I am a huge fan of NCL and love the more laid back freestyle type of cruising. I have always found the crews of NCL to be some of the friendliest and this was no exception. From boarding, through disembarkation the staff were friendly, accessible, and always smiling and saying hello.
The food was great, the entertainment we saw--Blue Man Group, Legends and Cirque-- were absolutely the best at sea, and the water slides were fantastic. I rode those slides and tubes around 100 times on port days and sea days with not a lot of wait. The pools themselves are not large, but the fountains and misters make up for it. The touch screens at the elevators will map out directions and show restaurant availability. The amount of storage space was just incredible and if you are in Spa Balcony room 14118, your balcony is extra large and will accommodate 3 or 4 loungers with no problem.
While all the service, food and entertainment were great, I have to say I am not a big fan of The Epic itself. Not because of the odd cabin layout, but because of the layout of the ship itself. I missed the wrap around promenade deck, the library and card room. I kept forgetting I was on a ship because I never really saw the ocean except from our balcony. There always seemed to be a wall or at least a plexi-glass partition blocking the view. Even the aft deck view of the ocean is blocked by a giant tv screen.
Fantastic cabin in the SD category. The balcony of room 14118 is 3 times the size of the other SD cabins....the only one that size. It is at the end of the corridor and there is no traffic by the room other than staff.