Norwegian Epic Review
Rating by category
Additional details
My wife and I headed to the Western Caribbean aboard the Epic during spring break. It was our second cruise, both on Norwegian. A week prior to departure, we were offered an upgrade deal to The Haven Suite that I could not pass up. Only reason I wish I had is, now that we've experienced The Haven, we are now spoiled and will have a hard time going back.
Arriving at the Port of Miami and getting aboard was a breeze. We pulled up to our noted terminal, dropped off our luggage, parked our vehicle in Garage C and walked back across the street to the terminal. If you're worried about safety or security in the parking garage, don't be. There are security guards roaming around in the day and vehicles can only come and go on cruise embarkation/debarkation days. Otherwise, it's basically closed and vehicles aren't coming out. We parked a brand new vehicle there without issue. You will first go through security, just like at the airport. One difference is they let you bring liquids through as long as they have NOT BEEN OPENED. You can bring any non-alcoholic beverages you want on board, but they will toss them in the trash if they have been opened. You can also simply check a case of bottled water with your luggage (just tape a luggage tag that you print out right to the case and it will find its way to your room.) After security you get in line to check-in. We were directed to a small room for Haven customers to check-in. Once it's your turn, you show them your passports and reservation document. They will take your photo so security and ship personnel know it's you when your card is swiped. They will also ask you for a credit card to settle your bill with when you return. After that they give you your cards (used as your room key and to pay for anything on board.) At this point we waited for a gentleman to escort us up to the ship entry. For non-Haven guests, you’ll follow the line around to get your first vacation photo taken in front of a painting of the ship then reach a waiting area until they call your group number to board. Another brief wait and you get your card scanned and are allowed on the ship. For Haven customers, you get escorted up to the Haven Lounge where one of the concierges gives you a tour of the Haven Suites Area . It truly is a ship within a ship.
After the tour of the Haven, we grabbed lunch in the Haven restaurant. I often laugh at how many people on Cruise Critic get so critical of the food at various restaurants on the ships. Guess that's where the “Critic” piece comes in. I'm yet to experience bad food on a cruise ship. We had the dining pass this week that let us eat at all the restaurants. If you're debating getting the dining pass, I'd say it's great to experience the different restaurants as a change of pace, but I would say if you are on a budget, you aren't going to miss out by having to eat lesser food at the complimentary locations. We went without the dinner pass last year as a family and loved every meal we had (a bit too much I'd say.)
Cabin Review
Courtyard Penthouse with Balcony
The Haven – Once you stay in the Haven suites, I can only imagine how hard it is to go back. Why is that? Let me list a few reasons:
• You are separated from the rest of the ship, requiring your key card to get in. Now, as snooty as that sounds, once you cruise on a large ship with 4,000+ passengers and 1,500+ crew members, you’ll sometimes get weary of being around the masses all day. On the Breakaway, we didn't really feel packed because of the open layout of the ship and the ability to be outside on multiple levels, but we could feel a little more “busy” here on the Epic. They stated they are at 95% capacity, which is A LOT of people.
• Within The Haven, you have your own restaurant for all meals of the day, your own lounge area with bar, gym, sauna, spa area, courtyard with a pool and 2 jacuzzis and your own multilevel sun deck (decks 18 and 19) with bar. There is no battling for chairs and they are all the soft, comfortable kind. Plus they have the seats for two to enjoy. All these areas are private for Haven guests only.
• You have your own concierge (which all rooms on the ship have) but also your own butler. The butler will do everything you ask. We aren't very needy people so, to be honest, I can't imagine calling the butler to fill my tub up, but hey, if that's you, that's what he's here for. He would bring us snack foods every late afternoon without asking, ranging from fancy bite sized deserts to fruit baskets to finger food BLT’s to cheese and cracker plates. Every evening was a new surprise. I think cruise ships just want people to get fat. He brought us breakfast every morning which we enjoyed on our large balcony.
• One nice perk staying the Haven is you get reserve seating in the front for all the shows you attend. You also get to “cut” in line when returning to the tender boats in locations such as Grand Cayman as well as get taken to the front of the line when leaving the boat on the last day back in Miami.
• If you didn't want to participate in the hundreds of activities or eat at all the restaurants throughout the ship, one could be perfect lumpy content never leaving The Haven.
Our room was perfect for the two of us. Plenty of room to walk around in. A round, queen sized bed in the middle of the room. Tons of storage cabinets and drawers. The bathroom was large with a huge tub, sink area and separate vanity mirror that my wife loved. If you're debating on spending a little more for a balcony, do it, it's well worth it. Now this week were spoiled with a big balcony that holds two lay down chairs, two regular chairs and a small table. I could have spent all day on the balcony and been perfectly content.
Port Reviews
Miami
Arriving at the Port of Miami and getting aboard is really easy (as it was for us last year in NYC as well). We pulled up to our noted terminal, dropped off our luggage, parked our vehicle in Garage C and walked back across the street to the terminal. If you're worried about safety or security in the parking garage, don't be. There are security guards roaming around in the day and vehicles can only come and go on cruise embarkation/debarkation days. Otherwise, it's basically closed and vehicles aren't coming out. We parked a brand new vehicle there without issue. You will first go through security, just like at the airport. One difference is they let you bring liquids through as long as they have NOT BEEN OPENED. You can bring any non-alcoholic beverages you want on board. We simply check a case of bottled water with our luggage (just tape a luggage tag that you print out right to the case and it will find its way to your room.) After security you get in line to check-in. We were directed to a small room for Haven customers to check-in. Once it's your turn, you show them your passports and reservation document. They will take your photo so security and ship personnel know it's you when your card is swiped. They will also ask you for a credit card to settle your bill with when you return. After that they give you your cards (used as your room key and to pay for anything on board.) At this point we waited for a gentleman to escort us up to the ship entry. For non-Haven guests, you’ll follow the line around to get your first vacation photo taken in front of a painting of the ship then reach a waiting area until they call your group number to board. Another brief wait and you get your card scanned and are allowed on the ship.