Well, it’s January…and you know what that means. We’ve just returned from a relaxing holiday cruise somewhere. This year we chose one of Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest and largest ships The Epic. We went with other family members and the ages traveling were – 50’s, 40’s, 20’s, 16, 15 and 11. I mention the span of ages so that you know that everyone was potentially looking for something different out of the cruise. We try to choose large ships with lots to do, many different venues, etc. so there is likely to be something for everyone. This was our very first cruise with NCL so I wasn’t sure how we’d like the famous NCL Freestyle concept but we are always up for something new and can be inspired by most any kind of vacation. Here is what we thought.
Embarkation – LOVED how smooth and painless embarkation was as a Haven guest. We arrived at 11:45am, left our bags with the porter at the curb and walked into the terminal. Once through security, we headed towards the Haven check-in sign. We were invited into a lounge with comfy seating and refreshments to relax while the agent took our paperwork back to the counter and checked us in. As soon as they finished, someone came along and whisked our group through the terminal, through the cruise picture and onto the ship. At the elevators we were handed off to the concierge staff who greeted us warmly and escorted us up to the Haven Lounge. This is where I’m always most excited – walking into the ship for the first time. This is a beautiful ship. Modern and stylish. Unique furnishings and color choices throughout. It reads like a chic, upscale hotel – especially in The Haven.
Atrium
Haven Lounge
We were offered a tour of the Haven facilities and once we finished, my sister and I went to register the kids for the kids and teen programs while the rest of the group relaxed in the lounge until the rooms were open. As we returned, we were told our rooms were ready. The staff encouraged us to go check our things into the room, look around and to come back to the Haven Restaurant to relax for lunch. From curbside, through the terminal, already checked into our rooms and sitting at lunch in under an hour. Our Get My Vacay Started Painlessly Grade = A++
Living Room/Dining Room area looking back towards front door and 2nd bedroom
This stateroom category was perfect for us. Size and layout works well for a family of 4. My 2 teenage boys shared the 2nd bedroom – 1 on the bunk and 1 on the bed/sofa below. Absolutely loved having a separate sitting area as opposed to the sofa being next to the bed in a balcony stateroom. Master bathroom was fabulous. We haven’t encountered this much space in a cruise bathroom on any other ship so far. Clean lines, well laid out with good storage and counter space, well lit with a spacious shower. The wall of glass is truly a showstopper. We’ll discuss the well known issue with The Epic’s bathrooms shortly.
Master Bathroom – TIP: shades down at night to avoid light pouring into the bedroom early morning!
As on all cruise ships we’ve encountered so far, the slight curve of the bed makes it a little short for taller people unless you’re dead center but it was fine. Comfy enough. We had pre-ordered 2 hypoallergenic pillows for the boys through our pre-cruise concierge service and they were there as promised.
Bed is tucked into a mirrored niche to give the illusion of more space. The cabinetry provide plenty of storage. Tv’s in all rooms. (Both bedrooms and living room)
People have talked at great length in reviews about the lack of privacy between Epic’s bathrooms and bedroom areas…and I’m going to as well. Feel free to fast forward if you’ve heard it many times already. I will admit I decided when planning this trip that I would never choose the balcony cabins simply because of the bathroom design. I don’t want to step out of the shower into the main cabin and get dressed right in front of the door to the hallway! Sorry, not happening NCL. BUT here’s the lowdown on the the 2 bdrm villa bathrooms: Even in the suite, you have just a curtain separating the master bathroom from the bedroom. And while it did seem weird at first, we quickly got over it. Only because unlike in a regular cabin, there’s a door on the bedroom itself. You can close off the whole bedroom for privacy from the rest of the suite which makes all the difference. If you’re really, really shy about it you do have a 2nd bathroom in the other bedroom. The bathroom in the 2nd bedroom is not without its flaws. It does have a door – kind of. It is a swinging frosted glass door (you cannot see in) – like a shower door. There is also no latch or lock but it is a door of sorts none the less. My kids brought up not having at least a latch the first day and then I never heard mention of it again so they got over it too. The bathrooms on Epic are a design concept that may work better in the European markets perhaps, but…Americans aren’t digging it so much. It has not been repeated on any of the other ships that have been built since.
