Miami is for the...



Carnival Liberty (left) and Carnival Destiny (right) are just two ships that call Miami home.
Photo Credit: Cruise Man 3000

 Miami is for the people who enjoy multitudes of people, throngs of people, and did I mention massive crowds? Miami is known as cruise capital of the world, but it is such a hassle to sail from this cruising epicenter. Many ships can dock at the Port of Miami at once, which can pose to be a problem.

When you have high profile ships like Norwegian Epic, Celebrity Eclipse, and Liberty of the Seas that can carry over 2,000 passengers easily, and place that number of people in one central location, mayhem is bound to happen.

My advice? Avoid Miami all together (unless you have to sail Norwegian Epic). You can do many of the similar cruise itineraries offered from the Port of Miami, from neighboring Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale), Florida which is only 45 minutes north of Miami.

I am aware that the world’s largest cruise ships, Oasis and Allure of the Seas, call Port Everglades home; but they have their own separate dock (I could only imagine trying to board a vessel with a 5,000 passenger capacity... that’s another blog post). The ease of boarding your ship in Ft. Lauderdale is a walk in the park compared to Miami.

So, when picking your next Florida cruise port of embarkation, go with Ft. Lauderdale (unless you have to sail Norwegian Epic). Also, look into the Ports of Jacksonville, Port Canaveral, and Tampa, Florida. They have cruise traffic that is nowhere near the volume that Ft. Lauderdale or Miami have.When cruising, be smart, be safe, and be hassle free. I hope your next cruise vacation will begin from a port of ease! Your ship awaits, bon voyage!

Cruise Ship Review: Norwegian Epic



Norwegian Epic docked in Nassau, Bahamas
Photo Credit: Nahshon "Cruise Man 3000" Ford

 She has bowling allies, a rock climbing wall, and a full size aqua park. She weighs 153,00 Gross tons, can hold over 4,000 passengers. Only one world can describe a vessel of this magnitude: E-P-I-C!

Issued into service in July of 2010, this new innovative vessel has become the newest attraction to an array of cruisers all over the world. For Norwegian Cruise Line, this is a leap, for they did not even have a cruise ship that ranked in the world's top twenty largest cruise ships, and the Norwegian Epic debuted at number three!

There are twenty dining option offered on board, of which most (not all), require a reservation and a cover charge fee. The food was pretty decent on board, but one can taste that the food was "cooked for the masses." With that said, the food on smaller ships (i.e., Norwegian Sky, Norwegian Spirit) has a better quality. Not saying the food on the Epic was bad at all, but I could taste a slight difference in the quality of the food served on board.

The Norwegian Epic has absolutely the BEST entertainment on any cruise ship from any cruise line in the entire world. The Blue Man Group (R), Comedy Troupe, Second City, Legends in Concert, and many other entertainment acts and shows head line every night on board. They even have Nickelodeon at Sea, and the kids can see some of their favorite cartoon characters, up close and personal.

The Norwegian Epic requires something that the other ships within the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet do not, and that is reservations, and a lot of them. In order to attend any of the fabulous shows that I mentioned above, reservations are needed. Also, for every specialty dining room on board, as well as the super cool 17 degree ice bar, reservations are needed.

If you don't make reservations, then you have to stand in the standby line for the events you wish to partake in, which doesn't guarantee you a seat in the performance that you want to see. On most other ships that I have been on, the entertainment is on a first come first serve basis. Now, all cruise lines that offer specialty dining restaurants do require an additional cover charge, so no surprises there. Let me also add the reservations for the shows do not cost anything, they are free. I just think because of the people traffic on board, they have to this in order to keep things under control (The Ice Bar and Circus require cover charges, those are not free).

Sine the Norwegian Epic is a mega-cruise ship, the passenger capacity is very large. On the entire cruise it was hard to get a chair on the deck, there were multitudes of people all the time, and everywhere on the ship. The crew was one of the best I have ever experienced at sea, and truly made the cruise what it was, a wonderful experience.

The amenities that are on board are truly amazing! This ship comes with a bowling alley (2 of them), a rock climbing wall, a rappelling wall, an open air ice skating rink, basket ball court, spider web obstacle course, and an adult only zone called, Spice H20. The only things that I did not see on board was a golf course or a library. Overall the Norwegian Epic was one of my better cruises sailing in at #4! I give the Norwegian Epic a 4.25 out of 5.00 stars. Be sure to check out this immense innovative vessel, and see the word E-P-I-C redefined!