Article by Gustavo Burton

I was invited to attend the unique 2-evening (July 2 – 3, 2010) pre-inaugural sailing for NCL’s latest and greatest ship, the Norwegian Epic. Departing from NY City, the sailing started with the ship’s naming ceremony, which was hosted by comedian Jeff Garlin and featured the ship’s godmother, Reba McEntire. Adding to the festivities was the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks display which was broadcast dwell from the Epic on nationwide television (WNBC). It included musical performances by Justin Bieber, Enrique Iglesias and LeeAnn Rimes. As I have experienced many instances in the past, the people at NCL seriously know how to throw a party! But let’s focus on their new ship, the Epic.The “Hardware”When discussing the bodily attributes of a cruise ship (i.e., it’s layout and physical appearance), business pros often refer to the ship’s “hardware”. So, let’s get started there.At 153,000 tons with a passenger capability of four,one hundred (primarily based on double occupancy), the Norwegian Epic is, by far, the largest ship in the NCL fleet. In actuality, with the exception of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas (which was launched in December 2009), NCL’s Epic is among the largest cruise ships at sea. It is also one particular of the most uniquely created cruise ships that I have ever been on (…and I’ve been on quite a few). In most situations, that “uniqueness” is a quite constructive attribute which displays the thoughtfulness and consideration that the Epic’s designers should have compensated to maximizing the use of room to accomplish a considerably greater, extensive-open “feel” to all of the ship’s public places. And, the way that a single spot just appeared to “flow” into the subsequent (with no the “cookie-cutter” rigidity occasionally discovered on cruise ships) was really outstanding. But, in a number of places, I did not perceive the distinctive style of the ship to be an advantage. For instance, the exterior form of the ship seemed a bit “odd” to me. The bow is somewhat “stubby-looking” and the stern is “squared-off” so that the ship does not have a “sleek” look from the exterior. Adding to the irregular search is a substantial 3-deck appendage that was seemingly “plopped” on top of the front part as an afterthought (or, additional probable, to further maximize the ship’s interior room). Of course, the ship’s designers had to make some “trade-off’s” to achieve every thing they did within the ship and, right after all, from a passenger’s point of view, the interior style and design is far additional critical.The decor of the Epic is contemporary and fairly a lot more “toned-down” than other NCL ships. Obtaining around was not really as simple because of the ship’s exceptional interior style. Rather than getting its public areas running at a uniform width by way of the middle of the ship, the Epic’s interior gave the illusion of being developed that way but, in various unique areas, the interior width of the ship would seemingly range and you would go to the appropriate or to the left to enter one more venue. So, just when I believed I had seen the overall ship, I would find out a new region. Having been on around 50 cruise ships, I found the layout of the Epic to be really intriguing and “refreshing”.The MealsConsidering that all eating places offer a assortment of culinary selections, any evaluation of meals is influenced not only by particular taste but also by what things are chosen from the menu. For instance, on the first evening, my spouse and I ate at the Manhattan Area, 1 of the ship’s main dining locations. She had a chicken dish, which she evaluated as “OK”, although I had scallops which were extremely good. Like all public regions on the Epic, the layout and décor of the Manhattan Room was a tribute to the ship’s designers. Extensive open and “airy”, the Manhattan Place had the glimpse and really feel of a good dinner theater. In reality, I was somewhat amazed when our dinner host (one particular of NCL’s executives) knowledgeable us that the Manhattan Space was not a specialty restaurant. The other primary dining space, appropriately referred to as “Taste”, was also extremely nicely laid-out and pleasing to the eye. At the center of Taste is a lovely chandelier (claimed to be the largest at sea) that spirals down from the deck above. Although I did not consume in Taste, I am informed that the menu is the very same as the Manhattan Area, so I would presume our evaluation of the meals would have been about the same (i.e., “OK” to “very good”, depending on the entre’ chosen and, of course, private taste).1 of the hallmarks of NCL’s acclaimed “Freestyle Cruising” is the selection of dining alternatives and, not surprisingly, the Epic normally requires this function to a new stage. In addition to the two major dining places, the Epic presents 17 other dining venues, each with its personal cuisine and ambiance. This incorporates the spacious principal buffet place (the “Garden Cafe”), in which the food was constantly clean and of higher-good quality (albeit with fairly less range than we’ve skilled on some other ships). It also contains the poolside grill (“Spice H2O”), “O’Sheehan’s” (a massive, sprawling pub that grew to become the meeting put and “social nucleus” for many of the ship’s guests) and numerous specialty eating places this kind of as La Cucina Italian restaurant (which was even much more attractively decorated on the Epic than on other NCL ships), Tepanyaki Japanese grill (a lot greater than on other NCL ships) and Le Bistro French restaurant just to title a handful of. Each and every of the specialty restaurants has a “cover charge” (which ranges from to per man or woman) but, in my opinion, they are all properly really worth the income.On this pre-inaugural cruise, I attempted two of the specialty eating places, Cagney’s steakhouse and Moderno Churrascaria, a Brazilian “all-you-can-eat” barbeque in which visitors signal their servers with a green card (“Okay, I’m prepared for more”) or a red card (“No far more, please. I’m stuffed”). My wife and I have raved about Cagney’s steakhouse on a number of other Norwegian cruise ships (e.g., the NCL Dawn, the NCL Gem and the NCL Jewel) and we liked it just as considerably on the Epic. On the other hand, we were not practically as impressed with the Epic’s Moderno Churrascaria, which is the initially these kinds of restaurant on any cruise ship. The salad bar was absolutely wonderful (in particular the plump shrimp and wonderful gourmet cheeses) but, other than the sirloin (which the servers reduce proper in front of you), my spouse and I had been equally disappointed with the good quality of the meats. Ironically, my son Greg (who is CEO of Immediate Line Cruises) and many of our workers members tried Moderno Churrascaria and actually liked it. So, don’t get my phrase for it.For far more information about “shower door NYC”, you need to go to: shower door NYCThe ServiceA cruise passenger’s perception of onboard service is so typically dependent upon who their stateroom attendant was and which waiters / waitresses served their meals. Considering that my wife and I began Direct Line Cruises, there have been various circumstances in which diverse clientele on the very same precise cruise would report radically distinct program levels. So, at very best, any evaluation of program really should be taken only as a generalization based mostly on minimal person experiences though onboard.Getting prefaced this component of my review (to “cover my tail” in scenario the reader has a distinct practical experience), my spouse and I identified the program on the NCL Epic to be consistent with what we’ve knowledgeable on other NCL cruise ships (i.e., quite excellent with only minor exceptions).Enjoyment And ActivitiesIt may possibly be very difficult to think but the exhibit by the Blue Man Group in fact exceeds NCL’s hype! It was the most exceptional (…yes, I’m employing that phrase once again…) and specialized act I’ve witnessed on any cruise ship. Completely humorous and entertaining, I would rather see that display evening following evening than to sit by way of some of the very same outdated “Broadway song-and-dance” shows I’ve witnessed on so several other cruise ships. The Blue Man efficiency was in the ship’s most important theatre which, considering the size of the Epic, was reasonably tiny (with a seating capacity of underneath 600 people today). On the other hand, despite that simple fact, the theatre was not “packed” due to the fact, steady with NCL’s idea of “Freestyle Cruising”, the Epic was intended with several enjoyment venues, each and every supplying a diverse display.In addition to Blue Guy Group, the NCL Epic showcased “Legends In Concert”, which featured impersonated performances by Elvis, Madonna, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson and other “super-stars”. If you like this type of factor, you will probably get pleasure from it extremely much. Otherwise, you could discover it to be “OK”, as I did.An additional Epic “first” is Cirque Dreams and Dinner which is performed by an exceptionally talented group of acrobats in a distinctive