Anyone been on NCL's Epic?

[lspst8]

My family has only cruised with Disney, but due to their high prices, we are looking at other cruise lines. We are currently booked on a January cruise on the Fantasy. It costs $5100 for all four of us in an inside room, and that includes the 10% OBB discount. The same week we are cruising, the Epic is doing the exact same itinerary. The total cost for it is only $3100, and that includes the free drink package and a balcony stateroom.

I'm wondering if anyone has sailed on the Epic and enjoyed it? Are there movies by the pool? A free movie theater?

How are the kids clubs? I'm a little hesitant to book the Epic because my kids (ages 4 and 6) would be split up on the Epic. I'm afraid they won't want to go to separate clubs, resulting in no adult time for me and my husband!

 

[Jess_S]

My husband and I cruised on the Epic during its inaugural season. We enjoyed it -- especially the entertainment. (But some of the entertainment is more geared towards adults).

We had a suite on the Epic. I found that DCL's service in a standard cabin exceeded NCL's in a suite. I also prefer DCL's food, but that has a lot to do with being a vegetarian. NCL doesn't do meatless well.

I realize as I am typing this that I am not a big help because I have no idea what we would have done if we had our son at the time. We mostly hung out in the spa area and enjoyed the entertainment (but it was also unseasonably cold with choppy seas the week we went).

Do check the NCL boards on cruise critic before booking so you have an understanding of what is included vs upcharged. Our onboard bill on NCL was double our DCL onboard bill because we did choose to do extra charge activities and restaurants.

 

[tinktwice]

I did the Epic this past March. In fairness, it was only my friend and I so I wasn't paying much attention to kids stuff. Personally, it was my least favorite cruise. It was a 4 day cruise out of Port Canaveral. First time on NCL. I have done Disney(gold status), Princess x3, Celebrity (second fave to DCL), Holland, and Royal. There was not many kids on the ship. There was not movies outside, which is one of my favorite things on ships. Not sure about indoor movies, didn't really pay attention. The pool area was poor IMHO. Lots of adults- unlimited drink packages are abundant so leads to a different ambience. Definitely fun for adults but I would have been disappointed if my family was with me. I didn't care for the indoor spaces of the ship; it was mostly dominated by the casino (and I love the casinos) which a portion is smoking and definitely wafts to other areas. I didn't like that there was no atrium or foyer area.

Also, be aware that due to the tallness of the Epic, it is prone to wind issues. The week we sailed was a bit windy. We wound up overnighting in the Bahamas (and missed the day at their private island) due to the wind. That was disappointing, to say the least. And to add salt to the wound, the Disney Wonder was parked next to us the first day, and left, and then I woke up to the Dream or Fantasy the next day. I've been on 10+ cruises, including two to Alaska. I've definitely been on cruises with worse wind/weather. Other ships didn't have any problems sailing.

Personally, with the age of your children, I'd do Disney. Or Royal or even Princess.

 

[ldo]

fyi, one show is Priscilla of the Desert (?). My friend said the production was top quality, but definitely not G material. Would likely go over a 4/6 yr olds head. We sailed EPIC in the MEd with teens. We liked: bowling (don't know if they still have it), very different shows from other cruiselines, the pub for moz sticks, etc., balcony for the price of OV room. There was no movie theater and they only showed 1-2 movies in the atrium (PG+). MDR food was good--we were going to pay for specialty and never found a night that we didn't like the MDR menu. Big bowl slide was very fun--might have a height requirement. Spider climbing cage would be good.
Epic rooms are VERY weird. With your ages, probably not an issue. But NO privacy for anything. Look at photos.
We got a great price on EPIC for the Med. Teens liked the ship a lot. DH not so much. I did look in the kids club and it looked decent. Not the bells and whistles of DCL, but perfectly fine. There will not be many activities outside of the kids club for 4/6 yrs except pool. The EPic pricing for the week long is VERY good. It's a good quality ship, esp. for that price, IMHO. As long as you realize its NOT DCL and don't compare, and realize you can buy a MacBook+ with the savings, you should be OK.

 

[Dug720]

fyi, one show is Priscilla of the Desert (?). My friend said the production was top quality, but definitely not G material.

Just as a note, while some of the formerly Broadway shows performed may be the "School" version of them (with some language and possibly legally adapted so it is appropriate for high schools to perform - the time frame for their performances suggests that), I have never encountered a Broadway show I'd consider G-rated (even the School versions - things may be toned down, but at minimum it'll be PG level). Even the Disney shows have some things that would make them at least PG.

