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

[SquishTheWhale]

Forgot to post a cool night time shot that I took on the first night!

 

 

And, on with day 2!

 

Day 2- At Sea

 

Dailies- sorry these aren't the best shots, if you want better copies then SwissLe has posted some very good ones in his thread! I don't have a scanner so a camera shot is the best I can do.

 

 

 

 

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[FreestyleNovice]

It was a bit on the chilly side in Barcelona! And pretty windy on deck when sailing to Morocco. However the weather in the canaries was beautiful. In Las Palmas we were in shorts and t-shirts, and people were swimming in the sea. In Tenerife it was also sunny and beautiful, however when we arrived and left it was cloudy. As we didn't hang around the port area during the day I don't know if it was cloudy all day near the port and only sunny where we were! On the sea day after Morocco it was lovely and we sunbathed on deck, but that was the only really nice sea day. But most days it was nice enough to sit out if you had a sweater on.

 

In Funchal it was lovely weather and hot when the sun was out- but we were told that it had been freezing and rainy the day before! Malaga was very nice and F spent most of the day with his shirt off so it must have been a good temperature. We did end up buying more suncream in port as we were using it most days!

 

Overall the weather was better than I expected, I packed for all weathers but we didn't use the rain coats! The ship air con was the coldest temps we encountered outside of Barcelona. But I think we were quite lucky not to see any rain. You'll probably just have to do what I did and overpack so you have something for all weathers!

 

Thanks for the weather feedback, we canceled this cruise and went to Africa for a land vacation. We weren't sure about the moderate weather and also being for the 5th time on Epic wouldn't help.. hehe.. :)

[SquishTheWhale]

We had some breakfast in the buffet and it was a bit of a mad house. No seating anywhere inside, so we ended up outside even though it wasn't very warm out. The breakfast buffet is pretty good, even though I'm not a 'breakfast' person I managed to find something I could eat every day. They have all the hot options, including English style bacon and sausages (bangers as they call them, lol). The baked beans were always a bit hard and cold, but I'm yet to find a non-British person who can cook beans properly so I forgive them. Lots of pancakes, waffles, pastries (F liked the sticky cinnamon buns) and cereals. Also cold meats, cheeses, breads, fruit etc.

 

F's breakfast: (mine is never interesting enough to take pictures of as I only pick at breakfast!)

 

 

After breakfast F went to the gym. I forgot to mention that after we broke into the spa we also did a little tour of the gyn. It's huge and has pretty much everything you could want (with the exception of a squat rack, F informs me). The personal trainers were really nice and we got talking to a guy from the Netherlands (I think?). He did try and sign us up to extra cost classes and they were a little pushy on the front, he told us that they only get paid from those extra classes and personal training! But sorry guys, we can go to classes for free at the gym at home, and I don't really get who comes on a cruise and pays for personal training?

 

Anyway F was dying to go test out the gym, so he did that while I engaged in the much more sensible activity of curling up in Shakers martini bar on deck 7 with a wedding magazine (must keep wedding planning brain engaged whilst away...). Shakers is a good quiet spot until 12 when the bar opens, after then I could never get a free seat. They have these nice sofas which are placed in the little corridor which leads to the cigar bar, so they are kind of secluded from the main hustle of the ship. I read in there for a while until a lady set up for her scheduled presentation on Acupuncture and I ended up listening in from my hidden spot on the sofa.

 

Did you know that according to the lady who is trying very hard to sell you acupuncture sessions that acupuncture can cure everything from Insomnia to Arthritis to the Menopause to the common cold? F joined me part of the way through and it became a running joke for the rest of the cruise that acupuncture can cure anything. This chicken they served me is a bit dry.... hey you know what will fix that? Acupuncture.

 

We wanted to attend the Samba dance class with Burn the Floor in the atrium at 12.45, but seeing as that was over when we would normally get lunch we popped to the buffet for a snack to keep us going. The pizza they serve in the buffet is awesome!

