Epic is Epic!!

For my honeymoon I travelled to Barcelona with Norwegian Cruise Lines to board ‘The Epic’ – well what can I say??  I was excited as the coach pulled up to Barcelona port and I saw the Epic for the first time. I still get excited as seeing cruise ships even after being on so many.

Here is the view of the ship from the coach:-

 

I got excited knowing I was going to spending the whole week on board. I travelled with my new husband and my sister Janet and my 2 nephews Glenn & Connor, my mum should have been coming along as it was her 70th birthday on 29th July but she wasn’t well enough to come so stayed at home with friends looking after her, she insisted we still go so we did. Janet & the boys have never cruised before so I was also excited at what they would make of it.  All will be revealed. On arrival at Barcelona it was well organised, the baggage was taken straight from the coach so we headed to check-in – this took quite some time and the queues were quite long but it had to be done.  If you are a Latitudes member (regular cruiser) with Norwegian Cruise Lines there is a priority check-in which would have been very welcome, but anyway we queued and finally checked in and got our key cards. Now it was time to get me on the ship!!

We boarded the ship and went straight up to our cabins. We had 2 balcony cabins on deck 12 mid ship next door to each other. Our luggage was already there so we could get unpacked. The cabins were lovely with plenty of storage space  but not as big as other ships I’ve been but ample enough and very comfortable, the balcony was of a good size with 2 chairs an a small table. There is a separate shower cubicle & toilet separated from the cabin by a curtain, it worked quite well with the toilet being separate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we had unpacked we headed off to look round the ship – they boys were impressed with the slides and couldn’t wait to try them out.  We went down to sort out our dining as we had booked a special meal for my mum’s birthday so changed it which was easy enough to do and the staff were really helpful. We sorted out our drinks packages at The Atrium Cafe located on Deck 5  for the week.

We were pretty tired as was an early start so we changed for dinner and went to O’Sheehans – the Irish Bar & Restaurant located mid ship on deck 6.  They serve various dishes like burgers, hotdogs, chicken tenders.  It was a lovely meal. We then wondered around the ship to see what was on offer to plan our week.  We looked in the shops located on Deck 7 & Adam checked out the casino, we had a drink in the Atrium and then headed off to bed.

 

 

 

 

Monday was a sea day so the ship was very busy by the pool area and it was hard to find any sun beds so we sat at a table whilst the kids went to play on the slides. There was only one pool open as the other was having a water change (why they would do this on a sea day I don’t know) so was very crowded with it being school holidays.  There was entertainment on in the pool area the music & band were great! People even got up to have a little dance. Adam went to play in the casino as he doesn’t do crowds as it was really crowded even for me.

We ate at ‘Taste’ this evening which is located on deck 5 – the menu is similar to The Manhattan Room but no dress code so the boys were ok with shorts on. The service in here was amazing and the food was great, would have eaten here again if we’d had enough time.

Tuesday we had booked an excursions to visit Pompei as we docked in Naples – it was an early start as had to be off the ship to meet our tour guide at 8am.  I booked the excursions with ‘Cruisingexcursions.com’ – we met our guide and waited for the coach.  The trip was great, very informative and well organised and we saw all of Pompei.

 

 

 

 

Had our picture taken with a ‘Gladiator’ – Connor got to hold his sword, he loved it!

 

 

 

 

We did a half day tour so we were back on the ship by 12.15pm so headed off to the ‘Garden Cafe’ located at the front of the ship on deck 15 which is the pool deck. We had a lovely lunch then went to change so we could enjoy the pool. The weather was great, 38 degrees so time to top up my tan!

The boys played on the slides whilst me Adam & Janet chilled out on the sunbeds – I love port days on the pool deck as not as busy and can easily get sunbeds. We spent the rest of the afternoon here just relaxing after a busy morning.  I did join in with the boys on the slides and played in the pool with them. It was great fun, I loved the slides. I did them all especially the ‘Plunge’ slide – this is where you take a rubber ring and climb the stairs to the top then go down in the ring – it was awesome, I did it about 5 times as well as the other slides – felt like a kid again – it had to be done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We changed for dinner then headed down to ‘The Manhattan Room’ for dinner but couldn’t eat in here as Glenn (15 years) had shorts on and only kids under 12 can wear shorts in this particular restaurant as well as Le Bistro (French) restaurant. So we went to ‘Shanghai’s’ which is the Chinese restaurant, we hadn’t booked a table but there was room so we ate here. There is a cover charge of $15 per person to eat in here but we love Chinese.  I can honestly say I wasn’t impressed with the service, it was pretty slow and took a while to get our meals & drinks. The food was great though!

We then headed to the Epic Theatre to see ‘Legends in concert’ – 3 tribute artists who performed a variety of songs. We saw Tom Jones – he was amazing, had the look, the moves & the voice. Also Adele, she started off badly but got better with each song, then Tina Turner – she was great. The show lasts about an hour and was really enjoyable. The have different artists on different dates so you could get any tribute act – I was hoping for Robbie Williams – oh well it was good anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday we had a full day in Rome, we had booked an excursion with the same company and again all very well organised. We went to the Colesseum first and as we had paid for fast track tickets there was no queue so we went straight in, what an amazing place, loved it here. We had about an hour to wonder round before meeting our guide to head to the centre for a walking tour of Rome.  Again this was great and we saw Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona where we had lunch and then onto the Vatican.  It was a great day and saw everything we wanted to see, even threw a coin into the Trevi fountain as the saying goes, you will be allowed back to Rome if you do this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had lunch in a lovely local Italian on Piazza Navona, it was lovely – can’t beat Italian pizza!   We then headed over to the Vatican – wasn’t as big I expected it to be but still impressive all the same but the Pope wasn’t home..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This trip was an 8 hour trip so we were pretty hot & tired when got back to the ship at about 4.30pm. We headed straight to the pool for an hour to cool down.

