As many others have indicated we found cruising on NCL Epic to be a very uneven experience. The ship is beautiful with many retro touches that were delightful as well as some of the most up-to-date technology employed at sea. With attention to detail and better service training for the staff it could be one of the very best ships afloat.

We have cruised NCL twice in the past but our last seven cruises (within 4 years) have been with Celebrity.We were unable to stop comparing this cruise to those we've been on "X" and the comparison was very rarely favorable to NCL.We splurged on a 2 bedroom suite for this cruise. The cabin (17001) was absolutely gorgeous and super comfortable. The master bath alone made the price of the cruise worthwhile! Both the LARGE shower and soaking tub have floor to ceiling windows allowing breath taking views. This cabin has a large sun room in place of a balcony. By closing the windows the space can be used while at sea when it would be too windy to comfortably use a balcony but you can open the window for sounds and scents when in port. It is dead center in the front of the ship and was a great place to be for the unobstructed wide view.Our cabin stewards did a fine job and left towel animals almost every night.We really did not use our butler's services but he was a pleasant guy.The concierge seated us for a few shows but as we'd made all reservations before leaving home we really did not utilize her services either.

One thing I do not care for is the need to reserve entertainment at all.That being said we LOVED the entertainment on Epic. We saw Second City twice,Blue Man Group,Legends in Concert,and went to Howl at the Moon too. All were fun and a nice change from Broadway style reviews and magicians. We did not see the Cirque show as we have seen many others but also heard it was great. The Murder Mystery lunch entertainment was good but the food was not. Four out of the 5 at our table had meatloaf and all disliked it. I had chicken which was actually nice and moist but otherwise unremarkable and sure not worth the cost! The mini eclairs were good. Read more