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Epic Photo Review – Specialty Dining - Menus - Freestyle Dailies - Deck Tours

megacruiser

By megacruiser,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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megacruiser

megacruiser

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Great review.Earlier you mentioned the POSH are with the padded sunbeds.

How do I purchase passes for POSH and how much are they ?

 

Thanks for your comment.

 

Both POSH and the Quiet Zone have the padded sunbeds. Please see posts 52 and 159. POSH costs $59 payable at Guest Relations on Day 1; only 20 passes available. POSH has a small amount of shade.

 

The Quiet Zone is free, but there is no shade and no bar.

 

Regards

megacruiser

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UK Cruiser2

UK Cruiser2

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Thanks for your comment.

 

Both POSH and the Quiet Zone have the padded sunbeds. Please see posts 52 and 159. POSH costs $59 payable at Guest Relations on Day 1; only 20 passes available. POSH has a small amount of shade.

 

The Quiet Zone is free, but there is no shade and no bar.

 

Regards

megacruiser

 

Thanks,

As POSH passes are limited we'll probably try the Quiet Zone

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AF-1

AF-1

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megacruiser, I want to thank you for taking the time to put this review together. Your day by day and blow by blow review is wonderful. Your pictures are awesome and make me hungry looking at them. Thank You, Thank You. Of the three recent trips Epic, Oasis, QM, which was your fav and why? I know it may be tough to decide; but somewhere one of these lines had to pull ahead in your mind.

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megacruiser

megacruiser

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megacruiser, I want to thank you for taking the time to put this review together. Your day by day and blow by blow review is wonderful. Your pictures are awesome and make me hungry looking at them. Thank You, Thank You. Of the three recent trips Epic, Oasis, QM, which was your fav and why? I know it may be tough to decide; but somewhere one of these lines had to pull ahead in your mind.

 

 

That's an interesting question... QM2 cannot be compared to Oasis or Epic because it provides a totally different sort of experience. If I was not travelling alone and wanted total relaxation on an uncrowded, traditional type of cruise, or one that had many sea days, then I would love to do QM2 again, no hesitation. There is much more formality however, with jackets mandatory every night for dinner; and afternoon tea in the Queens room is very elegant...

 

Travelling on my own, I like having more to do. The design of Oasis is mind-blowing in it's brilliance and, for an active cruise, in a league of its own (with its sister, Allure). Where the Epic scores is the entertainament and, for me, the Studios are fantastic. Epic does a lot of things well but the ship is relatively unexceptional when compared to Oasis.

 

Having said that, in the real world, cost is a factor. I priced a week next June on the Epic comparing it to the Allure. Allure costs two-and-a-half-times as much for a single. When value for money is factored in, the decision becomes much more difficult. However taking money out of the equation, for me the Oasis/Allure wins hands down; and certainly worth a splurge at least once...

 

Sorry my review is taking so long; I have a heavy workload right now, but will resume shortly. Next up is a review of Cagney's, Graffiti Classics and the Aussie Boys...

 

Regards

megacruiser

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AF-1

AF-1

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megacruiser, thanks for your feedback and answers. I understand the money issue and traveling as a single cruiser. I have been on Allure and loved it; it was one of the best cruises ever; but that being said; My trip on RCI Splendor of the Seas out of Venice had to be the best cruise so far. And Splendor is very small compared to Allure. Next year I am trying NCL for the first time. We are doing Jade for 14 nights; again starting and ending in Venice; so who knows it may end up being the best ever cruise. Again, thanks for taking the time to post such a wonderful review.

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megacruiser

megacruiser

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megacruiser, thanks for your feedback and answers. I understand the money issue and traveling as a single cruiser. I have been on Allure and loved it; it was one of the best cruises ever; but that being said; My trip on RCI Splendor of the Seas out of Venice had to be the best cruise so far. And Splendor is very small compared to Allure. Next year I am trying NCL for the first time. We are doing Jade for 14 nights; again starting and ending in Venice; so who knows it may end up being the best ever cruise. Again, thanks for taking the time to post such a wonderful review.

 

Funnily enough one of my all time favourite cruises was on Splendour of the Seas, July 1st 1997 for 12 nights to the Norwegian Fjords and Arctic Circle. The weather was perfect throughout and the scenery unparalleled. It's a shame that this itinerary is overlooked by so many across the pond.

 

The thing that made it even more special was a wonderful cruise director - very restrained and atypical. His wife assisted him. The musical entertainment was fantastic and local guest musicians were brought aboard during the cruise. So it proves that the best ship need not correlate with the best cruise.

