Our Epic first time cruise- photo review- 3rd Jan Canaries/Spain

[roberthale7787]

Thank you so much for all you have written and done to illuminate our upcoming cruise !

Warmly ,

Robert

[roberthale7787]

Dear Squish,

Once again, thank you so much for all that you did to make it a better cruise for those that come after you!

Maybe after you've rested your pen and yourself, you would consider a notes post on "the best of our cruise" ? Nothing elaborate just best restaurant, Best entrée, dessert, Tour, secret place, entertainment, etc.

Thank you again,

Robert

[portofrome]

Great review and photos! Thanks so much for posting.

[Newcruiser34]

Oh don't miss Malaga!! It's so wonderful. I can't vouch for the port area in Tenerife- if you're dead set on staying onboard on a port day you could always plan to spend a little time looking round the port area and then spend the afternoon on board. I loved Loro Parque but I see what you mean about somewhere you would take the kids- I guess it would depend on if you ever plan on being in Tenerife again? If not I would definitley go! I actually can't remember seeing discounted spa deals on the port days that much- the Spatopia ones they put in the dailies were actually for a sea day. I also still thought they were massivley overpriced- remember that you will pay 18% service charge on top of the advertised prices.

 

Regarding the photos- they often take a photo of you at dinner, and there's plenty of other photo ops if you seek them out. There is photo ops at each port when you disembark, after the shows and also photographers set up around decks 5,6 and 7 every night with back drops and props. Some of these are pretty cheesey- some are nice, like the photos against the chandelier. If you're after good photos of the two of (we were, as we never get any nice ones), then just seek these photographers out every night and spend 10 minutes posing. Don't be afraid to get this done lots as it will give you lots of photos to choose from, there's no obligation to buy and no pressure- you just go and view them the next night in your photo folder.

 

Thanks for the reply Squish and for the tips! I think we will probably just get off for an hour or two at Teneriefe to say we have been! lol.

In terms of the spa, I thought I had read on other reviews that the port days are when they discount treatments by about half? I could have misunderstood though? Still much more expensive than what you would pay at home but this is our first adult only holiday and I would love to give the spa a go, even if it is just to use the facilities :-)

 

Thanks again, have thoroughly enjoyed your review - you should definitely think about writing more - natural talent!

 

x

[Oakman58]

Thank you so much for the great review and all the photos. DW and I will be on the Epic in December and we picked up a number of tips from your report.

[SquishTheWhale]

Thanks for the reply Squish and for the tips! I think we will probably just get off for an hour or two at Teneriefe to say we have been! lol.

In terms of the spa, I thought I had read on other reviews that the port days are when they discount treatments by about half? I could have misunderstood though? Still much more expensive than what you would pay at home but this is our first adult only holiday and I would love to give the spa a go, even if it is just to use the facilities :-)

 

Thanks again, have thoroughly enjoyed your review - you should definitely think about writing more - natural talent!

 

x

 

I think the spa-topia deal that I posted a picture of is the only spa deal I saw- they didn't offer half price on any single treatments. However I have also heard of them offering that so maybe it changes bases on how busy the spa is on the cruise! If you want to use the spa facilities I don't think they are actually included if you buy a treatment? Not 100% sure on that, but you may be better off paying for the 10 day spa pass if you want relaxation!

I love having spa treatments but I struggled to justify paying the on board prices! Ive heard that the treatments are nice but that they can give you the hard sell on products.

[nata17]

Oh yes you will easily fit both in! We saw the 12.45 Orca show (arriving around 12.15 to queue), then went straight onto the sealion show and from there straight to the doplhin show. Do try and catch all 3, the sealion show was so funny! The only show we didn't see is the Loro (parrot) show. The shows are around 20 minutes, the Orca show may have been a little longer.

I don't know if you saw my tip about arriving through the jellyfish area to skip the main queue at the Orca show- this will save you some queueing time and still make sure you get a good seat

 

We had time to see most of the park, although we did have to rush a little by the end and we didn't spend long at lunch (you'll have to have an early lunch to catch the shows with the way the times are). You'll have an amazing time!

 

Thanks, very excited looking forward to this. Also I am now much more inspired by Malaga, wasn't sure if we would bother getting off the ship, but seems like we would be missing out.

Thanks for the great review, have enjoyed reading it.

[SquishTheWhale]

Final thoughts

 

I said I'd return to post my final thoughts, so here I am!

Thoughts on the cabin

If we took a cruise this long again I would splash out for a balcony (or an outside if available, ie not on the Epic). We had a lot of sea days- 5 instead of the expected 4- so we spent longer in the cabin than we might have on a shorter or more port intensive cruise. The size wasn't really the issue, it was more that I like natural light and fresh air! After a few days the cabin felt a bit stuffy. But then again, if we had paid for a balcony I may have been kicking myself as the weather wasn't good enough to use it.

Our inside cabin was comfortable and functional and the bathroom lay out was fine by us. There was plenty of storage and room to move around without tripping over each other. The thing that bothered us most about the cabin was the creaking, which stopped us sleeping sometimes!

