LIVE from the most hated ship in the NCL fleet, Epic, March 26-April 2

[spenecer]

Final thoughts

 

i signed up for an excursion with airport transfer since our flight is after 4:30pm. The excursion is supposed to leave at 8:30am but we must meet in the Epic Theatre at 7:15am.  We received special luggage tags for people on excursion and I’m planning on using one for our checked bag.
 

NCL booked us on United for going home with one stop at Dulles. So, I thought it would be pretty safe to sign up for this excursion. We will find out tomorrow. 
 

The great trial for us is our winter coats. Coming from Chicago, we have big coats which I do not wish to carry on the excursion with us. 
 

I still have reviews of Titou, Teppanyaki, Burn the Floor, and Cagney’s to add. 

[vswan]

13 minutes ago, spenecer said:

The great trial for us is our winter coats. Coming from Chicago, we have big coats which I do not wish to carry on the excursion with us. 

Get a big tote bag, add coats and a luggage tag. You might want to check if the luggage stays with the tour or is sent to the airport. I know on many of these tours, bags go under the bus and stay with you. Then a bag would be easy to stick below and take coats out at the airport.

[sailingships]

6 hours ago, spenecer said:

 St. Kitts

Did the 'cane train' ever come back ? That used to be fun. It would travel almost all the way around the island and then you were met by your bus driver for the rest of the way. Free booze all the way.

[spenecer]

6 minutes ago, vswan said:

Get a big tote bag, add coats and a luggage tag. You might want to check if the luggage stays with the tour or is sent to the airport. I know on many of these tours, bags go under the bus and stay with you. Then a bag would be easy to stick below and take coats out at the airport.

Our bag is supposed to go to the airport separately. Right now, I’ve stuffed my coat into my carryon because it is down and compacts. We will have to drag my daughter’s out of our regular luggage since hers isn’t down. 

[spenecer]

1 minute ago, sailingships said:

Did the 'cane train' ever come back ? That used to be fun. It would travel almost all the way around the island and then you were met by your bus driver for the rest of the way. Free booze all the way.

I didn’t see a ‘cane train’ but also avoided all excursions which involved drinking because I have to pay adult prices for my daughter and she can’t drink. 

[spenecer]

This is one of those extra sheets that NCL sticks in the daily. 

[Happycrafter123]

Thank you for the info on disembarkation, would you please also share any other pages that talk about what time different colour tags disembarc etc?

[spenecer]

3 hours ago, Happycrafter123 said:

Thank you for the info on disembarkation, would you please also share any other pages that talk about what time different colour tags disembarc etc?

I have already packed the paper copy but here is a photo from the slideshow in the Atrium. I grabbed the photo when I went down for my final Starbucks (included in the P+ Beverage Package but I have to pay tax).

 

 

[spenecer]

Burn the Floor Review

 

As the last remaining show (at this time) on the Epic to require reservations, I am going to address getting into the show more than the show itself because it is impossible to describe the show without giving it all away. I also have no photos since we were reminded that photos and video would be a violation of copyright at the start of the show. This was the only show where this statement was made at the beginning of the show. 
 

I booked my show reservation a couple of weeks before sailing when it was announced on Cruise Critic (or that place which cannot be named here) that this was possible.  I did this with the NCL app.  This was easy and I didn’t have any issues. About 24 hours after making my reservation, I was notified via email that my reservation had been moved from Tuesday (Day 3) to Friday (Day 6). The time remained the same (7pm).  I didn’t have any scheduling conflicts regarding dining so the change didn’t matter much to me. 
 

Burn the Floor performed Day 6 and Day 7 of this cruise with two shows each night. We didn’t have any problem getting into the Epic Theatre though we did mistakenly get into the Stand-By line briefly (I was definitely already drunk). I brought my own drink from Shakers and did not get anything from the Theatre bar (yes, I dangerously walked around on a swaying ship with a full martini glass in my hand).  We arrived about 10 minutes before the show and there was A LOT of seating to choose from. We grabbed two seats in the center middle. I did not spill my drink on anyone (yet).

