Norwegian Epic Review
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Being that this was my first Norwegian cruise, I wasn't sure what to expect. We embarked from Miami on the first Caribbean sailing. I have sailed on two RCI and two Princess ships so this was a new adventure for me. First of all, I believe there are pros and cons to every cruise line and you have to find a line that suits your needs. I was traveling with my 13 year old niece so I selected Epic because of the fun atmosphere.
Embarkation: We arrived at the Miami airport around 10:30 a.m. on the day of the cruise, obtained our luggage, and took a taxi to the seaport. The taxis were readily available and it is a flat rate of $24 from the airport to the seaport. This price is posted on the window of the cab. It took us about 10-15 minutes to arrive at the seaport. Once there, there were several porters available who handled our luggage. They do ask for a tip. We were directed to the correct terminal and quickly moved through the embarkation process. There were several NCL associates helping you through this process. I would estimate it took a total of about 30 minutes until we were on the ship.
First Impressions: As we walked on the ship, we were directed to the "Garden Cafe" for a bite to eat. This was your standard buffet. We were told that our rooms were not going to ready until 2:00 p.m. (we were on board about 11:45 a.m.) so we decided to explore the ship. NCL employees were selling soda packages on deck 15 near the pool so I purchased 1 adult and 1 child package. The adult cost is $50 and the child cost is $32 so it was $82 for the both of us. We were given an insulated soda cup with the package. Pricey but I expected it. The ship is very modern and contemporary. This is a great time to take pictures since most passengers were not on the ship yet. I loved the look of the atrium. Even though it wasn't quite 2:00, we decided to go to our stateroom and put our valuables in the safe and set down our carry on bags. Our room wasn't ready so we went to the pool deck and enjoyed the party scene with other guests. We stayed on that deck for the "sail away" party and waved to city of Miami. We went to our cabin and our luggage was placed inside our room.