Norwegian Epic Revisted

 Norwegian Epic is one of three ships that are bringing cruising to a new level. (The other two are Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas). This is not because these ships are bigger than any that have gone before but because of the new concepts that have been introduced onboard.

Focusing on Epic, the entertainment has been brought to a new level. Pre-Epic, the industry standard had been (and still is to a large extent) to have the nightly entertainment revolve around what was happening in the theater in the front of the ship. This could be a production show where a dozen young performers would sing and dance to a collection of popular tunes or a show by a stand-up comic or magician who makes a living jumping from ship to ship. Many of these are quite good but it is not first tier entertainment.

On Epic, the entertainment features acts who have already made a name ashore such as the Blue Man Group, Legends in Concert, Second City, and Cirque Dreams. To use an analogy, the difference in the experience is like the difference between drinking a house wine and drinking a name brand. Moreover, the entertainment is not limited to the ship's theater. Each night, there are shows by the name performers taking place in different venues around the ship.

Another innovative concept on Epic is its studio cabins. At one time, all passenger ships had single occupancy cabins reflecting the fact that for a variety of reasons some people want or need to travel alone. Based upon some flawed assumptions revolving around the sophistry that it is more profitable to have two people in a cabin than one, the industry abandoned single cabins. Consequently, solo travelers have to pay a single supplement for a cabin which can often be as much as 200 percent of the per person double occupancy rate.

Norwegian recognized that this left an unserved market of people who are predisposed toward cruising. Therefore, it built Epic with a large number of single occupancy cabins. In addition, in order to ensure that these people did not feel left out, it has strived to create a community of solo travelers on Epic.

Epic also premiered with a number of other innovative concepts. And while I was impressed by all these innovative concepts when the ship entered service in 2010, I began to wonder how they were working out in practice. So I returned to Epic to have another look around.

To get some insight on what Epic is all about now, I spoke with her hotel director Richard Janicki. That interview is posted at http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-epic-hotel-director.html

Focusing on the entertainment, I spoke with the Second City comedy troupe and through an unusual coincidence, ended up on stage with them. My article about that is posted at http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-epic-second-city.html

I also experienced what it is like to sail in Epic's studio cabins. http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-epic-sailing-solo.html

Norwegian is well known for all of the dining options onboard its ships. Epic takes this even further with a collection of Norwegian classics and several new dining concepts. My reviews of six of these dining venues can be found at http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-epic-restaurant-reviews.html