 

I do not know when they let the Stand-By line into the Theatre but when the show started there were still empty seats along the sides of the Theatre and single seats sprinkled around the middle.  My conclusion is that reservations will let you in to grab seats together with your group but if you are willing to sit separately, then everyone can get into the show. 
 

The show has a set, multiple costume changes, and live singing in addition to the aforementioned ballroom dancing. It is definitely the ‘headlining’ act. If you want to see a production on the Epic, it is definitely worth attending. My daughter, who complained that all the music is for old people, liked the show very much. If you like Dancing with the Stars, see Burn the Floor. 

[spenecer]

Disembarkation has begun. There were definitely people sitting in the Atrium with their luggage at 5AM when I went down for my Starbucks. I bet they are off the boat already. 
 

I went up to the Buffet for some breakfast. My daughter is having croissants which we got a couple days ago when I was inside the Garden Cafe after it closed from Breakfast service and was wandering lost looking for croissants.  The staff was already changing over for lunch so the croissants where gone but I think the Crew Member (in a uniform) in charge of the buffet asked me what I was looking for and then brought me 6 croissants from the back. So, we’ve had enough croissants to last us a few days. 

[spenecer]

I booked during the Flow water promotion so there were 6 containers of water in the cabin when we arrived. At the end of the cruise, we still have 4 completely untouched 1-L containers of water and part of a fifth. 

[spenecer]

Wi-Fi on the Epic is still functioning for me on the Unlimited Plan.  My suspicion is that it will function until 8:30 AM.

[HowardK]

To this day my Epic 2011 Cruise from Miami was my favorite- I normally go from NYC but felt more away and on vacation being on that route. 

I liked everything the ship stood for - totally outside of the box- Fat Cats, Blue Man Group, 2 bowling alleys, Legends In Concert, Howl at The Moon , the Hydraulic swimming pool in H20.

While I realize they made changes over the years, in my opinion they had something really special there- was also the beginning of studio cabins. 

[Crazy planning mom]

1 hour ago, HowardK said:

To this day my Epic 2011 Cruise from Miami was my favorite- I normally go from NYC but felt more away and on vacation being on that route. 

I liked everything the ship stood for - totally outside of the box- Fat Cats, Blue Man Group, 2 bowling alleys, Legends In Concert, Howl at The Moon , the Hydraulic swimming pool in H20.

While I realize they made changes over the years, in my opinion they had something really special there- was also the beginning of studio cabins. 

Yep, we took the Epic from Italy in 2015.  It was my husband and son's first time to Europe.  It was a special trip.    We enjoyed some of the same activities and my son met kids from different countries at the Teen Club.

[Georgeny]

That you for a good commentary and the unique drink review, I enjoyed it.

 

George in NY

[spenecer]

Epic Wi-Fi and Internet Review

 

This review will consider the Epic Wi-Fi and Internet as two separate items because they are not handled the same but people often conflate them. Wi-Fi is your connection to the ship’s network (your phone connecting to do things like the NCL chat app or iMessage).  Internet is the connection from the ship to the rest of the world. The Internet Speed remained consistently 6 Mbps Down the entire 7 day cruise whether we were in port or at sea. Internet Upload speed waffled between 0.8 Mbps to 2 Mbps. 
 

The Wi-Fi speed varied greatly depending on time of day and I could see an increase in packet loss when it took a long time for things to load on my phone. This suggests that the Wi-Fi was very busy. The Wi-Fi was worst starting around 8AM and lasting till 10PM, the hours when more people were awake and trying to use the Wi-Fi. If we were in port, Wi-Fi was great in the middle of the day when a majority of people were off the ship. 
 

My assessment is that moving to StarLink will not fix the ‘slow internet’ complaints for the Epic if they do not upgrade/increase the network capacity with either more switches or more Ethernet cables. The ship’s network does not have enough capacity to handle people trying to reach the internet. 

