We did the Golden Eagle Sail excursion on St. Maarten's. We met the tour right on the pier next to the ship and had a fairly short walk to the catamaran. We had a short trip to the snorkeling spot. There passengers could snorkel or just play in the water for about an hour. After the snorkel, we had another short sail to a beach. We anchored just off the beach and could swim around the boat or into the beach (rides to the beach were also provided on a dingy). They provided an in-water bar service and we had a little over an hour at that spot. Then it was half hour or so and then it was time to head back. They served rum punch once the snorkeling was over and champagne and sandwiches on the trip back to the ship. It was a very casual, but very fun day. St. Maarten's was beautiful and the water was warm and inviting. Definitely recommend this excursion. 


St. Maarten

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that I missed the excursion in St. Thomas and the only part of the port I saw was the part that I could see out my balcony. I came down with a cold (likely something I brought with me) and it hit hard on the day we were in St. Thomas. So, I slept all day while my mother went on our planned excursion which was another catamaran sail and snorkel at St. John's. She said it was a lot of fun and very beautiful, even more than St. Maarten. She also said the ride back (by vehicle) was great because the road went high up on the hill and gave them a great view of the island and harbor. The part I could see from my balcony was absolutely gorgeous and I really regret that I missed out on seeing more of this island and of St. John's. This was my mother's favorite port of call though. 


St. Thomas

In Nassau, we did the Blue Lagoon Beach excursion. Again, we met the tour right off the ship, but things seemed a little more disorganized, maybe just because there was such a big group. We waited for what seemed like a long time before we got going. Then we had a fairly long walk to catch the boats to take us to the island. The boats were crowded and not great for seeing the area unless you got next to a window. The island was a private lagoon where there were lounge chairs and non-motorized water toys for swimming. It was nice, but not what I expected for the price. Plus, we only had about 2 hours there. The price did include lunch which was basic (hamburger, chips and drink) but good. It wasn't bad, just nothing extraordinary either. 


Nassau

Great location (midships, least obstructed by the lifeboats).  The only downside was that the elevators are forward and aft, so it was a bit of a walk to the elevators from the cabin in either direction.  Nice size balcony, lots of storage space.  Lighting could be better.

We found the ship very easy to get around with so many things centrally located and the colors (orange for port, blue for starboard) making it even easier to find our way around.I just returned from a week on the Epic and found it to be a wonderful ship and a wonderful cruise.

Norwegian Epic Review

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