My friend and I both is our mid 20's decided to fly to Barcelona three days early to explore on our own prior to boarding the Epic. My skepticism heightened as we pulled up to the massive structure. The Epic towered others and dwarfed cargo ships; adding up the nuances we encountered, perhaps good things really do come in smaller packages..
Size- Because the ship is said to hold 4k passengers, the staterooms were surprisingly manageable. The closet was roomy, just right two girls, however there was virtually no room for empty suitcases (3 days into the trip, we figured out the empty space under the beds. The beds.. were probably the best thing about the cruise. The down comforter was layered with thick Egyptian (I think) cotton felt like a rain cloud and made our (much needed) naps really enjoyable. The ship itself never felt crowded (aside from the dining hall), however, the elevator service was terrible. Having two sets of elevators to service thousands of patrons was moronic. We took the stairs more times than I want to count. Many times we waited 10+ minutes for an elevator to arrive...only to have to let it go because it resembled a sardine can... you get my drift.
Service - The general consensus of our group was that the service was subpar. Because the staff split their tips evenly, there is no incentive to personalize service or make a good impression. All we witnessed was rude service, miserable workers, and unsatisfied vacationers. There were no smiles, no interaction, and zero friendliness. Instead, we were accosted on numerous occasions - two for looking underage (even though the drinking age is 18) and later a server decided he would not accommodate a gluten allergy (but others had previously in the week).