 

 

In the Marketplace on deck (the tunnel that leads to H20, god knows why it's called the Marketplace) they had some kind of T-shirt sale going on. 2 shirts for $20. They had some nice women's Roxy ones but the men's were all lame one's saying things like 'Rome' when we weren't even going to Rome. I was eyeing a couple up (compulsive shopper) but we had to pop off to the Samba dance class in the atrium.

 

 

You can see the T-shirt sale going on in the background. The first day it attracted quite a few people but they have it every sea day with the same stuff.

 

The Samba class was pretty busy, lots of stepping on people's toes. Why on earth do they insist on holding so much in the atrium when there's very limited space? I don't think I ever saw a spare seat in the atrium for the whole cruise, and during things like the dance classes and deal or no deal it was packed out with lots of people standing to watch. The dance class was really fun, it was lead by Carlotta and Mateo from Burn the Floor and made us very excited to go see their show! Carlotta is beautiful and Italian and I'd kill for a body like that lol.

[kirsty_r]

Sounding great!! I get onboard in 8 days!! :)

[jimbri]

Wonderful review. Looking forward to the rest.

[Dorset Cruiser]

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.

 

We had a large 'basket drawer' under the sink and a very small drawer. Did not use the large basket drawer as we were a but worried about leaks from the sink drainpipe - just stored out laundry in there. Two small baskets in a cupboard which I used for my underwear. Stowage behind back of sofa and small stowage area above bed by window. It was a connecting cabin with the two pretty useless shelves - I used the 'pegs' to hold my bags. No baskets in the wardrobe just an extra rail which would have cut the height in half and would have been useless for hanging trousers etc. Shelves in the bathroom cabinet are no use for storage of clothing. Would have been completely untenable if we had a third person on the sofabed as the toilet area would have been completely inaccessible at night. Worst cabin design we have had in 37 cruises ☹️

 

 

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[Quilting_Cruiser]

I love that you're in the UK so that the timing has worked out that I've awakened each morning to a new "chapter." :p Really enjoying your review!

 

 

 

Anyway F was dying to go test out the gym, so he did that while I engaged in the much more sensible activity of curling up in Shakers martini bar on deck 7 with a wedding magazine (must keep wedding planning brain engaged whilst away...). Shakers is a good quiet spot until 12 when the bar opens, after then I could never get a free seat. They have these nice sofas which are placed in the little corridor which leads to the cigar bar, so they are kind of secluded from the main hustle of the ship. I read in there for a while until a lady set up for her scheduled presentation on Acupuncture and I ended up listening in from my hidden spot on the sofa.

 

Did you know that according to the lady who is trying very hard to sell you acupuncture sessions that acupuncture can cure everything from Insomnia to Arthritis to the Menopause to the common cold? F joined me part of the way through and it became a running joke for the rest of the cruise that acupuncture can cure anything. This chicken they served me is a bit dry.... hey you know what will fix that? Acupuncture.

 

 

Thanks for the tip on the sofas by Shakers! I'll be on the hunt for quiet places to sit and read--would rather be out of my cabin reading so I now have a couple places to look for. :o

 

The lady who was hard selling acupuncture is right! Well, I don't know about CURE, but it certainly helps! I credit acupuncture for keeping me almost pain free from arthritis for five years as I waited to be old enough to have total knee replacement (had it earlier this year!) and for helping me quit smoking! It's a wonder. That said, I had no idea it could fix issues with poorly cooked food. LOL. ;)

 

I agree that your wedding planning brain must remain engaged! My oldest was married in October and from the time she got engaged it didn't matter what else was going on in our lives, we were planning the wedding! :D Now, we're planning the birth of my first grandbaby.

 

Loving your review! Thanks again for taking the time!

