I chose this cruise because I have wanted to try the "mega ship" experience and had heard great things about the studio cabin setup on the Epic. I originally booked as a solo but had a friend join me, also in a studio. I also happily got the UBP (beverage package) as a perk; my friend got the 250 minute internet package.

The cruise was 3-10 Dec, Western Caribbean itinerary (Great Stirrup Cay, Ochos Rios, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel). Embarkation was at the brand-new Terminal 10 in Port Canaveral. The traffic at the port was a mess that Saturday, they had 4 ships in port and delays were significant. I had a rental car which I dropped at the Avis near the port and waited about 45 minutes for a shuttle. We didn't get to the terminal until close to noon, and I was expecting long lines. Nope! Once we dropped our bags with the porters we had the shortest lines and fastest embarkation that I have ever experienced! There was no one in line in front of us to get our key cards, which was amazing. We walked on the ship before 1 pm and were having lunch in the buffet soon after.

The ship - it's not the prettiest ship, that's for sure. I did like the overall layout and the location of my room vs. the ship's "prime" areas (pool deck/buffet, restaurants, theaters, etc). I didn't like that there were no mid-ship elevators. At times, the lines for elevators were long and many elevators that stopped were completely full. But, being on Deck 12 meant I could walk up to 15 and the pool and down to 5/6/7 for the other activities when I chose. The huge casino on Deck 6 and the smoke that was everywhere when the casino was open was also a negative. Especially when trying to eat at Taste, which is open to Deck 6. The pool area was fine, didn't seem like there were many loungers but I didn't spend a huge amount of time there. If it wasn't a sea day, it was easy to find a free one. The waterslides were OK, I tried two of them and thought the slides on the Carnival Breeze were better. Read more