What's happening with the Epic (bad reviews)?

[em-sk]

I also like the EPIC. That said the only ships I can compare her to are the Jewell class ships. The EPIC is the ship to be on for entertainment and choice and because of that I think she is better suited to some of the itineraries that have more sea days rather that the Mediterranean port hopping.

 

I don't understand why the sink in the bedroom instead of the washroom is a concern. That may be important to some, it is something I am indifferent to. It may be different or even odd, however it is not something I would have developed an position on.

 

If you ask me what I think the EPIC is missing.... On the Jade, the cruise director would give an hour lecture on the history and customs of each port the day before arriving in the port. I found these very good and informative. On the other ships you have the talk from the excursion team that is more of a marketing activity for the ship excursions than providing good content.

 

The outdoor barbeque that occurs on the other ships would be nice, however I am not certain where you would have it other the quite deck above the buffet.

 

Replace the blue man group. There was something interesting about the blue man group, i always wanted to see it. Now that I have, I never want to see it again.

[newmexicoNita]

Hi guys

 

I am an experienced NCL Cruiser and I find this company very nice. No dresscode, no fixed table at fixed hour with fixed waiter, etc. So next year my next big trip will take place. I'll do the transatlantic Cruise from Barcelona to Miami on the Norwegian Epic. After that one week Disney World and then the east-coast of the USA (Washington, New York, Boston) and Canada.

 

So I started reading some reviews for the Epic and I'm somewhat shocked about all the bad reviews that seem to arrive the last few weeks. If you go back further in time the Epic always get 4-5 rating, with some rare 2 or less, but now the majority of reviews has a 1-2 rating.

 

I know the Epic has some issues, but why of a sudden is everything so bad on this ship? Is there a new management? I'm getting a bit worried for my trip... Fortunately I have a Haven-suite...

 

Any experiences here?

 

I could be wrong, but my understanding is: these reviews, mostly are based on the November 16th sailing: Remember, that was right after the damage to the Philipines and many of the crew members are Fillipino.(spelling) I am sure their heart was not in doing a good job last week. This could have affected them in many ways. As for bad versus good: 1-we all know it is much easier to gripe than to praise and the Epic is a very different ship, thus it seems to be a love/hate thing.

[newmexicoNita]

And that is EXACTLY the thing I was talking about! You have a bunch of RCCL Fans (no bias there, right?) not giving an honest review, but making a "why its different than my "favorite" comparison".

 

 

The question you really have to ask yourself is this: If these people are such RCCL fans, and RCCL makes them happy, then what on Earth are they even doing onboard the Epic??? What is really missing from their RCCL experience that they are hoping to find on an NCL ship?

 

Plus, I have seen those bad reviews in the past, often they are not, only loyalists for another line but part of the same family and/or group. You read them and right away realize they are all from the same group...

[jonbgd]

While NCL is not my favorite cruise line. It is a good product thou and the customer service is great.

 

The Epic is a nice ship but it has its issues . There is a reason why it is a one off

 

The first time we were on the Epic I didn't really like it. My GF loved it

So much we just did the TA from BCN on her

 

 

1st time we had a cabin with bed next to balcony

Our friends had the one with the sink at the foot of the bed

That is one of the worst cabin designs ever especially that sink at the foot of the bed

Also we like visiting friends in each others cabin and with the bathroom setup its a little weird if someone knocks at the door or if you have to use the head while someone is visiting

 

 

So for the TA traveling by ourselves we upgraded to a minisuite with a tub and bed next to balcony again.

While I again don't like the bathroom setup.

It was better and after a few days we actually worked out a pattern getting ready that worked well for us.

I also brought a magnetic LED light to put on the ceiling so I could shave as the light above the sink is lousy.

 

But with either cabin we had the curving sofa. What a waste. You cant take naps on it as my body doesn't curve like that.

There is no table to put your room service tray. So sort of tough to eat in your cabin. If you brought the table from your balcony inside there was no room to walk past

Out on the balcony it was fine

 

We had a great time during our TA on her and would recommend it to others. I think the longer cruise and all the sea days allowed us to explore and enjoy her.

Didn't worry about dinner and show reservations pre cruise.

 

Not sure I will sail on her again since there are so many other cruise lines and ships.

We will sail on NCL again. If flying to MIA would do the Getaway

Locally we are looking at the Jewel out of Houston.

