Average is the only word I can think of to describe this ship. It wasn't horrible. It wasn't amazing. It was just - average. This was our 10th cruise and our 4th with Norwegian. We usually avoid mega-ships, but after a wonderful cruise on the Oasis of the Seas last year, we thought we'd give on of Norwegian's "mega" ships a try. I have to admit I have never been on such a badly organized ship. Within two days of boarding the Oasis of the Seas, I had figured out the decks, the theatres, the restaurants. On the last day of our cruise on the Epic I was still trying figure out the layout. It's like they took a huge empty space and just stuck theatres, bars, restaurants wherever the spirit moved them - then they'd remember - "Yikes - we forgot the library - so they'd stick a "library" in an unused corner. Having to traipse through the casino everytime you wanted to go anywhere was more than annoying. Many people complained of the smoke, but personally I didn't really notice it. Probably because I moved quickly. Perhaps the word "Atrium" means something different in Norwegian - because the atrium on the Epic was anything but - in fact, it had the lowest ceilings in the whole ship. It was busy and congested at all hours. We had no problems with the service. It, too, was "average". Our steward was pleasant - but we ended up calling him Sasquatch because we'd only catch fleeting glances of him. He kept our cabin neat and tidy - but sometimes didn't get around to cleaning it until the afternoon! On the whole the staff was smiling and friendly, but there was no outstanding service. What we asked for, we got, with a smile - but that was it. Nothing memorable. As with everything else, the food was "average". It was edible, but not memorable. We ate in the Shanghai Noodle House one evening and I must admit our neighbourhood Chinese takeout far surpassed it. We tried the Brazilian Steak House and although the food was good, the service was sporadic. We waited a very long time between meat servings - as well as the sides.