Had a great and relaxing Christmas trip with our adult kids. We are booked on the Escape for January 2020 and can't wait. :)
Embarkation
3 out of 5
As to be expected on a big ship, embarkation took forever. The cruise terminal is just not big enough for so many people. Standing room only in a hot room is not a fun way to start a vacation.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We had specialty dining and used that for 3 of the nights, only ate in the main dining room once as we didn't like having to wait for a seat. Buffet was OK, a lot of choices though the food there was not especially appetizing, the convenience was great. Eating breakfast at the front of the ship while watching watching the sun come up as we pulled into port was magical.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Pools were really small for the volume of passengers. Hot tubs were nice, though there were a lot of unaccompanied kids in them most of the time, which made me worry. Can't really blame them though, the kids water park area was closed for construction for the duration of the trip. Bingo was fun, but won't do that again as the price you pay for the number of games was ridiculous. Glow party was fun!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Cirque was fabulous! So was Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Very well done and after the show, some of the performers hung out at the Bliss bar on some of the nights. Howl at the moon was a fun sing a long performance as well.
Children's Programs
Our kids are adults and had alcohol packages. :)
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Pool bartenders were great, they quickly learned our favorite drinks and started on them without being asked. Wait staff in the dining rooms were ok, nothing special. We never saw our room steward. I do miss the towel animals that cruises used to do.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Epic is a pretty ship. They had it all decked out beautifully for the Christmas holidays.
Common areas were kept fairly clean, though the kids water park area was under construction and we had to walk around it to get to certain areas of the ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Loved all the hidden storage space in our cabin., including a decent sized closet. The toilet and shower being on either side of the entry door was weird, but actually worked out as hubby could do his business while I took a shower. The bed was two small beds pushed together, which was weird, but we made it work. As with most cruise ships, not enough outlets for plugging in electronics. Balcony was small, but there was enough room for 2 people to sit outside and watch the horizon together.
Ship tip
Book as many Dining or Entertainment things as you can BEFORE the ship sails. Good dates/times for Specialty dining books pretty solid more than 30 days out, and the Cirque show sells out about 30 days prior to sailing as well.
We drove in from GA the day before, and stayed at a Marriott near the port. Didn't really explore much, though we got a deal on parking our car for the week at the hotel along with a shuttle to the terminal.
Beautiful port. We skipped the sponsored shore excursions, and hired a local cab to take us around the island. He took us to a beautiful beach on the other side of the island, which less people than the crowded ones near the port. He also was a tour guide for us, talking about the island's history and economy as he drove. He made a point of stopping at a beautiful lookout point so we could take pictures. He even came back to pick us up at the end of the day.
Again, this many people all trying to get to the same place sucks. We carried our own bags off, which was probably good, because when we got to the terminal, all the bags looked like they were just kind of thrown in a pile. Long lines to get to customs, I am sure not NCL's fault but at that point, you just want to go home..
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