FIRST OF 8 AT SEA DAYS

 Today is the first of 8 at sea days.  Thought I would talk a bit about the Norwegian Epic. 

To say this is a large cruise ship is an understatement.  It is huge with 17 decks.  There are only 2 banks of elevators – forward and aft.  We are on the 11th deck aft.  The dining room and Garden Café are forward.  So needless to say there is a lot of walking.. that’s a good thing.  With the wonderful offerings in all the restaurants, we need to walk! 

The restaurants are interesting.  There is the main dining room and the Garden Café that are “complimentary” restaurants that are always on cruise ships.  However, this ship has a couple of other restaurants that are complimentary dining choices: O’Sheehan’s (pub style) and Shanghai and Noodle Bar (Asian).  We have tried O’Sheehan’s and will try the Noodle Bar soon.  Just gives a different choice to sit down and order from a menu.  Other than that there are 6 restaurant that have a cover charge.  With the 4000 plus passengers this ship can accommodate, extra dining options are a necessity.  We are travelling with about 3200 on this cruise and it doesn’t  seem crowded.  Maybe if the weather was hotter, as it is in the Caribbean, you would notice it much busier in the outside pool area.

There is a 3 lane 10 pin bowling alley and an assortment of bowling shoes.  The weight of the balls goes from 11 to 15 lbs.  When I bowled all those years ago, my bowling ball was 8 lbs.  I can’t imagine trying to use those heavy ones and especially now that I am older.  This ship also boasts a climbing wall, miniature golf, basketball court and an enormous water slide with a huge swirly bowl at the bottom.  There is only two days so far that the slide has been open.  It is quite cool on this adventure.  This wasn’t unexpected…it is December after all.  So there is lot to keep people active and busy.  

Climbing wall on the right

Of course there are shows, trivia, the spa, fitness room and lots to join in on.  Today I am going to find a craft group that meets on Deck 5 at 10:00 am on the at sea days.  So ciao for now.