We were excited to book NCL's Epic for New Year's Eve cruise. Our experience was just fair.

The ship is the biggest of the ten we've been on. With 4,100 passengers It was too big for us. You had to get reservations for all important shows. Some reservations were just about impossible to get. We never did get in to see the comedy show -- lines were too long.

The biggest disappointment came with the poor food service in the main dinning room. Epic appears to be sorely understaffed in the dinning room -- we frequently had to wait long intervals just to get served or get a cup of coffee. We asked for extra bread once and it came after desert was served. Once we left after waiting for half an hour to get desert. We could not flag down a waiter as none were around. I ordered prime rib and it was an embarrassment -- the end piece almost all fat and about one-quarter inch thick. Some cook placed it on a plate -- a waiter delivered it to me and when I asked to have it taken away the senior waiter we summoned instantly agreed it never should have been served. We did have some good meals at the Taste restaurant, but it was always hit or miss with the wait staff. Read more