Some more Epic questions

[kingoftheicedragons]

We will be going on the Epic in the second half of January, and I've been doing some research on the ship as well as on NCL in general as this is only our second NCL cruise. Our first NCL was on the Dawn, and I think the Epic is going to be a bit different from that experience.

 

Regarding the meals and shows, I know I can book those 90 days out, so I'm not too concerned about those right now.

 

1. What about the Headliners comedy? I read something about getting tickets for that as well--can you book those 90 days out as well, or do you need to book those on the ship?

 

2. I really hope to be able to see the Epic Beatles in the Cavern Club. Any tips to make sure this happens? Is this something to plan to do early in the cruise and how best can I plan to do this without it interfering with dinner or show plans?

 

3. Is the Ice bar free, or how much does that cost to get in. And if there is a cost, is it worth it? I'm kind of curious to see it, but we're not cold weather people--we have an outside ice bar during our city's winter festival that I would never even think of going to because of the cold, and I'm not really that big of a drinker anyway (I might have a drink or two and no more during a cruise).

 

4. I want to make sure we can do the Cirque show as well. Again, is it best to try to do this early on the week, or does it not really matter?

 

I'm more used to Carnival where you don't need to do so much pre-planning for a cruise...you don't have to really decide what you're going to do when until the actual moment.

[KeithJenner]

Reservations are usually not available before the cruise for Headliners shows, but for many of the shows reservations are available once onboard.

 

Whenever the Beatles have played in the Cavern (and Fat Cats before that) when I've been on the Epic, it has been packed. In my experience it doesn't make any difference when during the week you do it, it's likely to be busy.

 

I've bar costs to get in. I've never been, but I believe that it's something like $20. That includes two drinks.

 

Comments suggest that the first night is the quietest for Cirque. It was cancelled on that night when we had it booked, so I can't comment on that. As you will be booking it in advance, I'd go for the night that fits in best with your other plans.

 

My experience on the Epic is in the Med, but I don't think my answers are too affected by the location.

Edited June 11, 2016 by KeithJenner

[kingoftheicedragons]

Thanks Keith, that helps.

[BirdTravels]

Regarding the meals and shows, I know I can book those 90 days out, so I'm not too concerned about those right now.

 

1. What about the Headliners comedy? I read something about getting tickets for that as well--can you book those 90 days out as well, or do you need to book those on the ship?

Lately, they have been available only once you board the ship. You can book Headliners comedy shows using the iconcierge app, any of the touch screens in the public areas, your stateroom TV, and as an absolute last resort, the box office just outside the theater.

 

2. I really hope to be able to see the Epic Beatles in the Cavern Club. Any tips to make sure this happens? Is this something to plan to do early in the cruise and how best can I plan to do this without it interfering with dinner or show plans?

Come to Cruise Critics and asks folks to post currently dailies 90 days before your cruise. Book your show and dinner reservations based on currently dailies. Adjust reservations as soon as you get onboard if there is a conflict (i.e. change in schedule). You iConcierge app will let you see show schedules for your entire cruise once you are onboard.

 

3. Is the Ice bar free, or how much does that cost to get in. And if there is a cost, is it worth it? I'm kind of curious to see it, but we're not cold weather people--we have an outside ice bar during our city's winter festival that I would never even think of going to because of the cold, and I'm not really that big of a drinker anyway (I might have a drink or two and no more during a cruise).

$20 includes 2 drinks. If you have never been in an ice bar, worth a try.

 

4. I want to make sure we can do the Cirque show as well. Again, is it best to try to do this early on the week, or does it not really matter?

Doesn't matter. Book premium seats only. Queue for entry at least 60 minutes before show time for best seating (Havens guests will be seated first through a side stage door).

 

Enjoy the Epic. Enjoy your cruise. We have been on the Epic 5 times and really enjoy the ship.

 

Norwegian Epic Ice Bar October 2015

[Quilting_Cruiser]

OP, I won't repeat what others have said except that I don't think it matters what day during the week you go to Cirque. It's a pretty small venue. Like a PP, I recommend premium seating. If you don't mind possibly being part of the show, then sit on the main level. But, if the though terrifies you, then sit in the balcony. We sat in the balcony and they were great seats!

 

As far as the ice bar, if you wouldn't enjoy it on land, then I doubt you'd enjoy it on a cruise! You get two very small drinks and you all stand around in the "parkas" and take pictures with the ice sculptures. I found it very enjoyable, but I love the cold and had always wanted to visit an ice bar. But, again, I love the cold--and, it's really cold! I was glad I'd gotten some warm mittens from Canada at the Meet & Greet. I took them along and they were much warmer than the gloves they give you before you go in!

[kingoftheicedragons]

Thanks BirdTravels and Quilting Cruiser for your answers.

 

I think I'll probably pass on the ice bar on the ship. Like I said, we have an outdoor one every year in February where the actual bars are made of ice and there are very nice and elaborate ice sculptures and ice benches that we have gone and taken pictures of during the day that are probably similar to what's in the ice bar aboard the ship, and I know the drink cups at our ice bar are also made of ice. And maybe I just don't fully appreciate the fact that we have an ice bar here every winter...I know that it will attract 10s of thousands of people to the event.

