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

[minn55441]

Thank you for the information. We have our rain jackets packed and a combination of shorts and pants. I had planned on more sweatshirts and sweaters than short sleeves, so maybe we will switch out a few heavy items for a few more short sleeves.

 

Glad you had a great time.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I was so happy to awaken this morning to more review! Yay! :p Thanks again for taking the time! I'm off to Barcelona in only 45 days, so getting very excited about this cruise! I'm hoping we're able to dock in Tangier!

 

On our first cruise (which was 19 years ago!) we booked an inside cabin and it was fine. But, our second cruise was to Alaska so we booked a balcony and have had balconies ever since! My last cruise was on the Jade and I was cruising solo so booked an inside as I just couldn't justify the cost of a balcony cabin for only one person. Plus, it was my first solo cruise and I didn't want an excuse to stay in the cabin too much! LOL. Anyway, the inside was fine for that 7-day sailing and it was a bit of an experiment for me as I've booked a studio for my Epic cruise. I'll be looking for quiet places on deck so you've piqued my interest with the pic of that very private looking space that's accessed via the secret aft staircase, so please elaborate! I've read Epic reviews but this is the first I've seen mention of it (maybe I'm not paying enough attention!).

 

Really enjoying reading your tale!

 

Thanks!

:D

[trinitytrees]

Eager to read your review as we were on same cruise in a deck 13 balcony cabin. We hated the ship (and that is not an overstatement). Worst ship we have ever been on in 37 cruises. Too large, too many loud people, very badly designed cabins. However food and entertainment were excellent and the free drinks package was good. Staff and service were good with the exception of staff on reception. Our steward was great and provided nightly towel animals which was amusing. We enjoyed the cruise and itinerary but not the ship.

 

 

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Hi we are on this cruise in March on deck 13 mini suite any tips as you were on deck 13, re that deck or anything else? Thank you

[SquishTheWhale]

I was so happy to awaken this morning to more review! Yay! :p Thanks again for taking the time! I'm off to Barcelona in only 45 days, so getting very excited about this cruise! I'm hoping we're able to dock in Tangier!

 

On our first cruise (which was 19 years ago!) we booked an inside cabin and it was fine. But, our second cruise was to Alaska so we booked a balcony and have had balconies ever since! My last cruise was on the Jade and I was cruising solo so booked an inside as I just couldn't justify the cost of a balcony cabin for only one person. Plus, it was my first solo cruise and I didn't want an excuse to stay in the cabin too much! LOL. Anyway, the inside was fine for that 7-day sailing and it was a bit of an experiment for me as I've booked a studio for my Epic cruise. I'll be looking for quiet places on deck so you've piqued my interest with the pic of that very private looking space that's accessed via the secret aft staircase, so please elaborate! I've read Epic reviews but this is the first I've seen mention of it (maybe I'm not paying enough attention!).

 

Really enjoying reading your tale!

 

Thanks!

:D

 

I've heard of the secret staircase via CC but had never seen a picture of it before! You can access it from deck 10-13 (it goes up to 14 but that's where you end up breaking and entering into the spa). It's on both sides with the doors all the way aft, but I think the big wrap around balcony in the picture was only on the port side stairs.

 

Another good quiet spot on deck is the 'secret sundeck' on 18- I'll put some info and pictures up of that in a later post! On the only hot sea day we had the main pool deck and H20 were rammed and everyone was trying to drag their loungers into sunny spots so people were all over the place. Secret sundeck was almost empty and all the loungers were in the sun!

 

I'm sure you'll love the studio as I've heard the lounge area etc is very nice :) I would have liked a place like that to sit and read!

Edited January 15, 2016 by SquishTheWhale

[SquishTheWhale]

Muster drill and time to eat!

 

The muster was scheduled for 4.30, and they started making announcements about everything closing and to go to your muster station at 3.45. As a nervous first timer I didn't want to be late, so we headed straight to our muster station in the Manhattan room. After cooling our heels for half an hour in the corridor outside Manhattan they eventually let us in, and then after another 30 minutes the drill started. What a joke! What could have taken 3 minutes: 'Here's how you put on a life jacket, here's what the alarm sounds like, when it sounds come back here to your muster station' took forever as they repeated it in English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Klingon... okay, maybe not Klingon, but seriously it took forever and they basically showed and told us nothing. Watch the looping safety channel on your TV if you actually would like to know how not to die in case of the ship sinking.

 

By the time muster had finished it was coming up to 6. I was reading my ill-gotten welcome document and it stated that the sail away party was until 6. This was confusing as I thought sail away was at 7! All my cruise documents said 7, but nobody seemed to know what time we were actually sailing. We walked down to guest services on deck 5 to ask what time sail away was.... and they said 6! So 5 minutes ago!