Bathroom in 2nd bedroom – large shower
full bath in 2nd bedroom
Moving on from bathroom talk, as a whole, the suite was well laid out and a comfortable space for us all for the week. Not too big, not too small. We used the Lavazza machine several times daily for tea, espresso & coffee and really enjoyed having it. There are 4 thermostats and mood lighting settings for your comfort and enjoyment. The furnishings and finishes feel upscale and there are little extras like fresh flowers, fresh fruit and afternoon treats delivered each day. The Haven concept is well executed as guests are treated as if they have checked into a fine hotel.
Our How Well Does Our Cabin Serve Us Grade = A (I would have given you an A+ but I still want a bathroom door NCL…)
Living Room/Dining Area looking out onto solarium balcony
Great amenities and extra storage if needed
NOTE: Something not shown on deck plans: This suite has a connecting door to the entry hall for the Courtyard Penthouse suite & Deluxe Owners Suite next door so you could add to your real estate if you need to.
Storage in the suite – for us was plentiful in the master bedroom but not enough for two guests in the 2nd bedroom. There is more hanging space than necessary in that room (but not enough hangers) and not enough drawer space. I truly believe it’s plenty for 1 person, but definitely a note to heavy packers or multiples, we had to squeeze in our 2 teen’s things. Tip: We stored the kid’s large suitcase standing up in the long hanging space, leaving top unzipped and used as “hamper” so all dirty clothes just went right back in. In the master bedroom we had space to store 2 suitcases standing up in the closet and 2 under the bed. We loved the amount of storage in the bathroom and vanity area as well. The Is Our Stuff Gonna Fit Grade = B+ NOTE: My sister only had an 11 yr old in her 2nd bedroom and their Grade = A
Solarium Balcony – I’ve been calling the enclosed balcony a sunporch – because that’s what it felt like for us. We sat out there and enjoyed tea and coffee or read and watched the water or other ships pass by. You can open the windows for sea sounds or fresh air but the wind gets a little noisy. The windows do not really lock FYI. If anyone has small children just keep an eye – don’t trust that they can’t open them. I wasn’t certain I’d like the solarium balcony before the cruise, but ended up very happy with it. I didn’t miss a regular balcony at all because I had Posh one flight up to enjoy anytime. (More on Posh shortly) Our Solarium Balcony Grade = A
Haven Amenities – Made all the difference in quality of cruise for us. I stress – for us. Here is why: We’ve sailed holiday cruises before and even though we’re fully expecting it, the sheer number of people can start to make a subtle difference – crowds, slow elevators, slow dining rooms, lines, etc. I went into this cruise thinking we’d really not use the concierge or butler that much once onboard. We’ve never had them on previous cruises. BUT even though we didn’t ask for too much directly, they provided many, many great benefits that helped make our days go smoothly. Concierge service (Ryan & assistants) = AMAZING, pleasant, helpful. Our pre-cruise show and dinner reservations were all taken care of and accurate. They provided direct elevator service & escorts into shows for Haven guests. This was a huge benefit considering the large number of people onboard. Ryan offered tips & hints every day on various things to help us throughout the week. Additional show, spa & restaurant reservations were taken care of with no problems. They provided direct elevator service and escort avoiding lines for disembarkation in the Bahamas and at the end of the cruise in Miami. They took care of a couple of things we might have otherwise stood in line at customer service for including correcting our colored luggage tags for NCL transfers the final day. Butler service (Jojit) = Fantastic. Our pre-cruise cabin requests were all taken care of and anything we needed during the cruise happened without a blink of an eye. He quickly learned our habits, noticed that I liked to make tea in the machine instead of coffee and stocked up on mint tea pods and brought me a supply of honey instead of sugar which was nice. Very attentive.
