This past weekend I was invited aboard the Norwegian Epic, which is by far the company’s largest and most innovative ship to date. With a capacity to hold 4,100 guests and stretching 1, 080 feet in length, I felt like I was boarding a small city rather than a cruise around New York.
Believe it or not this was my first cruise. To be completely honest I have always been kind of hesitant to do the whole “cruise thing” as it looked way too structured. Plus the idea of being on a giant boat instead of exploring a new city on my own terms kind of always frightened me as an adventurous traveler.
But as most of you know Norwegian Cruise Lines is known for its “Freestyle Cruising”, which means no assigned dining times and basically no set schedule of events (which makes me happy). For years family and friends have praised cruise ships, some even offered to take me on one.
So when I received an invitation to check out the Norwegian Epic, which arrived Independence Day weekend for an inaugural mini cruise around New York City, I was kind of interested in seeing what everyone I know has been raving about for years.
Norwegian Epic
I arrived early Friday morning and breezed through cruise security, which is kind of like airport security, except you get to keep your shoes on. Upon boarding the ship I have to be honest and say I was extremely impressed with the design of what I guess would be considered the lobby floor. The entire process of showing up, getting registered and being directed to your room was super smooth.
Great television, with few viewing options, aboard the Norwegian Epic.
New wave stateroom queen size bed on the Norwegian Epic
Couch and balcony in the new wave stateroom on the Norwegian Epic
The low sink, which led to many spills, aboard the Norwegian Epic
I stayed in one of the new wave staterooms (12073 to be exact) and was extremely impressed with the state of the art design that completely changed the way I looked at cruise ship rooms. It came equipped with a queen size bed, comfortable couch, beautiful flat screen HD television, a lovely balcony area, separate shower and toilet and plenty of space to store your clothes and personal belongings.
But the room was not perfect. Maybe I was just overlooked, but the room came without a garbage can. Kind of an odd feature to not have available in a room, so I think it might have just been that housekeeping forget to return it to my room. I have no idea who designed the sinks in the rooms, but it was very low and hard to use without splashing a lot of water onto the floor. Finally the amount of electrical outlets in the room was pretty bad. There was one by the sink and three together underneath the television.
If you like eating a lot of different varieties of food, then you are going to love vacationing on a cruise ship. The culinary options on board Epic are endless. With 20 dining options available on the ship, I ate…and ate…and ate some more. I sampled amazing sushi, had some so-so Italian at La Cucina, inhaled a hearty breakfast (which included pretty much anything and everything you would have in the morning) and downed many piña coladas. Most of the food was excellent, with a tiny amount rather cafeteria like (i.e. the burgers and pizza at the Garden Cafe).
Food glorious food. So much to eat aboard Norwegian Epic
Delicious sushi aboard the Norwegian Epic
Breakfast aboard the Norwegian Epic
I have a weakness for pina coladas.
The entertainment on the Norwegian Epic includes the wildly popular Blue Man Group, Cirque Dreams & Dinner, Legends in Concert, The Second City and much, much more. I checked out Blue Man Group, which I had seen once on a trip to Toronto in 2005. I didn’t get it back then and I do not get it now. But a lot of people in attendance seemed to find their act entertaining, so what do I know?
As for the other show I saw, Cirque Dreams & Dinner, it had its moments with some amazing stunts and acrobatics, but the rest of the act fell flat with a majority of the people in attendance looking bored, confused and eying the exit signs. Plus the structure of the show was not my style (fixed dinner, sitting with strangers and not being able to use the restroom during the entire two hour experience).
Pool and Aqua Park onboard the Norwegian Epic
Rock wall on Norwegian Epic
Bowling on-board Norwegian Epic
Other activities on the Epic include the massive Aqua Park (with three multi-story water slides), a casino, six lanes of bowling, Wii games on a two-story television screen, a rock wall, and an ice bar (which I could not check out due to it being fulled booked for the entire weekend). In other words, there is a lot to do on this giant boat.
Connectivity is key,especially when you’re out in the middle of nowhere on a cruise ship. Norwegian and other cruise lines need to catch up with airlines when it comes to wireless internet access. I have a newborn baby and wanted to check up on him while out at sea. My options? Pay $6 per minute to use the room phone (which was very choppy) or pay 0.25 per minute ($15 an hour) to use their weak internet service on my iPhone. I decided on the former and spent about $24 for four super quick phone calls back home. There needs to be a better way.
Overall my experience aboard the Norwegian Epic was a positive one. It convinced a very stubborn individual to think twice now when pondering a cruise as a vacation option. While it will not replace the way I prefer to travel (which is by air), it is now a welcomed option and I look forward to cruising again someday.
The Norwegian Epic will sail from Miami this year and then head to Europe for summer 2011. For more information check out epic.ncl.com.