Edited January 16, 2016 by Quilting_Cruiser

[Dorset Cruiser]

I love that you're in the UK so that the timing has worked out that I've awakened each morning to a new "chapter." :p Really enjoying your review!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the tip on the sofas by Shakers! I'll be on the hunt for quiet places to sit and read--would rather be out of my cabin reading so I now have a couple places to look for. :o

 

The lady who was hard selling acupuncture is right! Well, I don't know about CURE, but it certainly helps! I credit acupuncture for keeping me almost pain free from arthritis for five years as I waited to be old enough to have total knee replacement (had it earlier this year!) and for helping me quit smoking! It's a wonder. That said, I had no idea it could fix issues with poorly cooked food. LOL. ;)

 

I agree that your wedding planning brain must remain engaged! My oldest was married in October and from the time she got engaged it didn't matter what else was going on in our lives, we were planning the wedding! :D Now, we're planning the birth of my first grandbaby.

 

Loving your review! Thanks again for taking the time!

 

I swear it was the acupuncture I had that sorted out a very painful knee and it is so relaxing. Woukd certainly have it again.

 

 

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[Quilting_Cruiser]

I swear it was the acupuncture I had that sorted out a very painful knee and it is so relaxing. Woukd certainly have it again.

 

 

 

I don't understand how putting needles in my arm made my knee pain free, but I was certainly happy it did! :D I walked into her office the first time with a severe limp and walked out like a normal person! My acupuncturist would also give me stress treatments--calming or energizing; my choice--and I could feel it wash over me as the treatment wore on. It's amazing! :o

[SquishTheWhale]

Sounds like we were unfair on the acupuncture lady! Although we were more taking the mick out of her delivery rather than the actual benefits of acupuncture. She just spent 20 minutes saying 'Do you get seasick? Acupuncture will help! Menopause? Acupuncture!' Rather than actually saying how it works!

 

She was also doing free consultations, maybe I should have taken her up on it ;)

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Sounds like we were unfair on the acupuncture lady! Although we were more taking the mick out of her delivery rather than the actual benefits of acupuncture. She just spent 20 minutes saying 'Do you get seasick? Acupuncture will help! Menopause? Acupuncture!' Rather than actually saying how it works!

 

She was also doing free consultations, maybe I should have taken her up on it ;)

 

I actually found your description humorous and would have probably done the same with the ongoing jokes about the miraculous benefits of acupuncture! :D And, I would never have acupuncture on a cruise ship! I did a lot of research before choosing an acupuncturist. I wouldn't go to one I knew nothing about!

[Dorset Cruiser]

I don't understand how putting needles in my arm made my knee pain free, but I was certainly happy it did! :D I walked into her office the first time with a severe limp and walked out like a normal person! My acupuncturist would also give me stress treatments--calming or energizing; my choice--and I could feel it wash over me as the treatment wore on. It's amazing! :o

 

Had needles in my ankle and knee.

 

 

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[FloatYourBoatSince2003]

Love your review so far (especially the photos and all the food porn :)) - hoping to catch as much as I can before we board on February 14th! Thanks so much for taking the time - I know it's a lot of work.

[Eggs2Go]

Am so appreciative of your tell-it-all review, Squish, and I love your positive outlook. I had given up reading C.C. because of all the negativity, but returned to check out Epic prior to my March 16 cruise, and discovered you and SwissLe both making joyful noises. :)

 

Like you, my very first cruise was on the Epic, a transatlantic in 2011. I had to be dragged onto the ship because I thought the cruising life was not for me, but I was enchanted with every minute onboard. Since then, I have been on four more NCL cruises (I only want to sail freestyle like a Norwegian) and although all have been good to great, none has been as amazing as that first time on Epic when I kept saying Oh wow, oh wow. Now finally I get to sail on her again, and I am full of anticipation. Thanks for confirming that I can expect a fantastic vacation on my favorite ship.

