An In-Depth Review: My First Cruise Ever! Epic March 9-16, 2013 (solo traveler)

[towel-animal]

Love your review! I can't wait until you post the rest. I am considering booking the Med itinerary on the Epic for October 2014. The ship sounds fantastic. Do you have any photos you are willing to post? I would also be traveling solo and am looking at the studio cabins. :)

 

Thank you! I'm having so much fun writing it and reliving the memories :) I did take some pictures, but to be honest, they didn't come out that great, and there are many other pictures from other Epic reviews on Cruise Critic that would better serve you. The camera I used is primarily designed for video and audio recordings for journalism interviews, so the pictures just aren't very good quality. I was pretty bummed, but I'm trying to make up for it by being more descriptive in my writing :)

[lyssa13]

SUBSCRIBED! You have me drooling all over my work computer...

 

I can't wait for out Epic cruise for Thanksgiving!

[towel-animal]

Love your review! I can't wait until you post the rest. I am considering booking the Med itinerary on the Epic for October 2014. The ship sounds fantastic. Do you have any photos you are willing to post? I would also be traveling solo and am looking at the studio cabins. :)

 

Brilliant. That is all.

 

SUBSCRIBED! You have me drooling all over my work computer...

 

I can't wait for out Epic cruise for Thanksgiving!

 

Thanks so much! Glad people are enjoying my review :D

[towel-animal]

Awesome! Man, the whole "Paige" incident is kind of creepy.

 

It really was. And it gets even creepier on Day 6.

[Beachlover1964]

This is such a great review. I can't wait to read what happens next!

[puggsie]

Your account is truly riveting. It is just lovely to hear such detail about your cruise. Such a treat! Excited to read more! :eek::D:)

 

[LetsGoDutch]

I was also on this cruise.

 

We were having dinner in the Epic Club the same time as the Chef's Table + I did find it quite loud...prob 'cause of the Howler.

[towel-animal]

I was also on this cruise.

 

We were having dinner in the Epic Club the same time as the Chef's Table + I did find it quite loud...prob 'cause of the Howler.

 

Hahahaha, that was probably it. I did notice a few tables turn over to glare in our direction a few times. :o

[jennyprovo]

Thanks for your great review. We were on the Epic a couple of weeks before you. With Don! He is the best and we have also learned lots from him. We have been on two NCL cruises and Don was on BOTH!

 

Your review of the Chef's Table is making me wonder why I never knew about such a thing and I am hoping they have one on the Gem when I go in a couple of weeks....seems like it is worth whatever it costs.

 

The "fall" in the cirque show is "planned" however it is still a real fall. We went on a Behind the Scenes Tour of the ship and part of the tour was about the entertainment and we asked about the "fall". She said it part of the show but it is a real fall so they could get hurt....yikes all for our entertainment :) She also said the most dangerous part of the cirque show is the spinning roller skating part.

 

I agree with your comments about the Second City group on the Epic...the Second City group on the Star in Feb 2012 I felt were much better and much more improv less skits like was on the Epic.

 

I am sorry you experienced such motion sickness. Thankfully I know I have motion sickness and take the OTC Bonine every 12 hours like clock work and no issues.

 

I can't wait to read the rest of your review your writing is great and really engaging. I hope you keep writing and cruising!!:):):):)

[NCLDude]

Anyone else waiting for Day 6 review? :rolleyes:

[uncleboo]

please post any menus or daileys

 

your review is so good

 

thanks for all your time and work

[xenagurl]

I'm really enjoying your review and looking forward to reading about Day 6! :)

[towel-animal]

Anyone else waiting for Day 6 review? :rolleyes:

 

Bear with me; I'm on a school trip to Georgia for a week. I'll be completing the last parts of my review when I return next weekend. If I have time while I'm here, I'll try to get them up sooner.

[Steve78]

Hey Camden

Im loving this review.

 

Im planning to visit Florida in November and do a solo cruise or two. Im definitely keen to hear more about your adventures.

 

Can't wait for more!

