Our October 16th to October 23rd EPIC sailing had just over 3,750 passengers so the ship was not at full capacity. I would imagine this impacted our experience on EPIC in a positive light as the ship never felt crowded. The exception was when the main shows let out but the crowds dispersed rather quickly.
A little about us...We are a married couple from New Jersey. I'm 60 and DH is 53. Including our EPIC cruise, we have completed 28 cruises. Starting in 2001, we have cruised on NCL's Star, Dawn, Gem, Pearl, Jewel, Spirit and Sky. Other lines we have sailed are HAL, Princess, Carnival, Celebrity, and we are Diamond members on RCCL. The only mass market cruise line ship to compete with EPIC, IMHO, is Oasis of the Seas. We hope to sail on Oasis in the near future.
EMBARKATION was very organized and easy. We arrived at the port early so we did not encounter any lines at all. After we were checked in, we were seated and waited about 15 minutes and then were able to board the ship. We were on board by 11:45.