[NCLfamily]

Am so appreciative of your tell-it-all review, Squish, and I love your positive outlook. I had given up reading C.C. because of all the negativity, but returned to check out Epic prior to my March 16 cruise, and discovered you and SwissLe both making joyful noises. :)

 

 

 

Like you, my very first cruise was on the Epic, a transatlantic in 2011. I had to be dragged onto the ship because I thought the cruising life was not for me, but I was enchanted with every minute onboard. Since then, I have been on four more NCL cruises (I only want to sail freestyle like a Norwegian) and although all have been good to great, none has been as amazing as that first time on Epic when I kept saying Oh wow, oh wow. Now finally I get to sail on her again, and I am full of anticipation. Thanks for confirming that I can expect a fantastic vacation on my favorite ship.

 

 

It is nice to hear some positivity isn't it. I'll be on The Epic for the third time 10 weeks today. Love it. I can see why it's not the ship for everyone, but we've already had two fantastic family holidays on it. I don't see why this next one will be any different.

 

My wife and I both went out first in 2010 (The Gem out of Venice) not knowing if it was for us. We are hooked on cruising now.

[evitacruiser]

We will be on the Epic just after Easter on this itinerary and I am copying and pasting some of your tips into my cruise research docs!! Keep them coming.

 

We have only ever done cruises where we dressed for dinner (RCL/Celebrity) so I am not sure what to expect on that side of things. Will men need a suit? How dressed up or down do people get?

 

We have been on some big ships so I doubt the size aspect will be an issue.

 

Looking forward to the next installment.

[raining cats and dogs]

Hi Squish,

Thanks for your answer regarding the captain as well as the weather on the cruise. Coming from a hot climate with winter seldom under 12 degrees centrigrade , I was a little apprehensive about the cold weather on the cruise ship and the ports.

I totally agree with one of the previous reader who thanked you for your objective yet very positive review. So many cruisecritic review writers are so terribly negative. I wonder why they even bother to go on holiday let alone a cruise as they seem to be able to find fault with everything.

Keep up the good work Squish , and as you can see by the high numbers of your followers you are doing an exceptional job. Can't wait for the next installment.

 

Kind Regards

[SquishTheWhale]

Love your review so far (especially the photos and all the food porn :)) - hoping to catch as much as I can before we board on February 14th! Thanks so much for taking the time - I know it's a lot of work.

 

I'll do my best to get it all up before then for you! :)

 

Am so appreciative of your tell-it-all review, Squish, and I love your positive outlook. I had given up reading C.C. because of all the negativity, but returned to check out Epic prior to my March 16 cruise, and discovered you and SwissLe both making joyful noises. :)

 

Like you, my very first cruise was on the Epic, a transatlantic in 2011. I had to be dragged onto the ship because I thought the cruising life was not for me, but I was enchanted with every minute onboard. Since then, I have been on four more NCL cruises (I only want to sail freestyle like a Norwegian) and although all have been good to great, none has been as amazing as that first time on Epic when I kept saying Oh wow, oh wow. Now finally I get to sail on her again, and I am full of anticipation. Thanks for confirming that I can expect a fantastic vacation on my favorite ship.

 

For me any trip is a positive experience! I'm not at work and I don't have to do any cooking or washing up, so for a trip to be a bad one it has to be reallllly bad lol. And a slightly see through shower door doesn't qualify as that! I'm not afraid to point out when stuff wasn't so great but the little niggles can't spoil a good holiday (and I'm sure that they're nothing a spot of acupuncture can't cure...)

 

The Epic was amazing and I'd cruise on her again, but I would like to try some other ships first! We think we will do a Caribbean cruise as part of our Honeymoon in 2017 so I'm looking forward to experiencing another ship then :)

 

We will be on the Epic just after Easter on this itinerary and I am copying and pasting some of your tips into my cruise research docs!! Keep them coming.

 

We have only ever done cruises where we dressed for dinner (RCL/Celebrity) so I am not sure what to expect on that side of things. Will men need a suit? How dressed up or down do people get?

 

We have been on some big ships so I doubt the size aspect will be an issue.

