Epic Review 2/16/13 Pics and Dailies

[Cruzface]

Thank you for all the kind words. Doing this is actually keeping me busy and helping me cope...

[lambchoplady]

Great review so far - looking forward to the rest! I was concerned about the Cirque show, so I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. We're sailing on the 16th so I'm getting excited.

[Cruzface]

Great review so far - looking forward to the rest! I was concerned about the Cirque show, so I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. We're sailing on the 16th so I'm getting excited.

 

Thanks. You will like it. Shows are not my favorite thing, but this was different and very enjoyable.

[maja651]

Loving the pictures! Question regarding the beds at Posh. Can they recline up or are they flat only? I am just thinking if you have to be lying down all of the time on those, they would me super comfortable, especially for reading.

[lovetocruise2020]

Before I even read further I want to say I am so, so sorry about your dog. I have a Maltese named Nico who will be 8 in August (I just can't believe it). She is the first dog I've ever had and is my best friend and constant companion and I truly love her as my child (I don't have any human kids). The day I dread most is the day she is no longer with me and it's so hard to even think about. I've been wanting to sign up for a pet loss support group ever since she was like 2 because that was the first realization I had that more than likely, I would outlive her. :(

 

Thought I was the only one who thought this!

Loving, and not taking for granted each day we have with our four babies.

[lovetocruise2020]

bless Tino and all of you! :(

thanks for the amazing review.

Edited March 8, 2013 by surfergirle

[gambee]

Very nice photography, thanks for sharing.

 

The pools deck looks packed most of the time, I sure hope that will not be the case on breakaway. But something tells that there is a high chance that it will.

 

 

Was the guy in the polar bear costume a NCL employee?

[Cruzface]

Loving the pictures! Question regarding the beds at Posh. Can they recline up or are they flat only? I am just thinking if you have to be lying down all of the time on those, they would me super comfortable, especially for reading.

 

The beds are just flat. The loungers adjust. The beds are not really practical unless all you want to do is lie down.

[Cruzface]

Very nice photography, thanks for sharing.

 

The pools deck looks packed most of the time, I sure hope that will not be the case on breakaway. But something tells that there is a high chance that it will.

 

 

Was the guy in the polar bear costume a NCL employee?

 

Not 100% sure but I hope so. :eek:

[youngestof9]

 

No idea who these women are...

 

 

....

 

me either! But man they look like they're having a great time! ;)

 

Great family pic of you guys!!! (and ps loving your review - and your pictures omg great shots!!)

[Cruzface]

Woke up to 6 inches of snow here on the North Shore of LI.

 

Shot of Patron anyone?

 

[Jotravelnut21]

Thank you for all the kind words. Doing this is actually keeping me busy and helping me cope...

 

Great because we want more.......and we want it now!

OMG.... the fruit skewer! I almost choked laughing!

 

You are so funny and like minded, I want you on my NCL cruise.

GO ON..... get out there and book!!!

 

Can you clarify posh. Is it buy passes for week, wear wrist band and be guaranteed some sort of seat but not necessarily lounger?

 

And what about complaining about singles taking up two person loungers?

Jo :)

[tms317]

Great because we want more.......and we want it now!

OMG.... the fruit skewer! I almost choked laughing!

 

You are so funny and like minded, I want you on my NCL cruise.

GO ON..... get out there and book!!!

 

Can you clarify posh. Is it buy passes for week, wear wrist band and be guaranteed some sort of seat but not necessarily lounger?

 

And what about complaining about singles taking up two person loungers?

Jo :)

 

I think that, if you buy a posh pass, you get the wrist band to secure your entry into the area. I don't think it guaranties you a seat, although supposedly they do try to calculate the number of suite guests before determining how many Posh Passes to sell, so as to keep the Posh traffic under control.

 

If you're booked in a Suite, you have entry to Posh with your keycard (but no bracelet). So, its possible that the chairhogs without bracelets that were complaining about the oversale of passes were actually Suite guests. I'd bet they were hogging chairs b/c they felt that they were entitled to them over the Posh Pass holders -- I've read that many Suite guests do not believe Posh Passes should be sold at all, since it dilutes the exclusivity of what was originally a Suite-only amenity.

 

 

Keep up the review, I'm really enjoying it (and your pics!!)

Edited March 8, 2013 by tms317

[Cruzface]

I think that, if you buy a posh pass, you get the wrist band to secure your entry into the area. I don't think it guaranties you a seat, although supposedly they do try to calculate the number of suite guests before determining how many Posh Passes to sell, so as to keep the Posh traffic under control.

 

If you're booked in a Suite, you have entry to Posh with your keycard (but no bracelet). So, its possible that the chairhogs without bracelets that were complaining about the oversale of passes were actually Suite guests. I'd bet they were hogging chairs b/c they felt that they were entitled to them over the Posh Pass holders -- I've read that many Suite guests do not believe Posh Passes should be sold at all, since it dilutes the exclusivity of what was originally a Suite-only amenity.

 

 

Keep up the review, I'm really enjoying it (and your pics!!)

 

You are correct. The joggers were suite guests. We got some dirty looks with our wrist bands. Oh well. There is no guaranteed lounger and it's pointless to complain because the rule is 60 minutes empty and the staff really doesn't want to cause a fight.

[Cruising4]

Thought I was the only one who thought this!

Loving, and not taking for granted each day we have with our four babies.

 

Very sorry to hear about your dog. We put down our 17 year old beagle just over a year ago. I worried for years about how it would end for him. A friend of mine said "he'll let you know when it's his time" and it was true. He was good one day and in real bad shape the next.

 

I love this review and the pictures!

