanks to previous posters for reviews and recommendations.

 

Embarkation: We arrived around noon and that was a bit later than what we had hoped. The process was really easy though and the lines moved quickly. We were greeted as we entered and as mentioned in other posts, entrance is through the casino. Which, I don't understand so many reviewers having an issue with this. We immediately went to the pool and started eating.

 

Food: We had no problem with the food at all. Yes, the buffet food is your basic buffet food but it was tasty nonetheless. The crepes were fantastic. Keep in mind that this is food for the masses so there will only be a certain amount of spice in the food. We ate at the buffets 3 nights I believe. Other restaurants we ate at O'Sheehan's, Moderno, Le Bistro, Wasabi, Noodles and Tepanyaki.

 

O'Sheehan's: The food was good and basic pub food. The couple we traveled with could have eaten there everyday but I didn't see the attraction. There were a few items you couldn't get anywhere else on the ship but like I said, mostly basic pub food. Not that I didn't like it, just didn't think it was as big a deal as others have stated.

 

Moderno: The food here was really good. Typical Brazilian style restaurant. We were soooo full when we were done that we didn't have room for dessert. So our waiter wrapped up dessert for us to take back to our room. Very cool.

 

Le Bistro: I probably had my best meal here. The filet I ordered melted in my mouth and the entire group loved the food.

 

Wasabi: I ordered a spicy tuna roll at lunch one day and it was delicious. My friend said his sushi was good also. Unfortunately, I didn't get the opportunity to go back for more.

 

Noodles: I didn't eat here but my wife did and she said it was really good.

 

Tepanyaki: Basic Japanese steak house. We had an awesome chef and food was great. Overall a very fun experience.

 

Final note on food, we had no complaints. Everything we ate was as we anticipated if not better.

 

Our room: We had a mini suite and I don't recall why we went with a mini suite vs a balcony like we usually get. Maybe more OBC? At any rate, our room was pretty cool. I liked the non traditional non rectangular room. We had NO issues with water splashing out of the sink. In fact, I tried everyday to make it happen and it just wouldn't. It is a bit tight at the end of the bed but it was fine. Our bed was next to the balcony and that was cool. Had no issues with the shower or toilet either. Tons and Tons of storage.

 

Entertainment: We went to Blue Man Group, Howl at the Moon, Cirque, Legends and Second City.

 

BMG: was totally cool and we really had alot of fun. If you've seen them before its not quite as thrilling as an arena show but awesome nonetheless. If you've never been to BMG, don't miss it. It's a blast.

 

Howl: Dueling piano's - How can you go wrong. We went to the first night and I think there are 3, maybe 4. I requested a couple of songs and also asked if I could come up and play drums. Since they didn't know my songs I think they took pity on me and let me come up for a couple of numbers. That was really cool. They also asked me up a bit later and I shouldn't have gone because by then I had too many cocktails. Oh well. We had a great time.

 

Cirque: We all thought the Cirque show was very entertaining. What they are able to do in such a tiny area while the ship was rocking was pretty cool. Was it like 'O'? Of course not but it was still cool. Dinner side note: dinner was not bad at all. The beef is similar to a beef pot roast. I didn't find mine tough at all. Again, dinner for the masses. Better than the buffet but not as good as Le Bistro.

 

Legends: I thought this was pretty awful but I am a musician so take my review with a grain of salt. Steven Tyler looked great and had all the moves. However, he didn't sound much like Steven Tyler at all. According to wife, Lady Gaga sounded really good but didn't move like here. I'm not an Elvis guy so I don't have an opinion there. I will say that the production was really good and the back up band was good also.

 

Second City: I did not attend the Second City show because I was sick (more on that later) but the other 3 in our group did not like it for reasons unbeknownst to me.

 

Not sure if this falls under entertainment but on board we did wine tasting, margarita tasting and martini tasting. The guys also went to the ice bar. All very fun.

 

The staff was great overall.

 

Ports: In St Marten we did the Rhino Rider excursion and it was fun. This was the first day I got sick so afterwards I went back to the stateroom and slept. This was our only excursion. In St Thomas we walked around and collected free jewelry. I wanted to get to St John but it never happened. In Nassau, we rented scooters and scootered around the island. That was really fun also.

 

Sick: On day 3, immediately following dinner at Moderno, and I mean immediately, I had to make a mad dash to the rest room and it was pretty much down hill from there. I spent all night in the bathroom getting up at least every 90 minutes. My wife was fine but the other couple we were with had similar symptoms but not as bad. At this point I should mention that I am diabetic so I always seem to get the worst of illnesses. We thought we may have gotten food poisoning but we all ate the same food. Day 4 I didn't/couldn't eat at all. Day 5 I started coming around but that night my friends wife had to leave us because she was sick. Day 6 I got really sick again and finally my wife started feeling it. Needless to say, much imodium was consumed.

 

It wasn't until we got home that we heard of a Norovirus outbreak on cruise ships had made national news. Since I didn't know what that was, I googled it and we had the symptoms. We all still thought it was food poisoning.

 

We did enjoy the cruise despite getting sick. The ship is beautiful on the inside but at times the layout puzzled me. NBD. We liked NCL enough to book another trip while we were on board so that must account for something.

 

We didn't care for the pool area. It seemed way too small and was super crowded. Chairs were gone by 8:00 am so we found sun elsewhere :-) The water slides were fun and the lines were not long at all. Maybe a 10 minute wait. Also, the stage for the pool entertainment was in a bizarre place and once the floor filled up by the stage it was really hard to get past that area.

 

Oh, posh passes. We had hoped to get on board early enough to purchase posh passes. As I mentioned previously, we were a little late and they were all taken. However, they only had 20 to sell to begin with.

 

I think that's it. So much for not getting into too much detail right? Again, let me know if you have any questions.

 

G

[TOP DECK]

We need more of this type review and not the page after page that give us to much information. The long ones are good but this is point blank. The restaurant reviews I find most helpful and have determined at which one(s) to partake of, if any!

Thanks

[KKJBB]

I have to agree, I like the shorter reviews. Your's was great. It got to the point and didn't obsess about anything in particular. We are leaving in 2 weeks for the Epic and can't wait. I just hope no one in our group get sick. Hopefully at this point they have worked out the bug!

[JWinKC]

Thanks for the review, Glen. We are on the Epic this coming Sat, and will certainly arrive as early as possible to (hopefully) get Posh passes. The lack of available deck loungers seems to be a very common complaint.

[soaringfalcon]

Thanks for the review! Do you remember if they had Guinness on tap at O'Sheehans?

[david_sobe]

Welcome home and thanks for the review.

Sorry to hear how sick you got. You are the only review I ever read where someone got that sick on board and still had a great time LOL

 

That can really ruin a cruise.

[Mr. Tricky]

Thank for the review Glen. I was making notes as I read it. I am on Epic soon and your info will be very helpful.

[iluvdoxies]

We were on the same cruise ! We loved the Haven.

 

Strange, I got sick on Thursday too - threw up all day, but by Fri I was fine. If it WAS noro - it must have been a light case of it. My husband was fine.

 

Sorry you were so sick, hope all is ok now.

[gelo7]

Nice review.