 

Looking forward to the next installment.

 

Most nights we dressed up a little- I put on a nice sparkly top or maxi dress and some nice jewlery and F wore a shirt some nights. You'd see people dressed up to that kind of degree every day, but I don't think I ever saw anyone in a suit or a gown! I did see a lot of younger women wearing little dresses and heels, god knows how they didn't freeze in the air con. But then we also saw lots of people very dressed down every night. I think you'd stand out more dressed in a suit than you would in shorts and t-shirt! In my opinion leave the suit at home but bring some shirts to wear with jeans or chinos (khakis I think they're called in America?).

Edited January 17, 2016 by SquishTheWhale

[Dorset Cruiser]

No cruise is ever bad, waking up somewhere new, someone else cooking and cleaning. Its just that I really did not expect the plastic 'pods' and cabin configuration to affect me so much. Perhaps its my age and I am probably losing the ability to 'go with the flow' 😉

 

Saw all kinds of dress in the evenings on the ship from very dressy indeed down to beach shorts and a singlet 😱. However the majority went with smart casual.

 

 

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[BrianC-80]

Loving the review so far, really helpful! I've already taken notes on the car service from Barcelona airport. We too are No.1 Traveller addicts - we usually end up in the cinema room at the Heathrow one.

 

We've unexpected ended up with an Epic cruise after a competition win (still waiting to find out exactly where and when with dates etc) but I'm really enjoying finding out all the little ins and outs of the ship with this review.

[NCLfamily]

I think resort casual is an American term that fits. Chinos/nice trousers and shirts or smart polo shirts. I might take a casual suit jacket to wear with an open neck shirt and dark denims.

[SquishTheWhale]

Day 2 continued

 

After the dance class with Burn the Floor it was most definitely time for lunch! By this time I'd developed an aversion to the buffet because of the crowds so we decided to try somewhere else. I love a buffet and by no means were we ignoring it because of the food, as that was generally excellent- especially for a fussy eater like me as I can pick and choose! But unless you went at an off-peak time it really was a mad house for breakfast and lunch.

 

So we decided to try Shanghai's for some Chinese food. There was a little queue and we were given a pager, told a 20 minute wait but it went off after about 5. Once we were seated I was a little disappointed that the lunch menu was a very abridged version of the main menu posted outside! They only open for lunch on sea days and I guess it makes sense to offer a reduced menu, but still a little disappointing.

 

 

We both had the hot and sour soup to start. I would have liked spring rolls, but they listed mushrooms under the ingredients and you can add mushrooms to the long list of stuff I don't eat. The hot and sour soup had mushrooms as well but easy enough to not eat them in a soup.

 

 

It was OK- not really a taste I'm a massive fan of and I wouldn't order it normally. F liked it and ate all of his and the rest of mine. Then we shared the orange peel beef and the lemon pepper shrimp, with some steamed rice.

 

 

 

Both were very nice- if I visited a Chinese restaurant at home and they served food like this I'm sure we'd return!

 

For dessert we had one of each on offer, the panda fruit salad and the tapioca pudding.

 

 

Rice pudding (or tapioca pudding) is to me something that is served cold and gloopy for school dinners, and should not ever be consumed in polite company, let alone paid for. I did have a tentative taste because F made me but eww. F liked it though! I was looking forward to the fruit salad but it had a really funky taste I didn't like. I think they put some kind of cream sauce on it, and together with the sharp taste of the fruit it tasted really weird and sour. F ate it anyway. He pretty much eats anything.

 

I really wish we had gone back for dinner to Shanghai's and tried the full meny! Sadly the MDR menus kept tempting us in for dinner and we never made it. I do wish we had gone though as I love dumplings (pot stickers) and they only offer those on the evening menu :( There did always seem to be a queue and pagers being handed out in the evening. I once went past it just before it opened for dinner and a lot of people were queueing for opening.

