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

[red212fire212]

We board 3 weeks today and I am sat here with pen and paper taking notes as we are doing the same itinerary near enough...

 

 

Just wanted to thank you for taking the time to write such a brilliant review!!!!

 

Lorna (avid fan awaiting the next chapter....)

[funnybunny70]

We board 3 weeks today and I am sat here with pen and paper taking notes as we are doing the same itinerary near enough...

 

 

Just wanted to thank you for taking the time to write such a brilliant review!!!!

 

Lorna (avid fan awaiting the next chapter....)

 

 

Hi

I think we are on the same cruise we sail on the 24th Feb from Barcelona. I'm loving this review too!

Kim

[SquishTheWhale]

Hi guys, thanks for being patient!

 

Day 7- Funchal, continued

 

After lunch and ice creams we only had a couple of hours left in port- it's such a shame that the time allotted here is so short. I remember saying to F that I wish we could have a long day in Funchal and a short one in Malaga. As we didn't have a lot of time for exploring but wanted to see a little more, we decided to ride a circuit on the yellow hop on hop off bus. There's two companies running the HOHO buses- the red and yellow ones- I think we chose the yellow one just because the bus happened to be there. The whole round trip takes about 90 mins and you can get off right by the port so it was perfect to fill the time and let us get off our feet a little! Three port days in a row can really take it out of you- luckily my trusty Go Walks didn't let me down though and my feet never hurt too badly :)

 

The bus obviously stops at lots of places, but one of it's main points is the cable car, which is where we were! It was 12 euros each for a round trip and we enjoyed it a lot- it was great to see a bit more of the island and also to spy on some of the lovely hotels on the cliff top

 

Lovely streets and squares it takes you down- wish we had time to explore all this on foot

 

 

 

As you can see the bus wasn't very full. It did get a bit chilly on the top deck when it was moving and you were in the wind! They also have us some headphones to listen to a commentary, but after trying for a few mins and only finding music we gave up on that.

 

It takes you really high, although not quite as high as the cable car

 

A pretty beach- I think this is as good as it gets for beaches on Madiera. If it's a hot day and you have more time, this looks like a lovely stop off

Edited February 4, 2016 by SquishTheWhale

[SquishTheWhale]

This person loves Christmas a little too much...

 

 

A lovely cocktail bar/restaurant- this was round towards the end of the route, where it goes along the cliff tops back to the port. There was some gorgeous hotels down here!

 

We got off near the port and then headed back to the ship. Just docking was this Fred Olsen ship- seems a bit late to dock at 3pm? Maybe they were staying the night...

 

 

There was also another ship in port at the same time as us- I think maybe it was an MSC one- but it didn't seem like Funchal was crowded at all.

 

By the time we got back F wasn't feeling great. He'd had a bad nights sleep for the last couple of nights thanks to our cabin which did creak a lot if the sea was even a little rought, so he decided to go for a nap. I stayed in H20 and watched sail away, which was lovely to watch and it's a shame he missed it!

 

 

After F had a nap we were ready for dinner, and decided to head to the manhattan room. It was pretty busy in there tonight- they were giving out buzzers to some, but they must have had a table for 2 free as we were seated right away.

 

Menus:

 

Edited February 4, 2016 by SquishTheWhale

[SquishTheWhale]

 

For starters F wanted to try both the asparagus risotto and the peking duck salad, and I ordered the scotch beef barley soup

 

The risotto was really big- he had to intentionally leave some as it's really filling! He said it was OK but not as good as the risotto I make at home (such a suck up lol)

 

The duck salad was a big bowl of lettuce with a bit of duck on it- F said the duck was nice but left the lettuce. You would have thought they could be a bit more imaginative and create some kind of asian salad?

 

The broth was really nice!

