Norwegian Epic Review

Our Best Ship Ever

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Epic
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sailorx2
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
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Sail Date: Dec 2014
Cabin: Family Balcony

My wife and I are loyal Carnival Platinum cruisers and will continue to ride CCL because of the service, food quality and overall comfort level we feel with them. That said, NCL had the best entertainment, hands down. The Epic is a fantastic ship, from Cirque du Dreams, Legends in Concert and Blue Man Group right down to the Howl at the Moon Saloon, Blues bands Second City Improv and the great Jazz band. On most cruise ships, a house band play and a few people stick around and listen for a few minutes. The Jazz and Blues bands had the club rooms filling up before the show and stayed filled for the entire performance. Yes, that good. Howl at the Moon was even more fun after 10:00 PM when they made the obligatory announcement that it was now an adult show. I usually spend my time in the casino while on the boats but between the premium dining package for $119 (including Cirque du Dreams $39) and the entertainment, we only dropped a couple of hundred which was advance bonus money for buying a voucher for a future cruise. O'sheehans was an authentic Irish pub and the Humidor Cigar Lounge was a perfect place for a drink and a stogie. Bottom Line: Epic is a beautiful ship with first class entertainment, great lounges and plenty to do. NCL has always disappointed me with their food quality so we bought the premium dining package which included Cagneys Steak House, Moderno's Brazilian Steakhouse, a Japanese Steakhouse, a French Bistro and several other lesser eateries. Le Bistro was excellent as was Moderno's. Cirque du Dreams was Vegas quality and the tenderloin and shrimp was done perfectly. The dinner show was the highlight of the cruise, with Blue Man Group and Howl at the Moon coming in a close second. During the day we ate in ports or at the buffet which was OK. We have already booked the Getaway for October so we can get the double points. We will still cruise CCL but when we want quality entertainment on a large ship, we will probably go with the larger ships like Epic that has great entertainment.

Cabin Review

Family Balcony

NCL admits they made a mistake by putting the shower and toilet by the door with a curtain separating this area from the rest of the cabin. The sink is on the other side of the shower and if someone is at the sink, nobody can get past them to get to the shower, toilet or door. The room is so narrow, we didn't enjoy room very much. Getting dressed for dinner was a royal pain. I did like the gooseneck reading light at bedside and the TV was pretty good with several news outlets including FOX and CNN. Cabin steward was perfect.

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