Other Haven Amenities: We used the small gym in the Haven once and had a spa treatment in one of the Haven spa treatment rooms instead of having to go down to the spa which was convenient. The one thing I noticed was how crowded the Courtyard pool was. We do not swim, we just like to be warmed by the sun – so for us – we didn’t care where we got our sun. We simply walked up one flight to Posh and always found seating when we wanted it. Posh is the sundeck and bar area for Haven guests. We loved relaxing in Posh. The bar is convenient. You can ask for umbrellas for shade if it’s too hot and there are a variety of chairs, loungers and sunbeds with coffee tables. There is also a convenient Haven only (key card access) elevator to take you down to the Great Outdoors food area on the pool deck below. Posh is adult only as opposed to the Haven Courtyard pool area which is not, fyi. Every staff member we encountered in the halls and anywhere in the Haven was exceptionally pleasant and called us by name. Also having the dedicated Haven Restaurant = Great. More on that in dining. Our Did We Get Enough Haven Bang For Our Buck Grade = A+
Looking down onto the first level of Posh the adult only sun lounge in The Haven
Suite 17003 Location – PROS: being on deck 17 made it easy to walk down to deck 15 where a lot of our day & night life action was so we avoided waiting for elevators: (Garden Cafe buffet and Great Outdoors snacks, water slides, access to sports court, teen club, spice H2O and pool deck evening parties). Down one more flight or quick hop in elevator is Kids Club on 14. Also could hop an elevator straight down to shows & entertainment which are directly below on 6 & 7. CONS: there is a sun deck above so there is noisy chair movement a couple times a day – sometimes early, sometimes midday. I had read this in another review and it was definitely noticeable. I can’t say it ever woke us up or was irritating but you do clearly hear chairs moving and sometimes pounding feet walking above. FYI – my sister heard it in suite 17025 down the hall as well. Another con (if this bothers you): You are at the farthest point at the front of the ship on a deck that does not go from front to back. That means you must go down a couple decks in the elevator, get out and then walk to cross the ship from front to back. Lots of walking. If you want to stay in the Haven that’s going to be true no matter which suite you choose. We didn’t mind the walking, but did learn that we did not love walking thru the smoke in the casino which was heavy at times. We had to pick our “cross thru” deck carefully to get front to aft to avoid the smoke. It was inconvenient sometimes, but all in all, once we had our bearings we didn’t mind too much. If we sail again, I think first choice would be a suite on deck 16 to avoid the noisy sun deck above. But if not available, I would book this room again. Our Are We Staying In Timbuktu Grade = B+
Movement – I would never even think to include this in a review normally, but it’s so different from our other experiences I have to mention it. WOW…we’ve sailed on larger (RCI Oasis & Allure) and have not experienced anywhere near the constant feeling of the ship we did on Epic. All ships rock from time to time. But this was 24/7 vibration, mixed with rocking. I don’t know about other decks, but being on 17 at the front of the ship we were REALLY rocking and rolling at night when the captain was trying to make up time. One night we were woken up by the heavy rattling of hangers and the bar & coffee glasses on the glass shelves. Most notably, the sliding door to the master bedroom rattled in its frame when closed each night – louder or softer depending on ship movement. One night close to the end of the cruise the ship was rolling so badly I actually thought my child might roll off the bunk and went in to check that his rail was up. My sister reported the next morning that my niece HAD rolled off her bunk but landed on the sofa below and all was well. The only time we didn’t feel any movement or vibration, etc. was during the shows – and we were told that they deploy the stabilizers for the shows for the safety of the performers. Did anyone get seasick? No. One in our group who normally takes sea sick meds on day 1 & 2 just continued to take meds the entire week and was fine. I recognize that feeling movement is very subjective, so this is more of an fyi of what we experienced. It is a cruise ship…there will always be some. I just found this to be very different than other ships and wonder if the type of propeller/engine system used on the Epic is a factor. (causes more vibration???)
On a scale of “Barely knew we were on a ship” to “You’re on a ship and don’t you forget it”…we give Epic’s constant movement a big C-
Activities – this is going to be the only truly negative thing we really came home talking about…(well besides the rocking and rolling ship). I’m going to break the activities down into categories to discuss each particular part of the entertainment value.
Built In Ship Fun: These are activities that are built right into the ship’s design. (Pools, rock climbing, etc.) Because we had the Haven & Posh we never used the public pools or Spice H2O during the day so I can’t comment on them really except to say they looked nice and seating seemed plentiful. We did get 4 chairs on the pool deck with no problem so we could do the water slides. We ordered soft drinks from a server when he came around and it was normal and uneventful. We enjoyed the water slides several days with very short waits. We’re used to scoping out non-peak times on big ships to avoid crowds. Even I, (who does not do water OR slides) did the big Epic Plunge slide – twice! We loved it. The kids loved all 3 slides. I did notice The Plunge was closed one day due to high winds. The pool/sports deck was pretty windy as a whole while at sea early in the week so we waited for calmer days & port days in general. Each time we walked by rock climbing or rappelling they were closed. Eventually we forgot about them – gave up. I took my niece up to do the spider climb and the trampoline. They too seemed to have very limited hours, only being open 2 hrs here and there, so demand was high. She only made it to one of the two before they closed because of the lines. There is a floor to ceiling Wii Wall that was rarely used for Wii. They showed other things on the screen mostly and the fun times for Wii were again very limited like the other things. We had a small wait for bowling one night but we snacked and had drinks in O’Sheehan’s while waiting.