[lowroller]

Interesting comments, I'd take the Epic over the Breakaway anyday. More space per person on the Epic (GRT/cap.) The Epic, based upon double occupancy holds 131 people more than the Breakaway. So NCL "fixed" the crowding probelm by make a smaller ship and reducing the number of passengers by 131? As for the bathroom complaints, it does not bother me or anyone that I know that has cruised on the Epic, but I could see where it could be a problem for others. IMO the Epic is an ugly ship, compared to most other ships, but that doesn't bother me either, I'd still take the Epic over the Breakaway.

Glenn

 

It's a poorly designed ship. Was built to maximize profit over passenger comfort. Many mistakes were recognized and fixed on the Breakaway/Getaway. Cramming 4000+ onto a ship that is designed to squeeze them literally and figuratively is why you get so many bad reviews.

 

There is a reason they cancelled the order for Epic II.

[xcell]

I think all these mega ships rock and roll - it happen to us on the fantasy, and on the allure and oasis (but for sure more on the fantasy). I think they are trying to save fuel by not putting on the stabilizers.

 

Though I am a loyal royal as you can see, I also love to try new things as having the same food and same entertainment can be boring too.

 

I am looking to explore a new ship...not looking forward to the stinky casino in the middle of the ship BUT curious if it is as bad as they say. I am kind of concern that they moved some of the staff to the breakaway - usually they pick the great ones (although, the ones who were shipped to the allure and oasis when we spoke with them, wished they were back on their previous ship...easier to handle as per them)

[ColinIllinois]

I was on the Epic three times and you could barely tell you were out at sea. Very smooth ride.

 

Of course if there is rough weather the ship is going to move around. IT'S A SHIP........IN THE OCEAN! :D

[mvdude111]

Sailed the Epic once and it was smooth. If the ocean rocks and rolls so does the ship :D. I like the Epic despite is clunky exterior...it's nice inside. The rooms are a little different, but doable. We had a nice time on that ship and I'd do her again.

[kerrytens]

I'm finding the talk about movement on the Epic quite interesting actually. Like others have said, it is a ship and it is on the ocean so it will move. Heck, that is why I love cruising. I love the feeling of the movement of a ship.

 

Now, with that said, my first voyage on the Epic was pretty darned smooth and with this recent chatter about the movement, I have to wonder:

 

Do different captains treat their ships differently? By that I mean, are some more apt to utilize ballast tanks and stabilizers more than others? This excessive movement thing has only recently started to be discussed. It never seemed to be a huge issue before.

 

Just wondering:D

[MiniJeffrey]

Rocking and Rolling is no problem for me. Now just lets hope its not a full house. I think it's amazing to have the epic with only 2400 guests.

[jonbgd]

After 20 days on the Epic, the only time I felt less than normal ship movement, is when we were leaving Madeira on our TA.

There was something in the middle of the night, that was big enough movement, to wake me from my sleep.

 

For our TA, I think we had 3500 pax, very few kids thou

[Maxsam]

We were on the Nov 16th Epic cruise and had a great time!!!

 

Was everything perfect? No, but that's life. Did we have an awesome time? Yes!!!

 

Loved our mini suite! The design worked well for a family of 4.

 

Food was great! We tried all free restaurants and 3 speciality. In my opinion, appeared to be an improvement from our 2011 cruise.

 

Entertainment was really good! Favorites were Howl at the Moon, Blueman group and the white hot party.

I was worried if they would have good dance music, but found the selection to be absolutely awesome!

 

Slides were fun. No problems finding a chair to lounge on outside. Loved watching the morning Zumba as we ate breakfast from the outside buffet.

 

People complain about smoke from the casino, but we had no problems with it. All in my family are none smokers and I have asthma.

 

Froze our butts off at the Ice Bar and enjoyed the experience. Our family participated in "55 to stay alive", family feud and Karaoke. Had a blast.

 

Best of all were the ports! Loved our experiences!

[bigfoot88]

Hi guys

 

I am an experienced NCL Cruiser and I find this company very nice. No dresscode, no fixed table at fixed hour with fixed waiter, etc. So next year my next big trip will take place. I'll do the transatlantic Cruise from Barcelona to Miami on the Norwegian Epic. After that one week Disney World and then the east-coast of the USA (Washington, New York, Boston) and Canada.

