Norwegian Epic Review
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Having never sailed on the Epic before I was quite a bit worried reading all the November reviews that seemed overall negative. I can let you know we were very impressed! This is a bit of a departure from the freestyle cruising with NCL that we are used to. You do need to make some reservations or risk being disappointed when you don't get into the show or have the seat location that you want. Thankfully my wife booked what we wanted to see in advance and prepaid everything. This was also different from in the past and we will prepay everything in the future. It eliminates the small surcharges that always seem to add up during the cruise and put a damper on things. This time we walked off the cruise with only the following expenses: dinner, cruise next deposit, some gift shop purchases, and a bottle of wine that we enjoyed.
We stayed in a balcony cabin on the 13th deck, mid ship. With so much to do we barely stayed out there. This is quite different from previous cruises where we congregate on the balcony for hours a day, reading, relaxing, and viewing the passing water... With so much going on the Epic we always found something to do.
One of my favorite things is to be served breakfast in the main dining room as we recap the previous days activities and plan our current day. This never happened because the food in the buffet was so delicious. I have never wanted to go to the buffet more so than on this cruise. We also indulged in Cagney's (worth EVERY penny of the $60 we paid) one night, Shanghai, and once in The Manhattan Room, otherwise you could find us at the buffet.
Cabin Review
Balcony
It was tight but ample space to unpack all your items. I suggest not trying to live out of your suitcase for the week. No issue with the TV not swiveling as other have mentioned. Yes you hear more bathroom noises than normal, we just turned up the TV louder, lol. Trying to think of the other issues people complained about that I didn't find troublesome. Our vanity mirror had some issue in the bottom corners and probably needed replacing but it is a cruise ship in the ocean and there is going to be more wear and tear on delicate items anyway.
Port Reviews
Port Canaveral (Orlando)
Super easy boarding process. Nothing like the November 2016 review preceding our cruise. THE PA SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE LOUDER. Other than that it was one of the smoothest embarkation experiences we have been through and this was a super ship!
Great Stirrup Cay
One of our favorite stops! Drinks, snorkeling, and the hot sun! We love this island!
Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)
Disembarkation with our own bags. We probably waited to long to get off and it took over an hour to get through the line and past customs. Smooth, just a lot of people getting off the ship at that time.