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We just got back last night, so I wanted to write this while it's fresh in my mind.
The last time my wife & I cruised it was for our honeymoon almost 20 years ago. We sailed Celebrity (Zenith) that time, and this time NCL (Epic).
I think both cruises were rght for us for the point we were at in our life at the time. The Zenith was luxurious and perfect for us honeymooners at the time. We were impressed with the exotic meals and service that pampered us. 19 years later, the Epic is luxurious but at the same time more relaxed, that you can choose to go to a French resaurant and order foods that we normally wouldn't ($20/person extra), or you can go to a dining room and get fantastic quality food (near par w/ the French restaurant) or you can just go to the buffet. The ship had about a dozen different dining options, which made it fun each night.
The inside stateroom was a fine room, but the one minor complaint would be that there wasn't enough light. We peeked into a room with an outer view and it was 10x brighter because of the light coming from the outside. My wife would've preferred the better light when doing makeup & hair.
The family aspect was great. My 15 yr old enjoyed the teen club, and would disappear into it whenever we would grate on his nerves. If you know teenagers, you know this was about 50% of the time. Same with our tweenage son (12). This is a great arrangement because it's a relatively structured environment for them, so my wife & I could enjoy some time for activities on our own.
The shows were top-notch. Blue Man Group, Legends in Concert & Jeff Hobson (Comic Magician). the theaters were sizable, but not so big that you had a bad seat anywhere.
the excursions were generally very good
Powerboat snorkelling in St Marten- 3.5 out of 5 stars. the tour guides were funny & friendly & the scenery was spectacular, but the snorkelling visibility in choppy 25 feet water was minimal & we saw about 5 fish.
Snuba in St Thomas - 4.5 out of 5. Visibility was great and only hampered by an somewhat overcast day. Great exeperience for swimmers that aren't that strong, as the water depth ranged from 5 - 15 feet and you could see really fantastic fish around the coral formation. we saw a puffer fish & about 2 dozen different varieties of fish. Highly recomend it.
Dolphin Experience in Nassau (Atlantis Resorts) - 4 out of 5. The long walking & the price of the photos knocks a point off of what is otherwise an awesome experience.
All in all only very minor complaints on a cruise that we'll always remember very fondly.
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