Questions \ Must Do on the Epic

[Nolsie]

Hi everybody, my wife and I are sailing on the Epic for the 1st time this summer.

 

We are leaving from Barcelona on June 26th and are so excited to be trying this ship. I have sailed twice before with NCL on the Spirit and the Gem, but the Epic looks to be a different beast completely.

 

So, do any of you have any tips or tricks to get the most out of the time onboard ? What would you say are the must do things ?

 

We do enjoy a drink, and have loved the piano bar on Carnival ships in the past - is Howl at the Moon worthwhile visiting ?

 

We don't like west end style shows, so doubt we will take in Priscilla.

 

If you also have any recommendations on the ship excursions for Livorno, Civitevecchia and Naples, all information would be gratefully received.

 

Similarly, hotel recommendations in Barcelona as we are flying in the day before, so have a night to have a quick tour around, so something central would be great.

 

Thanks so much.

 

 

Paul

[Kfamilycruise]

Follow Keith's journey live on the Epic right now: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2360869

 

I don't have direct recommendations as it has been give years since I sailed the Epic, but it is a fantastic ship.

 

On the ports, would recommend going to the ports of call board. One note: Florence is a gorgeous walkable city. We took the ncl transfer to the city, which was a gorgeous ride and then explored it on our own -- that is completely doable.

[okeytaco]

We have booked The Continental in Barcelona due to its location and lots of recommendations on CC. It's right on La Rambla so it's right in the middle of the action. There is a free buffet available all day with free wine. That was enough to get my attention! I'm sure others will have suggestions where they have actually stayed.

[spanishguy1970]

We have booked The Continental in Barcelona due to its location and lots of recommendations on CC. It's right on La Rambla so it's right in the middle of the action. There is a free buffet available all day with free wine. That was enough to get my attention! I'm sure others will have suggestions where they have actually stayed.

 

the buffet leaves a lot to be desired but is true the hotel is located in the best location. I have stayed there before and in fact i am booked there again this coming October because i am taking the Transatlantic on the Epic. We enjoyed the hotel the buffet not so much. At the Airport you will find the " Aerobus" that costs about 6 Euros one way and it leaves you at Plaza Catalunya which is one block away from the hotel. Good luck to you OP.

Edited May 30, 2016 by qtaromar1970

[okeytaco]

For those who are interested in the Barcelona Day Tours 1/2 day city tour on April 14, here is Anna's response to my questions. If you would like to send me your e-mail address I will forward it to her so she can contact each of you individually. My e-mail is: mckenzie@valliant.net

"I am happy to book you for the Barcelona City tour for April 14th and I will send you a separate email with instructions on how to finalize the reservation for that tour once details are finalized.

Normally we are business as usual even on local holidays. However as for which sites will be opened or closed will be beyond our control as normally most will be open and some may be closed without any notice.

For the inside visit to Sagrada Familia this is normally not part of the itinerary. The church is open until later in the evenings and it is very easy to get a taxi to and from the Sagrada Familia. We can help you get skip-the-line tickets so you don't have to wait in any queues.

We can accommodate luggage while you are on tour. Please note we normally allow one large suitcase + one carry on bag per person. As to drop-off location, this is ok since you will be doing a shared tour. (I had asked if we would each be dropped off at our different hotels).

In order to secure your reservation we will require payment of the total ticket cost to Park Guell ( I looked it up and it's 7euros, over 65 is 4.90euros) as a minimum as these are due in full in advance. The remaining balance will be due in Euros cash on the date of tour. We accept Visa or MasterCard for payments made online.

For the shared tours we deal with each couple/person separately and work with them to secure the booking. This means that we email each person directly and therefore nobody has to take responsibility for anyone else but themselves.

At this time, can you please send me the names and email addresses of the other parties joining the tour so that I can contact them directly for the reservation details."

Edited May 30, 2016 by okeytaco

[okeytaco]

It's nice to hear from folks who would opt to stay there again. What better recommendation could there be? I would venture to guess that I would not choose again at least 50% of the hotels we've stay in despite hours and hours of research and believing them to be the very best of all options in our price range. So thanks for the vote of confidence! As for the buffet...not a fan of buffets free or otherwise but a glass (or 2 or 3) of wine in the evening and a cup of coffee and a croissant in the morning will be welcome.

Edited May 30, 2016 by okeytaco

[Nolsie]

Thanks so much for those replies, will definitely check the hotel out. Sounds exactly what we are looking for.

 

Any more info on the ship would be really helpful. Oh, and I am keeping tabs on the current live review, it's good stuff.

[Feebs2015]

Thanks so much for those replies, will definitely check the hotel out. Sounds exactly what we are looking for.