 

For main I had the Chicken parmigiana, and F had the Beef tenderloin Chateaubriand

 

The parmigiana was really nice! Again a very big portion

 

F said his steak was pretty good- sorry about the rubbish pic

Edited February 4, 2016 by SquishTheWhale

[roberthale7787]

I literally had a little panic attack when I thought I would come to the end of your engaging, delightful, enlightening and hysterical travel log 😀

On a personal note, I just found out that the person that I was going to be cruising with on March 6 has some family complications and won't be able to accompany me. I am by nature, outgoing and quite capable of "flying solo" and I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say, I wasn't a little anxious about "going it alone". It's simply more fun and much easier to travel with a buddy. Having delighted in your journey and joined you vicariously, has excited, Comforted and encouraged me👍

I haven't noticed it mentioned here yet but, you should consider being a travel writer ! You certainly have the skill and knack for 👏👏👏

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I literally had a little panic attack when I thought I would come to the end of your engaging, delightful, enlightening and hysterical travel log

On a personal note, I just found out that the person that I was going to be cruising with on March 6 has some family complications and won't be able to accompany me. I am by nature, outgoing and quite capable of "flying solo" and I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say, I wasn't a little anxious about "going it alone". It's simply more fun and much easier to travel with a buddy. Having delighted in your journey and joined you vicariously, has excited, Comforted and encouraged me

I haven't noticed it mentioned here yet but, you should consider being a travel writer ! You certainly have the skill and knack for

 

 

If you're talking about the March 6 sailing of the Epic, please come join us on our roll call! There are four or five of us who are "flying solo" and about 100 who've said they're planning to attend the meet an greet. We're also having a slot pull and cabin crawl so there will be lots of opportunity to meet others. :D We've set up some group tours in some of the ports, too.

Edited February 4, 2016 by Quilting_Cruiser

[SquishTheWhale]

I literally had a little panic attack when I thought I would come to the end of your engaging, delightful, enlightening and hysterical travel log 😀

On a personal note, I just found out that the person that I was going to be cruising with on March 6 has some family complications and won't be able to accompany me. I am by nature, outgoing and quite capable of "flying solo" and I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say, I wasn't a little anxious about "going it alone". It's simply more fun and much easier to travel with a buddy. Having delighted in your journey and joined you vicariously, has excited, Comforted and encouraged me👍

I haven't noticed it mentioned here yet but, you should consider being a travel writer ! You certainly have the skill and knack for 👏👏👏

 

Thank you so much for your lovely comments :) My mother always says I should be a writer, but mothers are biased! I did try my hand at a novel once but life gets in the way of things like that. One day... :D

[roberthale7787]

HI...

 

Thank you! I "enrolled"!

 

Warmly,

Robert

[roberthale7787]

Thank you so much for your lovely comments :) My mother always says I should be a writer, but mothers are biased! I did try my hand at a novel once but life gets in the way of things like that. One day... :D

Always listen to Mum!

 

Warmly,

 

Robert

[Lobbylin]

What a great review! Loved reading it... Very informative and entertaining.

Thank you....:D:p

[CruisingRoger]

If you're talking about the March 6 sailing of the Epic, please come join us on our roll call! There are four or five of us who are "flying solo" and about 100 who've said they're planning to attend the meet an greet. We're also having a slot pull and cabin crawl so there will be lots of opportunity to meet others. :D We've set up some group tours in some of the ports, too.

 

Just a quick question - what is a cabin crawl? Sounds like fun!!

[raining cats and dogs]

Hi

I think we are on the same cruise we sail on the 24th Feb from Barcelona. I'm loving this review too!

Kim

 

Hi, we are also on that cruise leaving Barcelona on the 24/2/2016. Squish's review has been the best yet. I cannot wait for the each episode, and I check the website at least twice a day to see whether there has been an update. Very objective and gives a full idea of what can be expected from the ship, and various ports of call. If she mentions anything negative she always qualifies her statement by saying it is her personal point of view. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

[SquishTheWhale]

I check the website at least twice a day to see whether there has been an update.

 

Aww now I feel bad about being slow! I have to say this cruise feels a LONG way away now- even though we got back only about 3 weeks ago.

