Epic Review 2/16/13 Pics and Dailies

[Cruzface]

If you walk to the right, past the island, there is more beach and the waves were not as bad.

 

 

The water was so nice. I never get I've the fact that it is February and I am in the water.

 

 

I decided to take the camera (not waterproof) into the water to get pictures of the beach from that perspective. Of course the waves really picked up as soon as I got in the water. But I managed to keep the camera dry and entertain my loving family who were all laughing at me.

 

 

[youngestof9]

awesome pics. Al and I went to St. John on our Honeymoon - your pics of the walkway and the beach brought me right back. Awesome.

 

When we sailed Epic last time, we went to the beach (Great Bay) right by Phillipsburg in St. Maarten. We loved it. We actually had lunch delivered from The Fireplace (in one of your pics) and a 6 for 12 beer bucket (with one missing, as I was drinking it already LOL). Best deal out there!

 

[Cruzface]

Since we're there so early, by about 1:30, we reluctantly decided to leave Trunk Bay. Just then a rain shower started. We took it as a sign. This was the most beautiful beach we have ever been to. Hands down.

 

We took the cab back to town, donated to the local economy (I did not rip myself off by haggling this time). Very quaint and safe town area.

 

These guys seemed to like the area as well.

 

 

 

Back at the port. Did some shopping while the boys headed back to the ship on their own. As we walked to the Epic we passed the Sun.

 

 

The staff of the Epic was outside with music playing and dancing. No other line does this. On our last cruise we noticed this in Costa Maya and it was a major reason we thought about NCL. They also had water and cool face towels. Nice touch and very welcome after a hot day at the beach.

 

[Jotravelnut21]

There is only a charge for the Cirque show and a murder mystery lunch/dinner. Most of the entertainment is included.

 

Thanks for clearing that up. Do you know anything about the murder mystery thing? We did one on our last cruise. They carried it out between the courses of a wonderful meal.... it was great fun!

 

BTW your photos really are excellent. We would love to do that cruise.

Can I ask... have you ever cruised the Med/Europe? I'd like to see your review if you've ever done similar.

 

Jo :)

[Cruzface]

awesome pics. Al and I went to St. John on our Honeymoon - your pics of the walkway and the beach brought me right back. Awesome.

 

When we sailed Epic last time, we went to the beach (Great Bay) right by Phillipsburg in St. Maarten. We loved it. We actually had lunch delivered from The Fireplace (in one of your pics) and a 6 for 12 beer bucket (with one missing, as I was drinking it already LOL). Best deal out there!

 

 

What is with the water in there? It better have been for Claire or Maddy. LOL.

[Cruzface]

Thanks for clearing that up. Do you know anything about the murder mystery thing? We did one on our last cruise. They carried it out between the courses of a wonderful meal.... it was great fun!

 

BTW your photos really are excellent. We would love to do that cruise.

Can I ask... have you ever cruised the Med/Europe? I'd like to see your review if you've ever done similar.

 

Jo :)

 

We never did the murder mystery. I'm kind of afraid that they will ask my wife to be involved and she will take over the show.

 

Never did Med/Europe, but it's on our list. Probably will have to wait until the boys are out of college.

[Jotravelnut21]

We never did the murder mystery. I'm kind of afraid that they will ask my wife to be involved and she will take over the show.

 

Never did Med/Europe, but it's on our list. Probably will have to wait until the boys are out of college.

 

LOL :D Don't rile the wives!

Hope you get to cruise our side of the world... we definitely want to cruise your side..... it's just getting out there to the start the cruise that's difficult, adding to the time frame, expense etc... but one day.

Anyway your fantastic review has inspired me to write a daily blog on our Med cruise in July... that's the plan anyway.

But you keep going, we're all hooked and waiting for the next chapter!

Jo :)

[youngestof9]

What is with the water in there? It better have been for Claire or Maddy. LOL.

 

oh definitely. No water for us. LOL.

(and omg you're too much - haggling the wrong way. You're giving NYers a bad name!)

[Cruzface]

Nassau. NOT!

 

 

After our sea day, we were looking forward to one more beach day. We have been to Nassau before, not impressed, but a beach is a beach.

