NCL Epic - First impressions

As you probably know I've just got back from the Norwegian cruise lines ship Epic and I had a fantastic time. In fact I've had more fun on that cruise than any other I've done before!
I'm going to be talking a lot about Norwegian cruises, (NCL cruises), over the next week or so as I've a lot to tell you but I thought I'd start today by just sharing my first impressions of them with you.



The very first thing you'll notice about the ship is how ugly she is from outside. I wont try to hide it, she looks like a block of flats at sea. There are much, much more elegant ships out there. However the NCL Epics design, whilst not pretty, does mean that there isn't one cabin onboard with an obstructed view and she has a higher percentage of balconies than almost any other ship at sea. So you know what ol' gal? I'm glad of the way you look as I know how fantastic you are inside!
And that's the second thing you'll notice about her. The glitz and glamour of a fantastic American interior. But not just that. What you'll notice most when first exploring the ship is the choices available onboard. Restaurants, shops, bars, shows, bowling alleys, (there's more than one). You're spoilt for choice and won't know where to turn. Believe me, seven days is not enough time to spend on this ship. I'd say in that time I managed to get through about half of what she had to offer.
I know I said this post would be about my first impressions of the ship, (and truth be told I noticed this fairly early), but I'm going to leave you today with my most enduring memory of the ship and the one that made the biggest impression on me.
And that's the staff.
Right through from the hotel and entertainment directors and down through the ranks to the waiters, bar staff and cabin crew, these people were the most friendly, helpful and above all cheerful staff I have ever had the joy to meet on any cruise line anywhere.
On my very first day onboard I was walking down a corridor and saw a member of the cabin staff walking towards me, singing to himself, just happy in his work. A waiter brought me free drinks whenever he saw me just because I picked a pen up for him he dropped. You could have a laugh and a joke with them all so that it all just felt perfectly natural and there was none of the yes sir no sir service that you can get on other cruise lines. Don't get me wrong, it's nice for the staff to be polite but past a certain point it just becomes formal and fake. The Norwegian cruise lines staff were a joy to deal with and I have been well and truly converted to free style cruising.

Happy, (freestyle), cruising

PS. Much more coming soon, (keep coming back)