NORWEGIAN EPIC
Epic is very much for families (do not sail during school holidays if you don’t like kids), with seven of the 16 decks given over to “freestyle family fun”. This ranges from the huge water park on the main deck, with the only tube slide at sea; to the kids’ club – the biggest on a ship – taking up a large part of Deck 14 and open to two-year-olds upwards. Unfortunately, because most of the kids were Spanish, my eldest didn’t want to go there: which was a real shame as it looked like a lot of fun – with a space- themed play area, an air hockey table and interactive light up dance floor, Wii gaming areas, an arts and crafts area and a cinema – and that’s just for the pre-teens – there is a whole other area on Deck 16 given over to teenagers. We had two adjoining cabins (which I recommend – some friends of ours, also with two kids, opted for one cabin and regretted it), which gives you the chance to spread out and gives you privacy if you choose to stay in.
Each night there were some really lovely touches for kids, with the chamber maids bringing all sorts of different SpongeBob goodies which included everything from a pillow case and towel, to a battery-operated candle, notepad and pens and of course a sponge. Each evening when we got back to the cabins my eldest would get increasingly excited at the prospect
of what he’d find on his bed, and this of course included the ubiquitous towel animals (of which there were many, including a monkey hanging from the lightshade).
Fun Facts
The 22 dining venues on board Norwegian Epic will serve a total of 20,370 meals a day
The Epic Plunge is 236 feet long – taller than Tower Bridge
The ship’s chandelier is the largest at sea, made up of 40,000 crystal glass pieces
Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ is the most requested song in the Howl at the Moon bar
The Ice Bar uses approximately 7,205 litres of water to make up its bar, walls, tables, stools, glasses and ice sculptures – equivalent to 17,143 cups of tea
A week on Epic is not cheap. There is a $12 per person per day obligatory tip added to your bill, which over the course of a week adds up to $336 (yes kids of any age also pay tips). This is not unique to Epic, it’s standard US cruise ship pricing, but a real shock if you aren’t made aware of it. This incidentally is on top of a tip every time you order a drink at the bar.
so much food so little time It is all about the kids, but the beauty of a ship like Epic is that come the evening it becomes a play area for adults too. It’s worth bearing in mind that different nationalities have different ideas of when is a suitable time for kids to go to bed. In my house it’s before 8pm, in Spain it seems that before 1am is acceptable.
The result of this is that until late there were kids in every available place they were allowed into – whether it was the outside disco, or the Cirque Dreams or the Spiegel Tent. I even saw a child who can’t have been more than 12-years-old trying to get into the Bliss Ultra Lounge at midnight.
Clockwise from main Epic Plunge; Findlay on the bridge; teens’ Recess Room; Fin’s brother Rafferty in the kids’ splash area; the kids’ splash area; bowling alley on board; Teppanyaki Restaurant; the Spiegel Tent
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PHOTOS: NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE/ADAM COULTER
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