 

I didn't get as far as posting dessert in the last post, so here we are!

 

F got apple pie a la mode- he said it was really good pie but would have been even better hot! Is this an American thing to serve pie cold? In the UK we normally have it hot, even if it's with ice cream!

 

I got the white chocolate and red velvet mousse. Oh my. It was my fave dessert of the cruise. If I had the room I'd have eaten three of them. F tried to steal a bite and I defended it like Gollum with the One Ring while hissing 'my precioussssss!' and stabbing him with my fork.

 

After dinner we decided we'd really like to see Priscilla again as it was the last showing of the cruise (an extra one which had not appeared to book on MyNCL), so we headed to the standby line. We got there maybe 40 minutes before showtime and they let us in immediatley as they started letting in those with tickets. We loved the show just as much the second time around. The theatre wasn't actually very full- I wonder if this is a reflection on the show not being to everyone's tastes? We then caught the end of Howl at the moon and it was time for bed!

 

We had this cute little guy in our room tonight:

 

 

F was thrilled with it as he adores penguins. He was especially upset when after 20 minutes of him 'pecking' me with it, I tore off its head and threw it across the cabin :D

Edited February 5, 2016 by SquishTheWhale

[SquishTheWhale]

Day 8- Sea Day

 

It was a sea day today- I don't seem to have the dailies, sorry about that! The waves had been a bit rocky and the cabin really loud and creaky overnight, and F hadn't had the best sleep again. Now here I'm showing what a total cruise noob I am- but is it normal for cabins to creak with the movement of the ship?

 

Anyway we both didn't stir until around 10, when he said he really wasn't feeling great and wanted to get some more sleep. I'm ashamed to say I threw a minor tantrum and accused him of being boring and wasting our cruise by sleeping. The reality was that I also wasn't feeling very well, but I didn't want to admit it, so I was more mad at him for making 'sick on holiday' real by saying it out loud! I decided to get up and go find breakfast while he went back to sleep. By this point it was too late for most breakfast options, and not feeling up to eating much anyway, I headed to the atrium to grab coffee and watch the cake making challenge.

 

In the atrium they have a lavazza coffee bar- they have various options around $2-4 a pop and it's certainly nicer than the buffet coffee. They also have a snack cabinet where you can have whatever you want and the contents rotate througout the day:

 

 

You don't have to buy a coffee to have stuff from the snack cabinet (I think I read on some other cruise lines the coffee bar snacks are only free if you buy coffee). Staff were also circulating the atrium with trays of pastries. I ordered a coffee and a sunflower honey muffin. Once again the atrium was packed with no free seats so I had my coffee and muffin leaning against the coffee counter. They were doing a cake decorating competition involving the head pastry chef, Jill the CD and the chief engineer.

 

 

It was quite fun but it went on a bit. The chief engineer won, Jill's cake was all over the place (I was secretly pleased she lost as I didn't like her much).

 

After the cake making they had a Michael Jackson thriller class. Even if I wasn't feeling a bit ill I wouldn't have taken part as again the dance floor was totally packed. I watched for a bit instead from upstairs in O'Sheehans.

 

 

After that I went up on deck to try and clear my head a bit, and ended up browsing the T-shirt sale which they had again in the Marketplace. I ended up buying 2 T-shirts for $20, which isn't bad considering they are Roxy ones, and they were really cute. Tried to find a T-shirt to buy F but there were no nice mens ones. A spot of retail therapy did cheer me up a little!

 

F had told me to come back in 2 hours and wake him up, and it was now about that time and I was feeling a little guilty for telling him off for being sick, so I headed back to the cabin. He was awake and playing games on his phone, and very pleased to see me- so I felt even more guilty! I apologised and admitted that I also wasn't feeling very well. We decided that what we needed was some good food inside of us, so thought we'd try the Manhattan room for lunch. I don't know why we hadn't done this earlier! I do like a buffet, but having lunch in the MDR is really relaxing and the food nicer than in the buffet. Menus:

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2016 by SquishTheWhale

[roberthale7787]

Oh there you are… Thank God!

