Great entertainment but non existent customer service. Ship is definitely showing it’s age. Ports were good, had good weather but felt every movement of the ship on every deck.....don’t know if it was the seas (looked calm) or what?! This was the worst ship experience we’ve ever had with rude and cranky crew members (not just my opinion but many other cruisers on the ship felt the same way). Don’t know if we’ll cruise NCL again after this one.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
20 minutes from drop off to on the ship! Easiest and quickest embarkation we’ve ever had.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Cagneys was excellent (as it should be as a speciality dining), Moderno is overpriced for what you get, buffet is a run of the mill buffet. The Main dining rooms (Manhattan and Taste) were very slow. Usually sat quickly but then you wait and wait and wait.....20 minutes for anyone to take our drink order, then another 20 to get that drink, then maybe be able to place your food order.....this was not 1 time this was 4 times in both dining rooms. The waiters seemed unhappy, never making conversation or even smiling. The bartenders in the various bars on the ship all seemed put out if you ordered a mixed drink especially one of their “signature drinks”......sorry I’m asking you to do more than pop a cap off a beer bottle!
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
My son enjoyed the water slides when they were open. There were plenty of deck chairs for lounging.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Priscilla and Burn the Floor are the best shows, we went to each show twice. The comedians were so funny! Saw them multiple times too. The dueling pianos “Howl at the Moon” shows we’re fantastic, very energetic and talented performers. Saw Dan Bennett who did a variety juggling show which was fantastic but only offered 1 evening.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
My sons signed up for entourage but didn’t go to many of the activities
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
I give our room steward 5+ stars (he was the best steward we’ve ever had), but the rest of the crew was cranky and rude. The internet manager admitted to overselling unlimited packages so it never worked but would not refund/discount anyone, plus he kept selling limited minutes packages for the entire cruise! And NCL markets the most expensive internet streaming package as faster but it is the same speed, they only unlock a few sites so you can access them (but if the system is oversold no one can stream or even check a simple email). This was our 4th cruise and have never encountered so many rude, condescending, unhappy and cranky crew members. The customer service was totally non existent.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Bathroom setup is absolutely stupid (but I knew that when booking as this was our second time on the epic). The pool deck layout is one of the best with lots of loungers available. The flow of the rest of the ship was good. But the ship is definitely showing its age with frayed/worn out carpet everywhere. Time for a total overhaul.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We had a family balcony with 4 people. While we were cramped, it worked and there was plenty of storage. The balcony was huge. Our room steward was fantastic! It’s a little bit of a jaunt to get to the room because splash academy is right there but it was quiet.
Typical cruise port shopping district (most of the shops were very friendly and not aggressive). Be aware of the monkey guy who throws monkeys on you and demands $10 for the experience (um I didn’t ask for monkeys to be thrown on me!).
Picked the last color group so we weren’t overly rushed. Off the ship, got our bags and thru customs in 20 minutes. Then the waiting began with the very congested taxi area at the pan American terminal. Took about 30 -45 minutes to get a taxi to take us to our hotel.
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