This was to be a surprise cruise for my wife for our 20th wedding anniversary and our son's 19th birthday. However, my son and daughter (age 13) were in on the surprise. Once in Barcelona I told my wife that we had to go to the port to take a ferry to one of the islands. When the taxi left us at the Epic I confessed I had lied and told my wife to just go with the flow. We had sailed on the Epic before a few years ago, but it was the Eastern Caribbean and we had a balcony cabin. This time we had the deluxe owner's suite in the Haven. Embarkation was flawless. We checked-in about 10:30 AM at a special Haven passengers desk. The check-in process was quick after which time we were ushered to a room with Haven guests with a continental breakfast. We waited about 15 minutes before heading for our escorted tour of the Haven. After the tour we were taken to our suite. The accommodations did not disappoint. The suite was beautiful and spacious. Our butler Bagus from Bali, and steward Jay from the Philippines were on point and did everything to please us. The 3 bottles of pre-selected alcoholic beverages were awaiting plus a chilled bottle of champagne. My wife and kids were happy and surprised at our beautiful suite. They couldn't get over we were about to cruise the Mediterranean in such a beautiful suite. After acclimating ourself we went to the Haven restaurant for lunch. The food and service were excellent. All the staff at the restaurant were attentive and friendly. When it was time to sail away we went to Posh on deck 17, which is for haven guests only. Again, the staff were very friendly and attentive. Andrew was on the spot serving drinks and making sure our expectations were exceeded.

We had the beverage package as part of our booking so we were not shy about ordering drinks. We dined in Cagney's, Moderno and the Bistro. The food was great in all venues. Most of the time we dined in the Haven restaurant which served superb food. The menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner stayed the same from day-to-day, and at breakfast, in addition to the menu, there was a buffet with fresh pastries, cheeses, cold meats, smoked salmon, and a selection of other goodies.

We took only 2 shore excursions that were booked through the cruise, one was a wine tasting in Tuscany (Pitti Vineyards), and a tour of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. Both tours were excellent and are recommended. The vatican tour guide was very knowledgeable and patient. There were about 10 of us in the tour and that was certainly manageable as compared to some of the tour groups were there seemed to be over 25. The wine tasting at the Pitti Vineyards was well worth it. There was no lack of wine for tasting and the vineyard makes their own olive oil. We were provided with cheese, bread and salami between tastings of two different whites and a red. All the wines were excellent and we had an opportunity to purchase wine and olive oil at the end of the tour. Again, well worth it. When we sailed on the Epic the first time we weren't so sure we would sail on such a large ship again, but after staying in the Haven we were sold. We plan on sailing on the Getaway in June 2019 to cruise the Baltic capitals. We can't wait!