Norwegian Epic Review
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Cruising is not just an adventure, its an attitude. The EPIC was out 13th cruise, and we booked it because of a friendship we developed with a crew member from our 2012 cruise on the NCL Star. Our outlook: a vacation on a cruise ship is the proverbial cat's meow. We don't let little things like carpet stains, smoke in casinos, and elevator waits longer than a minute bother us. So for the most part, this review on the EPIC will be very truthful AND positive.
Precruise: We stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. They have a housekeeping problem. We arrived at 1:30pm, checked in and was told we had to wait until 3pm before getting our room. So at 3:30, along with another 30-40 people, we were all waiting for our rooms. You might consider another option.
Embarkation: Excellent in that we arrived at the port around 10:45am. We were one of the first ones in line at the Latitudes checkin, but had to wait for the clerks to boot-up their laptops. That took all of 5-minutes, horror of horrors.... We got our cards and proceeded up the escalator to the waiting area, getting "group 6" cards for boarding sequence and bypassing the ship photographers trying to get virtually everyone to get their picture taken. Its ok folks, you can walk right on by if you want, no hassles. Boarding started at 11:30, and we went directly to our cabin, which was ready. The crew will try to steer you to the Garden Cafe (the buffet area), but we went to the pool deck to look for our friend who was a bartender at the Wave Bar by the pool. Not bad for a 60-minute embarkation...nice process NCL!
Cabin Review
Family Mini-Suite with Balcony
In the minisuites, there are two configurations: Couch by the door and bed by the balcony, or bed by the door and couch by the balcony. As in 13048, the couch by the door is CLEARLY the better option. When you walk by the split bathroom, you have an open area next to and in front of the couch. Plenty of room by the sink and room to get by the stool and make-up mirror. Huge closet spaces as there are three closets. So much storage room that we didn't use it all, and sliding the suitcases under the beds was very easy. Temperature controls were easy to use, and lighting was soft with controls by the bed as well as the door. The balcony had room for two chairs and a lounger.