This cruise started off badly and never got any better. The ship is obviously old and in need of refurbishing. The fact that the cruise line turns the ships over in 4-6 hours does not make for a large window of opportunity to clean the facility and the rooms. It seems like the staff are overworked and their attitudes bore that out. We all have choices and, in the future, we will choose to go on a more upscale line.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
We arrived at Cruise terminal 3 as instructed; however, no one was there. We had to drive around to find out where the terminal was. (We received an email of the terminal change about one-half hour later). We then stood in line for over an hour in the hot Florida sun before we could enter the terminal. After arriving at 11:20, we did not board the ship until 2 PM.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
The Moderno was great! MDR and buffet were fair. The food choices were limited and bland.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We enjoyed the pool and the hot tubs. We played deal or no deal and it was, as usual, a rip-off.
Entertainment
We did not go to the shows. The speed of the boat on the first night was so fast that many of us got sick.
Children's Programs
We did not bring any children
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
Our room steward didn't even introduce himself to us. He seemed surly and preoccupied. We entered the room before it was cleaned and he asked us to leave. We complied. But he never gave us the "welcome speech" whereupon we would have tipped him.
There was always a long line at the bars to get drinks. The service staff seemed overwhelmed and grouchy.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
The design was manipulative. The main dining rooms were on the 5th floor. Conveniently, the elevators did not stop at the 5th floor but, rather, at the 6th floor - the Casino. You then had to take an escalator to the 5th floor.
The design was pretty but dated. The ship was not very clean at all.
Cabin / Stateroom
1 out of 5
The toilet was dirty (up under the rim). The design was very narrow and we had to keep squeezing by each other to get to the other side of the room. The balcony was nice, but the door handle fell off on our 3rd day there. I'm glad we were both inside when it fell off. The room steward never cleaned the fingerprints off the mirrored doors. He left the dirty towels in the cabin on the 3rd day, along with fresh ones.
I can understand why it took so long to get all of us on the ship due to the Coast Guard and Customs inspections since it was Epic’s first time back in the States. They should have done a better job with the terminal change. Disembarking was an absolute train wreck for us! We followed instructions as given for self assist and it still took two hours of standing in long lines to get off the ship. I feel bad for the passengers who had issues with their accounts and had to get out of line to go back through the whole process again.
I cruised on the Epic and had a great time with great food and service. Personally, I have no preference to meet my steward. If I see him or her every day or not, as long as the cabin is cleaned, I'm happy. I'm by no means a cruise snob after 45 cruises, but I also don't waste my time with petty issues. Things will go wrong, and if they do, you can let them ruin the cruise, or let it go and enjoy the cruise, which seems you let them ruin the cruise, so that's a bigger waste of time and money spent.
Worst cruise ever, and you didn’t even get off the ship? Makes me wonder why you went on the cruise to begin with. The Epic is due for dry dock next year, so it probably is showing a bit of wear.
Did you have priority or early disembarkation? It took us all almost 2 hours waiting in line to get off. One of our biggest complaints, but there were many.
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