After about 50 cruises my estimation is 20% of the cabins I've been in have been "creaky"😩 My cure for "creaky cabins", doors slamming, noisy happy drunk folks, cabins by the elevator and any other noise, bring a sound machine, download white noise MP3 to your telephone, and if all else fails's… Often you can find a non-channel on your TV which will give you that lovely white noise sound and throw a towel over the front and you got a good nights sleep 😜😌

[SquishTheWhale]

We were sat at a lovely table right by the aft window with a view of the wake. The hosts in the restaurants were often really nice to us, telling the waiter to take us to the most romantic table, or a lovely table for 2 by the window etc :) I don't know why we got special treatment like that, maybe they just like to see a young couple looking for a romantic meal! Or maybe if you are just polite, smile at them and say please then they appreciate that over some of the more.... demanding guests on board.

 

 

We had good memories of the MDR tomato soup, so we both ordered that- plus soup is great for when you're not feeling well!

 

 

It was slightly different from the previous tomato soup but still just as good. I have to say that this lunch in the MDR is the only time we experienced bad service on board. We had a really grumpy young lady serving us who was really slow to boot. We asked for some bread to go with our soup and she acted like we had stormed into her cabin in the middle of the night and demanded she go catch us a fresh lobster. The the bread didn't appear until we had nearly finished the soup, despite us hanging on for 5 to wait for it before starting. I also asked for some ketchup for my main and she again took forever, bringing the bottle and giving me a tiny squirt like it was from her own private stash, then taking the bottle away. It's not like she ruined the meal or anything, but I just thought I'd mention it as the only really bad service we encountered on board.

 

For main I had the fish and chips, which was really lovely- a good size portion for lunch, with nice crispy batter and light flaky fish. Yum!

 

 

F had the shrimp penne, which he said was pretty good

 

 

Now you might have spotted that my precioussss, the white chocolate red velvet mousse had make a comeback from last night on the lunch menu!! And yes, I was very tempted- but I was nicely full, and with my stomach not being 100% happy that day I decided I shouldn't fill it with creamy calories. So we abstained from dessert, but felt waaaaaay better for having eaten a hot meal.

 

After lunch we spent a very lazy afternoon reading on the sofas near the games arcade that I have previously mentioned. It was warm enough to sit out, but not hot, and the way the wind was blowing we were sheltered from it so it was a great spot. Apart from the occasional trip to the buffet to fill our flasks with tea or water, we focused on relaxing and feeling better! And I'm glad that we did feel better, as I had Cagneys booked for dinner!

Edited February 5, 2016 by SquishTheWhale

[SquishTheWhale]

Oh there you are… Thank God!

After about 50 cruises my estimation is 20% of the cabins I've been in have been "creaky"😩 My cure for "creaky cabins", doors slamming, noisy happy drunk folks, cabins by the elevator and any other noise, bring a sound machine, download white noise MP3 to your telephone, and if all else fails's… Often you can find a non-channel on your TV which will give you that lovely white noise sound and throw a towel over the front and you got a good nights sleep 😜😌

 

Thanks for the info Robert- I guess you can just get unlucky with a creaky one then! It seemed like our bathroom door vibrated and creaked a lot- that might be a unique feature of the Epic with the slidey bathroom doors. I was OK really as I had earplugs (F snores so I always have them anyway), but the creaking really bothered him.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Just a quick question - what is a cabin crawl? Sounds like fun!!

 

Well, I've never participated in one, so I'll tell you how I understand it. One of our roll call members is collecting the cabin numbers of other members and comparing their locations--she'll choose the best route through the variety of cabin categories for a group of us to go from cabin to cabin and see the different types from studio to haven. I don't know if she's planning this, but I've read where some have you draw a card at each cabin and whomever has the best hand at the end wins a little prize. It's just a way to see the different cabin categories and get to know some of your fellow cruisers. :D

Edited February 5, 2016 by Quilting_Cruiser

[Quilting_Cruiser]

 

 

F got apple pie a la mode- he said it was really good pie but would have been even better hot! Is this an American thing to serve pie cold? In the UK we normally have it hot, even if it's with ice cream!

