The ship was late in returning to Miami because of Hurricane Tomas, so the embarkation process was both delayed and somewhat confused. But, once aboard, we found our cabin easily. We were dismayed to find that all the negative observations we'd read earlier were more than justified. Whoever designed and approved this cabin should be made to spend a week in one. It was pretty, but cramped. A sofa, which could accommodate a third person, faced a blank wall, rather than the flat screen television. The toilet might as well have been in the center of the cabin, and the shower, out in the hallway. Kiss privacy goodbye. The balcony was spacious enough, though the two chairs were less than comfortable. The temperature controls worked very well. Simply on the basis of the cabin, I would never, under any circumstance, book another cruise on the Epic. And there are plenty of other reasons, as well.

We enjoyed a pleasant lunch in the Taste restaurant (one of the two main dining rooms). Later in the cruise, we would have dinner in the Manhattan Room, the other main room, where the ambiance was marred by a band who apparently were playing several different musical selections at once, in keys chosen at random. The food in both dining rooms was fine, certainly not distinguished, but well prepared and well served.

We ate many meals in the Garden Cafe. Breakfasts offered a wide but unchanging selection, including made to order omelets and eggs. Lunches, too, included a wide variety of hot and cold foods, usually quite good. But, oh, the noise! Add to the huge number of people, all chattering away, the relentless and inescapable "music" played at high volume over the p a system. It was of the "hey, baby, doncha wanna do me, hey, baby, hey, yeah" variety. I thought if I heard Enrique Iglesias wail "baby I LIIIIKE it!" one more time I would do serious damage to myself or others. Come to think of it, there was virtually no place on the ship that offered a quiet spot to think, read, or relax. The so-called "library" on the ship was, in fact, a single shelf of books in random order, in the Bliss Ultra lounge, locked up for all but a few hours apparently kept jealously secret. Read more