Norwegian Epic can host 4200 passengers and I think there were all there. Our previous maximum in our 30-cruise experience was about 2600. That experience had gone well, but I wondered what the larger ship experience would be.

Things began well with boarding in Barcelona. The boarding halls -- they opened the baggage area as a boarding area as well -- were full, but it was a controlled sort of full, and things moved along well. It took only 2-3 hours for luggage to arrive, and rooms were available by 2pm.

We were 7 people traveling together in 3 rooms. All were aft-facing cabins on decks 8 and 11. On this ship, these balconies are slightly larger than those on the sides, but they're not the super-extended balconies some ships have, because the stern of the Epic looks like it was cut off in a huge bread slicer. Read more