[brookie848]

13 hours ago, sailingships said:

Did the 'cane train' ever come back ? That used to be fun. It would travel almost all the way around the island and then you were met by your bus driver for the rest of the way. Free booze all the way.

If you're talking about the train ride that tours the island, yes...it is back. It was available on our February cruise.

[spenecer]

El Yunque Rainforest Drive and Airport Transfer

 

I booked this excursion through the NCL website after I received my flights for the BOGO.  NCL put us on a flight leaving SJU at 4:50pm. 
 

The most important word in the name of this tour is ‘Drive’. You are driven. There is almost no walking. You will only go to locations that are bus accessible.

 

NCL had people on the excursions with airport transfers meet in the Epic Theatre at 7:15AM. This is over an hour and 15 minutes earlier than the listed time of the excursion, 8:30AM. Once you go to the theatre, they tag you (like deer) with your your description. The El Yunque excursion leaves the Theatre first. The San Juan excursion leaves second. An NCL employee with a Shore Excursions clipboard leads you through a door at the bottom of the theatre (so on deck 4) to leave the boat. We joined other people (non-tour) also leaving the ship for the card scan and it was hard to keep track of where we were going because I was blocked from seeing our deer tags which most people were wearing on their chest. Once inside the port terminal, the NCL employee began directing people to our luggage pickup. If you are doing the tour then do the luggage tags since it isn’t possible to get off earlier and lugging the bags down the steps of the Epic Theatre would be painful.

 

We found our bags and then NCL directed us to get in any of the Customs/you are leaving the terminal lines.  We were face scanned and headed out to find an NCL Employee directing us to busses for the tour. We were divided into groups of 24 and started our drive to El Yunque. It was 7:58AM when we left the Pan American Port. 
 

Our driver, Miguel, was also our tour guide and he tried to give us some information/tell us about Puerto Rico along the drive but we were a very quiet bunch. He told us it would take 45 minutes to drive to El Yunque and he did several things by majority rules or whoever was awake enough to answer him. At one point, he asked if we would like to take the highway or local roads and one person said ‘local roads’.  The local road was very fast as Miguel said that everyone was still asleep or at church. Another person asked if we could stop for coffee which allowed Miguel to lay the groundwork for an unscheduled stop at the end of the excursion. 

We drove into and up into El Yunque and then made three scheduled stops (Yokahu Tower, the End of the Road, La Coca Falls) for people to look around and take pictures. Each stop was around 30 minutes. There are no functional bathrooms at two of the stops. Only the one in the middle at ‘The End of the Road’ had functional bathrooms. We finished with all the scheduled stops by 10:30AM.

 

We headed back down the mountain and right outside the entrance to El Yunque, Miguel asked if we wanted to stop for food. Two people said yes and we stopped at a roadside stand with food, drink and souvenirs. There was also a guy grilling skewers of chicken which smelled and tasted amazing. I was lured by the smell to get one.  It was $4 for a skewer that had three large pieces of chicken and a piece of toasted French bread. It was totally worth it!

 

The unscheduled stop was probably was the longest as everyone, including our driver, had enough time to order food and eat it. Our driver was actually served his skewer by the ‘chef’ so I’m pretty sure he has an ‘understanding’ when there are tourists who want food. 
 

The airport is between El Yunque and the Pan American Pier. We passed it on the highway on the way to the National Park. Even with the unscheduled stop, we were at the airport by 11:50PM.  Our luggage had gone separately to the airport and we picked them up in front of the terminal. We were still (yes you guessed it), more than 4 hours early for our flight) and we could not check our bags. 
 

I liked the tour. It was an easy way to see a tiny bit of El Yunque before our flight and not too strenuous if you had stayed up late partying (or drinking) on your last night on the Epic.  I thought there was plenty of time to take photos at each stop. I would have liked to walk a trail but the most likely trail the tour could use is currently closed for repairs and it was steep so I don’t know if walking would be suitable for people who had gotten up at ‘Oh God o’clock’ to disembark. 