 

No, it isn't an American thing. :o At least not in my region of the country. Obviously, cream pies are served cold, but pies like apple or berry are typically served warm, even with ice cream. They can be server room temperature, too, though. Unless the menu says "warm apple pie" you may have to ask to have it warmed or the server may ask you if you want it warmed (just depends on the restaurant).

 

 

Day 8- Sea Day

 

Now here I'm showing what a total cruise noob I am- but is it normal for cabins to creak with the movement of the ship?

 

 

After the cake making they had a Michael Jackson thriller class. Even if I wasn't feeling a bit ill I wouldn't have taken part as again the dance floor was totally packed. I watched for a bit instead from upstairs in O'Sheehans.

 

 

Well, now I have Thriller stuck in my head. LOL.

 

I have not often had a cabin that creaks. But, it does happen now and then. i always bring ear plugs and a small travel fan.

 

 

 

FYI, we're now talking on our roll call about your review. There are several of us enjoying it as we're off in a month on the same itinerary. One of the roll call members has a lot of experience traveling in this area and she mentioned that many of the shops will close in the early afternoon for siesta. Did you notice if there was still at least a tiny bit of shopping that could be done? :o

[nata17]

Hi, thanks for this great review. We are sailing the same cruise in March and are very excited.

I was particularly interested in the Loro park tour, we have booked this hoping to see the orca and dolphin show? Is it easy to fit both in during the day? Also how long are the shows?

Thanks again for the great tips and review.

[roberthale7787]

You are SO Welcome!

My favorites so far: I LAUGHED SO HARD!

 

1. "We asked for some bread to go with our soup and she acted like we had stormed into her cabin in the middle of the night and demanded she go catch us a fresh lobster."

 

2."I also asked for some ketchup for my main and she again took forever, bringing the bottle and giving me a tiny squirt like it was from her own private stash, then taking the bottle away."

[smwc71alum]

Hi, we are also on that cruise leaving Barcelona on the 24/2/2016. Squish's review has been the best yet. I cannot wait for the each episode, and I check the website at least twice a day to see whether there has been an update. Very objective and gives a full idea of what can be expected from the ship, and various ports of call. If she mentions anything negative she always qualifies her statement by saying it is her personal point of view. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

 

Can't wait to meet you "raining cats and dogs"..we are on the same cruise and loving this review as well....Hope that you are planning on attending the Meet and Greet. First time NCL cruiser...but my 14th overall. Thanks again for a great review !

[raining cats and dogs]

Can't wait to meet you "raining cats and dogs"..we are on the same cruise and loving this review as well....Hope that you are planning on attending the Meet and Greet. First time NCL cruiser...but my 14th overall. Thanks again for a great review !

 

Hi, we will definitely be attending the meet and greet. Only 18 days to go, yipeeeee. Hoping that we will be able to dock in Tangiers as the weather forecast for the 29 Feb. expects gale force winds. Holding thumbs that we will be luckier than Squish.

[SquishTheWhale]

FYI, we're now talking on our roll call about your review. There are several of us enjoying it as we're off in a month on the same itinerary. One of the roll call members has a lot of experience traveling in this area and she mentioned that many of the shops will close in the early afternoon for siesta. Did you notice if there was still at least a tiny bit of shopping that could be done? :o

 

Ooh roll call based fame, I like it! :D I have to say I didn't notice any shops closing for siesta- I think in the tourist areas they probably don't. Checking on the shopping situation- a girl after my own heart! :p

 

Hi, thanks for this great review. We are sailing the same cruise in March and are very excited.

I was particularly interested in the Loro park tour, we have booked this hoping to see the orca and dolphin show? Is it easy to fit both in during the day? Also how long are the shows?

Thanks again for the great tips and review.

 

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!