We got such a great deal on a balcony cabin we decided to ask our son, his wife, and toddler daughter to accompany us (two grandparents with a toddler grandson in tow) the week before Christmas. Of course NCL can't control the weather which was overcast most days, with some rain and only a bit of sun now and then. But a few things could have been better. First, the balcony cabins are the smallest I have experienced. Second, there are very limited activities for toddlers (the children's program is for those over 3 and there is no sitter service to give parents a break). The kids splash area is very nice, but the playroom only has "quiet" toys like puzzles, books, a kitchen set, and a couple of cars. Some type of climbing toy or a ball pit or mini trampoline would give those active 2 year olds an outlet because they can't run around in the cabin, that's for sure. Also, service in Taste was so slow we could not take the kids. We were there 40 minutes without so much as a glass of apple juice.

We love NCL and the Freestyle of cruising, and will definitely cruise with them again, just not on the Epic unless we spring for a Haven suite. FYI, we were sent to an embarkation supervisor because although we had our grandson's passport and parental consent form, we did not have a copy of my daughter's drivers license. Fortunately we tracked down our daughter and through the magic of a smartphone, received a copy. But the supervisor refused to make a copy of the image off my tablet and said we'd have to email it to her then denied getting it for over an hour.