Cheers

Steve

[cruiseclues]

Thanks for your very interesting review...looking forward to the remainder. :):):):)

[towel-animal]

Before I get into Day 6, I just realized I forgot something in Day 5: the reason I’d packed so much luggage. When I returned to my studio that night before bed, I saw the laundry special notice on my bed—as much as you can fit into the bag for $25. I mentioned that I brought aboard with me 2 full size suitcases…well, 1 of them was full of my dirty clothes back from Miami. I absolutely HATE doing laundry. To be honest, I’m still just used to my mom doing it for me (I'm still in school so I think I can use that excuse :p), and with me living in Miami now, I always have to call my friend and we sort my piles together over the phone. But with my cruise coming up, I figured, “Hey, I’m on vacation; why not?” So right before bed, I gathered all the clothes I’d worn on the cruise, and then dumped out the dirty-clothes suitcase, and filled up 2 of the laundry bags TO THE BRIM. It was tough to get them all in there (about 25 shirts, 4 pairs of pants, 7 pairs of shorts, and a whole bunch of underwear), a lot of folding, dumping out, then folding even smaller, re-stuffing, and then finally sealing all the holes with duck tape, but I finally got them all in there! And THAT was the end of day 5.

 

 

Day 6: The Final Sea Day

 

Today I slept in and got up and ready around 10:30AM. I went up to the Pool Deck for some breakfast (smoked salmon and eggs) at Great Outdoors and just enjoyed the people watching for a while. After I finished, I thought maybe I’d find Jeff at Spice H20, but he wasn’t there. I decided to stay there anyway and work on my tan and read. There was some really cool drink special that day that was served in an actual pineapple. They looked really good! But I wasn’t in the drinking mood quite yet.

 

After about an hour, I wanted a change of scenery so I headed up to Posh and relished the huge sunbed. Posh was definitely my favorite part of the shiip and I found it to be money VERY well spent. A short while later, my fellow solo friend Mike showed up and got the sun bed next to me. We just enjoyed the view of the ship and the relaxation of it all. I got hungry again and decided to order food there in Posh. Mike and I both ordered the cheeseburger with onion rings. The onion rings were supposed to be served with some sort of special sauce, but they said they don’t do that anymore. Regardless, the burger was delicious. I also had some sort of drink that was very similar to a margarita, but I can’t remember the name. It was tasty! I guess Mike wanted to get me loopy, and he bought me a mudslide. I’d never had one before but oh my goodness was it good!

 

After I sucked down the mudslide, I excused myself and a bit wobbly, made my way back to Spice to see if Jeff and Dana were there. Sure enough, there they were. They’d gone to the Ships and Destination Seminar earlier and learned all about the Breakaway and Breakaway Plus and at the end purchased the Future Cruise Certificates. Jeff and I enjoyed the hot tub for a long time, watching the waves go by. We overheard someone mention a Michael Jackson dance class by the pool, so we got out to go give it a look! We didn’t participate, but enjoyed watching the others.

 

We then decided to take a walk around the ship, (we even ventured to the “Freestyle Sun Deck” :eek:) and then made a stop at the casino where Jeff lost a bit of money at the slots. I also convinced them to join me on the Atlantis Aquaventure excursion for the following day in Nassau, so we headed to the shore excursion desk to get that taken care of. We then parted ways for a while; they went to the buffet, and I decided to try Wasabi. I was very surprised when the hostess asked me “Are you feeling okay with seasickness now?” It turns out she was around when I had my episode the other day and recognized me. I thought that was very nice of her to ask about me. The sushi at wasabi was really good! I had a spicy tuna roll as well as a vegetable roll.

 

After the snack, I ventured back to Posh for a bit and finished my book. I actually ended up being so comfortable I accidently fell asleep and took a few hours nap. When I woke up, it was about 5:30, so I headed back to my studio to shower and change for dinner. Continuing my Tour de Specialty Restaurants, around 6:00, I headed to Moderno. I told the hostess that I did not have a reservation. She pulled a face and told me they were all booked up. I was disappointed, but determined. So I asked if I could wait and see if a table happened to open up. She said she’d have to ask her supervisor, who happened to show up at that moment. He was a very nice gentleman and said to wait there while he went to see what he could do. Just a moment later, he returned and said he’d be able to seat me. I’ve been to Texas de Brazil a few times so I knew what to expect. The salad bar was fantastic! And the meat was mouth watering. The chimichurri sauce really complimented the meats well. And the grilled pineapple was divine! For dessert, I couldn’t decide between the Papaya Cream and the Mango Rice Pudding, so I just ordered both. While the Papaya Cream was wonderful, I’ll be honest…the mango rice pudding was gross. I took one bite and almost puked. Luckily, I had the other dessert as a backup. I finished the meal with a cup of coffee and then headed back to my studio to change into my white getup for the White Hot Party.

