An Epic Review - Part Two

In the last blog, I covered the cabin and restaurants. If you haven't read that part yet, go ahead before moving on. It has a lot of background that will help as you read this part.

Epic Theatre

As I mentioned, the Epic is designed differently than other ships. Without the interior atrium, basically a huge hole in the middle of the ship from the bottom deck to the top, the Epic was able to utilize that space for content. There were more bars and theatre type venues on the Epic than other ships have. The casino was also the largest covering about half a deck. It was designed well with plenty of traffic areas. Some people have complained about a smoke problem in that area, but I never really noticed it. Yes, there was some, but it was nothing overpowering.

There are at least four major entertainment venues, with many other minor ones as well. The main theater is much smaller than other ships. It isn't designed to hold half of the passengers like many of them are, so it is a much more intimate venue. It was there that the Blue Man Group and Legends In Concert performed. Excellent shows. I love the Blue Man Group and would have gone more often, but there was too much to do.

The Spiegel Tent is where the Cirque Dreams show is held. It's amazing to think of what these performers can do on a moving ship. We got the premium seats and were right in the  middle of the action. We really enjoyed the show.

Headliners Comedy Club has the Howl at the Moon (dueling pianos) and Second City shows. Both are well worth the time. Get there early as some of the sight lines might be difficult.

The fourth area is Spice H2O the outside dance club, huge video wall, catch all fun venue. It is adults only and even has a pool during the day. It is here that all the parties happened on ship. The White Hot Party is one that is not to be missed.

Many of the bars, including Fat Cats, had excellent entertainment as well. Fat Cats had great Jazz playing and was a good place to just spend some down time between when looking for something to do.

One of the things we did on this cruise was purchase a pass to the Mandara Spa. Lisa really enjoys the heated loungers in the spa and with a ship as big as the Epic, we really wanted a place that would be less crowded. They say they limit the number of passes sold, and it did seem that there was never more than 20-25 people in the spa at a time. The spa has individual saunas/steam rooms in the locker rooms for men/women. There is also a coed steam room and 2 coed saunas in the common area. The therapy pool pictured here was bathwater warm and had jets all over at different levels. This was my favorite place in the spa.

I had planned on doing this in 2 posts, but once I got the part about the ports in place, it was really long. I'm going to save the ports and final thoughts for Part 3.

An Epic Review - Part One

I should have posted this one awhile ago, but you know how procrastination is. Anyway, Lisa and I boarded the Norwegian Epic the end of January for a week long cruise. This was our 6th cruise and the second on Norwegian. The Epic is the largest ship that we have cruised on and also the most different.

We knew we were going to be in for a different experience even before we got on the ship. The layout was completely different with no atrium in the middle and no middle elevators. We thought that would be different and it was, but it wasn't a negative at all. We were able to move about the ship without a lot of difficulty.

We had booked a balcony cabin (if you've never had one, once you've tried it you will be hooked!) and glad that we did. The cabin was definitely narrow. There were times that we had to move around to allow one of us to go where we needed to. However, the storage was amazing. The most storage room we've had on any ship. I know a lot of folks have complained about the way the bathroom was split, we found it useful as one of us could be in the shower and the other could be using the sink or toilet.

The food was excellent. Yes, we did eat at a number of the alternate restaurants that required a cover charge, but every one of them was worth it. We especially enjoyed Cagney's and Monderno's. Cagney's is Norwegian's signature steak restaurant and Moderno's is their Brazilian Steakhouse. The meat was amazing at both of those. We ate a number of times in the main dining room and enjoyed the food immensely. I do love the idea of being able to eat where we want, when we want. That is one of the hallmarks of Freestyle Cruising.

The Buffet was hit and miss. Sometimes it was difficult to find exactly what I wanted on the buffet, but they had enough lines so that there were never too many people waiting to get food and things moved pretty well. We found O'Sheehan's to be very convenient for those times we needed a quick snack. Being right in the middle of the ship made it very well situated for those times.

Views like this Sunrise off St Maarten are one reason we love
 having a balcony cabin.

We did some things on this cruise that we have never done before. Realize, we are both in our late 40s with our youngest child 21. We decided to join in the Pub Crawl with all of these 20-somethings. We had a great time chanting and shouting as we moved through the ship and trying things we never would drink on our own. It was a great way for us to get out and meet people.

We also did the Martini Tasting. If you ever do a Martini Tasting, I highly recommend splitting it. Four full size Martini's in 45 minutes was definitely a little much. The really odd thing was we met a couple that lives 5 miles from our house and knew our kids. Amazing how small the world is that you can meet someone like that in the middle of the Caribbean.

The Epic is about to head to Europe. It would be a great ship (or any of Norwegian's ships) to see the ports of Europe because of the Freestyle Dining. There is no pressure to get back to the ship in order to be ready for dinner. This fall the Epic is coming back to Miami to once again cruise the Caribbean. It is definitely not too early (don't for get Layaway Travel) to book one of these great sailings! Send me an email or give me a call if you have questions on an Epic sailing or a different cruise.

