On March 23rd we set off from Miami for our first family cruise. Our kids (20 & 17) were very excited. We are a family who loves to be near, on, in and around water in any capacity, so we thought cruising would be a neat thing to try all together. Our rooms were perfect. I know many complain about the EPIC's rooms or shape or bathrooms etc, but really...unless you are an overindulged, spoiled brat, the rooms are excellent and have enough storage to lose things and enough room to maneuver. We were lucky enough to have a mini balcony suite and our kids had a balcony suite as well (speaking of spoiled). I feel privileged to have had the opportunity. I love nothing more than waking up to the sound of water and seeing the bluest of water, rushing by. The kids were blown away when they first walked not their room. The first of a zillion firsts on this trip and we enjoyed watching them absorb every second.

The pools on the EPIC are a little disappointing. They are much too small and littered with children all day. The one adult pool is even smaller (like an oversized jacuzzi) and littered with adults all day. So, we indulged in the evenings when no one else really was. During the day, we never had an issue finding our spot on deck. We chose the upper deck as there is really nowhere else to see view. The garden cafe even has scuffed plastic glass you have to look through to see the views. So the upper deck was best. It would get mighty hot, so cooling off with water was a tough battle. They have showers to go into to wash off, but they only have hot water. That made no sense to us. If cooling off choices are the cesspool of kidlettes or the, I must say, awesome water slides (but long line-ups), then, why not make the showers have cool water? We would dip into the kiddy, play area and dunk under the big mushroom waterfall to cool off. Ces la vies..It was what it was and we were still so happy to be there.

Food on the EPIC was fantastic, so many restaurants to choose from. It's a wonder we didn't just roll off the ship. We did find that at the restaurants, the staff were abundant, so much that it seemed like we could never catch a break to continue a conversation. They were either constantly checking on us, bringing something, or doing something. And if they weren't, they were watching us like hawks to see if/when we would need anything. Someone was always interrupting. It's their job, and they did that well. The staff were so friendly and offered suggestions and places to see at the ports. That was very helpful. Read more