 

At 10:00, I met Jeff and Dana at Bliss for karaoke and stayed there about 45 minutes. They got tired and weren’t really interested in going to the White Hot Party so we said our goodnights. I really didn’t plan on staying at the party long, I just wanted to check it out for a bit.

 

As soon as I got to Spice H20, who do I run into? (Insert dun dun dunnnn music here) PAIGE! :eek: It was too late to blend into the crowd, she’d already seen me. This girl has SERIOUS issues…the first thing she said to me was “I’m kind of drunk.” (Remember this girl is only 14), and then she told me that an older guy offered to buy her drinks if she gave him oral sex. :eek: Just as I was about to hightail it out of there, one of her friends came and led her to the dance floor. Relieved that the encounter with her was over, I made my way to the opposite side of the dance floor, a busted a few moves before having had enough and grabbing an order of wings to go from O’Sheehans, watching some television, and then drifting off to sleep.

 

Up next: Day 7: Nassau

[towel-animal]

Hey Camden

Im loving this review.

 

Im planning to visit Florida in November and do a solo cruise or two. Im definitely keen to hear more about your adventures.

 

Can't wait for more!

Cheers

Steve

 

Glad you're enjoying it! What cruises are you planning on?

[Steve78]

Glad you're enjoying it! What cruises are you planning on?

 

Hey Hey

 

So far Im looking at 8 nights on the Indepence of the Seas and then maybe the new Royal Princess for Thanksgiving. Do you have anymore planned?

 

Im not sure if you can private message on here. Send me an email boatboy_gc@hotmail.com

 

Hope to hear from you.

Cheers

Steve

[towel-animal]

Day 7: Nassau

 

This morning I awoke feeling bittersweet. Bitter because it was the last day of the cruise and sweet because I’d finally get to go to Atlantis. I’d been lusting after the resort since high school and was thrilled that I’d get to enjoy the waterpark. I forgot to mention in Day 6 that a medical emergency happened that evening. Apparently a man suffered a heart attack and had to be airlifted off the ship and taken to the hospital. (I’m not sure what his fate ended up being, but I hope he is okay.) But as a result, we were a bit behind schedule getting into Nassau. Since the stop in Nassau was already a bit short, it was rather disappointing to be late, but I completely understand that a medical emergency must take priority. Others didn’t feel the same. Irritated and complaining passengers crowded around the stairs to the exit deck almost in riot mode, waiting for the word that we had been cleared and ready to unload. When were finally able to leave the ship, it was like the opening of Walmart on Black Friday.

 

When I reached the pier, I found the station for the Atlantis excursion and reunited with Jeff and Dana. We were given Atlantis wristbands and waited for about 15 minutes until we were escorted to little buses that took us to the resort. Atlantis was even more gorgeous than I expected! A true work of art. After we were escorted into the waterpark, we dropped our bags onto a lounge chair (lockers are available for a fee if you wish) and made our first stop at the lazy river. The slides going through the shark tank were my favorite! Jeff was a bit disappointed that for such a massive waterpark, they were lacking on hot tubs, but it wasn’t a big deal. The lines for each slide were quite long, but I expected that going in. While it’s great that the property is so large, it does lend itself to getting lost. Jeff and I got separated from Dana for about an hour, and of course, we didn’t have our phones. But by the time we found him, we were ready to start heading out anyway. We didn’t eat at the resort, but the restaurants looked great! We did take a tour through the Dig aquarium, and Jeff donated to their casino before we got on the bus back to the ship.

 

Once back on board the Epic, I guess we were still in waterpark mode so we made our way up to the pool deck and enjoyed the slides. We did the Epic Plunge for the first time, which was a lot of fun! We then enjoyed the sailaway from the hot tub. A little bit of a gross out moment when someone else in the hot tub was picking off dead skin and flicking it into the water. :eek: We looked over to the land and were amazed at a ship of that size could so expertly maneuver parking and steering in such a small space between the neighboring ships!

 

We took a look at the Daily and decided we’d catch the International Epic Crew Show at 7:00. But first we needed to eat dinner. Jeff and Dana were making their usual venture to Taste, but was still on my specialty restaurant mission. Tonight’s dinner was at Cagney’s. I’d already made a reservation the night before by phone so I didn’t have to worry about not getting in. I was sat at a lovely table right by the window. To start, I had the lobster bisque and shrimp cocktail. Both were delicious! My entrée included the 16oz T-bone steak cooked rare with asparagus and mashed potatoes. For dessert I had the apple crisp and coffee. An outstanding meal! I was a bit miffed by them playing a piano version of “My Heart Will Go On,” the Titanic theme song, over the speakers, but I found it more ironically funny than anything.