Bowling alley in O’Sheehans. There’s a 2nd bowling alley in Bliss Ultra night club.
$5 per person to bowl, socks required, waiver to sign. A heads up on the waiver because if you have teens who try to attend the Entourage Teen bowling activities they won’t be allowed to bowl if you haven’t already signed or bowled. This isn’t indicated anywhere on the dailies like it is for other things. My oldest said that nearly 3/4 of the kids, including him and his brother, who came to bowl were turned away. Could have been clearer…but no one’s day was ruined by it.
Speaking of kid’s programs – I will say that my teens and my 11 year old niece said the kid and teen programs were “way better” on Royal Caribbean. The summary of their kid’s program review: They all felt the activities missed the mark in terms of age and excitement and the one thing many of the kids wanted to do (bowling) wasn’t communicated well. The 11 yr old felt like her program was too young. The teens felt most activities were just not of interest to teens period. That said, my teens befriended other kids to hang out with all week independent of the listed activities. They did like the Entourage space itself and played video games and other games there. My niece is outgoing and social too so she made friends as well and they also utilized the Splash Academy space to meet up and hang out but didn’t participate in the organized activities. Very nice facilities – poor activity planning was the message I got.
Adult activities: New Years Eve was a great dance party with the DJ and I enjoyed the White Hot Party as well. Others in our group thought all of the music played every night was one style and did not suit them. They were not wrong…I just happen to like any dance music. Give me a beat and I’m good. Daily Karaoke turned into Lets Bring our Little Kids to Sing and be Cute each night. And the evening club dance scene was pretty empty – I’m guessing due to the music selection – even with 4000 people on the ship! We’re not big partiers but do like something fun in the evenings. Besides this, the daytime adult activities also missed the mark a little bit. Nothing of real interest. All of the adults in our group (remember the span of ages – 20’s – 50’s) agreed there weren’t too many day or evening activities that were great for us once we had seen all the shows. We did do the Margarita Tasting one afternoon at Maltings and that bartender is a fantastic personality.
Margarita tasting class teaches you a little history behind 4 different Margaritas and their alcohol. Costs extra.
Worth the $$ if you like different types of Margaritas, a little history and want to drink. These are full size drinks (not tastings) that I certainly couldn’t finish. I’m not a drinker really, but we enjoyed the social time and the bartender.
Overall, I would say that kids & teens programming needs to be reassessed on this ship. Adults is subjective I suppose. But we actually spent more time in our cabin watching tv (gasp!) than any other cruise we’ve been on. This is the only thing we came away feeling negative about on our cruise. It could be the deal breaker when considering returning. We (the adults) made due by adding spa appointments, watching movies and adding more sun time. But bored kids are the kiss of death for parents on vacation. This is a tough grade to give because the built in “Ship provided” activities (bowling alleys, water slides, etc.) are great – when open. However, not too much else of interest in the “Human provided” category where the activities (karaoke, dancing, teen and tween program activities, etc) were either poorly executed, pitiful ideas (teen extreme planking???) or just not there. Our The Activities & Cruise Director Gets A Raise Grade = C –
Shows – Second City Comedy was alright, parts very funny. One of my teens and my sister went to Legends and very were impressed with Steven Tyler but could have done without Katy Perry and Elvis. We all enjoyed Blue Man Group and Cirque a lot! The kids enjoyed sitting up front in the splash zone in their rain ponchos during Blue Man Group and my son and one of the Blue Men had a funny stare down as part of the act when they came into the audience. Have to say I am a musical kind of girl so I personally like the broadway type shows on other ships. But not everyone in our group agreed. They liked these show just fine. Our Let Us Entertain You Grade = B+
Customer Service/Staff (outside of the Haven) – There is a noticable gap between the bar set by the Haven staff and the rest of the ship but we found everyone we encountered on the ship to be pleasant enough. Nothing amazing, but no issues either. Went to customer service once and the woman actually told me the Haven concierge could take care of things we needed and it wasn’t necessary to come down and stand in line. Any Waitstaff we encountered were just fine and Bartenders were very personable in our case. Our Have You Taken Your Happy Pill Today Grade (Outside of the Haven) = B
Dining – Overall we thought the food was good. Nothing stellar (except for Moderno) but just fine. Teppanyaki was fun and good food. We had an enthusiastic chef who sang, chopped and gave us a nice show. Kids, teens, adults enjoyed.
