This is our second sailing on Epic. The first since the refurbish in 2015. I was not impressed with the ship on the first trip, and I found many things about the ship that I did not like. My plan was to approach this voyage with fresh eyes. However, once I started to find my way around the ship, I remembered the core of the problems I had on the previous trip. To put it simply, and maybe vaguely, the ship does not flow.

The pool deck is cluttered. There are places where you must duck under a stairwell to continue forward, or turn around and back-track to the closest break in a mid-deck railing. On the way into the buffet, there is a choke point, which happens to be in front of the stage, and between the pool bar, and the towel hut. Speaking of the stage, why does it face the buffet, and not the pool.

The other access issue is deck 5. Taste restaurant is here, as well as guest services. You can only get to deck 5 using the forward elevator or stairs. There is an escalator from deck six, but that is in the middle of the casino. The casino is always crowded, and still smells like smoke. Personally, I like to avoid the casino. Read more