 

[lspst8]

I did the Epic this past March. In fairness, it was only my friend and I so I wasn't paying much attention to kids stuff. Personally, it was my least favorite cruise. It was a 4 day cruise out of Port Canaveral. First time on NCL. I have done Disney(gold status), Princess x3, Celebrity (second fave to DCL), Holland, and Royal. There was not many kids on the ship. There was not movies outside, which is one of my favorite things on ships. Not sure about indoor movies, didn't really pay attention. The pool area was poor IMHO. Lots of adults- unlimited drink packages are abundant so leads to a different ambience. Definitely fun for adults but I would have been disappointed if my family was with me. I didn't care for the indoor spaces of the ship; it was mostly dominated by the casino (and I love the casinos) which a portion is smoking and definitely wafts to other areas. I didn't like that there was no atrium or foyer area.

Also, be aware that due to the tallness of the Epic, it is prone to wind issues. The week we sailed was a bit windy. We wound up overnighting in the Bahamas (and missed the day at their private island) due to the wind. That was disappointing, to say the least. And to add salt to the wound, the Disney Wonder was parked next to us the first day, and left, and then I woke up to the Dream or Fantasy the next day. I've been on 10+ cruises, including two to Alaska. I've definitely been on cruises with worse wind/weather. Other ships didn't have any problems sailing.

Personally, with the age of your children, I'd do Disney. Or Royal or even Princess.

Were you on the Epic the first week of March? My husband and I did a last minute cruise on the Wonder at the beginning of March, and it was SO windy. We did a rum tour in Nassau and a lot of the people on the tour were on the Epic. I know the Wonder left Nassau really late because of the wind. Our first night out of PC, the Wonder was really rocking. It was the first time I ever felt sea sick!

I wish when the ships were in port, you could pay maybe $20 to take a tour of other ships. It so hard spending thousands of dollars on a vacation that you have to book sight unseen.

 

[cmph]

I wish when the ships were in port, you could pay maybe $20 to take a tour of other ships. It so hard spending thousands of dollars on a vacation that you have to book sight unseen.

It's rare, but it happens, actually. I know Royal had a ship in Baltimore that you could pay to tour one day a couple years ago. It was a pricey tour - I want to say $100-ish. But the cost was refunded (or absorbed) if you booked a cruise (I think had to be on that ship) while you were on the tour. I'm not sure how they advertise these things other than through TAs - which is how I learned about it. If you live near a higher-traffic port than that, maybe it happens more often? In which case it would be useful to get to know a TA!

 

[tinktwice]

Were you on the Epic the first week of March? My husband and I did a last minute cruise on the Wonder at the beginning of March, and it was SO windy. We did a rum tour in Nassau and a lot of the people on the tour were on the Epic. I know the Wonder left Nassau really late because of the wind. Our first night out of PC, the Wonder was really rocking. It was the first time I ever felt sea sick!

I wish when the ships were in port, you could pay maybe $20 to take a tour of other ships. It so hard spending thousands of dollars on a vacation that you have to book sight unseen.

Yes, that was the week. Got great pics of the Disney ships in port. It was my friends first cruise and she was nervous about sea sickness. Funny thing, as windy as it was, barely felt the Epic rock at all. Definitely feel the motion on the smaller ships, Magic and Wonder, compared to others I've been on.

And to the OP: the bathroom situation is definitely a little weird on the epic. Basically, you walk into room and to the right and left there looks to be a shower on each side with fogged glass doors. One is a shower, one is a toilet. Sink is in room. There is a curtain that you can close over to the rest of the room. Helps with your changing. Although didn't help when my friend was is in the toilet "room" and the steward came into room. She did a lot of yelling to stop him. If it was just my husband and I, it's doable, although first thing I questioned was that there is no fan in the toilet area. My friend and I just "planned" those needs without even saying anything to each other. But not having an actual bath "room" (or two in some Disney cabins), with 4 ppl in a room, it makes the room pretty small.

 

[maberlyne]

I sailed on Epic in the Med about 7 years ago. What we did about the bathroom situation (as we were three friends sharing a room) was bring a shower curtain and suction cups for the outside of the shower to give another layer of privacy. But yeah, it was weird. Besides that, I remember they had a lot of surcharge specialty restaurants, but all that we tried were good!