You can see some more pictures from our cruise here. Part 2 of the review will be coming soon and will cover the ports and the entertainment.

How can I afford a vacation? Answer: Layaway Travel

Beach in Costa Maya, Mexico

As I was thinking through yesterday's blog post, the idea of Layaway Travel stuck in my head. It's not a new concept to the travel world, but it may be to some of you.

The big internet travel sites don't really handle this well. They want all of your money up front whenever you book a vacation. They may do just a deposit for a cruise, but if you want to do an all-inclusive or a Disney trip 6 to 12 months from now, instead of paying just a deposit, you have to give them the entire price up front.

Now, it is true that when you book a vacation like this you normally will have to pay the flight costs in full as well as a deposit to the resort. However, I know of one supplier that will allow you, for a $10/person fee, to have a very small ($235/person) non-refundable deposit that even includes the airfare! Now, if you book something like this, I definitely recommend that you purchase cancel for any reason Travel Insurance to make sure that you are protected.

Here's the great thing, there are no fees or interest paid to do this. You can lock in that dream vacation when you know there is an awesome special going on, and only pay the deposit. Let me give you an example. Right now, SuperClubs is doing a 35% off special, plus an upgrade to any room available on the property. That is an amazing deal. If you were to go to one of the major Internet Travel sites, you would have to pay the full amount. (Prices here are based on a trip leaving Nashville on Oct 8 for 7 nights at the Breezes Grand Resort in Negril.) That full cost, including air and transfers is around $4000. For the next 6 months, you are paying interest (or not receiving interest if it is from savings) and the retailer gets to use your money. With my plan, you pay $470 plus $198 for Travel Insurance. You can then make payments as often as you like till August 24th, the final payment date. That means your money stays with you and you get to take advantage of whatever special is available.

This works for cruises as well. Cruise deposits range from $50/person to $250/person with final payments being due 45-60 days prior to the sailing. Unlike airfares, cruise schedules are available sometimes 2 years out. With cruises, as long as you cancel before 60 days (normally) all monies paid are refundable. If something happens, then you can either change the cruise or get your money back. The cool thing is that if prices drop, you often can get that lower price or get On Board Credit to spend on board.


So, where do you want to go? How much do you want to set aside per month? How much of a deposit can you afford? When would you like to go? Answer these questions and we can get your vacation of a lifetime on layaway right away!

A Week in Paradise

Vacations can be expensive. I realize that. In this economy it's hard to plan and get the funds available for the trip of a lifetime you have always wanted to take. For Lisa, this has been Hawaii.

When she was growing up, her father was in the Air Force. Jack was a mechanic on some of the cargo planes that were used in Vietnam. He would go to where the plane was to make sure it was ready for flight. As such, he saw much of the world, while his family was at home. His last year in the Air Force, he asked for a posting so that his family could go with him and see some of what he saw in the world. That posting was in Okinawa.  They enjoyed their time there, but one of the things she has said numerous times, is that they landed in Honolulu, but only saw the airport.

She wants to see more of Hawaii. We have never been able to do a trip like that. We have done numerous cruises and other vacations, but nothing on a scale of getting to Hawaii for a week or more. That is going to change.

NCL Pride of America

Norwegian Cruise Lines has the only cruise that begins and ends in Honolulu that covers all of the islands. When you look at the itinerary for the Pride of America, it seems like it is docked more than it is sailing. Gee, it's Hawaii, that's exactly what we are looking for, the ability to see the islands, but not have to island hop and change hotels. It is a resort that is moving to the islands with us.

So, here it is. September 15, 2012, yes, that is well over a year from now, Lisa is going to be able to see the islands of Hawaii. This happens to be her birthday and not long after our anniversary, so I don't have to worry about presents for 2012.

Yes, it isn't an inexpensive trip, but planning it this far ahead allows us to pay all along the way. Here is how it is going to work. Final payment is going to be due the end of June 2012. That is 14 months from now. We are getting a balcony cabin. The price per person for the cabin (balcony) is about $1800. A $250 deposit is due to book the cruise, so that leaves a balance of $1550/person. That means we can have the balance paid by putting an average of $225/mo as a couple.

That is for a balcony cabin. As this is a cruise that will have us spending a lot of time off the boat, we are definitely going to consider an inside or oceanview cabin. The inside cabin starts at $1220/person and the Oceanview just over $1300/person. That means for an inside, under $150/month will have the cruise for 2 paid for!

We have set up a block of cabins on the Pride of America. If Hawaii is on your bucket list, if Paradise is where you have always wanted to go, but didn't think you could afford, if you just want to get away for awhile, we would love to have you join us. You can get a flyer here that has more information.

USS Arizona Memorial

In future days, I will be sharing more about Hawaii and some of the experiences that can happen there. I can tell you this much, one of the places I look forward to seeing is Pearl Harbor. It will be with a solemn heart that I will view the place where so many of our service men served and died. But it shows the resolute heart of America. That will be one of the items on my Bucket List that can be checked complete.