I was attending a convention, so I did not choose this ship myself. I am typically not interested in very large ships, but was looking forward to having the opportunity to experience some of the amenities that only large ships can provide. I found that the Norwegian Epic did indeed have some nice areas/venues/activities...but in general, everything felt understaffed and crowded. The bars were always 3 deep, making it a pushing match to get a drink. They had difficulty getting our unlimited drink package coded correctly, so I waited in line at Guest Services on day 1 for 45 minutes; repeated this line for 20 min. on day 2, and had to go back on day 3 (luckily less than 10 minutes this time). That being said...some of the best features include good food, nice main dining rooms, many entertainment options, and the adults-only pool was quite nice. The Casino was probably the largest and nicest one I have seen on a ship (of course it's also the largest ship I've been on...). Although it was NOT non-smoking, the breeze-way design kept it from being smoky. Headliners Comedy Club hosted several shows per night, including Howl at the Moon dueling pianos. The Irish pub was also a nice eating/drinking/hang out area. This was my first experience with "free-style" cruising...and I must say it was quite stressful! There were so many reservations that seemed necessary...dinner time at one of the two main dining rooms or about four speciality restaurants, shows in at least three venues, with different show times (and sometimes different shows on the same night). Trying to get reservations that didn't conflict with each other or to coordinate with another party in a different cabin had us going crazy! Here is the most important tip I can offer, though, forget about reservations! After about 3 days, we learned that we could pretty much just walk into one of the main dining rooms and get seated at any time. AND we could pretty much walk into any show 10 minutes before it started and get seated. Once we figured this out, we enjoyed the cruise SO MUCH MORE! Freestyle cruising might not be so bad after all. Now, if you really want to see a particular show or eat in a particular specialty restaurant, log on about 60 days before and make those reservations. But once onboard, just relax and enjoy. Overall, I would not recommend this ship too highly, mainly because the design forces so many people into the center of the ship, making everything feel so crowded; and as it seemed so understaffed, service was lacking (the dining room staff excepted - they were marvelous as usual). However, if you find a good deal on an itinerary you like, you can make it enjoyable. Enjoy good food, find some of the less crowded places (we especially enjoyed Maltings Lounge and also grabbing a few cocktails and heading to our balcony to enjoy beautiful sunsets), skip the reservations and go with the flow...and you can have a memorable trip. And where else could you go to an Ice Bar or bowl a few frames in the middle of the Caribbean!