 

So I started reading some reviews for the Epic and I'm somewhat shocked about all the bad reviews that seem to arrive the last few weeks. If you go back further in time the Epic always get 4-5 rating, with some rare 2 or less, but now the majority of reviews has a 1-2 rating.

 

I know the Epic has some issues, but why of a sudden is everything so bad on this ship? Is there a new management? I'm getting a bit worried for my trip... Fortunately I have a Haven-suite...

 

Any experiences here?

 

See review from today.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1950937

[markf]

please understand that this is Cruise Critic-one is critical --at least I am when i write--you look for good and bad things and accentuate both

[wheatengirl]

We were on the Epic Thanksgiving week and we were prepared for it to be crowded and not as good service wise as our cruise last year on the Epic which was the week before Thanksgiving. We were pleasantly surprised. The service was excellent and the staff was personable and always smiling. We enjoyed our trip just as much as last year. Yes, it was crowded but we went with a good attitude and that helped. If anyone has any questions i will try to answer as best I can.

[#1TravelMom]

We just returned from the EPIC and Allure back to back. Everyone in our party of 6 prefer the Epic. This was our 3rd time on the ship. I began the vacation thinking the Allure would just blow us away - didn't happen. We felt the service was actually better on the Epic. I think activities can really vary by preference - but for us and the kids, age 9-13, the Epic offered much more to do. The Allure is an amazing ship to walk around and marvel. But, after you've "seen" everything, our kids just didn't find a lot to "do".

 

Not sure why people think the EPIC is an "ugly" ship. 35+ cruises here - and all the ships have been beautiful to us. We would not hesitate to book a 4th cruise on the Epic.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

oh oh just booked the EPIC now I'm really nervous.

[ClaireAndMike]

My sister and I were on the Epic a year ago this January and LOVED it. Absolutely loved it. We had planned to take another Epic cruise in 2014 but my Grandma decided she wanted to take about 30 family members on a cruise on the Breakaway so sadly we have to wait until 2015 to be back on the Epic. Not enough vacation time from work (yet!) to do both. =(. and believe me, I'm not about to turn down a free cruise!

 

We're still relatively new to cruising (I've only taken 3 so far) but Epic was our favorite (so far).

[xcell]

Travel mom. .. What did your kids like about the epic? We will be on it in 7 days (yippee). But I have to disagree. .. compared to allure...epic is (like some one posted) like the Pontiac Aztec

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Forums mobile app

[SMSACE6]

oh oh just booked the EPIC now I'm really nervous.

 

why???

[Sunshine101]

We just returned from the EPIC and Allure back to back. Everyone in our party of 6 prefer the Epic. This was our 3rd time on the ship. I began the vacation thinking the Allure would just blow us away - didn't happen. We felt the service was actually better on the Epic. I think activities can really vary by preference - but for us and the kids, age 9-13, the Epic offered much more to do. The Allure is an amazing ship to walk around and marvel. But, after you've "seen" everything, our kids just didn't find a lot to "do".

 

Not sure why people think the EPIC is an "ugly" ship. 35+ cruises here - and all the ships have been beautiful to us. We would not hesitate to book a 4th cruise on the Epic.

 

Thanks for posting this TravelMom, we'll be on the Epic next Saturday. Did your kids use the kids club at all? My kids (6 and 9) really liked Adventure Ocean on RCL and so I'm hoping that the one on the Epic will be good too.....

[quercus alba]

Our first cruise was on Epic, in her first swing around the Mediterranean. At that time, Cruise Critic also seemed to be filled with negative reviews about her--especially the "smoky casino", "nickel and dime-ing", and of course, the bathrooms. What I learned from reading them was that a) some people have unrealistic expectations, and b) I could learn from them and think about whether any of these horrible negative issues were things that were likely to be dealbreakers for me that would ruin my vacation--and guess what, they weren't! We had a great cruise on Epic, but picked Pearl for our second cruise based on itinerary--and now that's our favorite ship.

 

Bottom line: you decide. Don't let others' opinions decide for you.

[xcell]

sunshine mom - my kids are 10 and 7 ...maybe we will bump into you next sat as well!!

[Love my butler]

why???

 

Read the thread again and one of the dozens and dozens of poor reviews. That should answer your question.

[bingo3]

Breakaway isn't doing so well in reviews either. The good thing is, there are plenty of other lines and ships out there if you have a bad experience on one. ;)

debbie