 

Any more info on the ship would be really helpful. Oh, and I am keeping tabs on the current live review, it's good stuff.

 

Hi Nolsie

I too am on the Epic on June 26th out of Barcelona. Come say hello on the roll call. Three of us there have a Florence/Pisa tour arranged and we have 5 spots left. if we fill the vehicle at 8 passengers it will be 80 euro only. Please check it out as you are more than welcome to join the excursion.

http://www.italytoursharing.com.....Livorno Port.....tour #LIV001#....Byrne group.

[Love.II.Cruise]

If you want to be spoiled stay at Hotel 1898 in Barcelona. It is steps from the Boqueria. You can get yummy goodies from there and eat them on top the the rooftop of your hotel! They have a beautiful grotto in the basement that is a nice spa. We absolutely love this hotel! We are going back this Oct. :D

[cruisemainiac]

We loved going to Fat Cats the jazz/blues club. Always great music. I've read here that when the other musicians finish up they sometimes gather at Fat Cats to jam. I haven't been able to stay up late enough, maybe next time.

[TruckerDave]

I stayed at the Hilton Barcelona (the one on Avenida Diagonal) it is right on the hop hop bus line and within walking distance to Camp Nou (FC Barcelona) and La Sangrada Famila (my "walking distance" might be a big longer than others I will admit.) I was there on a Fri and Sat night before my sailing in May and walked around the area at night alone and felt perfectly safe. (Avenida Diagonal is one of the major avenues in Barcelona). It was about a $30 euro cab ride here from the airport and another 20 or so to the port sun morning. Plenty of air crews were staying there as well. One of the better Hiltons I have stayed at.

[kathybelcher2433]

We loved the Hotel Jazz in Barcelona.

[Butterfly0822]

We stayed at the Eurostars Grand Marina in Barcelona for three nights (waterfront at the end of Las Ramblas) and loved it. We joked that they had us confused with another couple since little treats were delivered to our room each day and we received a gorgeous room upgrade. Lovely staff and facilities.

 

So many cool neighborhoods and interesting places to explore in BCN.... just pack earplugs so you can sleep no matter where you are. :) Have a safe and happy trip!

[MeHeartCruising]

 

We do enjoy a drink, and have loved the piano bar on Carnival ships in the past - is Howl at the Moon worthwhile visiting ?

 

 

As with all piano bar type places, the level of enjoyment will be determined by the quality of the entertainers playing. Howl at the Moon has been enjoyable on any NCL ship I've been on, however, I've enjoyed some more than others. They use multiple entertainers on various ships for Howl at the Moon. I did not care for the personality or style of the piano player on my one Carnival cruise, so I am biased. But definitely check it out.

[BamaVol]

Hi Nolsie

I too am on the Epic on June 26th out of Barcelona. Come say hello on the roll call. Three of us there have a Florence/Pisa tour arranged and we have 5 spots left. if we fill the vehicle at 8 passengers it will be 80 euro only. Please check it out as you are more than welcome to join the excursion.

http://www.italytoursharing.com.....Livorno Port.....tour #LIV001#....Byrne group.

 

This sounds like the tour that we joined. It was planned by another in our roll call so I can't be 100% certain. But if you get a confirmation back from Joe Bananas (yes, you read that right), request Oliver as your guide if possible. The man was amazing. Knows his history. Knows his geography. Knows his sociology. Very flexible and friendly and speaks English better than I.

[SuiteCruisin14]

We spent a week in Barcelona a few years ago pre-cruise. We bought the Hop On/Hop Off bus pass and it brought us to everything we wanted.

 

We stayed at Hotel Continental right on Las Ramblas and loved the location and the hotel. Do not be swayed by the free buffet, wine and beer. A lot of it was not edible but the rooms were great and again, location.

 

Buy your tickets for La Sagrada Familia before you leave USA, if not you will be in line forever.

 

Lynda

[Nolsie]

Thanks all very much - this place always delivers on the advice.

 

Feebs - thanks for the offer. Will check the roll call out, but I have been to Florence before. My work has an office there, so have spent some time in that amazing city, so will be looking more at Pisa and possibly Lucca.

[em-sk]

Thanks all very much - this place always delivers on the advice.

 

Feebs - thanks for the offer. Will check the roll call out, but I have been to Florence before. My work has an office there, so have spent some time in that amazing city, so will be looking more at Pisa and possibly Lucca.

 

I think the The Cinque Terre is a nice excursion if you have not been there before.

 

As for the ship there is lots to do. You just need to explore the ship. No shortage of entertainment in the various bars and venues.

[NCLfamily]

Priscilla is a must

Howl at the moon is superb

Cagneys is a must.