[BamaVol]

We will be going on the Epic in the second half of January, and I've been doing some research on the ship as well as on NCL in general as this is only our second NCL cruise. Our first NCL was on the Dawn, and I think the Epic is going to be a bit different from that experience.

 

Regarding the meals and shows, I know I can book those 90 days out, so I'm not too concerned about those right now.

 

1. What about the Headliners comedy? I read something about getting tickets for that as well--can you book those 90 days out as well, or do you need to book those on the ship?

 

2. I really hope to be able to see the Epic Beatles in the Cavern Club. Any tips to make sure this happens? Is this something to plan to do early in the cruise and how best can I plan to do this without it interfering with dinner or show plans?

 

3. Is the Ice bar free, or how much does that cost to get in. And if there is a cost, is it worth it? I'm kind of curious to see it, but we're not cold weather people--we have an outside ice bar during our city's winter festival that I would never even think of going to because of the cold, and I'm not really that big of a drinker anyway (I might have a drink or two and no more during a cruise).

 

4. I want to make sure we can do the Cirque show as well. Again, is it best to try to do this early on the week, or does it not really matter?

 

I'm more used to Carnival where you don't need to do so much pre-planning for a cruise...you don't have to really decide what you're going to do when until the actual moment.

 

To add to what's already been said:

 

Only visit the ice bar if you drink vodka. It is sponsored by a particular brand of vodka. Not my thing so I skipped it.

 

We saw Cirque on the first night and it was not full. That may have been due to demographics. Since I only went once, I cannot say for certain. We sat in premium seating on the floor. We did not have to participate, probably less than a 10% chance of being chosen, but a lady at our table held a spinning plate for what seemed like a long time.

[mw_1970]

We will be going on the Epic in the second half of January, and I've been doing some research on the ship as well as on NCL in general as this is only our second NCL cruise. Our first NCL was on the Dawn, and I think the Epic is going to be a bit different from that experience.

 

Regarding the meals and shows, I know I can book those 90 days out, so I'm not too concerned about those right now.

 

1. What about the Headliners comedy? I read something about getting tickets for that as well--can you book those 90 days out as well, or do you need to book those on the ship?

 

2. I really hope to be able to see the Epic Beatles in the Cavern Club. Any tips to make sure this happens? Is this something to plan to do early in the cruise and how best can I plan to do this without it interfering with dinner or show plans?

 

3. Is the Ice bar free, or how much does that cost to get in. And if there is a cost, is it worth it? I'm kind of curious to see it, but we're not cold weather people--we have an outside ice bar during our city's winter festival that I would never even think of going to because of the cold, and I'm not really that big of a drinker anyway (I might have a drink or two and no more during a cruise).

 

4. I want to make sure we can do the Cirque show as well. Again, is it best to try to do this early on the week, or does it not really matter?

 

I'm more used to Carnival where you don't need to do so much pre-planning for a cruise...you don't have to really decide what you're going to do when until the actual moment.

 

 

Ice Bar is great. $20 each from memory and you get two vodka based cocktails for that. We love it and will definitely be paying it a visit again next week.

 

Never had problems getting to see any show on EPIC. We haven't even bothered trying to see Cirque as it's just not our thing.

[TJTennessee]

Adding my two cents; we cruised on Epic earlier this month. For Cirque, we had debated back and forth a while because we had seen a Cirque show at Vegas and it wasn't really our cup of tea. But boy, were we glad we booked this one - the show was fantastic! We didn't pay for premium seats, but got in line early as recommended by other CC posters. The hostess asked which seats we'd like when we entered, so we asked her which were best and she said hands down, the balcony. We agree! The people next to us mentioned that it was worth the additional money they paid, but you could get lucky like us and not pay extra! But really, it's a small venue so I think every seat is probably pretty decent. Those sitting below by columns just moved their chairs a bit.

 

The dinner was nice, nothing overly fancy, but the show performers were incredible. So talented, and a good mix of acts. We laughed a lot, too.

We went on our 6th night, but as posted earlier I'm not sure it matters too much, especially with multiple embarkation ports.

 

We saw the Beatles on the main stage after another couple raved about them in the Cavern Club earlier that week. The theater was crowded, but there were still a couple empty seats. We actually enjoyed the Motown show even better. We booked both of those and a few other shows while on the ship, through our tv. We booked the production shows (Burn the Floor and Priscilla) at home before boarding.

 

For the ice bar, it was only open at night. We had hoped to visit the one afternoon we were at sea, but it was closed. Next time!

 

Side note: we were disappointed we weren't able to book Howl at the Moon, since it had already "sold out" each day according to the kiosks and our tv. But we went by there anyway, and there were plenty of seats open around 9pm, so we went two different nights without reservations. Fun! We also saw several empty seats in many of the other shows, so it's worth showing up even if you don't prebook. They let walk-ins enter ten minutes before showtime (so even if you're booked, go a bit early for better seat selection). Hope this helps.

