The Epic is a big ship. We know that. But it needs cleaning and service training. We were on a Spring Break week, but there was no excuse for cramming us at a table in an aisle way in the Manhattan dining room. (The Food and Beverage Manager said this should not have been done, but the table was still there on the night before the trip ended.) The spa pool had a scum ring three inches high, and the step on the ladder going into the spa pool was loose and held in place by twist-ties. There is a lot of rust in public areas. Poolside bar service is far too slow, and bar tenders are indifferent.

With that said, the Taste restaurant is wonderful. The cabins are fine (as long as you are not over six-feet tall and do not fit on the curved bed). Cabin service was perfect. The food at the O'Sheehan's pub was so bad that I would have sentenced the staff to eat it as punishment for serving it. But the bowling alley was fun.

Get the NCL app before you get on board so you can reserve seats in the shows. Their Freestyle Cruising does not apply to the shows. You need reservations. And the staff does not follow the corporate policy that reservations expire ten minutes before the show to allow stand-by guests to see the shows. Read more