 

Thoughts on the Epic

We liked the Epic, although we don't have anything to compare her to! She's not beautiful or glamorous but she's charming in her own way. We like there to be a lot of places to go and a lot of dining options so the mega ship experience suited us well- next time we will probably try and go even larger rather than try a smaller ship!

 

On NCL

If we cruise again we will certainly put NCL at the top of the list. We like the product and the freestyle concept suits us. I don't care that I have to pre-book some stuff- as long as I can choose what and when I want to pre-book. My idea of holiday hell is being forced to sit at the same table every night at the same time with the same people, and if I miss it then I miss dinner! No thanks. I didn't feel 'nickle and dimed' as people so often whinge about- if I wanted to pay for something extra I did, if I didn't then there was almost always a free alternative. Our on board account for the whole cruise was around $350 and half of that was photos- it would be really easy to leave with a $0 balance.

 

On dining

The MDR dining was very good and there was only a very few occasions we were dissapointed in the food (buffet cheesecake I'm looking at you). I enjoyed all the specialities but would only return to Cagneys again as I'm not sure the others are worth the up charge. The buffet could be a mad house but the food was also generally very good.

On Entertainment

The entertainment on board was fantastic and a real selling point for NCL. I suggested a Carnival cruise to F, and his first reaction was 'But they won't have Howl at the Moon!'. We loved Priscilla, Burn and Howl and everyone must catch them at least once!

On the itinerary

Considering we booked this cruise based on the bargain price without much care for the itinerary, it ended up being great! We loved every port. The weather was also great in port- not roasting hot, but t-shirt and shorts weather is a winner when it's freezing and raining at home. We also discovered some places we would never have thought of visiting, such as Malaga.

 

The best...

Restaurant: Cagneys

Starter: The tomato soup (lunch or dinner in the MDR)

Main: Lamb chops with fries and onion rings at Cagneys

Dessert: The white chocolate red velvet mousse in the MDR (dinner version, not lunch time one)

Drink: Mango meltdown

Port: Probably tenerife due to Loro Parque

Show: Priscilla

Outside spot: Spice H20 or the secret sun deck if it's busy

Place to watch sail away: Spice H20

 

Have we been bitten by the cruising bug?

Well, we loved our time on the Epic and yes we would definitley cruise again. But we have two trips booked this year and we are currently planning our Honeymoon for next year and none of them involve a cruise! So I guess that goes to show we haven't been bitten by the bug that much. I do hope we will cruise again in a couple of years though!

 

Please feel free to continue shooting off any questions you may have, and once again thanks for following along :)

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Nice summary! I'm glad you had such a good time on your first cruise. :D

 

I enjoyed all the specialities but would only return to Cagneys again as I'm not sure the others are worth the up charge.

 

 

IIRC, you didn't try Le Bistro. I suggest if you cruise NCL again that you definitely try it! IMHO, it's the best of the specialties! I enjoyed Cagney's (enough to eat there twice on my last cruise), but Le Bistro was better. La Cucina OTOH will never see my face again. :p

 

 

Best wishes on the vacations you have planned and especially on the wedding and marriage. :D My oldest just got married in October and it was pretty fabulous. I hope your wedding goes just as smoothly.

 

Thanks again for a very entertaining and informative review!

 

QC

[SquishTheWhale]

 

IIRC, you didn't try Le Bistro. I suggest if you cruise NCL again that you definitely try it! IMHO, it's the best of the specialties! I enjoyed Cagney's (enough to eat there twice on my last cruise), but Le Bistro was better. La Cucina OTOH will never see my face again. :p

 

QC

 

I'm not sure if we could be tempted by Le Bistro as French food is the one cuisine I'm really not keen on! Maybe if I could find something non-french on the menu... I've heard their steak is good but I'm not into steak either! So I'm not too sure I'd appreciate it :p

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I'm not sure if we could be tempted by Le Bistro as French food is the one cuisine I'm really not keen on! Maybe if I could find something non-french on the menu... I've heard their steak is good but I'm not into steak either! So I'm not too sure I'd appreciate it :p

 

 

Well, there you go. :o I must say the mussels were to die for. I like a good steak, but I have to be in the mood. I'll definitely be trying that Oreo cheesecake! I do love Italian, so LC was a huge disappointment. Teppanyaki was okay, but it's a bit of a cliche. This time I'll be trying Moderno, too. But, my first specialty will be Le Bistro. :D

[albingirl]

Squish I'm loving your review, quite sad it's coming to an end now to be honest :(

 

We are also first time cruisers doing the same cruise as you on 6th March! We are a couple in our late 30's and this is our first solo holiday without children :eek:

 

We are really looking forward to it now and getting quite excited with only 23 sleeps until we head to Barcelona now :D

 

A few questions for you if you don't mind? First of all the photos, I take it there are quite a number of photo opportunities? We rarely get photos just the two of us and had thought about pre paying for a package but we really weren't sure if there were enough opportunities to make it worthwhile?