 

 

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[KeithJenner]

Adding my two cents; we cruised on Epic earlier this month. For Cirque, we had debated back and forth a while because we had seen a Cirque show at Vegas and it wasn't really our cup of tea. But boy, were we glad we booked this one - the show was fantastic! We didn't pay for premium seats, but got in line early as recommended by other CC posters. The hostess asked which seats we'd like when we entered, so we asked her which were best and she said hands down, the balcony. We agree! The people next to us mentioned that it was worth the additional money they paid, but you could get lucky like us and not pay extra! But really, it's a small venue so I think every seat is probably pretty decent. Those sitting below by columns just moved their chairs a bit.

 

The dinner was nice, nothing overly fancy, but the show performers were incredible. So talented, and a good mix of acts. We laughed a lot, too.

We went on our 6th night, but as posted earlier I'm not sure it matters too much, especially with multiple embarkation ports.

 

We saw the Beatles on the main stage after another couple raved about them in the Cavern Club earlier that week. The theater was crowded, but there were still a couple empty seats. We actually enjoyed the Motown show even better. We booked both of those and a few other shows while on the ship, through our tv. We booked the production shows (Burn the Floor and Priscilla) at home before boarding.

 

For the ice bar, it was only open at night. We had hoped to visit the one afternoon we were at sea, but it was closed. Next time!

 

Side note: we were disappointed we weren't able to book Howl at the Moon, since it had already "sold out" each day according to the kiosks and our tv. But we went by there anyway, and there were plenty of seats open around 9pm, so we went two different nights without reservations. Fun! We also saw several empty seats in many of the other shows, so it's worth showing up even if you don't prebook. They let walk-ins enter ten minutes before showtime (so even if you're booked, go a bit early for better seat selection). Hope this helps.

 

 

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Just a couple of points on this.

 

I'm not sure when exactly you were on the Epic, but when we were onboard right at the start of the month, there were some really odd things going on with some of the things which require reservations. I don know for sure, but suspect that it was to do with some of the groups onboard, many of whom seemed not to be doing anything which cost more money.

 

As a result, speciality restaurants were quite easy to get into and they seemed to be selling very few premium seas for Cirque. On one night towards the end of the cruise, standard Cirque seats were showing as nearly sold out whilst they seemed to have hardly sold any premium at all. To my knowledge, that is unusual.

 

That may be why you were seated upstairs despite having standard seats (upstairs was bout quarter full the night that we went and there were empty premium seats downstairs). To anyone reading this, I would work on the assumption for now that this was an unusual situation and you are unlikely to get similarly upgraded.

 

Regarding Howl at the Moon, I have never known reservations to be available for this, due to the nature of the show, where people walk in or out throughout what is usually a long performance. There were certainly no reservations available on our cruise and I assume that you took the inability to book spaces as meaning that it was sold out, which was probably not the case.

[Single Cruiser]

Echoing comments above. Howl at the Moon never has reservations, you just come and go as you want.

 

I'd definitely recommend the balcony seats for Cirque, both for view and also not being dragged up on stage which I seem to have a target over my head saying pick me! :confused:

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Agree with last two posts. There were no reservations for Howl when I sailed Epic a couple months ago--people come and go. As for seating at Cirque, balcony seats were great for us. We did pay for premium seating, which was sold out the night we went. Standard seating puts you under the overhang on the bottom floor, so there are more than columns to deal with. It's definitely worth the upgrade to premium seating. Dinner was so-so, but really enjoyed the show.

[Jman321d]

First time poster here!

 

If I'm not in the right area if someone could direct me to the right thread. Lol Has any one done the solo rooms? I'm thinking about going on the Epic for a solo cruise but my main concern is the age range on the boat.

 

Thanks!

[Quilting_Cruiser]

First time poster here!

 

If I'm not in the right area if someone could direct me to the right thread. Lol Has any one done the solo rooms? I'm thinking about going on the Epic for a solo cruise but my main concern is the age range on the boat.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Welcome!

 

Lots of people have cruised in the studios. They're great for solo travelers. I was in a studio in March and have another booked for next year on the Epic.

 

There's a wide range of ages on the ship. Typically, the longer the cruise the older the demographic will skew. Also, itinerary can make a difference. I was on a 10-day Canary Islands and Morocco cruise and there were a lot of older passengers, especially in comparison with what you'd experience on a 7-day Caribbean cruise.

 

Here's the solo forum here on Cruise Critic: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=373. You can learn a lot about traveling solo in general on that forum. Of course for questions specific to NCL, you're in the right place. If you do a search, you'll find tons of threads about sailing in the studios.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Single Cruiser]

I've sailed on Epic every year since she was launched, quite a few times in studios. Whilst the average age on NCL tends to be a bit lower 30-50s than some other brands within the studios there is often a large amount of elder divorced or widowed solo travellers as well as younger passengers, sometimes if say a 20-something travelling with family will have their own cabin in the studios.

 

The solo group meetings each evening provide an opportunity for most solo travellers to find a like minded or similar age group or person to speak, drink, or dine with.

 

 

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