Norwegian EPIC. In a Studio!

It's about 48 hours til I hop on a plane and head to Fort Lauderdale, and then to Miami to catch the Norwegian EPIC on Saturday morning.

Busy first couple days.  I am traveling with a bunch of travel agents, and we have a tour of the Haven set up for 10:30 Saturday morning.  Then back out to check in and board for real.  Then a meet and greet and lunch at Taste, my preferred of the two main dining rooms.

Hopefully I will find a minute to get up to my Studio stateroom between that and a Sailaway Party by the Waves bar, at 4:30ish.

Then, Sunday, we have a Slot Pull at 1, a cocktail party at 4:30 in Fat Cats, and dinner at Moderno, the churrascaria at 6 ( I think ).

Hopefully, I will be able to load all this in on my new Droid RAZR.  Norwegian Cruise Line has a really cool new app for the EPIC called iConcierge.  It allows phone and texting between passengers on the ships wifi with no cell phone charges (there is a $7.95/week charge for the app).  It also has the schedule of everything that's going on onboard, the ability to review your account, make reservations for tours and dining, etc.  Apparently you can also make ship to shore and shore to ship VOIP calls, with a per minute charge which is less than most carriers roaming rates.  So, I am looking forward to trying that out, and reporting on it here.

The rest of my week is pretty loose so far.  I am semi-committed to doing a walking tour in St. Thomas.  Other than that, I have no shore excursions planned.  Might do something...might not.  I also have reservations for Blue Man Group on Sunday, and Legends in Concert on Monday.  Again, the rest of the week is open as far as dining and shows.  I am sure I will want to see Blue Man Group at least one more time.

This is how I like to cruise, frankly.  A few activities planned, but most of the week unstructured, so I can just jump on any opportunities that come up!

so, yeah...WOO HOO....TWO DAYS!!!

Norwegian EPIC - Back in The Studio

Awright.  We're back on track.  Just heard back from the Fleet Hotel Dirctor, and I am in a Studio.  Now, I just have to bide my time til Saturday.  Or, I guess I could pack.

Honestly, once again, Norwegian Cruise Line comes thru in a major way.  A way that no other cruise line does.  At least in my experience.

So, YAY, Norwegian!

Norwegian EPIC, In a Studio.

Major wrench in the works of my upcoming cruise! I was REALLY looking forward to experiencing the Studio Complex on the EPIC. Paid full retail (and more than necessary, I could have got a better rate on a different category) for a Studio GTY. Just got my cabin assignment, and they have put me in a regular inside stateroom. They might consider that an upgrade, but I most certainly don't. An upgrade from the Studio, imho, would be to a balcony, at least.


So, I have some emails in, and hopefully I can get "downgraded" back to a Studio.

If not, I will deal with it, but I am seriously disappointed.   Even though an inside cabin is a little bigger, it doesn't have all the cool features of the Studio cabins.  And, mostly, it isn't in the keycard access-only complex that includes The Living Room, a private lounge area for Studio guests.