Epic 8 Days E. Caribbean 1/25/14 (photos, food, casinos, beaches, X comparison)

[sooper]

Finished dinner with a really good coconut souffle with mango-lime sauce. If Mr. S had more appetite he would've ordered one for himself instead of sharing.

 

One last session at blackjack, and we were able to hold onto our wallets still. Since we didn't shop at all, we went the shop just before they closed up and purchased some Tortuga rum cakes. We found them later at a shop in the Miami airport as well. We cashed in our points and the CAS host took off some charges from our bill. Yay!

 

Back to the cabin and started gathering things to pack. But we were beat so we decided to wake up earlier to do that instead.

 

Day 9 - Miami / At sea of people

 

Woke up early, tossed everything into our two bags, and one last power brekkie. (And the last "washy" washy" ever I hoped.) The buffet was packed and we had to stalk people leaving for a table.

 

We said goodbye to our nice steward, and went down the stairs at 9am. Lines of people were waiting for different terminals. Exited the ship around 9:30am. It was raining a little bit. There were seas of people waiting for a cab, shuttle, bus, transport, etc. It just so happened that on this day there was the Miami marathon, and that caused a major traffic gridlock. Every shuttle that stopped by was swarmed by people trying to get on. There was barely a cab or two, the the taxi line was really long. Finally we were able to get on a shuttle around 10:10am, and they tried to pack people in, so some were standing. We were charged $25 a couple to the airport. Our shuttle crawled initially, then picked up speed and we arrived at the airport just before 11am.

 

Our flight was in the afternoon, but we were tired and the weather was gloomy, so we opted to just roam around the airport and do some shopping. We lunched at my favorite airport restaurant, La Carreta. Their beef was great, but this time we chose the tender and yummy pulled pork.

 

Soon we were up in the air, then home.

 

Our dog was back to his usual happy self and his signature smile.

 

[sooper]

My thoughts on this cruise vs. my previous ones:

 

We've had tons of fun. Didn't get to meet and make friends this cruise, but we've been so entertained!

 

Cabin - X wins on balcony, bathroom, and bedding/bathrobe comfort. NCL wins on powerful hairdryer, storage and soundproofing (we hardly hear noises from our neighbors, and there was no door slamming sound!).

 

Service - X wins. NCL ranged from bad to good, X ranged from okay to great. Every cruise is different. Whatever issues I observed may be one-off, may not repeat, or may be only on this specific cruise. With over 4,000 passengers, I'm certain many of us on the same ship would have differing views. Some people may not have encountered any issues at all - and I say, "good for them." Either they were really really lucky, or they had different standards than mine. But just because one person saw everything as flawless, doesn't mean that it truly was, or that the flaws others have found were not real. What matters to me may not matter to others. I see no purpose either to exaggerate or to be a cheerleader. Things are what they are. We will all vote with our wallet whatever pleases us.

 

Food - X wins on quality, presentation, room service (lots of choices with ease of ordering from the interactive TV, and faster delivery in half hour or less), and speed. NCL wins on venue choices.

 

Entertainment - NCL wins hands down. There were so many things that I'd wanted to do but didn't get a chance to. Didn't get to the water slides, rock climbing, bowling, etc.

 

Casino - NCL wins no contest with their expansive gaming section. They tracked us better too, and we got some comps.

 

Cafe - X wins with longer opening hours, more drink choices, and better desserts.

 

Bars - X wins with fun staff and skilled trick pourings. Some shows too.

 

Ambiance - X wins. This is intangible and YMMV, of course.

 

Each line has its strengths and weaknesses. I wouldn't hesitate to book either one again. Which one do I prefer? It varies depending on who I'm traveling with, the itinerary, and price, but NCL does appear to suit us better with endless entertainment. :)

 

Until next cruise...

[anandaindonesia]

"..Things are what they are. We will all vote with our wallet whatever pleases us..." 《sooper》

 

Amen!

Looking forward to reading your next cruise experience :)

Edited February 6, 2014 by anandaindonesia

[aSiAnRiCk]

Thanks for the review with pictures. I'd love to sail on the Epic some day. I'm starving now all of the sudden :D

[snorklinbarb]

Very interesting and credible review. Thanks for posting all the menu photos - one thing when considering your next NCL cruise (with your rewards!) is new menus likely to be rolled out fleetwide by then.

 

Just came off of Breakaway sampling 12 new dinner menus and 2 (alternating) lunch menus. Many upgrades and excellent items. We enjoyed the food, served hot and tasty. Service needs work but hopefully the 500+ new crew that came on in Jan. will become a team and start to gel. We could already see improvement by the 2nd wk.

 

We enjoyed our two times on Epic. Slam Allen was the big hit in Fat Cats (now on Breakaway). How is that space being utilized now? We heard there was a Latin duo?

 

Glad you had such a good time and agree Norwegian has some really fantastic entertainment.

[sooper]

"..Things are what they are. We will all vote with our wallet whatever pleases us..." 《sooper》

 

Amen!

Looking forward to reading your next cruise experience :)

I'm just starting to research our next cruise in May!

 

Thanks for the review with pictures. I'd love to sail on the Epic some day. I'm starving now all of the sudden :D

Oops! :p

[sooper]

Very interesting and credible review. Thanks for posting all the menu photos - one thing when considering your next NCL cruise (with your rewards!) is new menus likely to be rolled out fleetwide by then.

 

Just came off of Breakaway sampling 12 new dinner menus and 2 (alternating) lunch menus. Many upgrades and excellent items. We enjoyed the food' date=' served hot and tasty. Service needs work but hopefully the 500+ new crew that came on in Jan. will become a team and start to gel. We could already see improvement by the 2nd wk.