 

In the grip of a total panic that I would miss my first sail away, I pelted up all 10 flights of stairs to H20 and flung myself at the railing, expecting to see us majestically sailing away from Barcelona. Then I remembered to breath, and spent the next 30 minutes partly dying from running up 10 flights of stairs, and partly wondering why we weren't yet sailing. By the time I had decided I wasn't actually going to die (never again did I attempt to run up all those stairs), it was getting dark. I stubbornly insisted on staying until 10 past 7 just in case the sail away really was at 7, but then F pointed out that it was starting to rain and that he needed feeding. Begrudgingly I gave up on my first sail away and we headed down to dinner.

 

Dinner tonight was to be in Taste, as we couldn't be bothered to get changed for the Manhattan Room and I wanted an MDR experience on my first night.

 

Menus!

 

 

 

 

Sorry if the pics are a little dark, the MDRs seem to like mood lighting and my camera is rubbish in low light

Edited January 15, 2016 by SquishTheWhale

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I've heard of the secret staircase via CC but had never seen a picture of it before! You can access it from deck 10-13 (it goes up to 14 but that's where you end up breaking and entering into the spa). It's on both sides with the doors all the way aft, but I think the big wrap around balcony in the picture was only on the port side stairs.

 

Another good quiet spot on deck is the 'secret sundeck' on 18- I'll put some info and pictures up of that in a later post! On the only hot sea day we had the main pool deck and H20 were rammed and everyone was trying to drag their loungers into sunny spots so people were all over the place. Secret sundeck was almost empty and all the loungers were in the sun!

 

I'm sure you'll love the studio as I've heard the lounge area etc is very nice :) I would have liked a place like that to sit and read!

 

I'll definitely look for that staircase. Thanks for the tip!

 

I've heard of the "secret sundeck" before and have it on my list to check it out. I'm looking forward to relaxing and reading and just watching the world go by. It'd be nice if they built a ship with studio balconies. I'd be all over that! :p

 

I'm looking forward to checking out the studios. They look well-designed and I don't need a lot of space (despite being 6'1"! LOL) so it should work out well for me. I like the idea of the lounge, too.

 

Looking forward to more of your review. Get crackin'! ;)

[SquishTheWhale]

To start I had the French onion soup (this is on the menu every day) and F had the Green Asparagus Cream soup and the Louisiana Chicken drums. Forgot to take a picture of the drums, sorry! They were OK- a bit plain tasting but you got a good large portion.

 

The French Onion soup was very good and had a nice cheesey crouton which gradually melted while eating. One thing I would discover is that the soups in the MDR were generally excellent and a safe choice.

 

 

F liked his asparagus soup but I'm not massive on asparagus so thought it was only OK. That was more to do with my personal tastes than the quality of the soup though!

 

 

For main I love Thai food so chose the Thai green chicken curry- bit of a rookie mistake, as obviously it's never going to be as good as a real Thai restaurant. It was OK, kind of what you would expect if you ordered a Thai curry from a pub.

 

 

F had the Whole roasted striploin which he said was really good. I thought it was served too pink and was glad I didn't order it! Hmm, can you tell by now that I'm kind of fussy with my food? :o

 

Edited January 15, 2016 by SquishTheWhale

[SquishTheWhale]

For dessert I ordered chocolate mousse- I loveeeeee chocolate mousse. The mousse and cake center was really nice but I wasn't keen on the darker 'skin' on the outside which was kind of tasteless and had a jelly like texture. So I skinned it and ate the middle :D

 

 

F ordered the chocolate brownie, but they bought him the pistachio crème brulee. The waiter realised right away and ran off the fetch the brownie, leaving F alone with the crème brulee. Lets just say he's a man who takes opportunities when they fall in front of him, so he had two desserts that night.

 

 

 

He said the crème brulee was the better of the two, as the brownie was a little dry and heating it up would have improved it immensely.

 

I forgot to mention that we were seated at a window, so when we eventually did sail sometime before 8 we got a bit of a view, which was nice! So I didn't completely miss it after all, and I would be surprised if anyone else had stayed up on deck to watch it.

 

It was a nice first dinner and we went for a full but happy wander around the ship afterwards. F spotted the basketball game in O'Sheehans and that was another $10 and 20 minutes lost. He never beat that high score which really rubbed at him the whole cruise! By this point we were pretty tired after our 5am start so started to wander back to the cabin but walked past Headliners and got sucked in by the sound of Howl at The Moon.

 

Wow, these guys are fantastic! I've heard about Howl but never seen it before. All 3 guys are really talented and give some great banter in between songs. It turned out that the family of one of the players had booked onto the cruise as a surprise and they walked in during his set! It was really sweet as he was totally shocked. We got a bit of a second wind and ended up staying in Howl until midnight as it was rocking.

 

As we left it felt like Howl wasn't the only thing that was rocking- the ship felt like it was swaying a lot! I have no point of reference as it was our first cruise, but the waves did seem a bit high and I felt quite a lot of movement. One of my big worries was sea sickness so once back to the cabin I popped a pre-emptive travel sickness pill and it was time for bed!

