Epic bathroom/privacy issues:(

[Trip]

I am waiting with bated breath for Paul's first hand revue of the Epic's tri zone bathroom placement debaucle. Ok, I can "sort of" live with the sink out of the bathroom, but to have the toilet and the shower, on either side of the entry, is a bit off putting to say the least.

I was just over on Twitter, and found a picture of someone in the loo, and you could see through the frosted door.....some one get me a brown paper bag, I am going to hyperventilate!! I hope they have curtains that will withstand the $%$^$ cruisers who will whip them around the tracks in disgust!

I want to know what nudist ship designer, thought this was going to be a welcome new twist on cabin design!

So, all of you who have booked, and all who are thinking of booking what I know will be a fabulous ship, in all other respects, what do you think??

Paul, hurry, we need to hear your thoughts...also can you hear anything as you walk the hallways? Lord knows I hope they are well insulated!!

There is an old saying NCL, If it ain't broke,don't fix it!

[Mike M]

Trip:

I too am a bit concerned. Initially I thought that it was just the sink outside of the bathroom and that was no big thing. Now I see the sink is in the main cabin and the toilet is in a separate glass enclosure and the shower is in another on the other side of the cabin and I am not happy. The glass looks frosted but not completely. This is fine if I'm just sailing with my wife but if I was with kids or someone else I wouldn't like it one bit.

It also looks like you have to pull a curtain across the front of the cabin to block off the bathroom area. Even then the bathroom area is next to the door. That will make life fun for anyone who wants to leave if someone is drying or using the facilities.

I hope the shower is large enough for me to dry off in there, otherwise there will be water on the entrance area floor and this could be a nasty hazard.

I look forward to hearing from Paul about this configuration and if it is as bad as the pictures show.

Take care,
Mike

[Dave Beers]

Gene Sloan's latest report says the split bathroom in the solo cabins is much better than in the balcony cabins.

I am really at a loss to garner the logic used in this design. NCL would be foolish to not realize that if the fawning press they invited aboard for the initial freebie cruises are bashing these new bathrooms, it will only get worse once paying passengers with their 2.1 kids show up.

I hope Paul gets to look at one of the wavy balcony cabins. At this point it is a deal breaker for us. Just like that.

[T C]

Just curious?? I thought this design was only for the "solo" cabins Are you saying that "all" the cabins on the ship will have this split bathroom design? I wonder why they would do that ?
TC

[Dave Beers]

My understanding is this bathroom layout is in all cabins, with the possible exception of the large suites. Plumbing-wise, they really have to stick with the layout in order to route piping for waste water and sewage.

[Paul Motter]

Yes, as far as I know it is the same setup for all cabins, Gene even said the studio staterooms were slightly better for the sink and the shower layout.

Carolyn Spencer Brown suggested the ship will need an early dry dock to fix these issues - not looking too good for Epic bathrooms right now.

By the way - you might as well get used to hearing it, "It was Colin's fault."

Colin Veitch was the former CEO of NCL who was let go lasy year and replaced by Kevin Sheehan. Word is that he was somewhat tyrannical to work under (according to a nameless person at NCL whom I asked but shall remain nameless since he is now an EVP of sales & marketing).

Meanwhile - it seems to me that if anthing NCL has gone too far the other way, at least in terms of tone. Colin may have been tyrannical, but now the press briefings are just goofy - full of giggling and inside jokes - not a very tight ship in the PR department, but that is just MY humble opinion - and who cares about that - right?

Anyway - word is that "it's all Colin's fault" - the placement of the Courtyard Suites - the stateroom design, etc. We all know current management isn't capable of admitting, OOPS, I mean "making" a mistake.

[Paul Motter]

And unfortunately, this is a full regular passeneger cruise so I may not have any access to any cabins until the New York media cruise I am scheduled to attend July 2 & 3rd.

but you can be sure I will be talking to a lot of people about their staterooms.

[venice]

Paul..you can also recommend that when they do the modifications, to make sure there is a reading rack & plug in for an ipod located in the bathroom so guest can read and listen to music

it's human nature to blame everything on the person that is no longer there

have a smooth crossing

[Paul Motter]

Venice, if you want that stuff you need to book an AquaSpa cabin on Solstice.