 

One kind of annoying thing is that the announcements on the ship could not be heard in the cabins. Probably because some complained about hearing them. But now you have to go in the hall to hear them. So we missed the Captain's announcement that we would not be able to stop at Nassau. Apparently the Nassau port authority screwed up and there was no room for Epic to dock. Since we had no real plans, we didn't really care. I guess some people had plans that were now gone. I can understand those people being disappointed. What I can't understand is the level of anger that some people showed. And why take it out on the staff? Some people need to get a grip.

 

So we enjoyed a relaxing day at sea and had fun listening to to other passengers whine. The staff scrambled to schedule activities to keep people happy and provided free rum punch from a few hours.

 

We had our own little party at the Posh bar with our new friends. I think our laughter annoyed some of the stiffs up there. Oh well. We got a tour of the Haven suites from the Perinis. Their message board summed it up.

 

[Cruzface]

Disembarkation. Now so many little things can go wrong on a cruise and there is no point to dwell on them. Most are not the cruise line's fault. This was. I wish I had a picture of how horrible it was getting off the ship.

 

We did self assist because we had an early flight (11:05 out of Miami), and needed to get off the ship by 8:30 the latest because I know how bad MIA can be. Well apparently everyone else on the ship except the Perinis had to get off too. The line started at bow side of deck 6 and snaked all the way the length of the ship and then back to the middle of the ship to get off. It took over 45 minutes to get off. People were trying to cut the line, other people were fighting. It was mayhem.

 

I realize we are partly to blame because of the flight we chose. But the staff was unprepared for the number of people walking of the ship with their luggage. This is something the staff should have known hen they didn't see that much luggage being placed outside the cabins the night before. They didn't open the second halfway until it was already out of control.

 

Once off the ship, there was another line to get through customs. I guess some thought better of the idea to smuggle off some food. Really?

 

 

The back up was for the escalator. After that we breezed through customs, no line, were in a cab in minutes and on our way to MIA, which as expected, was a disaster. We made it with about an hour to spare. But the stress really sucked.

 

We learned a lesson, though, our return flight next Jan is 12:50.

[Cruzface]

Final thoughts. As I stated at the beginning, this was the best cruise ever. Not sure if it was solely because of NCL and the Epic, but I really think so. Having been on Carnival and RCCL, we all agreed that NCL was way better than both. It really isn't even close. Food on NCL was significantly better, the entertainment was far superior and there was so much more offered. When we go back in January, we will be able to enjoy the stuff we missed. Hopefully. The service was exceptional. I was concerned about the freestyle dining because I figured the service would be worse since you don't develop a relationship with a set server. Wrong. In fact, I gave more extra tips on this cruise than ever before because I thought our servers really deserved it.

 

I will scan and post the Dailies soon.

 

Thanks for all the comments.

 

Can't wait until our next cruise.

[Donh44]

Final thoughts. As I stated at the beginning, this was the best cruise ever. Not sure if it was solely because of NCL and the Epic, but I really think so. Having been on Carnival and RCCL, we all agreed that NCL was way better than both. It really isn't even close. Food on NCL was significantly better, the entertainment was far superior and there was so much more offered. When we go back in January, we will be able to enjoy the stuff we missed. Hopefully. The service was exceptional. I was concerned about the freestyle dining because I figured the service would be worse since you don't develop a relationship with a set server. Wrong. In fact, I gave more extra tips on this cruise than ever before because I thought our servers really deserved it.

 

I will scan and post the Dailies soon.

 

Thanks for all the comments.

 

Can't wait until our next cruise.

 

 

Thanks so much for ALL of your pics and the commentary was phenomenal. I felt as if I was right there with you. I sailed the Epic in her first year as a solo traveler and had the pleasure of one of the studio cabins. It was great and I really enjoyed the cruise. Seriously considering doing the same cruise in Oct or Nov. Have to make that tough decision. Thanks again for the great review and the trip down "memory lane". I, too, am so sorry for the loss of your dog. I have been thru it myself and it is not pleasant. GOD bless you & your family.

[uncleboo]

thanks for your review and lovely photos

 

do you have daily menus that i can see ? i really would appreciate that

[soccersharon]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review - and to post your fantastic pictures. My mom and I are really looking forward to the Epic - the ship sounds wonderful!

