Boarding the Epic on Sunday

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My last morning in Barcelona, I headed out to the Cathedral for Mass at 9:00am, the line was already out the door. Darn! I picked up a roll and coffee and wandered La Rambla for about an hour. I would be able to board the ship at 11:00am, so headed out by taxi at 11:30am. What should have been a 15 minute ride ended up taking an hour, and the meter ran, due to a Harley-Davidson convention. They had La Rambla blocked off for them to ride out of town, thousands of them, all roaring and spitting fire, and my cab was stuck a few blocks back. No way to get out and no where to go. So the driver and I conversed in our broken Spanish and English about his journey from Jordan to Spain and how much better his family's life is since they came here. It's always fun to have those impromptu insights into the world's peoples. The cab fare that should have been 10 Euros, ended up being 20 Euros.

On arrival at the ship, your first impression is "Holy Crap that's a big ship." It is really more like a giant hotel on a barge, it is not pretty, nor ship-like. With over 4000 passengers I was afraid it was going to be a long wait to board, but from dropping my bags to boarding, it was less than 20 minutes. When I drop my bags, I always have the dilemma, leave the carry-on, with the meds, camera, laptop? Or schlep them around until your cabin is ready. This time I did, and regretted it until I got to my room and there they were! Everyone at the pier was very nice and spoke excellent English, German, Dutch, and any other language that came by. They knew and repeated their instructions in every language.

My cabin , 9017, was near the bow, just below the bridge. It was called an "enclosed deck." I had called ahead to see what that meant and was told it was "covered." It really meant that it was more of a deck with a large porthole outside. It was like watching the scenery through a picture window. Every view was framed. Good I guess for people who don't want sun, or those with kids who don't want to worry about them climbing the rails. For me it was blah. Not really an outside cabin if you ask me, but I had take the guarantee and had no idea this was a possibility. I was disappointed but the lines were quite long to make a change, I was quite tired, and decided to make due.

The sheer magnitude of this ship isn't clear until you're at the bow, where my cabin was located to the stern where the spa, several restaurants and shows were located. I did feel like the forward location was better for me, several of the showrooms and specialty restaurants were nearer my location. However, Spice H2O, the outside sun deck without hundreds of screaming children at any given time, was at the opposite end of the ship, and quite a hike for a quick dip in the pool. That was a GREAT location for watching movies each evening with tapas and drinks, and for the World Cup semi-finals taking place during my cruise. There were so many Europeans aboard, I truly felt like the minority. Dutch, German, of course Spanish and other nationalities were represented. One night I was seated at a table for 8 with 7 Dutch people. It was impossible to have a conversation. You would think they could have "language spoken" part of the reservation system for specialty restaurants.

The cabin had a queen bed, with a curved headboard, which made sitting in bed and reading very difficult. The separate toilet and shower areas was a nice touch. The vanity was great, however many of the drawers were not too deep, maybe 4 inches, and other than socks and underwear I don't know what you would have put in there. The closet is plenty wide, and another cupboard near the balcony has a place for hangers, sideways, but no hangers. I saw my steward walking with a bunch of plastic hangers, so you must be able to request them if needed. Suitcases fit nicely under the bed, everything put away, I showered and went to Cirque Dreams at 6:30pm on sailing night. The dinner was salad, prime rib and shrimp, and a lovely trio of desserts. The beef could have used some good horseradish, and the prawns some grilling, they were barely pink and flavorless. The show, however, was fantastic! I loved the twins, who you think are just jesters, but wait...Geraldo Rivera and family were at the next table. I spoke to his wife on the elevator, they are doing another NCL to Alaska in August!

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Comments

[Murray]

Enclosed Balcony room on Norwegian Epic.
Hi, nice blog and interesting reading. You may be able to help me with a bit of information on the Norwegian Epic staterooms. We are booked on a western Med cruise and have room 8006 with an enclosed stateroom. does the window open on these balconies? I'm wondering if I should change to the more common open balcony. Thanks, Murray

[MONichols]

Sorry I missed your board date, how was your trip?
Murray, Hope your Epic Adventure was good and that the cabin you ended up with was good for you. After that debacle on NCL's enclosed balcony, I will never opt for a guarantee again. Live and learn. I'm off on the Getaway next month, my kids are taking me in a Haven suite as babysitter for my grandson.