Personally, I take the coffee maker over an Ipod player and aromatherapy anyday.

Really, I hope this bathroom issue does not ruin what was really a very good attempt to do something complely different with staterooms. I really like the curved walls and lighting options. I think the cabins are very cool.

And the truth is that there are some real advantages to the modular bathroom - no waiting for either the shower or toilet just becuase the other is in use. or the sink. They cam all be used separately at the same time - and that is a real time saver on a cruise ship.

If they had somehow not been located by the front door, or had solid doors, this might be a totally different discussion. It's the little things...

[AF1]

Sounds like the bathrooms are a European design. I have been to many hotels throughout Europe with this type design.

[Mike M]

I love the bathroom design on the other NCL ships. Specifically, Dawn, Star, Jewel, Jade and Gem. They have a single bathroom with a closed WC. This allows people to "share" the bathroom and works very well, as long as the people are comfortable with each other. (i.e. husband, wife) This new design forces people to "get comfortable" with each other.

Take care,
Mike

[Trip]

On the Gem with the seperate toilet, Bruce felt claustraphobic..while I didn't, I could understand why he did...At the very least, change the frosted glass to opaque.

I received some tourist info from Miaimi the other day, and inside there was an Epic video,which we watched last night, and also a deck plan flyer....good way to get the message out, I thought...the video was too short, and of course, just renderings, but I will see for myself in October.

I wonder if there will be any repeaters activities as this shiip get older...I think, if they don't fix this, people will book elsewhere.

Hopefully NCL didn't do what the Seabourn did, and put this frosted glass in the public bathrooms...if there was one woman on the design team, she must have been on meds, to give the design a thumbs up!

[Dave Beers]

Originally Posted by Trip

Hopefully NCL didn't do what the Seabourn did, and put this frosted glass in the pulic bathrooms...if there ws one woman on the design team, she must have been on meds, to give the design a thumbs up!

I read someplace yesterday that, indeed, they have done so. I think it was in the same place as the photo of the guy sitting on the toilet with the door closed.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Originally Posted by Mike M

I love the bathroom design on the other NCL ships. Specifically, Dawn, Star, Jewel, Jade and Gem. They have a single bathroom with a closed WC. This allows people to "share" the bathroom and works very well, as long as the people are comfortable with each other. (i.e. husband, wife) This new design forces people to "get comfortable" with each other.

Take care,
Mike

I had similar bathrooms in my cabins on the Pearl & Spirit. BUT-----the bathroom was enclosed with walls & a solid outside door. I don't think that I would feel comfortable with the Epic's bathroom concept. It wouldn't bother me so much if I share a cabin with my husband. However, if cruising with girlfriends, which I do on occassion, I would not choose this layout.

Barb

[Paul Motter]

I thought I did make note in my sticky "Live from Epic"

These bathrooms are the most talked about topic onboard - now that severak other issues have been fixed.

The floor to ceiling frosted glass is semi-transparent, but not enough to see specific details. most of all, people are complaining that the toilets are not soundproof at all. It is like having the toilet in your room. No modesty at all.

One lady said to me "I would tell my husband to turn up the TV, but our TV isn't working. Now, I am sure the TVs are all working, this shakedown cruise has had a LOT of things fixed while I am onboard, but you can't chnage the toilet doors.

The glass is more frosted than you might think, and if you are a couple here will be no surprises, but it is a bit much if you are traveling with a family member. i don't want to know what kind of sound Uncle Bill makes when he's on the toilet....

The sink is a very bad problem as well. It is tiny and in a spot where you are in the traffic lane if you are using it. The faucet is right over the tiny bowl so you cannot get your face in there.

[Paul Motter]

Norwegian Epic Bathroom Controversy

See my bathroom update here!

[Manuel]

Paul, I read your views on the Epic bathroom issues, and I must say that you did a great job. You certainly have a way with words.

TM

[Mike M]

The more I read about this the more irritated I am. As Paul said the bathroom area is not sound or air sealed from the rest of the cabin. This is ridiculous.