[lambchoplady]

Great review. Great pictures. Glad you had a good time and sorry about the loss of Tino.

[Fairydust312]

Awesome review. Thank you so much for taking the time to post it!

[LISRAREF]

Can you elaborate a bit more on what is in the Posh Club area, and if the staff policed the area for people trying to sneak in at tall? Also did they deal the chair hogging at all?

 

Great review by the way!

[Cruzface]

By the way, I posted this entire review from my Kindle Fire HD. It has an auto spell feature which I can't turn off. So any typos are solely due to the device.;)

[Cruzface]

Can you elaborate a bit more on what is in the Posh Club area, and if the staff policed the area for people trying to sneak in at tall? Also did they deal the chair hogging at all?

 

Great review by the way!

 

Thank you. The posh area is loungers, beds and a bar. Also misters so you can cool off. The staff didn't police the area nor would I expect them to. I did hear a story from one of our cruise critic friends that the staff tried and it got ugly.

[peg8148]

Thank you so much for your review! We sail on The Epic 3/23/13 we have a aft facing balcony on the 9th deck.

 

So sorry about you losing your precious Tino, we know how you feel we had to put our Yorkie down 1/3/13 he was 10 years old and it was one of the hardest things we ever had to do. Not a day goes by that we don't thnk about him.

[Cruzface]

Thank you so much for your review! We sail on The Epic 3/23/13 we have a aft facing balcony on the 9th deck.

 

So sorry about you losing your precious Tino, we know how you feel we had to put our Yorkie down 1/3/13 he was 10 years old and it was one of the hardest things we ever had to do. Not a day goes by that we don't thnk about him.

 

I know how you feel. I was really unprepared for how hard it would be. Sorry for your loss.

[pizzaeater]

Just a couple of questions that MAY have been asked before. Is there a private pool in the Posh area and what deck(s) is it on? Also, is there an additional charge besides the food in the Spiegel tent for the circus? Is your meal the only charge when you enjoy a meal watching the circus?

My condolences on the loss of Tino, also. While I didn't have a dog, I had to put down my beautiful Himalayan cat, Chelsea, 7 years ago. I was lucky enough to get an urn to keep her remains.

[jdvmd]

Just a couple of questions that MAY have been asked before. Is there a private pool in the Posh area and what deck(s) is it on? Also, is there an additional charge besides the food in the Spiegel tent for the circus? Is your meal the only charge when you enjoy a meal watching the circus?

My condolences on the loss of Tino, also. While I didn't have a dog, I had to put down my beautiful Himalayan cat, Chelsea, 7 years ago. I was lucky enough to get an urn to keep her remains.

There is no pool in Posh.

You pay one charge for the Cirque Dreams dinner and show.

[Cruzface]

Just a couple of questions that MAY have been asked before. Is there a private pool in the Posh area and what deck(s) is it on? Also, is there an additional charge besides the food in the Spiegel tent for the circus? Is your meal the only charge when you enjoy a meal watching the circus?

My condolences on the loss of Tino, also. While I didn't have a dog, I had to put down my beautiful Himalayan cat, Chelsea, 7 years ago. I was lucky enough to get an urn to keep her remains.

 

The only additional charge would be if you buy drinks.

[carollois]

Final thoughts. As I stated at the beginning, this was the best cruise ever. Not sure if it was solely because of NCL and the Epic, but I really think so. Having been on Carnival and RCCL, we all agreed that NCL was way better than both. It really isn't even close. Food on NCL was significantly better, the entertainment was far superior and there was so much more offered. When we go back in January, we will be able to enjoy the stuff we missed. Hopefully. The service was exceptional. I was concerned about the freestyle dining because I figured the service would be worse since you don't develop a relationship with a set server. Wrong. In fact, I gave more extra tips on this cruise than ever before because I thought our servers really deserved it.

 

I will scan and post the Dailies soon.

 

Thanks for all the comments.

 

Can't wait until our next cruise.

 

 

Thanks for the great review! I have been sharing this with my teen boys to get them pumped up even more for their first cruise. Which January 2014 cruise are you on? Not the same as us, is it? :)

 

Carol