This was my 4th time on the Epic (33rd cruise overall on several lines) as I wanted to see what a holiday cruise would be like, visit Barcelona at Christmas & see some more places in Spain & Morocco.
I was happy with all the decorations, Santa, caroling & Midnight Mass but the ship seem quite crowded & very noisy this time. Turkey was offered on both Christmas Eve & Christmas Day with different sides, not as elaborate as I would have thought but nice anyway. Some desserts had cute little white chocolate "Merry Christmas" signs atop them.
As my first cruise as platinum a couple of things were disappointing such as not being directed to the proper line for embarking & missing out on the behind the scenes tour which I was unaware was the 1st sea day & not repeated. One had to rsvp by 9:00 pm embarkation day which I missed since I was at the show.
Cabin 11521 is quite close to the studio lounge which is why I picked it.
There was a staff only area between 11519 & my cabin but I didn't hear any noise from it.
This turned out to be a private walking tour of the Christmas market area around the Barcelona Cathedral with a visit to a candy shop where samples were offered & tried.
I also did the HOHO bus & went to Parc Guell on my own since I missed meeting up with the group due to traffic in the city.
This wasn't really an excursion but was an "experience" offering many items such as HOHO bus ride, entry to museums, free wine & tapas, free boat ride & walking tour but my timing didn't allow for doing most of the things. I loved Malaga, it's so beautiful & had many peaceful looking parks, a beautiful beach & the lovely Gibralfaro Castle overlooking the city. This can be reached from stop 5 on the HOHO bus & you take an elevator to the top so save some steps (there's also a w/c inside the tunnel entry). I exited another way onto a nice square with Roman ruins near the Cathedral (which charges 5 euros entry fee) & little shops. There's also a ferris wheel near the port.