Semi/Live: an "Epic" TA, 15 nights NY to Barcelona 04/22/23 - 05/07/23

[dexddd]

See a sunny, nice day in Port.  Have fun all.

[JIMESOPUS]

16 hours ago, AtSeaAlways said:

The greeters in Garden Cafe should get coffee or energy drink sponsors on Instagram.  They have unlimited pep- and for a good cause- Washy Washy. My new favorite quick breakfast item- the pre made cheese omlettes. 

 

I have been half following developments from the smoke stacks aboard- quirky and French like the rest of the ship.  This morning a brief cloud of soot rained down (possibly from air starting an engine?) - and the white steam has come and gone just now and might be back.  

 

The ship really needs bedside USB ports.  Power is nearby.   And 4" taken off the stainless water cup racks in the buffet.  Shorter guests cannot reach the cups.   

 

I stumbled onto the Virgin Voyages forum on a search for Ibiza port lunch ideas  - crazy random service problems there- not here.  All by the book.  We are on vacation :)

Retired stationary engineer here, the white plume from the stack and the soot on the deck reminds me of soot blowers that we had on our boilers, surprised that they used that heavy of oil as fuel, but I'm land-based and not at sea. Guess they don't want this to happen.  

[mking8288]

We are on the waterfront now, finally - NCL shuttle bus operations could be better by loading more than 1 or 2 buses at a time, 30 minutes from end of line when we joined to boarding the bus for that 15 minutes ride in the hot & strong sun.  No taxi in immediate area & Uber not available ( see last pix on posted taxi fares, rates & info, etc)

 

[mking8288]

Hola, seafood paella and assorted tapas for lunch in Ibiza.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fininto - done eating it all.  Now, a cup of cappuccino as we sit back & people watch. 

 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Blowin' In The Wind

(Bob Dylan)

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

 

 

 

with sea breeze blowing ... what a beautiful port visit 😎

Edited May 5, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

This area is about 1/3 mile from the shuttles drop off & spot to catch the bus back to the ship... be sure to check out & walk the alleys & side streets 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

A word of caution for anyone with mobility or accessibility challenges, the steps for the shuttle buses aren't too friendly as it is a tall & steep series of steps, and the middle door is especially narrow to use, including anyone XXL+

 

The driver either didn't want to lower the ramp height and or some of the coaches aren't equipped with accessible friendly stairs.  The woman struggled to climb down with the help of her husband or travel companion, finally a fellow pax stepped in to assist by lifting her ... 

 

There wasn't a NCL employee or crew member in sight to 🙄😳😬 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

The city bus stop is here and about 50 steps closer to the waterfront cafe, shops & restaurants - next to the shuttle stop for NCL.

 

Took about 20 minutes to return to the ship, while others are just going into town with the shuttles. 

 

 

 

 

This is the area for the city bus route to the cruise terminal, there are a few taxis lined up & waiting in the afternoon. No signage about water taxi or Uber pickup points nearby ...

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by mking8288

[AtSeaAlways]

4000 people divided by 60 is quite a few trips.

They did hire a lot of busses.  This is a lovely port - the fort/church was pretty and well preserved.

[mking8288]

Tomorrow is Day 15 - the FSD ... boo 🫣 

Epic Beatles: Through The Years at the Epic Theater at 7 and 9 pm ... packing our stuff should be easy with packing cubes & without the bottled water we go on with, hehe 🤣 Offset by 4 pairs of shoes. 

 

Disembarkation info & guide distributed, no yellow tags about priority, probably meant a trip to stand in line at either CruiseNext or Guest Services to get them. Full immigration check with Spain in BCN - it can't be worst than USA and especially at NY's JFK 😳 

 

Time to do a light dinner next, all abroad in 90 minutes for 10 pm sailing. 

 

LTE signal from Orange here is great, using Pixel 7 Pro and hot spot enabled to run another smartphone & my Lenovo Chromebook 👍 👌

 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by mking8288

[gregluk]

@mking8288 has the Epic been good then overall? I'll be on it in July. 

[bluesea777]

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

 

Disembarkation info & guide distributed, no yellow tags about priority, probably meant a trip to stand in line at either CruiseNext or Guest Services to get them. Full immigration check with Spain in BCN - it can't be worst than USA and especially at NY's JFK 😳 

 

 

You need to make it a rule of thumb yourself on every cruise, once you see luggage tags are out for the public, show up at Guest Service/Cruise Next regardless and show your cruise card to obtain the yellow priority luggage tags. We have received no notice or letters about that nor see the yellow tags on display for the public.

 

P.S. (for others) the above is for Platinum and above. 

 

[mking8288]

10 pm & we set aside on time w all onboard. A batch of night pictures & castle as we leave, while we still have a good LTE cellular land signal - used 1.7gb cellular data in last 3 days

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

LTE or cellular faded 30 minutes after we left the berth and headed straight out to sea & turn north for a quick run to Palma.

 

Tonight's MDR menu (Day 14) wasn't really special nor exceptional, but realized that we haven't seen this at all until now ... DW reminded me - popcorn shrimps as appetizer, 3 per or 9 pc. on 3 plates for 3 of us. 

 

Finally, see lamb shank too as entree, but no prime ribs (not in OSH or the buffet as a theme night either) - subtle changes that new cruisers wouldn't know better. 

 

 

Baked Brie Salad (Pastry Puff) was good & light 👌

 

 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by mking8288

[AtSeaAlways]

9 hours ago, gregluk said:

@mking8288 has the Epic been good then overall? I'll be on it in July. 

The cruise has been good.  The "software" is good to excellent.

 If I ran NCL I would solve five nagging hardware problems aboard:

1. Install a water bottle filling station

2. Bedside USB charging

3. Design a sound proof toilet room door -airliners have them

4. Take a look at the diesel stack setup- add three feet, a wide plate/wing air flow diverter - or swap out the motors for ultra low emissions ones

5. Replace the giant DJ booth in Manhattan with a modern ipad controlled setup and free up space for a few more guest tables.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mking8288]

7:30 am and we are docked at Palma, Spain ... the Virgin Valent Lady across from us. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by mking8288

[www3traveler]

As this grand adventure is coming to a close, prayers for your safe journey home.

 

Thank you for taking the time to share your wonderful adventure.

[mking8288]

More pictures as we docked, shuttle buses are right outside, apparently.

 

Last full breakfast menu in Taste this morning with my favorite smoked salmon bagel, tomorrow will be an express menu only. Amazing 15 days ... stay tuned for a summary and reflections of our TA, Epic and the changes we've noticed, some of it subtle.  

 

We will be in Barcelona for 3 days, bonus add-on about our post-cruuse semi-private tours, hotel stay & ground transfer to the BCN airport.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

NCL shuttle to town ... or a long walk

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Views of the city, Palma

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Panorama views as we head for Valldevossa 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Spectacular ... Valldevossa 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Valldevossa - beautiful town 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

City Centre with cafe, shops & restaurants, as well as historical sites and landmarks - 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catedral-Basílica de Santa María de Mallorca 

 

 

 

 

Up to 10,000 ship pax from 3 ships plus off-duty crews roaming in town.

Edited May 6, 2023 by mking8288