NCL Epic Upper Deck
NCL EPIC is a 155,000-ton mega ship with a 4,100-passenger berth capacity. This behemoth represents more a Floating resort than a Normal Cruise Liner! Examples of its unique and innovative features include the only tube and bowl water park at sea, a rappelling wall and two three-lane bowling alleys.
Priscilla Queen of the Desert
NCL epic has a real “nightlife “ buzz and you feel a tingle of excitement as you walk the length of ship in the evening. The entertainment ranges from the Beatle inspired “Caverns” Nightclub, which has live rock and roll everyday, to the only ÏCE bar” on the seas.
Then there is the Sprawling Epic Casino, which stretches full-length across deck 6. Even if you don’t gamble, it will add a shimmer to your evening. Casino activities includes a daily poker tournament apart from countless slots and table games
The classical Entertainment on the ship is best of its class on the seas, with TWO great new shows, Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Burn the Floor.
The Broadway show “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.”, based on the Oscar-winning movie, is a dazzling production with fabulous costumes and ever-changing background sets. It also has a hit parade of toe-tapping dance floor favorites including “It’s Raining Men”, “I Will Survive”, and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”.
To top it up you have the Siegel tent, which hosts (Paid, $29.95 cover including dinner) the world famous Cirque, acrobatics show
The upper pool deck, hosts at least one mega party per sailing. With the Giant screen and world class DJ’s (who even started played Indian Bhangra, when he saw Indians on the dance floor), it is an experience right out of IBIZA. The regular Discotheque is also impressive and active till very late every evening
Epic also has TWO 3 lane bowling alley!
Entertainment Rating : 4.5/5
NCL Epic – Squash Court
NCL Epic (and the NCL brand in general) is THE brand to go for if you have children (of all ages and sizes). Not only will your children have the time of their lives, they will also be exposed to children of many different nationalities. Fun apart this would be a great cross-cultural experience for them
From a detailing perspective, Epic’s signature Kids programme is the Splash academy. The Splash Academy divides youngsters into four age groups: Guppies (6 months to 3 years), Turtles (3 to 5), Seals (6 to 9) and Dolphins (10 to 12). Guppies have a separate colorful playroom open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. that’s situated forward on Deck 5. For teenagers, you have the Entourage programme
The Splash Academy and Entourage feature a different theme every day, such as pirates, space cowboys, jungle fever or circus. Specific emphasis is placed on active offerings, including soccer and physical challenges, through a partnership with the King’s Foundation and Camps, a U.K.-based organization The is a even a (USD 6/ hour), paid late night group baby sitting service.
For teens, bowling tournaments, soccer challenges and dodge ball under the stars are just a few of the offerings. Other typical activities might include trivia quizzes, cake-eating challenges and video games, along with an Olympics for older children and face painting, puzzles and a treasure hunt for the little ones. The teenagers even a small discotheque of their own!
Kids Rating : 5/5
Barcelona Port
Monte Carlo
NCL epic in the summer months follows the classical Western Mediterranean itinerary
The ports include, Barcelona, Cannes, Provence (Marseilles), Florence, Rome, and Naples (Amalfi Coast).
Covering nearly all the popular Mediterranean Ports, it provides a great mix of locations over small number of days. The cruise ships typically reaches the Port in the morning and leave in the evening, allowing time for either traditional sightseeing for the first time traveller (ex: Full day Rome sightseeing) or allowing the repeat traveller to engage in a variety of interesting day trips. For instance from Florence ( Livorno), we visited a traditional Italian vineyard village, Monticello, while others visited the Cinque Terre, a grouping of Five Villages set on cliffs on the Italian Riveria
Itinerary Rating – 4/5
Cruises are Great for Large groups and Families. This is true for most cruise sailings, but particularly accurate for NCL Epic with its large set of diverse offering. People of many different age groups will find something, which suits them. These range from water parks for Kids, to the largest spa and fitness center in the sea for Adults, to a variety of easy paced activities (wine tasting, art auctions, Bingo etc) for senior’s citizens. For senior citizens, the free style, do at your own pace, cruise concept is a great boon. They can do things at their own pace while spending quality time with the families. In addition, the cruise format allows them to pick and choose, which days they want to do sightseeing activities or just relax on the ship.
Group Rating – 4.5/5
NCL Epic – Teppanyaki Restaurant
NCL pioneering the free style dining concept and the ship has plenty of Free and Paid options to keep the fussiest of diners busy! The Free options include the all you eat buffets (Garden Café) which has different daily offerings and plenty of live counters. The buffets also focus on a different county’s cuisine everyday (Californian, Mediterranean, Chinese, Indian etc). The buffet has a separate Indian food section
The other free restaurants include, the Chinese restaurants (Shanghai and Noodle bar), A Classic Bar and Grill (O’Sheehan) and Two proper sit-down 4 course restaurants ( Taste and Manhattan)
There are also multiple varied and interesting paid options. These include:
Le Bistro – French ($19.95 per person) –
Cagney’s – Steakhouse (a la carte. Average cost of steak $25-30).
Moderno Churrascaria ($19.95 per person)
Teppanyaki ($29.95 per person)
Yakitori & Sushi (Deck 7); a la carte
Dining Rating – 4/5
All in all NCL Epic is amongst the best options you have on the sea, especially if you travelling with children or family groups. If you book in advance, there are plenty of deals on offers and BALCONY cabins can be had for as low as USD 800 per person