 

After the meal, I headed to the theatre and met Jeff and Dana for the show. It was a really great show, and the assistant cruise director had a phenomenal voice and stage presence. After a final chorus of “You’re a Norwegian Now,” the show came to a close and we headed to Bliss for the “Where in the World Am I?” game show. We participated and came really close to winning! I noticed that the solo director was one of the staff in charge of the game show. Afterwards, we stayed at Bliss for a bit to listen to Karaoke. We then tried to see if we could catch the second half of Blue Man group, but they had a guard preventing anyone from going in. When that didn’t work out, we decided to see another Second City show. Like last time, it was a riot, and this one seemed to have more improv and fewer skits, which was interesting. After the show and Jeff and Dana said they were headed to bed, I realized it was the last time I’d see my new friends, which was sad. But we agreed that’d we continue to hang out even after the cruise since they were from Fort Lauderdale, and I was just 40 minutes away in Miami. So we hugged goodbye and parted ways.

 

I still had another restaurant to try: Noodle Bar! By that time it was a bit late, and I had just enough time to place an order at Noodle Bar before they closed. I got the spring rolls, steamed pork pot stickers, and the Peking shrimp & chicken noodles. I ended up having the noodles wrapped to go. It was pretty good and I’m glad I tried it, but I probably wouldn’t go to Noodle Bar again.

 

When I returned to my studio, I didn’t feel like packing. I decided I’d just do it the next morning and get off the ship at the latest disembarking time. So I watched some television and reflected on the wonderful time I’d had that week, before drifting off to sleep as we glided through the waves towards Miami.

 

Up next: Disembarkation Day

[WanderlustingDiva]

Before I get into Day 6, I just realized I forgot something in Day 5: the reason I’d packed so much luggage. When I returned to my studio that night before bed, I saw the laundry special notice on my bed—as much as you can fit into the bag for $25. I mentioned that I brought aboard with me 2 full size suitcases…well, 1 of them was full of my dirty clothes back from Miami. I absolutely HATE doing laundry. To be honest, I’m still just used to my mom doing it for me (I'm still in school so I think I can use that excuse :p), and with me living in Miami now, I always have to call my friend and we sort my piles together over the phone. But with my cruise coming up, I figured, “Hey, I’m on vacation; why not?” So right before bed, I gathered all the clothes I’d worn on the cruise, and then dumped out the dirty-clothes suitcase, and filled up 2 of the laundry bags TO THE BRIM. It was tough to get them all in there (about 25 shirts, 4 pairs of pants, 7 pairs of shorts, and a whole bunch of underwear), a lot of folding, dumping out, then folding even smaller, re-stuffing, and then finally sealing all the holes with duck tape, but I finally got them all in there! And THAT was the end of day 5.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hilarious!!!!!!! I am loving you review!!! Great job... I feel as if I'm on the cruise with you!!!

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[towel-animal]

Hilarious!!!!!!! I am loving you review!!! Great job... I feel as if I'm on the cruise with you!!!

 

Thank you! Glad you're enjoying it; almost done! :)

[Magicdi]

Ceejmaster

 

Your story has been so funny and entertaining you have had my daughter and I in fits of laughter. Especially the Paige bits and the dirty laundry. You should perhaps consider writing situation comedy for a living.

 

We are going on the Epic from Barcelona on the 7th July to do most of Italian Ports of call and we are taking our 23 year old son, as a treat after he has Graduated Uni. Our son is having a solo cabin and we have a large balcony cabin. (this will be my sons first cruise)

 

Love your great restaurant reviews and deck reviews.

 

Di

Manchester, UK

[Powriv]

Great review, enjoyed reading it. I will be on the Epic next January and every review I read just makes the anticipation that much greater.

 

One question though...Security wasn't sure if they were going to allow tabasco sauce on board...Were you privy to any reason behind why?

 

On every cruise I always bring hot sauce sometimes more than one bottle and have never had any security threaten to not allow it on board.

[towel-animal]

Great review, enjoyed reading it. I will be on the Epic next January and every review I read just makes the anticipation that much greater.

 

One question though...Security wasn't sure if they were going to allow tabasco sauce on board...Were you privy to any reason behind why?

 

On every cruise I always bring hot sauce sometimes more than one bottle and have never had any security threaten to not allow it on board.