 

Kind regards

megacruiser

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megacruiser

megacruiser

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CagneysSteakhouseMenu-1_zps2d823a9c.jpg

 

 

 

Tonight I had booked dinner at Cagney's Steakhouse. I have always been disappointed with steak houses at sea, so my expectations were pretty low...

The delicious loaf placed before me could have easily filled me up, but I try to control how much bread I eat...

 

 

Superb bread...

DSCF0873-1_zpsd51ae9e3.jpg

 

 

 

Shrimp Cocktail...

DSCF0880-1-2_zps20e4dee4.jpg

 

 

When I carried out some essential food research prior to my trip, the Shrimp Cocktail with Jack Daniels-laced sauce had received some pretty positive comments. Could a drop of Tennessee’s-finest really elevate the ubiquitous Prawn Cocktail? A little, I suppose, but it was not a major leap - and only three shrimp... seriously? Good job I was having four courses...

 

 

 

Baked Potato Soup...

DSCF0884-1_zpsb7a4dec6.jpg

 

 

Now the Baked Potato Soup was a different story. Sounds bland and unexciting yet the finished dish was quite delicious and rather more refined than one might expect... recommended!

 

 

 

Succulent seared steak...

DSCF0885-1_zpsb38b6c26.jpg

 

 

 

Then, onto the main event... I sought, and accepted, the waiter's recommendation - New York Strip. He described it as a "special" but I note it is listed on the published menu. This cut had always proved to be a safe bet when eating in some of Florida's better steak houses...

 

It was cooked as I like; medium rare. The flavour of my first bite was truly superb; it had been optimally cooked because the unique mouth-watering-quality caused by the maillard effect was very strongly in evidence. Unfortunately it was also rather chewy... such a shame. Still, it was my tastiest grilled-steak at sea to date; and a far cry from my recent experience on the Oasis, where the Filet Mignon tasted of nothing... The accompanying Gratin Potatoes and Roast Mushrooms were both delicious...

 

 

Warm Apple Cardamom Crisp

DSCF0890-1-2_zps06224f5b.jpg

 

 

 

Finally dessert, and the Warm Apple Cardamom Crisp was simply an Apple Crumble by another name; not sophisticated cooking, but satisfying, comfort food that took me back to my mother's traditional home-made version in the sixties - served then, of course, with lashings of custard. As I hadn't managed to eat a lot of the steak, this potentially heavy conclusion to the meal, was tucked away post haste and without leaving me feeling bloated.

 

I had only planned to visit Cagney's once, but both the beautiful flavour of the steak and the overall quality of the meal was such, I booked a follow-up visit for my second last night, dispensing with any notion of sampling La Cucina, the Italian restaurant, which has received almost universally mediocre reviews...

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Sparkles87

Sparkles87

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Hi Megacruiser,

 

I was just wondering if you saw any spa deals on day 4 in Civitavecchia. I might be looking to have a wee spa day that day since im staying on board ;)

 

I haven't seen any on the freestyle dailies that others have posted so I thought I'd ask if you saw any on board?

 

Thanks in advance :)

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Hocus

Hocus

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Hello,

 

When you take the UDP, can you go several times to the same restaurant or do you need to take each evening another restaurant ?

 

I know that there is no swimming pool or jacuzzi in the Posh Beach Club but is there something to cool off ? I've seen a review before that there would be a cascading waterfall but I am not sure because no one else mentioned it after.

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LrgPizza

LrgPizza

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In my experience, you can order multiple starters in the speciality restaurants, just not multiple entrees.

You can order multiple entrees with the exception of Cagney's and Le Bistro which will charge an additional $10 for additional, according to the published terms of the UDP.

 

Hello,

 

When you take the UDP, can you go several times to the same restaurant or do you need to take each evening another restaurant ?

 

I know that there is no swimming pool or jacuzzi in the Posh Beach Club but is there something to cool off ? I've seen a review before that there would be a cascading waterfall but I am not sure because no one else mentioned it after.

 

You can eat wherever you want, even multiple restaurants in one evening. For instance, if you want to eat Cagney's every night, you can do that.

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LrgPizza

LrgPizza

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"Eat in multiple restaurants". So, if we eat in Shanghai and don't like it, we can go to leBistro and eat? On the same night without an extra charge?

Yes. Or you can eat a giant full dinner at Le Bistro at 5:30, then another giant dinner at Cagney's at 9:30 if you are so inclined.

 

I think Shanghai's is just 20% off though, not included for free in UDP. I might be wrong though. If it's an a la carte restaurant, then it's just 20% off with UDP.

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