 

Next up, day 2- Sea day

[NCLfamily]

Eager to read your review as we were on same cruise in a deck 13 balcony cabin. We hated the ship (and that is not an overstatement). Worst ship we have ever been on in 37 cruises. Too large, too many loud people, very badly designed cabins. However food and entertainment were excellent and the free drinks package was good. Staff and service were good with the exception of staff on reception. Our steward was great and provided nightly towel animals which was amusing. We enjoyed the cruise and itinerary but not the ship.

 

 

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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.

[Dorset Cruiser]

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.

 

Yes, I get that we should have realised about the size of the ship but that was not the only problem we had with the Epic. The cabin design is flawed to the extreme and I would have had much the same cabin experience on a yacht. Did they not think that we would need some drawers?

 

 

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[SquishTheWhale]

Yes, I get that we should have realised about the size of the ship but that was not the only problem we had with the Epic. The cabin design is flawed to the extreme and I would have had much the same cabin experience on a yacht. Did they not think that we would need some drawers?

 

 

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What type of cabin were you in? We had lots of drawers in our inside!

[ellieocb]

Oh yummy we have taste booked for our first night and I will be having the creme brulee for sure! Loving your review😊

[kevmoley]

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.

 

IMO, you really don't know if you like or not like something until you actually try it. I am sorry that they didn't like the trip but can understand how it happened. :)

[kevmoley]

Wonderful review so far and I love the pictures too, SquishTheWhale

 

I am glad you enjoyed your 1st cruise and hope you continue to sail. My wife and I are on the EPIC (Our 1st NCL cruise) next week and we are looking forward to it.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

IMO, you really don't know if you like or not like something until you actually try it. I am sorry that they didn't like the trip but can understand how it happened. :)

 

I agree. I haven't sailed this size of ship, but I booked the Epic because of the studios. I'm going with low expectations about the ship itself. We shall see. Maybe I'll love sailing on a ship that size! :o

[cincicruisers]

More please.......enjoying your review!

[Dorset Cruiser]

What type of cabin were you in? We had lots of drawers in our inside!

 

Balcony

 

 

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[GUEST080219]

Awesome detailled review. I will be on the Epic in 18 days so this is very interesting.

[kirsty_r]

Balcony

 

 

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My epic balcony has always had plenty of drawers and storage....

[Dorset Cruiser]

My epic balcony has always had plenty of drawers and storage....

 

Where were the drawers then? We searched the whole cabin and only one tiny drawer under the sink. The rest was just cupboard stowage and the wardrobe. We were in 13144.

 

 

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[FreestyleNovice]

Where were the drawers then? We searched the whole cabin and only one tiny drawer under the sink. The rest was just cupboard stowage and the wardrobe. We were in 13144.

 

 

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There's a small difference in storage within the balcony categories on Epic with the connecting balconies, door (fold down plank(s) IIRC when door is closed) vs storage. And also the bed by door/bed by balcony is a difference in setup.

[SquishTheWhale]

Where were the drawers then? We searched the whole cabin and only one tiny drawer under the sink. The rest was just cupboard stowage and the wardrobe. We were in 13144.

 

 

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I wonder if you had a cabin with a funny configuration? We had about 4 drawers under the sink (3 of them large), then lots of shelves behind the bathroom mirror, shelves under the TV end of the desk, and large shelves and baskets inside the wardrobe. I hear in the balcony cabins there's also storage in the sofa?

 

I thought we had loads of storage for 2 people, but you definitely wouldn't want to share with 3 in an inside! I can also see how the cabin layout doesn't work for others but it was fine for us.

[raining cats and dogs]

Awesome detailled review. I will be on the Epic in 18 days so this is very interesting.

 

Thank you so much for your excellent review. I agree with a previous reader, your review is like a book that you can't put down. i cannot wait for the next episode !!!

We will be sailing on the Epic from the 24 Feb ( 35 days to go yipeee)also doing the Morocco/Canary Island cruise.

Thank you for the weather briefing as I was wondering what the weather would have in stall for us.

Keep up the good work with the reviews.

[trinitytrees]

Enjoying reading review thank you for raking time, we go canaries sail in March anyone going up until then please post your findings. Tips etc oh and weather findings.

[SquishTheWhale]

Thank you so much for your excellent review. I agree with a previous reader, your review is like a book that you can't put down. i cannot wait for the next episode !!!

We will be sailing on the Epic from the 24 Feb ( 35 days to go yipeee)also doing the Morocco/Canary Island cruise.

Thank you for the weather briefing as I was wondering what the weather would have in stall for us.

Keep up the good work with the reviews.

 

I'm so jealous, I wish I was doing it all again! It's a great itinerary- one couple I spoke to referred to it as the 'hidden gems cruise' and I think that's spot on. I loved every port and I'd never have thought to visit Maderia or Malaga on my own. I hope when I get to the port info that it's useful for you!