[Cruzface]

Restaurants: We ate at the buffet for breakfast and lunch every day. This was the best buffet of any cruise we have been on. Never waited in line for more than a few minutes. Breakfast had many choices, omelette stations and eggs Benedict! Never seen that on a cruise ship buffet. Still not sure how they have the poached eggs ready to go. And they were perfect! By the way, you can get made to order fried eggs. Just ask.

 

Lunch: between the buffet an the great outdoors, everything was awesome. The burgers were phenomenal. Mushroom and swiss cheese, pulled pork on top of a burger!?? I will be doing this at home. Paninnis were great. Different kind every day. Ice ream bar! Enough said.

 

Late afternoon snack: Shanghai and Noodle Bar. The "and" is the important part. You can have sit down table service Chinese food or you can sit at the noodle bar. Completely different menus. We only had the noodle bar. Excellent. Pot stickers and many choices of stir fry noodles. My oldest got the mango dessert and he loved it. There is an up charge for this, but for all 4 of us it was only $40. Absolutely worth it.

 

 

 

 

[Cruzface]

Dinner: Taste. This is the casual MDR. We ate there only on the first night an it was fine. We all had the lobster tail and steak. Service was ok. The food was good. Now, just because you CAN order as many lobster tails as you want doesn't mean you SHOULD! Just saying.

 

 

Manhattan. We ate here three times. Although the food is the same as Taste, we just liked the atmosphere. Just so you know, they do enforce the no shorts or flip flops rule. People complain about the band in Manhattan. That was one of the major reasons we ate there. Choices. It's all about choices. I really enjoyed every meal there. My wife had the lamb shank and it was excellent. The steaks were all cooked perfectly and very tender cuts. Here is a shot of the band and the piano player (on the last night):

 

 

 

We waited most nights for at most 20 minutes. Got some free drinks because of it. So all good.

[Cruzface]

Aside from the Cirque dinner which is discussed above we ate at Le Bistro and Moderno.

 

Le Bistro. This was kind of an anniversary dinner. No shorts allowed. Very nicely decorated and quietly elegant.

 

 

The food was very good although my wife was disappointed that they took foie gras off the menu. She had the salad cone sample instead:

 

 

I had the scallops:

 

[DDD06]

So sorry about Tino.

 

Loving your review and pictures, it's making it a little easier to get over the fact that we're not sailing with the Epic this week.

 

This might also help me talk the Mrs. into booking a return trip in November! :)

[Cruzface]

Le Bistro continued. The boys both had the bouillabaisse.

 

 

Main course. I had the Duo of Duck. Delicious. And my wife had the salmon. Also delicious.

 

 

 

Our youngest had the same as me and our oldest got the extra charge lobster dish.

 

[Cruzface]

Dessert. I had the cheese plate. Wife had the creme brulee as did the youngest. The oldest had the chocolate fondue.

 

 

 

 

Almost forgot. You also get an amuse bouche at the very beginning of the meal.

 

 

I am not a big franchise food person, but this was a really great meal an experience. Fantastic service as well. Absolutely worth the extra $20 per person.

 

Moderno. All I can say is O.M.G. The best ever. Meat, meat, meat. Oh and a Salad Bar. Our waiter was Darwin and he was great. We were ordering wine and he suggested we order a bottle because you get more for your money and if we didn't finish it they would keep it for us to have at another restaurant. They give you a receipt and then present it at the restaurant. Worked very well.

 

Now I knew going in that there would be a lot of food so I skipped my second lunch that day....I should have skipped eating breakfast too. They come around with skewers of meat, baby lamb chops, filet mignon, sirloin, chorizo, Portuguese sausage, chicken wrapped in bacon. All of it phenomenal. I am already looking forward to going back here next January.

 

I have no idea why I have no pictures of Moderno. I think I was in a meat coma.

[NauticalMom]

Best pictures and review I've seen on the Epic.

Looking forward to more!

only a bit more than a month and we'll be on the transatlantic!

Can't wait.:D

 

Enjoy your transatlantic voyage! Take good care of the ship for us, as we'll be embarking in Rome in August! :D

[Cruzface]

Miscellaneous items. I have heard people complain about the layout of the ship regarding the casino location and the lack of a mid ship elevator. I found the elevator issue to not be a problem. Once you get down to deck 7 you just have to walk to the middle where the atrium is. Then you have stairs that take you to deck 6 and then an escalator that takes you to deck 5. I realize that this can be a problem for people with mobility issues though.

 

 

The Casino. It is very smokey. Also very few $5 blackjack tables. We're not big gamblers so this actually kept us from gambling too much and therefore, we enjoyed more that the ship had to offer. I think we lost about $30 for the week. Not too bad.

 

The elevators themselves were a big problem. Very, very, very slow. You could wait 15 -20 minutes for an elevator. Many times we just walked. This is why it is a good idea to get a mid deck location. Being in 11 it was only 4 flights up to the buffet and pool deck and only 4 flights down to deck 7 where the restaurants and nightlife begin. I really think the extra walking helped keep the pounds off.

 

Click internet lounge. Unfortunately, I had to use the internet to stay in touch with an online class I teach. There are different plans. By the minute at .75 per minute. 1 hour at $55 etc. It was pretty slow, not dial up slow, but not like at home. One hint, Tuesday is half price day. This means you only get charged for half of your minutes actually used.

 

 

Next up: Ports. St. Maarten, St. Thomas and ....

Edited March 8, 2013 by Cruzface

[maja651]

The beds are just flat. The loungers adjust. The beds are not really practical unless all you want to do is lie down.

 

Thanks! Too bad it looks like only beds are near the glass rail(closest to the water).

[Cruzface]

Thanks! Too bad it looks like only beds are near the glass rail(closest to the water).

 

That's just the angle of the shot. They are at the railing but overlooking the pool deck. Plus there are a couple on the upper Posh deck.