Watch out for Chinese/Indian lunch buffets in Moderno on sea days.

 

 

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[suron]

Priscilla is a must

Howl at the moon is superb

Cagneys is a must.

Watch out for Chinese/Indian lunch buffets in Moderno on sea days.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Agree that Howl at the Moon is a must. The Cirque Dreams show and dinner is worthwhile but advise you book premium seating and make for the balcony from where the view is great. Priscilla was also good (maybe not suitable for young children though!). Would recommend that you book all shows and any speciality dining options prior to departure to ensure you get exactly what you want.

 

I have been on Epic twice from Barcelona and have written reviews which can be found at:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=257253

 

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=521975

 

I must admit that the latter review was not as good as the first. We were disappointed with the service on board but this may have been due to a lot of new staff being taken on for the Christmas and not having had sufficient training. Although we had a few disappointments it has not entirely put us off sailing with NCL again but it would have to be a very good price, interesting itinerary and comparable to other cruise lines which we prefer (e.g. MSC, Princess, Thomson).

 

Good Luck with your plans.

 

Suzanne

[BamaVol]

Agree that Howl at the Moon is a must. The Cirque Dreams show and dinner is worthwhile but advise you book premium seating and make for the balcony from where the view is great. Priscilla was also good (maybe not suitable for young children though!). Would recommend that you book all shows and any speciality dining options prior to departure to ensure you get exactly what you want.

 

We had floor level premium seating for Cirque and felt like we were right in the middle of the action. In fact, I worried a little about any misstep by a performer resulting in them landing on top of me! The bigger risk of being ringside is the possibility of being asked to perform. A lady at out table was given a spinning plate on a stick and I swear the clown didn't come back for it for several minutes. Several others nearby were asked to act in a silent film that involved way too many directions for me to memorize. But it was one of several highlights of our cruise. And one of the better meals I had onboard as well.

[rgruenhaus]

I noticed that you mentioned a balcony seating for the cirque dreams show dinner. On the Breakaway there was only one level and it was a very small room. Does the Epic have this show in a theater? How is dinner served? On the Breakaway they never had any audience participation. When I have seen Cirque du Soleil shows there was some participation but only with the close up expensive seats. Any added fees for this show? I have a four night specialty dinning package.

[rgruenhaus]

Priscilla is a must

Howl at the moon is superb

Cagneys is a must.

Watch out for Chinese/Indian lunch buffets in Moderno on sea days.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

What do you mean about watching out for the Chinese Indian lunch buffets?

[LoopyLou66]

We're a couple who stay up late and like live music. We quite enjoyed Howl at the Moon and were in there most nights but as British people, found the music to be very US based, no matter how many British songs we requested (eg Stones, Bowie)! Which is obviously not a major problem and no big issue to most obviously :D (please don't tell me it IS a US based company, this was supposed to be a request-based show) It didn't stop me going up and joining in some songs on the tambourine occasionally when I was feeling brave (or drunk) enough. The Beatles show at the Cavern Club has replaced the jazz at Fat Cats and is very good to watch, very believable. And when they're not on there is a band made up of staff members which is also a very good covers band (pop/rock) and had the crowd up dancing.

 

We also were in Bliss nightclub most nights, either for the karaoke or trying to stick with the dance music but found it very quickly moved into modern music, even though the majority of the people in there most nights were on average 45+, that's always disappointing when you want to dance. Even the '80s night' only played that music for about an hour:(

 

We also found ourselves touching base at Maltings bar most evenings, ending up there several times. Very friendly place with great staff and the guy who most nights plays guitar and sings is very good and entertaining. We didn't sit in the Martini bar but there was a nice chap playing piano there. I was put off when I asked them what sort of martinis they did and they said 'Only the drinks on the basic cocktail menu' that you could get anywhere!

 

I found the entertainment on the ship really helped make the cruise for us, it was nice to know there were so many different and varied places to go each night.

[BamaVol]

I noticed that you mentioned a balcony seating for the cirque dreams show dinner. On the Breakaway there was only one level and it was a very small room. Does the Epic have this show in a theater? How is dinner served? On the Breakaway they never had any audience participation. When I have seen Cirque du Soleil shows there was some participation but only with the close up expensive seats. Any added fees for this show? I have a four night specialty dinning package.

 

We did not have the dining package and paid full price for the stage level seats, around $47/each IIRC. There was a couple seated next to us with the dining package and they paid an upcharge but didn't say how much. If I had to guess, I'd day it was $20-25 more per person. Worth it for us, it was one of the best things we saw or did on the ship.

 

A server brings your dinner, course by course, but they do not interrupt the show so you can wait a bit for a drink refill unless you time it well.

Edited May 31, 2016 by BamaVol