 

 

[spenecer]

Teppanyaki Review

 

I booked Teppanyaki using the NCL App at around the 90 day mark when non-Latitudes members were allowed to book. I’ve had teppanyaki multiple times at different locations, including at Disney World at the Japan Pavilion. 
 

There are four stations in each room at Teppanyaki. Each station holds 8 guests. The four chefs in our room all told the exact same jokes in the exact same order. We were at the table that filled last and the other tables started first so it was very obvious that the routine was the same by each chef because the space was small enough that you could overhear the other chefs. Two of the chefs are literally back to back. 
 

NCL has worked out a very funny routine and the chefs have all the bits well-memorized. We had a very good time and the food was delicious. I also got a napkin flower which you can see in my upside down Flow water photo. 

[spenecer]

I’m trying to work through my remaining thoughts while sitting at the San Juan airport. 
 

Titou, the Comedy Magician

 

After Burn the Floor, Titou is probably the best act on the Epic (that I saw).  He has a seamless flow between his comedy and his magic. The tricks are good. He also interacted the best with the audience.  I saw one other comedian (Ryan Wingfield) and his patter / transitions weren’t nearly as good as Titou’s.  The Levity Comedy Group had a second comedian (Leonard Flower) performing, but I didn’t see him. 

My daughter enjoyed trying to figure out how he performed his tricks. He has a floating table trick that stumped us. 
 

He does one night in the Epic Theatre and then one night in Headliners. 

[spenecer]

We did go back to (try for) Shanghai’s Restaurant instead of the noodle bar. This was our fastest meal as we had Burn the Floor reservations at 7pm and Shanghai’s doesn’t open for dinner until 5:30. We did not order drinks and we skipped dessert. We got in line around 5pm and we’re seated around 5:40. Our server came right over to take our orders. We didn’t ever have to ask to be served faster. We were done by 6:40 and made it to Burn the Floor with more than enough time to stop at Shaker’s on the way for a martini. 
 

The restaurant does have a different menu than the noodle bar. Also, by coincidence it was Asian Night at the buffet. Even though we skipped dessert, we found all four desserts offered at Shanghai’s at the buffet later that evening and we happily ate them. 

[spenecer]

There are so many people in this waiting area who have Epic tags on their bags. From the conversations around me, it sounds like everyone is flying to Dulles and then transferring to a different flight. 

[spenecer]

Cagney’s Review

 

Before booking Cagney’s, I had read two reviews which said that the steak at Cagney’s was worse than the main dining room. Maybe this kept people from booking Cagney’s and choosing Le Bistro or Moderno instead. There was a very large line in front of the check-in desk for Moderno when we arrived for our reservation. Le Bistro also similarly seemed to have a large line whenever we walked by during the week. 
 

I had 1 specialty dining credit left (since we got 1 for Free at Sea and 2 for upgrading to Free at Sea Plus).  I like steak and my daughter is intimidated by people offering her steak on a spike. So, Cagney’s it is. 

I ordered drinks at the table and the bar for Cagney’s is in the middle of the dining space between Cagney’s and Moderno, not to the side as in the deck plan. Because the bar is so close, the drinks arrived very fast. 
 

We did not order all the food possible because by this point in the cruise, I can honestly say that there is too much food. I didn’t get any sides and my daughter didn’t get any appetizers or a soup. I had the Ahi Tuna Tartare and the Lobster Bisque. 

 

We both got a Filet Mignon.  I had mine rare. 
 

Reviewers online have complained that their meat was over cooked but mine was not. It came rare and well seasoned. I’ve eaten at many good steakhouses in Chicago (which is the decor on the walls as I stared at the Water Tower during the whole meal) such as Michael Jordan’s or Morton’s or Gene and Georgetti. Cagney’s served good steak. It was correctly aged and cooked to the right specification. 
 

The desserts seemed very unique. They were different from the ones offered at La Cucina. 

 

I would book Cagney’s again if I had a specialty dining credit. 

[spenecer]

We are boarding our flight home. My first cruise trip is almost over. 

[Crazy planning mom]

Safe flight home.  Didn't realize it was your first cruise trip.