Epic = yes or no ?

[samiam0403]

8 hours ago, david_sobe said:

 

I disagree with your premise especially after sailing the Breakaway class ships.  On Epic, there are real restaurants like Shanghais and La Cucina that are actual restaurants with 4 walls with picture windows to the sea. On Getaway/Breakaway, those restaurants are open to the halls and not enclosed.  Cagneys and Le Bistro have tables so close (inches apart) that a table for 2 is actually dining with another table for 2.   Epic's venues are much more spaced out compared to the Breakaway class ships.  The Haven, spa, gym, Studio lounge,  nightclub, etc are all larger than the Breakaway class ships.  So if you talk about cramming and lack of space, then you would be even more miserable on the Breakaway class ships.  On Epic, Spice H20 has tiered seating to prevent crowding and a real swimming pool (even though its small).  No pools on any NCL ship in Spice after Epic.  Clearly there are reasons not to like the Epic but use of space or cramming is not one of them when you see the designs of the ships that came after Epic.

Agree 100% with this. Sailed on Getaway in a Haven suite a few years ago, and felt very 'meh' about it. My first Epic cruise was in a studio cabin with a spa pass 2 years ago (LOVED the cabin and the spa), and just sailed in a spa mini-suite last month. The Manhattan dining room, and all of the specialty restaurants we ate at (Moderno, Le Bistro, Cagneys, Teppanyaki, and La Cucina) were the best I've had on an NCL cruise. The mini-suite was a bit snug for the 3 of us, but we had a massive balcony, and our spa passes, so that helped.

 

Cruising in a 2 bedroom Haven suite in a few weeks on Epic, and expect I will miss my spa pass a bit, but still have an amazing time. I never had a problem on any previous Epic cruise finding a quiet place, and never felt crowded (as a massive introvert, this is important to me). Maybe I just know how to avoid the crowds? (Caveat: I'm not a 'lay in the sun all day' kind of gal.) I adore the Epic, and especially her crew. I wouldn't hesitate to sail on her again and again.

[vulcan1971]

On 1/10/2019 at 11:06 AM, luvsboozecruises said:

Thanks for all the help, our plans are still up in the air......

 

Hello,

 

I read as far as your post above and stopped reading. Most of the posts and almost all of the comments are either so very specific that they couldn't possibly be the standard service / operation on the ship or they devolve into personal / petty comments that may not affect or apply to the average cruiser.

 

Sounds like you have a great number of cruises under your belt and know how to adjust to whatever may come your way. I've only stayed in the Haven, but I have seen plenty of the ship... and a range of all types of staterooms. I've eaten in ALL of the restaurants.  The ship has something for everyone and I'd have to try real hard to not like the ship.

 

I can't compare thermal suites across various NCL ships, but I purchased two passes for my partner and myself on an entire 11-day cruise on the Epic and found it to be one of the best experiences I've had on 13 cruises.

 

I hope you stay booked and ENJOY YOUR CRUISE!!!

Edited January 13, 2019 by vulcan1971

[vulcan1971]

1 hour ago, samiam0403 said:

Agree 100% with this. Sailed on Getaway in a Haven suite a few years ago, and felt very 'meh' about it. My first Epic cruise was in a studio cabin with a spa pass 2 years ago (LOVED the cabin and the spa), and just sailed in a spa mini-suite last month. The Manhattan dining room, and all of the specialty restaurants we ate at (Moderno, Le Bistro, Cagneys, Teppanyaki, and La Cucina) were the best I've had on an NCL cruise. The mini-suite was a bit snug for the 3 of us, but we had a massive balcony, and our spa passes, so that helped.

 

Cruising in a 2 bedroom Haven suite in a few weeks on Epic, and expect I will miss my spa pass a bit, but still have an amazing time. I never had a problem on any previous Epic cruise finding a quiet place, and never felt crowded (as a massive introvert, this is important to me). Maybe I just know how to avoid the crowds? (Caveat: I'm not a 'lay in the sun all day' kind of gal.) I adore the Epic, and especially her crew. I wouldn't hesitate to sail on her again and again.

