This was my 5th cruise I went on. We stayed in a stateroom with a balcony. It was the biggest room I have stayed in. Balcony was well worth the money. Arriving the first day was a awesome experience. Right when we went to baggage claim someone was there to greet us and patiently waited for us to receive our bags. The whole process of getting on the ship was very fast. We arrived around 12. One main point I did notice was that the main pool deck was very small in comparison to the amount of guest that were on the ship. The first day we went out early to grab seats... knowing that it would be hard to find some. Everyone was on top of each other! The Epic holds about 4,000 guest so it does make sense that the deck would be packed. The pool I never went in because it too was packed. Also like many other reviewers have mentioned it was a full of families and kids. For the rest of the time we found the quiet zone in the front of the boat that many people either were not aware of or did not like the fact that it was not near the entertainment on the main deck near the pool. We enjoyed it because it had very comfy cushioned seats and beds! The service we great. I cant complain because every single staff on board works their butts off and seems to never get a break. All I know is I couldn't do their job so I give them a lot of credit.

There was always activities going on just make sure to bring around your itinerary you get each day because the time passes fast and can be easily missed. One huge recommendation is to absolutely reserve all shows before going on the cruise. Many shows were sold out on the first day. Also you will not have to worry about any more planning and you can just enjoy your vacation! The blue man group was great as well as the legends in concert. The second city show that we went to didn't impress me but they change their shows each night and we also went to a kid friendly show. I was bummed that they didn't have comedy show or magic show but to my surprise they did have a hypnotist show you could book once you got onto the ship. I used the NCL concierge app to book it but then shut it off because I was skeptical about the wifi charges and somehow managed to receive a text message from someone back at home....That was just me being worried though. The bowling, ice bar and rock climbing I thought I was going to do but I was so busy that we didn't even get a chance to do any of it! All cost a little extra.

As for the food the two main dining rooms that are complimentary were okay. The buffet was larger than most ships and believe it or not we ate there more than any other place. However i'm convinced there are laxatives in it. Osheehans was the best complimentary food and prepared and cooked better than the buffet as expected. Room service took about 30 min but late night would take a little longer. It was okay food. The five dollar pizza though we ordered 3 times it was that good! The specialty restaurants looked amazing we only tried cagneys and it was probably the best steak I have had. Well worth the money, make sure you go HUNGRY. Read more