This was my 7th cruise, 1st and last on NCL. We were very excited about Epic, but left very disappointed. Overall what we will remember was the poor service and the inflated costs once you were on the ship (the cruise cost when booked was reasonable).
The positives: entertainment, all shows were good but wait times and seating was tough. There was many other amenities offered and the embarkation process was smooth as well. The information desk was staffed by helpful and kind people, always informative.
The negatives: the service, most especially the Taste dining room and garden cafe. NOT ENOUGH HELP!! The wait time for food in Taste was ridiculous and every time we ate there you could be guaranteed that there would be a mistake with someones order. The food choices were only three changes to the menu each day. The garden cafe was a mess trying to find seating, over crowded and again, not enough staff. It was rare that the seven of us could sit together. The room size and toilet/shower set up was awkward and not comfortable. We had to 'schedule' shower times and then be 'trapped' on the other side of the curtain...
Another big negative was the smoke! Our clothes and room smelled like smoke. if you are not a smoker...be ready! The 6th deck you have to walk through the casino and be prepared to inhale a lot of second hand smoke and smell like smoke.
THE ONBOARD COSTS AND FEES!! Ridiculous...$15 for this, $20 for that...and $12 per person per day 'service charge'....for poor service...aaaggghhh. Overall I would never cruise on Epic again. I do believe their future is in jeopardy unless they make changes quickly.
