NCL finds another restaurant on Epic
Up until yesterday there were 20 dining options on Norwegian Cruise Line's new ship Norwegian Epic, but it seems they have found another, taking the total to 21.
"Who knows how many we'll have by the time the ship launches," quipped Andy Stuart, NCL's executive vice-president global sales and passenger services during a webinar last evening.
The extra restaurant is nothing to do with a late change to the design of the ship, but has appeared because the powers that be at NCL have decided to split Cagney's and the Moderno Churrascarla, which is all about meat, like Cagney's, but Brazilian inspired.
I gather waiters will be coming to the tables brandishing knives and skewers, on which they will spear various types of meat. The name comes from the Portuguese word for barbecue.
Moderno Churrascarla will be one of 10 restaurant on Epic that cost extra, in this case $18 per person. You'll also pay more for the Italian La Cucina ($10pp), Shanghai's ($15pp), the French Le Bistro ($20pp), Cirque Dreams and Dinner ($15pp or $20pp depending on your seating) and the Teppanyaki and Cagney's (both $25pp).
Wasabi (for sushi) and Shanghai's Noodle Bar are both charged a la carte and there is a new pizza delivery service - $5 for a 16-inch pizza delivered anywhere on the ship (but not to another restaurant!).
That leaves 11 places to eat with no charge. As well as the usual self service, grills and room service, there's the Manhattan Room supper club where Legends in Concert will be performing three times a week and Spice H20, an adult-only venue on the aft deck serving Asian and Latin cuisine.
There's O'Sheehans bar and grill, the Studio Lounge that goes with the single cabins, Taste, pictured below, in the atrium where there is also a cafe serving tapas, and the Epic Club or Courtyard Grill for passengers in the villa section of the ship.

It's an impressive selection of places to eat, and you'd be hard pressed to try them all on a seven-night cruise. But would you want to? According to one caller, the paid-for restaurants on a recent cruise were only ever half full.
Seems passengers who only want to eat for free are a problem generally for NCL, as Stuart revealed they are trialling a dining package to encourage more of them to fork out (no pun intended) for the speciality restaurants. If it works, and apparently it is going well, it'll be rolled out across the fleet.
If
Jane Archer