theater-in-the-round referred to as the Spiegel Tent. Several of our employees members noticed this exhibit and mentioned that it was incredibly very good but, possibly, a bit also long. My spouse and I noticed a extremely various present in the Spiegel Tent. Our 3-yr-aged granddaughter, who we had been ready to provide with us, is a big fan of “Dora the Explorer” and “Diego” and she just cherished the Nickelodeon character breakfast which, in addition to Dora and Diego, also featured “Sponge Bob Square Pants”, “Jimmy Neutron” and other folks. In an unique offer with NCL, the Nickelodeon characters are presently appearing on the Epic and the NCL Jewel (which now sails 12 months-round out of New York City) and will at some point appear on numerous other NCL ships.One more featured act on NCL’s cruise ships is the 2nd City Comedy Troupe. Although I did not see their display on the Epic (…there just wasn’t sufficient time to do every thing…), my wife and I have seen them on many other NCL cruise ships. In general, we observed their “rehearsed” skits to be incredibly humorous, and their “ad-libbed” routines extremely “un-funny” (but, then once more, I by no means truly liked viewing Jonathan Winters, who was regarded by a lot of folks as an “ad-lib” comedic genius).Activities on the ship were plentiful. Special to the Epic were the “Epic Plunge” (a huge 7-deck water slide), six bowling alleys and the SVEDKA Ice Bar (which NCL touts as the first ice bar at sea) in which the whole contents (including the bar) are manufactured of ice and the venue is maintained at a “toasty” 17-diploma temperature to hold it from melting. Now, that’s “truly cool”! Patrons are furnished with heavy jackets before entering and vodka is clearly the beverage of selection.The StateroomsLike every contemporary cruise ship, the NCL Epic provides a extensive assortment of accommodations, ranging from reduced-priced interior cabins (with no window) to large luxury suites with personalized butlers. Certainly, a guest staying in a single of the huge suites would have a various stateroom expertise than a single staying in a a lot more compact interior cabin so, as soon as again, I ought to preface my stateroom evaluate by cautioning the reader that it is primarily based on my certain knowledge (which may or may well not hold correct for other sorts of accommodations on the Epic).My spouse and I had been in a standard stateroom with a balcony (1 of the “Category B” staterooms on the ship). Upon getting into the stateroom, we had two preliminary impressions. Initial of all, the curved walls gave the area a really “unique” seem (as opposed to normal cruise ship staterooms which are nearly always rectangular with straight walls). The 2nd issue we observed is that the stateroom didn’t have a bathroom…very well, at least, not in the standard sense. You entered the stateroom by means of a door among a shower stall and a toilet stall (every single with a heavily “frosted” enclosure). A curtain separated these locations from the major component of the stateroom which, among other points, integrated the bed, a couch, storage closets / cabinets and a sink. The benefit of possessing the sink outdoors of the toilet and shower area is that 1 occupant can use the sink though yet another is making use of the shower or toilet (a ease that you don’t typically locate in regular cruise ship staterooms). In addition, the exclusive design and style of the stateroom furnished very much more storage room than is generally located in a traditional stateroom of similar dimensions. Nonetheless, regardless of that, I found the stateroom to be very “tight” (especially in the cabins that have the bed nearer to the entrance door than to the balcony door) and, all round, I should admit that I would have preferred a far more conventionally intended stateroom configuration or a single of the greater deluxe balcony (“Class D”) staterooms on the Epic).ConclusionWhilst onboard, a single of NCL’s executives asked me what I considered of the ship and what type of consumer it would be very best suited for. Devoid of hesitation, I responded that the Epic would be most appreciated by the consumer who has been on a lot of cruise ships and now would like to practical experience a thing really unique. Steady with that, it’s no coincidence that my spouse booked the 15-12 months anniversary cruise for Immediate Line Cruises’ employees on the NCL Epic and, now that we’ve gotten a modest “taste” of it, we can hardly wait until September when we set sail on the Epic for 7 nights.

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