[SquishTheWhale]

Cookies, Bliss and Burn the Floor

 

After our lunch in Shanghai's I was feeling short changed on the dessert front so we popped up to the buffet to hunt down something more satisfying than evil rice pudding. I got a couple of cookies, and wow are they nice! They taste just like Millies Cookies. On another day they had double chocolate ones which were just awesome. Then about half way through the cruise they must have changed cookie chef or something, as they changed from delicious chocolatey gooey masterpieces into hard and crunchy tasteless disappointments :mad: I had taken a couple of the double chocolate cookies back to the cabin for F to try, which he'd never eaten (and had stayed forgotten in the cabin ever since), and after a few days of the nasty cookies I was longing for the nice ones so much that I ate those 5 days old going-stale chocolate cookies. Don't judge. They were delicious.

 

 

I bought my starbucks flask with me and we filled it with tea and coffee, as carrying those little cups around the ship is totally not practical!

 

The weather on deck wasn't great, pretty windy, so I transported my gooey little treasures to Bliss where we relaxed and read for an hour or so. During the day Bliss is a great spot to chill out as they don't really have anything on and there's lots of comfy sofas. If we had a balcony cabin I may have read in the cabin, but our inside was too dimly lit and a little stifling to sit in.

 

At some point that afternoon I also purchased this cute little Epic photo album from the photo gallery, I think it was about $7.95. Only after purchasing did I remember I specifically bought a scrapbook already for my cruise photos... doh.

 

 

We also bought this magnet from the gift shop. We like to collect magnets from places we visit to decorate the fridge at home with happy memories :) I think it was $3.95.

 

 

They had a cuter one which was a cut out in the shape of the ship, but F liked this one as he's a bloke and it has numbers and facts on it :rolleyes: And sometimes I do have to let him get his way...

 

The shops on board are a bit 'meh'- they have this fine jewellery shop selling what seems to me very overpriced jewellery. If you even glance slightly in the direction of the shop as you walk past they will be on you like hawks, trying to force raffle tickets on you- which you have to attend lengthy presentations to win on. They kept trying to bully me into 'guessing the price of the chocolate diamond', until I said in my best posh lady voice 'Darling, I already have some diamonds, and they aren't brown'.

 

They also have these stands in the middle where they flog tat during the 'sales special events'. Then there's a shop selling booze and cigs, and also things like toothpaste and chocolate. Another shop selling bags, one selling costume jewellery and one selling clothes and NCL themed stuff.

 

For a price comparison, they were selling a Swarovski bracelet in the costume jewellery shop that I had just purchased for 50% off in the sale to wear on my wedding day. The price they were selling it for in the shop was a little more than I had paid (with the 50% off), so the prices didn't seem too bad. The NCL shop had some cute stuff, and I was hoping the little visors and bags might go on sale but they never did. Humph.

 

The clothes shop had a mix of brands, including some quite nice Roxy stuff and also stuff for older women. The men's stuff wasn't nearly as trendy! They were running 25% off a lot of the stuff all week, I was eyeing up a Roxy dress and was hoping they would offer a bigger discount but again they never did. The only big sales they had were on complete tat that didn't normally feature in the shops.

Edited January 17, 2016 by SquishTheWhale

[clifforddillon1982]

It is nice to see a positive review for the Epic. We have booked a cruise on her for a March 2017 sailing. Since this is our first NCL cruise, we have done a lot of research and have read a lot of negative reviews about NCL and the Epic. Did you feel that NCL was trying to nickel and dime you to death?

Edited January 17, 2016 by clifforddillon1982

[NCLfamily]

It is nice to see a positive review for the Epic. We have booked a cruise on her for a March 2017 sailing. Since this is our first NCL cruise, we have done a lot of research and have read a lot of negative reviews about NCL and the Epic. Did you feel that NCL was trying to nickel and dime you to death?

 

 

I've been on The Epic twice, third time in March and loved it. Folk just like to complain.