Just returned from a 7 day western Caribbean cruise on the Epic sailing from Miami in a studio cabin. I’ll break the review down into a few segments to keep my thoughts on this trip organized.

Embarkation/Disembarkation – No problems here. Arrived at the port and was on the ship in an hour. Terminal very busy but the line kept moving. Cabin was ready as I boarded at 1pm. Bag arrived a few hours later. On departure day I walked off the ship with my own bags at 9am with no problems. Processed through customs with no wait and shuttled to MIA to pick up a car.

Ship Overview – Epic was the first mega ship with lots of razzle dazzle when launched in 2010. Let’s be honest, it’s an ugly monstrosity with the Haven area looking like it was dropped on to the top of the ship as an afterthought. Epic is showing its age in places. The big problem with cigarette smoke around the casino and open area spanning decks 5,6 and 7 seems to have been solved or there weren’t many smokers onboard. Skimping on a set of mid ship elevators still creates havoc on this ship. Elevators were always jammed. I use the stairs but it was easy to tell that it creates a lot of congestion. Finding deck space on sea days an issue too. Many of the ‘First at Sea’ venues sat empty most of the time. I rarely saw anyone bowling or in the Ice Bar. Read more