Fine if you are traveling with your spouse or significant other but traveling with family, friends or children will make this extremely uncomfortable.

Also the increased noise from the shower and bathroom will surely wake up your cabin mate. I always wake up before my wife and I usually shower and shave and then head up on deck. Even in an inside cabin I was able to accomplish this without waking her. It will be impossible with this configuration.

NCL you really had your head up your aft when you designed this.

Take care,

[Trip]

I wished I was multi lingual..then I could say "I hate this" in many more languages! In English I will repeat it...I HATE THIS!

[Dave Beers]

Originally Posted by Paul Motter

By the way - you might as well get used to hearing it, "It was Colin's fault."

How true. I saw some tweets today where Sheehan blamed "his predecessor" for the cabin sink design and said they were going to be "tweaked". I think he was also blaming Vetch when he said NCL had a reputation for nickel and diming on dining options and he wanted to change that with Epic.

[johnthed0g]

I don't care who I am travelling with, once they have gone in the bathroom what they do in there is their business ...I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!!... I don't want to hear it , see it or most definitely not smell it!! I have never seen anything like this anywhere...except a hotel on Mayreau in the Grenadines where the bathroom was ''open plan'' not for us thanks!

[Barb Nahoumi]

My husband & I just stayed in a hotel room where the sink was outside the john. But the toilet & bathtub were behind solid walls & doors. This is as it should be in all ships' cabins.

No need for potty peek a boo.

Barb

[johnthed0g]

Stands to reason that the washbasin must be in with the actual toilet/WC/ john/Lav/whatever because you wash your hands hopefully before touching anything else.

[Paul Motter]

This is a non-scientific analysis of sound pressure levels in acoustic decibels (dB not dBm), non-frequency specific, using a standard digital camera-mounted electret microphone in a suffiently non-ambient environment.

Our goal is to test the transmission coefficient of lavatory-related human created sound pressure emissions at sea level in a replication of the natural environment as would be experienced by the average couple in a balcony stateroom on Norwegian Epic.

[FL_Cruiser64]

you haven't stayed at a Hyatt yet (Pier 66), Crowne Plaza (i.e. NY) or Marriot (i.e. Orlando) yet. Just to name a couple.

It is the way to go for bathrooms to be split nowadays.

Let me ask you a question: do you do your business with two hands?

[Paul Motter]

My business? Mostly I use my index fingers and my right hand thumb - except when I have to reach up to the F1 key - then I sometimes use my left index finger.

NO, I see your point. Gene sloan's thing about "you have to open the handle before you can wash your hands....

I personally do not have a big issue with the bathrooms. But once again, I cannot speak for others.

And no, I have not stayed in a hotel where the shower and toilet are not behind the same door - even if they are in separate rooms. But if you say so I believe you!

[NCL.Epic]

I feel compelled to point out that the bathroom setup as designed is suitable only for old geezers (who if lucky have lost all their modesty), pre-adolescents, or single men (or perhaps men in relationships with other men)

*edited for subject matter*

[Paul Motter]

NCL...

While your post is somewhat "graphic" it makes a very important point - especially since the wastebasket is by the sink, outside the toilet area. NCL does not want you flushing those things down the toilets (in fact, they can clog the whole system) so it will be up to the parents to make sure young ladies follow the rules.

That is a good point.

Now - families CAN book inside cabins for teens (shared cabin), and they have much more private toilet areas - fully enclosed. That would be what I recommend.

The balcony cabins get very crowded with three or four in a cabin anyway.

Im definatly not a "large" person, other then being tall. On most cruises I like to use the Gym showers, etc since they are allot bigger and since im up there anyhow its convenient for me. I will book a cruise on the epic in the studio cabins. Since im "alone" it wont matter to me anyhow. I can see the problem having more in the same cabin.

[maimmi]

Suggestion: Handle your business with one hand and open the door with the other! Also you can ask your companion to go sit on the balcony while you handle your "big business" for the day! LL(Lots of Light,Love and Laughter) Mimi cruising on the Epic with husband Mike on the 24th!