We sailed on the NCL Epic on February 19th, 2011 - the week where most public school kids are on mid-winter break, and this Nickolodean cruise was loaded to the gills with families with kids. We were traveling with our 3 children, ages 13, 12 & 7, and it felt like July 4th at Coney Island the entire time. I think before choosing this bigger-than-life ship, especially on the busiest week of the year, Mom & Dad need to realize that there will not be much time for relaxing, as they will need to accompany their children to the limited recreation options on the ship, and to entertain them for much of the time in between due to very limited activity options.

I'm focusing on kids here because I imagine that anyone choosing what appears to be a floating amusement park with Nickolodeon characters, must be traveling with children. For kids, the waterslides are the main attraction, with 2 twisty options and 1 giant funnel-shaped option that resembles the Nickolodeon "Brain Drain" on a popular Nick game show. These slides entertain the kids understandably for a couple of hours each day. Unfortunately, the kids club, which groups all the children together - ages 2-12, is not a viable option for a 12 year old, and all of the activities take place in 1 room inside the ship - a bit unhealthy and depressing for more than an occasional hour. We felt that the kids club lacked imagination vs. the clubs on Disney and Royal Caribbean, which were jam-packed with fun-filled outside activities and interesting projects to participate in, allowing parents a guilt-free few hours knowing the kids were having a blast. There is a rock climbing wall, a bungie-type trampoline activity, a giant spider web climbing activity, and a batting cage on the ship - infortunately they are only open during limited hours, and the lines are sometimes an hour long. Once the kids get to the front of these lines - if they have the fortitude - they must be signed in by a parent, who must sign a waiver so that the child can participate. This was also true of the bowling lanes - there are 6 lanes on the ship, located inside two pubs - open limited hours, and often long lines, and always a fee and a waiver. My husband and I spent a lot of time taking our kids to activities and waiting in long lines to sign them in and sign waivers.

The few kid-centered activities available in the afternoons were very brief - less than 30 minutes in duration. A "Know your Nick" trivia game lasted approx 15 minutes, and a Nickolodean Arts & Crafts activity consisted of a few printed pages of Nick characters and some crayons. 15 minutes in duration. Oddly there were no movies for the kids to watch to get out of the sun for a few hours - plentiful on other cruise lines - until projected on the Atrium big screen at 11:15pm. The cabin TV had Nick shows on a loop - The Nanny, George Lopez, iCarly...the same 1 episode of each...over and over again. While no one goes on a cruise to watch TV, kids do need to get out of the sun after a few hours, and there is VERY little for them to do. There is a video arcade available, but again, young children cannot be left alone in there with their parents' key cards to run amuck. The 1 theatrical production aimed at kids - Nick's Slime Time Live - was a lot of fun. In addition, there was a Nick character breakfast which my husband and 7-year-old son attended on stand-by, which he loved. Book this as soon as you get on the ship - they sell out immediately, and there are only 2 breakfasts. 2 character meet-and-greets - one with Spongebob & Patrick, and one with Dora & Diego, were a lot of fun for our 7 year old. Read more