Janet & the boys were tired after 2 early mornings and all the walking we had done so they were having an early night so Adam & myself went to ‘The Manhattan Room’ on our own – the menu was very similar to ‘ Taste ‘ but just a bit more upmarket.  The only downfall was there was no music or dancing at the time we ate approx 7.30pm so if you wish to see the entertainment then go later (wish we’d known).. Food was great though and the service outstanding.

Thursday was Pisa – we ‘d booked a half day tour with just the shuttle there & back so we could do our own thing.  I love Pisa as have been before but the others haven’t – another early start and off the ship by 8am.  Again the trip was handled expertly and all organised very well. The guide walked us from the coach to the centre then left us for 3 hours free time.  It was lovely, we went in the Cathedral & the Baptistery and took pictures of the leaning tower, did a bit of souvenir shopping and had ice cream – was a lovely day!

 

 

We were back on the ship in the afternoon so again went to play on the slides.  Adam played with Connor on the pool – had such fun as you can see…. then they went on the Rock Climbing Wall – Connor made it to the top and rang the bell but Adam didn’t – too much good living I say!

 

 

 

This evening we ate in ‘La Cucina’ which is the Italian restaurant located at the front of the ship on deck 14 and has a cover charge of $15 – it was amazing, we had a great table by the window where we watched the sun go down – everything was perfect – the food, the service and the location of the table – a great evening & highly recommended.

 

 

 

After dinner we headed to ‘Headliners’ where we watched the ‘Duelling Pianos’ – it was great fun, people gave them requests and they just played them & sang too. It was a really good night out in here. The atmosphere was electric and everyone sang along.

Friday the ship docked on Marseilles but none of us really wanted to get off here so we had a lazy day on the pool deck whilst the kids played in the pool & on the slides again – couldn’t get them off those slides they loved them. We were really excited today as had a meal booked in the Spiegel Tent at 6.30pm then the Blue Man group in the Epic Theatre – what a night!!

The Spiegel Tent is a must of you go on Epic – what a great show – Cirque de Dreams acrobats, jugglers, tight rope & much much more whilst you eat a 3 course set meal – all I can say about this night is – WOW!!! There is a cover charge of $25-$30 but well worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As it was our honeymoon we had a card in our cabin to present to the waiter on our chosen night to get a honeymoon cake so we chose this night but the waiter forgot so we had to ask on the way out, the cake they offered us said ‘Happy Anniversary’ so Adam wasn’t best pleased and headed up to guest relations to let them know – needless to say we got the correct cake later on once we returned to our cabin. The entertainment was superb and the acrobats – well I don’t know how they do some of those things!

We then headed to Epic Theatre to see ‘The Blue Man Group’ – this was brilliant, it was funny, they involved the audience and even came into the audience. They played drums with paint on them so got very messy, the people in front 3 rows had to wear protective capes as splashes everywhere. It was great fun.  There is no charge for the shows but I do advise to book as not on every night and you can’t miss this if on the Epic!! The kids loved it, hilarious entertainment like I’ve never seen before. No photography is allowed so borrowed these pics from Norwegian Cruise Lines.

 

 

 

So it’s Saturday and our last day on board & today we were in Palma, Majorca – we had a lie in as knew Sunday would be an early start.  Adam and the boys stayed on the ship whilst me & Janet went into Palma to have a look round. Again we had a bit of a lazy afternoon as knew we would be going home the next day.

This evening being our last we ate in ‘Cagneys’ which is the Steakhouse on board – it was the best meal we had had all week – I’m a bit fussy about steak but it was perfect, cooked just how I liked it.  Adam used to be a chef so is very picky about eating out but again his steak was perfect & he even complimented the chef. The service was faultless and they couldn’t do enough for us – we even got another cake & unlimited sparkling wine as it was our Honeymoon.  There is a cover charge of $30 but is well worth it and I recommend anyone to eat in here. I’d say the best restaurant on board the ship.

 

 

The boys went to bed and Adam went back to pack so Janet & I went for a wander to the shops and then had a few drinks in Bliss – the nightclub, Karaoke was on but I was too late to have a sing song much to Janet’s pleasure. We went back then to finishing packing.

Adam & myself couldn’t sleep after we’d finished packing so got dressed and went down to the casino – we won about $400 which was great and ended up not going to bed till 2am and we had to be up at 5.30 am as off the ship at 7am.  Knew we would be tired but wanted to make the most of our last night on board.

All in all we had a great week.  There is far too much to do in a week so you will never be bored on board the Epic – it’s a great ship and has something for everyone. Here are a few more pics I took of the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few tips if you go on the Epic:-

1. Don’t do the Ultimate drinks package at $49 per day  unless you drink lots as tea/coffee/Juice/water & ice all free on pool deck & not included on drinks package.

2. Pre- book dining & entertainment before you travel from 45 days before as the queues are huge on board to do.

3. Prepare for an early departure on last day, we were off the ship at 7am but flight not till 1pm.

4. Call me for more info on 0800 408 6108 or email me at [email protected]