 

We enjoyed our two times on Epic. Slam Allen was the big hit in Fat Cats (now on Breakaway). How is that space being utilized now? We heard there was a Latin duo?

 

Glad you had such a good time and agree Norwegian has some really fantastic entertainment.[/quote']

I didn't pay attention to the names of the musicians playing, but it was still a jazz band.

 

There'll always be new food items I've not tried, there are so many choices! :)

[david_sobe]

Thanks for an amazing review.

I love your doggie. Is it a chow chow? I have a chow chow that looks just like your dog except she is black.

 

Here is my baby

Edited February 7, 2014 by david_sobe

[SMerritt]

Thank you for taking the time to post - we were on this cruise also, I am having fun reminiscing :)

 

Your mentioning "salty" food prompted this post - I too felt that many of our meals were way too salty, until your nicely detailed posts, I just thought it was just me, but a few items were inedible due to being over-salted. Third cruise on Epic, never had a food issue before.

 

As you posted, it was a GREAT cruise!

[david_sobe]

Here is my baby

 

:)

...

Edited February 7, 2014 by david_sobe

[sooper]

Thanks for an amazing review.

I love your doggie. Is it a chow chow? I have a chow chow that looks just like your dog except she is black.

 

Here is my baby

 

Here is my baby

 

:)

...

Thanks for the compliment! Wow ~ your dog looks just like mine, except for the color of course. Too cute! My dog's a Samoyed, very similar to Chows but no blue tongue.

[sooper]

Thank you for taking the time to post - we were on this cruise also, I am having fun reminiscing :)

 

Your mentioning "salty" food prompted this post - I too felt that many of our meals were way too salty, until your nicely detailed posts, I just thought it was just me, but a few items were inedible due to being over-salted. Third cruise on Epic, never had a food issue before.

 

As you posted, it was a GREAT cruise!

Thank you. I'm glad to confirm that our taste buds were working! :p

[destaw7182]

Great review and pics!

[dak0tak1d]

Very entertaining review. Thank you

[Ron_L]

Thanks for the great review! We're going on the Epic in April and can't wait!

[sooper]

Thanks again, all! :)

 

Ron - get ready to have fun!

 

One thing I forgot to mention, something so obvious, was the relaxed dress code. It didn't matter for me since I'm always in dresses, but Mr. S loved not having to have a jacket at all, especially in the Caribbean.

[Ron_L]

Ron - get ready to have fun!

 

I'm ready! :D

[Ron_L]

One question, please?

 

Were you in a "regular" balcony cabin (not mini suite)? I am curious what type of coffee maker you had. I have read everything from an electric kettle to a pod coffee maker to a 4 cup maker. I am a home roaster and would love to have either the kettle of 4 cup maker so I can bring my own coffee.

 

thanks!

[kerrytens]

Sooper, thanks for the review. I loved reliving my time onboard. Wish we could have met though

[sooper]

One question, please?

 

Were you in a "regular" balcony cabin (not mini suite)? I am curious what type of coffee maker you had. I have read everything from an electric kettle to a pod coffee maker to a 4 cup maker. I am a home roaster and would love to have either the kettle of 4 cup maker so I can bring my own coffee.

 

thanks!

I was in a regular balcony. Here's a photo just for you. :D I didn't pay attention to the number of cups though since I didn't use it.

 

Sooper, thanks for the review. I loved reliving my time onboard. Wish we could have met though

Thanks! I totally planned on going to the M&G - but was just too tired. :( Maybe in a future cruise...

[kerrytens]

I was in a regular balcony. Here's a photo just for you. :D I didn't pay attention to the number of cups though since I didn't use it.

 

 

Thanks! I totally planned on going to the M&G - but was just too tired. :( Maybe in a future cruise...

Totally understandable:)

 

As for the coffee maker, I believe it was a 4 cupper. We had the same setup in our mini suite.

Edited February 8, 2014 by kerrytens

[shelly11]

Great pictures! I've never been on the Epic or this itinerary, great review!

[Ron_L]

I was in a regular balcony. Here's a photo just for you. :D I didn't pay attention to the number of cups though since I didn't use it.

 

I love it when people anticipate my needs :D Thank you!

 

Looks like I just need to pack my hand grinder, some filters and my coffee!

 

As for the coffee maker, I believe it was a 4 cupper. We had the same setup in our mini suite.

 

Thanks! It looks like a 4-cupper to me.

[Zoey]

I love it when people anticipate my needs :D Thank you!

 

Looks like I just need to pack my hand grinder, some filters and my coffee!

 

 

 

Thanks! It looks like a 4-cupper to me.

 

I'm a bit of a coffee snob myself. Does a four cupper mean it is a small, regular coffee maker in which you can use filters and ground coffee? If so, although I probably wouldn't take my grinder on my transatlantic, I might grind my own before I leave and take some filters (small I assume).

 

Also, can you get real half&half or cream on Epic?

[Ron_L]

I'm a bit of a coffee snob myself. Does a four cupper mean it is a small, regular coffee maker in which you can use filters and ground coffee? If so, although I probably wouldn't take my grinder on my transatlantic, I might grind my own before I leave and take some filters (small I assume).

 

Also, can you get real half&half or cream on Epic?

 

I'll let Sooper or some who has been on the Epic answer the question about half & half or cream, but yeah, looking at the coffee maker it looks like the same Hamilton beach maker that you find at a lot of hotels. It has a swing out basket that takes standard 4-cup sized filters.

 

I normally carry an electric kettle, hand grinder and Aeropress when traveling but since the kettle isn't allowed on a ship I'm glad to see that there is at least a way for me to use fresh coffee.