Just returned from 7 days in the Eastern Caribbean on NCL Epic. To be fair, our primary reason for choosing NCL was our winning the on board raffle for a free cruise on our last NCL trip (Bermuda). We are not big fans of "freestyle cruising", preferring the more traditional cruise style where you get more personal attention and an assigned table for dinner. We also prefer cruises with fewer kids and teens. Still, we expected much from this brand new ship, and were disappointed.

Boarding was easy and efficient, but when you first walk on the ship you are not greeted (no glass of champagne) and you find yourself in the casino. Call me old fashioned, but I expect to walk into a beautiful atrium with customer service and friendly staff greeting me. Nope, just slot machines and crap tables taking up the center of the ship. The Epic does not have a beautiful central atrium like other ships we have been on, and this was symbolic of the impersonal and somewhat chaotic feel of the trip. Rather than a cruise ship, the Epic feels like you are in a floating casino/mall, all designed to get your money. Smoking is permitted in the casino, so we frequently walked through clouds of smoke when we moved from one end to the other.

Our room was small but nice. Soundproofing is good and we rarely were disturbed by neighbors. Beds are very small and even at 5"7" my toes hung off the end. Loved the balcony where I spent much time reading. Staff service was excellent both in our room at at restaurants. The sink in the room is a joke. It is virtually impossible to use without getting water on the counter and on yourself. It's noteworthy that every comedy show we went to on the ship made reference to the pathetic little sinks. Read more