First day on The Epic

In the summer of 2015, I spent a week on a corral that some may refer to as an innovative and ground breaking cruise ship. I departed in Rome, knowing that I was going to embark in a life-changing adventure. While the destinations I visited were fantastic, the ship itself didn’t necessarily meet all of my expectations.

Right from the get go, the ship was nothing more or less than overpopulated. Actually getting onto the ship took over an hour, and then getting to our room was a whole other adventure. My room was on the 14th floor and the elevators were down. But, mistakes happen.

We understood that it was a huge ship and to make the most profit, they would need to fill every room they had. Even so, the amount of people of the ship was nothing short of staggering. It wasn’t long before I discovered that my suitcase hadn’t made it to my room yet. Once again, I recognised that it is a huge ship, and they would have to get everybody their bags. Patient waiting soon turned to restlessness and unease.

Hours later, I still had nothing and the heat pounding at the glass doors were making me sweat like a dog. After a brief call to reception, it turned out that my suit case should arrive in a minimum of 2 hours. It was 89 degrees outside, and all I wanted to do was change out of my jeans and go swimming. It wasn’t long before it occurred to me that I could, despite my clothes clinging to me with sweat, explore the ship.

Despite the first impressions, the actual ship was quite fascinating. There was a sun deck that doubled as a designated quiet spot on the top deck, and a funnel waterslide that my brothers and I would later enjoy once our suitcases and bathing suits actually came. The food from the buffet was better than expected, despite the never ending line of people. There was a relatively empty gym that I ended up visiting quite frequently. These rewarding points seemed to balance out the scale, and I contently headed back to my room.

Our suitcases soon arrived, but not to our door. While walking back to my room, I spotted my suitcase outside of a door on the other side of the ship. My brother found his at a neighbour’s door. After eating out at a relatively mediocre Japanese Steakhouse on the boat, my day had finally been concluded. Tomorrow, I was going to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

#ship #cruise #Rome #NorwegianEpic