 

It had something to do with the agent wondering if it was a sealed container. His supervisor nodded his head when he asked. He was probably just new and had never seen someone bring hot sauce before. You probably won't have any trouble :)

[towel-animal]

Disembarkation Day and Final Thoughts:

 

I was stolen out of my slumber by the blaring announcement from Ken the Cruise Director that disembarking had begun. I planned to get as much sleep as I could and leave as late as possible. I tried to go back to sleep, and just as I started drifting off, Ken would start up again to announce another time slot. Eventually around 9:15, I decided I should probably get ready to go. I scrambled around shoving my clothes, shoes, receipts, and other belongings into my suitcases. All of a sudden there was a pounding at my door. I opened it to find an angry steward wanting to know when I was leaving. I told him I was just zipping up my suitcases and I’d be out the door. When I finally left my studio, I realized why he was a bit peeved. Every other room in the hall had their doors open, rooms being cleaned, occupants obviously long gone. I was the only one left in the studios. Oh well, he didn’t need to be such a grouch. As I waited for the elevator, I took a look at the charges statement that’d been placed under my door. I was alarmed to find a $95 charge from Taste. I’d only been to Taste once, the first day for lunch, and I certainly didn’t order anything that had a fee, much less a $95 one. I headed to Guest Services and waited in the lengthy line. When it was my turn, they investigated the charge and told me it was for the Chef’s Table. While the issue was cleared up at that point, I find it odd that they would list the Chef’s Table charge as from Taste…after all, it was held in the Epic Club. I then had them completely remove the DSC from my bill…JUST KIDDING! :p

 

After dealing with the bill, it was finally time to leave the Epic. I got in the disembarkation line and swiped my card for the last time. When I got to customs, the agent really grilled me for some reason. “Who did you travel with?” No one. “What do you for a living?” I’m a student. “What school do you go to?” Florida International University. “Why did you pick the Epic to travel on?” Because of the studios with no single supplement. Jeeze Louise! Anywho, after he let me pass, I called up a buddy of mine to pick me up, and then I was back home in South Beach.

 

I’d also like to add that I had my sea legs for a good 4 or 5 days after the trip. I even had to take a few more of my sea sick pills, haha!

 

Final Thoughts:

 

Minus Paige and the seasickness, I had an absolutely FANTASTIC trip. It’s 2 and ½ months later and I’m definitely having Cruise Withdrawal Syndrome. I would definitely do another solo cruise and wouldn’t hesitate to stay in a studio again. The Epic was a wonderful ship and I miss it a lot. I accomplished my mission of eating at every specialty restaurant. In fact the only restaurant I didn’t get to try was Manhattan Room. I will admit my great experience was probably due largely to the number of upgrades I treated myself to: Posh Pass, Chef’s Table, every specialty restaurant, Cirque Dreams & Dinner, etc…

 

There have been quite a few discussions on the boards about Posh Pass vs. Spa Pass. I purchased both and I personally found the Spa Pass to be a huge waste of money for me. I only went twice the whole week and definitely did not get my money’s worth. But I have no regrets about the Posh Pass. Posh was like a sanctuary for me. Next time I would buy the Posh Pass again, and maybe just a day pass or two to the Spa, but not another week pass.

 

As for restaurants, I enjoyed all of them but I probably won’t be going back to Tappenyaki and maybe Shanghai’s. I seem to be in the minority but I absolutely loved La Cucina (I’m still salivating when I think of the panna cotta dessert I had).

 

My favorite experience of the cruise was definitely the Chef’s Table. That was the most incredible meal of my life, and I would definitely do it again.

 

As for going solo, I have to admit I didn’t really feel alone, since I spent so much of my time with Jeff and Dana. But I wonder if I hadn’t have bonded them what the experience would have been like.

 

I know a lot of people are wary of the mega ships. Personally, I loved it. Even though it definitely did have a hotel feel and not much a ship feel as others have said, I really enjoyed the Epic and all it had to offer. I have to wonder if after having such a wonderful time on a ship of that size, if I would enjoy one of the smaller ships, but I guess I’ll have to give one a shot to find out!

 

Speaking of future cruising plans, after having such a great time, I definitely plan on asking for another spring break cruise again for Christmas. So far it looks like I’ll probably be doing the Epic again when it takes over the Western Caribbean Itinerary. Or if the prices come down, I may do the 10-day Southern Caribbean on the Sun.

 

I’ve had a blast writing this review. I’m sorry it took me so long to finish, but I hope it was worth the wait. Please feel free to ask me any questions!

 

After all, “I’m a Norwegian now!” :D