 

I've had 3 Norwegian cruises, all in a 2 bedroom Haven suite.  You will absolutely enjoy... and the included restaurant and other spaces in the Haven will absolutely spoil you.  If you have any questions before your cruise, feel free to email me (see link in my signature).

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[harz99]

On ‎1‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 6:45 PM, JP4GA said:

For us it is a NO--- NEVER AGAIN.  

 

List of complaints:

• We booked a tour through them for Christmas Day.  They did not communicate properly with the touring company and we ended up waiting an hour on the pier waiting for a second bus to come take our group to the excursion site.  This cut our excursion time short by an hour, so we did not get to do everything we wanted to do. They offered NO compensation and just shrugged it off. 
• We were a family of 3 staying in a room.  One day we returned from shore to find our divider that divides the room from the awkward bathroom area was GONE.  Its a bit hard for a dad to shower and go to the bathroom and change with his daughter in the room and no divider curtain.  We called asking for the curtain and were told it would be back by 6, it did not arrive until 10.  They said it was normal cleaning rotation, I get that but they could have told us.  There was a shower area at our excursion that we could have used to shower and get cleaned up for our dinner reservation.  
• I had to beg for my earned discounts in the photo shop (20%) and gift shop (15%).  The sales people acted like they had ZERO idea of the discounts. I have never on other NCL ships had to inform the sales associates of my discounts levels. 
• The photo package we purchased included digital files.  The files are such a low quality that they can only be printed in size 4x6 or smaller.  The entire reason we purchased the photo package was to be able to use the electronic files for additional prints.  
• Our balcony was always dirty.  We always get balconies and have never had a layer of salt and residue on the balcony and chairs. They did clean it on one of our port days, but they did not do a good job.  We always have balconies and have never had a grimy feeling balcony. 
• The kids area for 9-12 was not great.  Our daughter always loves the kids zone and she hated this one.  She indicated that the workers were rude and all they did was sit there doing nothing and that it was not fun. 
• We went to dinner at O'Shennhans one night and it was just a bad experience.  We waited 20 minutes for them to take our drink order after being seated right away.  The food was just okay--- I make a better Sheppard's pie than they do. 
• Tenders were a cluster.  We had a NCL tour and were told just go down and show your ticket and they will get you right on the tender.  So we go down and it is wall to wall people.  We ask several NCL employees where to go and they say they do not know to stand in line.  
• There is an overall lack of communication in all areas.
• Getting a drink refill in Taste at breakfast is a hard task and the servers all acted like you were an imposition if you asked for a refill on coffee.  
• Ship layout is weird with very little open deck. Going through the smoked filled casino to get where I want to be was not fun. 
• Deck servers would take our order and our key cards and not come back for 30-40 minutes.  Not good, after that happened a few times we just got our own drinks. 
• Entertainment venues are not large enough and shows that could not be reserved were always standing room only 30 minutes before show time. 
• Very few of the employees acted happy to be there.
• Our electrical socket fell out of the wall and was just dangling by the exposed wires, there is only one socket in the room. 
• The carpet leading to the balcony was coming up an a trip hazard. 

The positive aspects:

• Tons of storage
• Great room steward
• Great photographers (they got some really great candid shots)
• Slides were good and lines moved pretty quickly
• Escape the Big Top (hard but fun)
• Cirque show was very good. 

The complaints may seem like little things but when you combine them and it is something everyday, it makes the cruise not be as enjoyable as it should be.  We love NCL and will cruise them again, but we will not cruise the Epic. 

 

Thanks, I could have written the same myself and added a few more bits. Lol. The telling thing about Epic's design is that the order for EPIC2 was cancelled and it remains a one off.

 

We have sailed 4 large ships out of the 50+ cruises we have taken so far - Epic, Escape and RCCLs Allure and Oasis. Of these only Epic is a no, never again at any price. Even though we didn't think much to Spirit in comparison with Dawn/Jade/Star we would still sail her with the right itinerary/price, But Epic no, just too many negatives and service issues.