Teppanyaki chefs were fun, entertaining and the food was great
The Cirque show was also fun and the food good. We had a tiny salad w/tomato & mozzarella slices to start. Beef and shrimp w/whipped potatoes for entree and a 4 item chocolate sampler dessert plate. Not the greatest quality cut of beef but it was fine. The show was entertaining, our kids and my brother in law were picked to participate in different parts. Moderno was truly excellent…we ate ourselves into food comas with all the meats coming out. I was in such a food haze I couldn’t think clearly enough to take pictures. As a last minute dinner reservation one night, the concierge suggested we let him book Shanghai’s Chinese and it was a nice choice. We ate a few breakfasts, 1 lunch (embarkation day) and remaining dinners in The Haven and they were very good. We had most lunches in the Garden Cafe buffet simply for the quick in and out and large selection for the kids. We’re used to worse buffet crowds on Oasis and Allure so we were very happy to find WAY more seating on this ship. Having the Haven restaurant available to escape the crowds was an amazing benefit in our opinion. In fact, we never went to either main dining room so didn’t experience any wait times for meals which is what I thought we’d dislike about the NCL Freestyle dining concept. Because we were in The Haven we had a truly different Freestyle experience I’m sure. We snacked constantly at O’Sheehan’s and the Great Outdoors food area and snacked from room service every evening. We enjoy food and all in all no disappointments. Our Will They Be Able To Keep Up With My Appetite Grade = A
TIP: If you are a Haven guest, eat your disembarkation breakfast in The Haven to avoid the madness of the elevators, etc.
iConcierge App/Communication – we used the iConcierge app and paid the $7.95 to stay in touch with our other family members traveling and for the kids to check in with us. There were 3 different types of devices between us all, and we determined that it worked best on the ipods. Our android phones and iphones in the group had an issue with being “offline” all the time. But we figure out that we needed to remember to refresh the app to get back “online”. All the other features worked consistently for us. Great to locate places on the ship and see the daily activities without carrying the freestyle daily. Used it to make a last minute show reservation one night and you can book dinner reservations on it (we did not). Easy to use. Even though use was spotty we all felt what did work was worth the $7.95. We also got an internet package and used it on a tablet, a phone and the computers on deck 5. It was better speed than we’ve had on other ships. Still, it’s internet out at sea so…it is what it is. Our Technology Grade = B+
Conclusion – Would we sail again. Well, it depends. Yes, we’d book again if we were going on an adult only cruise to just lay around and relax or a port intensive European itinerary where we did not care about ship activities. The ship is beautiful and the Haven leaves you feeling like you’ve had a week’s stay in a 5 star hotel. We would choose a 2bdrm villa for sure. We are easy going but at the same time, we do like to get what we pay for when we’ve splurged on something so pricey. The Haven restaurant and facilities and concierge staff provide services that give extra relief from the crowds when you want or need it. For us, it was worth every extra cent over getting 2 balcony staterooms for our family. We still enjoyed the ship. As I mentioned, this was our first NCL cruise. Having only been on Royal Caribbean before, we now know we like both worlds. Most notably – The suite benefits on NCL are unmatched by Royal. But the kids say the kids programming and activities on Royal are unmatched by NCL. That said, if you asked if we’d take the kids on this ship again…no. Easy decision. I’ve said it before – no matter how nice the place is, bored kids are the kiss of death to a relaxing vacation. We are looking at other NCL ships. I’d love to get a solid feel for whether everything we encountered was isolated to this ship and staff or is it fleet wide and just the NCL way. I’m looking at sailing on Breakaway and Getaway – but need to research what’s really offered to the kids and teens programs first. We had a nice holiday vacation and hope everyone else enjoyed their holiday cruises as well.
edit. your. life. 