First let me say that as we approached the cruise terminal in Southampton we were amazed that we were actually boarding the ship as planned. Her "setbacks" shall we say in the build had us greatly concerned at times (for the unaware, a broken engine and a few fires had caused a few hiccups!). I'd been concerned enough that I had at least two contingency plans in place in the event that the cruise was cancelled. Even as we approached the ship, I wondered if our cabin would be available as the reports from her cruise from Rotterdam to Southampton indicated that the courtyard was not finished...we of course were staying in the courtyard in an A3, in an area affectionately known as "the hat" among our CC roll call members. Oh and on the cruise from Rotterdam she experienced a propeller shaft problem, arriving hours late in Southampton, and leaving a day late for the schedule travel agent cruise. Seriously, we never thought this cruise was going to happen!

The morning of the cruise, we awakened in Southampton (Jury's Inn, 69 GBP including breakfast) and immediately checked a blog being written by fellow cruisers. Yippee! A very early riser had posted a picture of the Epic arriving in Southampton at 5:30 in the morning. Yes, she had arrived and was waiting for us; her first passengers for a full-length voyage.

I think my first words upon seeing her at the pier were "Holy cow!" I wished I been more eloquent, but I was stunned by her size. Truly a floating city and thankfully more attractive than the early drawings made her appear. She's huge, but more balanced than I thought she would be. Is she elegant (from the outside)? No. But none of these mega-ships today are. She is well-proportioned and definitely catches your eye. Read more