My husband and I took a 7 day (Eastern Caribbean) cruise on the Norwegian Epic, November 26th. This was only our second cruise ever. The first was on the Royal Caribbean Allure (Western Caribbean) last May. For years I talked to my husband about going on a cruise but he never wanted to. Finally the light bulb went off and we decided to try it.

Embarkation on both the Allure and Epic was fast and easy. On the Allure, we were escorted to a check in counter directly after showing our passports and paperwork. After getting our room passes, we waited in a large room with other passengers until the ship was ready for boarding. As suite guests we boarded first. This gave my husband and I time to look around before the crowds got on. On the Epic, after showing our paperwork, we were escorted to a private processing room. We quickly got our room passes and were personally escorted onto the ship and into the suite lounge. This really made us feel special. The concierge then took us on a tour of all the suite area facilities. We had lunch at the private Haven restaurant, while waiting for our room to be ready. On the Allure we stayed in a Crown Loft suite (room 1730). There was lots of room and plenty of storage space. The balcony was big and deep and had comfortable lounge chairs. The only cons was the second bed was uncomfortable and the view from the balcony was partially obstructed by the tall tower like structure. I'm still not sure why that has to be there. The going up and down the stairs was also hard on my knees On the Epic, we had a two bedroom, two bathroom, living room/dining room family villa. This was on one floor and was also very roomy and had tons of storage. The Allure had two bathrooms, both with showers. The Epic had two bathrooms, two showers and a bathtub. I loved that difference. On the Epic, there was a tub/shower/toilet separation in the main bathroom. This was no problem for us. As you took a bath or shower, you were able to look directly out at the ocean. This was a pretty view. The bed in the second bedroom was very comfortable and long enough. The only con was that the balcony was much smaller and only had regular chairs. It should have been bigger like the Allure.

Before our first cruise, we were concerned about sea sickness. We brought and used the behind the ear medicine and the pressure point arm wrist bands before getting on the Allure. We soon found out we didn't need them. The only time we felt any movement was when we first started to leave a port. It was another story on the Epic. The first night, I felt like the bed was going to break away from the floor and slide to the other side of the room. All night long we and the room moved up and down. I got sick and didn't make it to the bathroom. The next day we had a meet and greet. We were able to go for a few minutes but the rest of the day was spent in the room. My husband couldn't keep anything down. We ended up missing the Blue Man show. We had to go later in the week. By the third day, we were better, but the only time we didn't feel movement was when in port. Read more