 

Also we are booked on a few tours through our roll call for Morocco and Madeira. We plan on just having a wander round the beach at Gran Canaria if the weather good. But for Tenerife we didn't fancy much other than after seeing your day at Loro Parque. But hubby thinks it's way too on the expensive side to do something we would do with the kids on a normal holiday! 😂

 

Originally we thought go for a wander in Tenerife on our own and stay on the ship in Malaga. As I would like to have a day on the ship while in port to see if I can make use of discounted spa deals. But after reading your day in Malaga, I'm more drawn now to staying on at Tenerife and getting off at Malaga. Would you say that would be better? Having never been to either places I wasn't sure if getting off at Tenerife for a wander would be worth it?

 

There was definitely more I wanted to ask but I can't remember now! Lol

 

Thanks

Carreen

 

It would be such a waste to stay on the ship in Tenerife. There are UNESCO sites and wonderful sightseeing. Don't waste the day.

[cruisexlife]

Hello from the US! I LOVED your review, thank you so much for sharing! I never knew it, but Madeira is a BEAUTIFUL place, and I hope to visit someday. I'm glad you enjoyed your first cruise!

[RosieCanberra]

I am sad it is over too! Thanks for the detailed review, we cruise Epic in April. Can't wait 😄

 

Cheers

Rosie

[nimiq]

Hello Squish and F,

 

First let me thank you got this "Fabulous" review loved reading every part.

 

We will be cruising on the Epic November 2016 and will take lots of your findings with us.

 

If ever you do decide to book a Caribbean cruise in the future please let us know you both seem to be fun to be around with. :-)

Thanks again

Sea ya

Eric

[roberthale7787]

EPIC MARCH 6th SAILING

 

Sadly, My fellow cruiser had family complications and won't be able to accompany me! Right now I'm booked on a mid-ship balcony cabin (9106) and wondering if there is anyone that has the reverse situation of mine and may have someone that wants to go with you and would be interested and swapping a studio cabin for a balcony cabin and a UBP and UDP ? I would like to try the Studio Cabins since it's my first time cruising solo

[roberthale7787]

Thank you !!!!!!!!!!

[Perryn_Kraft]

Thanks for the wonderful review!!

 

My Fiance and I will be on the Epic for our honeymoon after 4 days in Rome. On the Aug 4 2016 sailing. It will be my first time on the Epic and his first cruise! I am looking for ways to help make this an amazing trip for him as this will also be his first time outside of America. I wrote plenty of notes as I followed along and will be taking advantage of your tips!

 

Thanks again!

 

Perryn

[IsanTom]

Great info!

[KaneCruzer]

Hello Squish,

Just invested my afternoon reading the entire thread of your review. Thoroughly entertaining and filled with great tips and insights. I've been reading CC off and on for the past 6 months preparing for my first time cruise on the Epic in October. I've picked up lots of useful information from all the contributors such as yourself but you made us feel like a part of your "family". It is fortunate that I registered yesterday with CC so I am able to post a reply. (So you are actually my first reply on CC!)

Although my Epic itinerary will be a bit different from yours I'll be able to use a lot of the tips and nuggets you provided. You actually confirmed a lot of the information I was able to obtained from other reviews. And the sharing of your experiences aboard the Epic is priceless.

My wife and I will be going to Rome in October to take the 7 day Epic cruise before finishing a week of sighting in Rome. Visiting Europe and cruising will be a first time for us both. Thanks again for your extended effort in posting this review. You do have serious skills.....ala J. K. Rowling. Best wishes.

:) :) :)

Edited February 29, 2016 by KaneCruzer

[okeytaco]

Wonderful review with a fun quirky writing style that made it even more enjoyable. We will be getting off one ship in Barcelona and leaving on another the same day. We'd love to do a 5-6 hour tour of the city. Who was your tour with and would you recommend them? Thanks for a fun couple of hours of reading!

[bydefault]

I really don't get why people book a cruise ship that holds 4000 people and is one of the largest at sea, only to complain about its size.

 

 

I found this post a bit uncalled for. I'm sure the OP felt bad enough about her choice to be remind by a stranger that they made a poor choice. Let's be nice to each other.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[boobschein]

Hello,

Just wondering.. When relaxing on peaceful deck 18, are the any food and bev offered up there?

Counting down to 3/16/16 cruise🐬

[jodieh12]

Hello,

Just wondering.. When relaxing on peaceful deck 18, are the any food and bev offered up there?

Counting down to 3/16/16 cruise

 

As far as I'm aware no but the buffet is just a lift ride away and so is the pool bar.

 

Jo x

[SquishTheWhale]

Hi guys, sorry I haven't replied to the last few posts, I've not been on CC lately!

 

Thank you so much for your kind words Kanecruzer :)

 

okaytaco, we used Barcelona Day Tours and I would highly reccomend them. They seem to be the most reccomended tour company over on the Spain/Europe boards as well so it's not just me! I found they gave us a great overview in a short time, and much more information and insight than we could have achieved just touring on our own.

 

boobschein, there is a bar on deck 18- I think it might actually be situated in the beach club area as I never actually saw it! However there was often waiters hovering around asking if you wanted a drink, and I got them to fill up my pepsi cup a few times. If you wanted something to eat you can just pop down in the lifts to the buffet- I saw quite a few people bringing food up.