doug_stallings

I was able to sail on the 2-night inaugural sailing of Norwegian Epic this past weekend, and I'll be posting a fuller report on the site soon (either Tuesday or Wednesday), but I wanted to offer some initial thoughts here. My reactions are definitely mixed. It's a beautiful, innovative ship in many ways, and yet it carries all the missteps that NCL is known for (expansive yet insufficient pool areas, bottlenecks and crowding around popular bars and restaurants, and wildly flawed and smallish cabins).

Yet the positives are so positive that I hardly know where to begin. I loved the entertainment and thought it was better than anything I've ever encountered on a cruise ship; yet I think traditional cruisers are going to be greatly disappointed at a theater that holds only 1/4 of the total ship's passengers and the requirement that you pre-book most entertainment (without a reservation, you're out of luck). Management really want to get away from the idea of running from the dining room to the show every night. I'm sympathetic, but there are going to be very loud gripes from traditional cruisers.

There are such a variety of good restaurants that you really don't need to feel that you have to pay a sometimes hefty (overly so in a few cases) surcharge to eat in the specialty restaurants. And the food is pretty good over all.

I don't know where to begin with the cabins, so I'll save most of what I have to say for my review, but the bathroom situation is a true mixed bag. And I found that I really (and viscerally) hated the set-up by the end of two nights. I'm not sure if I'd get over it or just hate it more after a week. The cabins are also too small. Yet they have the best and most extensive storage I've ever seen on a ship, and the lighting (once you figured it out) was among the best schemes I've ever encountered. A really innovative television system is marred by a teensy and disappointing choice of channels.

The best of ships and the worst of ships, and I'll tell you more in the coming days. And if I have missed anything in my review, you can post here and ask me questions or in the Comments section of the review when it appears.

jacketwatch

Thanks Doug. I look f/w to your full review. Sounds interesting.

Rhea58

Ditto what jacketwatch said.

As a single cruiser,I am/was intrigued since they are the first to offer studio cabins but if reg. cabins are small (and I am sure they graced you with a Deck 12 or better), a studio would definitely be claustrophic.

Also don't want to spend my vac. time making resvs. for
evening entertainment.

jacketwatch

Rhea: Good point. I never thought about the show thing and anytime dining. Thats one great advantage about traditional dining. I too would not want to spend time booking entertainment.

Dayenu

the lighting (once you figured it out) - Oh, I can relate to that

It's good you are taking the time to write a report.

As for booking the entertainment... I'd rather do it instead of standing in line for 1/2 hour for a popular show. Do you book an assigned seat? Had they figured out already they can nickel and dime for this

doug_stallings

It doesn't take long to make reservations. There's a central reservations desk, and you can make all your entertainment reservations at the same time. They can also be made in advance of the cruise. Seats are still not pre-assigned, so I heard that people lined up very early on the first trans-Atlantic cruise to get a good seat. I arrived about 15 minutes early and sat on the 4th row for Blue Man Group and had a ringside seat for Cirque Dreams (that theater opens 30 minutes before the show).

Eschew

Hmmm... sounds like pretty decent entertianment with the Blue Man Group and Crique Dreams. Were they the special launch party entertainment or is it going to be the expectation moving forward?

If this level of entertianment is the normal, that may entice me back to NCL ... hear that ParrotMom, I am considering NCL for real this time!

doug_stallings

Both Blue Man Group and Cirque Dreams are going to be regular fixtures on the NCL Epic, and Second City is a fixture throughout the line's ships. A blues club is a special feature of Epic as well, as is Legends in Concert.

My review of Epic posted late yesterday. You'll find it here (http://tinyurl.com/27uh8yr). And I'd be happy to answer any questions that aren't answered in the review. So please post them in this thread or as a Comment to my review, and I'll check back later today.

judia1

I was on the same sailing and I agree with you completely! When asked about the cruise, I've responded "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." Perhaps an exaggeration but, yes, there are many flaws--particularly in terms of the cabins (what's with the sink in the middle of the bedroom, for instance???)--but there is so much great about it, too. LOVED the "studios," the single rooms for single passengers. How I wish they would have had that when I was young instead of paying through the nose or doing the dreaded "guaranteed share"!

ParrotMom

ESCHEW--I've been reading the reviews by cruise people on all the boards and this mornings Frommers convinced me I'm not the Epic type.. At this age we prefer "premium" ships and one review talked about the lack of a library...Reviews of the Cirque Dreams with guests talking over the show, stereotypes being paraded as part of the entertainment. I've seen Blue Man Group before and I'd probably like to see Legends and hear some Jazz.. There is no doubt after reading review after review the Epic has some serious p roblem..and waiting in line to see a show AFTER making reservations is a no-no.The concept behind the single cabins is wonderful, but I'm not a single.. maybe I could pretend to be a "cougar'..what I would do with Parrot Pop is another story.. The bathrooms which everybody has negative comments on is hysterical.. Just call me an old fuddy duddy.. BTW I will be booking an NCL this coming March for 2011... but it won't be the Epic...but you never know....

doug_stallings

There were certainly no long waits for Blue Man Group on the two-night cruise I attended. I arrived abbut 15 minutes before the show and waited for half a minute to have my keycard swiped and then got a seat on the fourth row. I certainly did not arrive a half hour in advance. I arrived for Cirque Dreams about five minutes before shwtime, and I got a seat ringside. (Though all seats on the main floor are good.). The Cirque theater does open 30 minutes before showtime. And the large Epic Theater is not that big, and all the seats are good, except those on the far ends near the front.