The Houseful Cruises – 2012- Norwegian Epic Day 2

I will not lie and say that we woke up bright and early in the morning. We did not. We enjoyed a wonderful morning of sleeping in, and taking our time getting up and getting ready. We were without kids, remember?

Today was another full day at sea, and we decided that we were going to be as laid back as possible the entire morning. We ate brunch (I told you that we slept in) and did quite a bit of sunbathing. For some reason, I realized that I don’t really do that back here in Chicago. It’s always too hot, but the temperature off the water made the glow of the sun’s rays just perfect. It rained a bit, but it didn’t make me sad.

The only problem big problem that I had with the Norwegian Epic is the fact that it did NOT have a promenade deck that encompassed the entire outside of the ship. Instead, the 7th deck only went up and down each side of the ship. So if you wanted to jog, or run, you had to go in this crazy loop on one half of the one side of the ship. Yes, crazy.

I took lots of photos of water and clouds, so I won’t inundate you with them, but I will let you know that there is something about the clouds and water of the ocean. Just beautiful.

We did come back to our turn down service and this doggie was on our bed:

After we walked around the ship for like three total times (seriously, it was big) we stopped at the box office and realized that we could go ahead and make reservations to do whatever we wanted to do for the week. Most people were busy drinking themselves into an early happy status, so we took advantage of the very short line and got tickets to see Cirque Dreams & Dinner ($35 per person for premium seating, $25 for standard) We also made reservations for Legends in Concert, and The Second City (I told you that they had great entertainment!)

I wasn’t completely impressed when we walked into the Spiegel Tent, and I was ready to be VERY upset at a certain cruiser who insisted that we couldn’t sit in the FOUR seats that she was reserving when she wasn’t supposed to be, but Mr. Houseful insisted that we go back down to the main floor and try to have a good time. We did. I was pulled out to be a part of the show (sorry, no photos were allowed) and I ended up doing a little shtick with the Master of Ceremonies for the show. Very good time indeed, and the talent was top of the line. I’m not sure why I always assume that cruise ship entertainment is going to be cruddy (I know, I know, stereotypes) but Norwegian has pleasantly surprised me on both cruises that I’ve taken.

The food wasn’t great though. I do feel that for $35 extra, we should have been able to choose our fare, but I also realize that this was a timed show, so something had to give. We were served surf and turf – coconut shrimp with roasted beef tenderloin, and while the steak was done to perfection, the shrimp were definitely overcooked.

Dessert wasn’t great to me either. Too much chocolate for my taste. I also wish that for the cover charge, soda or some other drink would have been covered. Oh well. It didn’t ruin my night though.

These guys had to be brothers, because their nether parts were in each others faces about 75% of their act. Yes, these are the types of things that I think about while watching a show. Off topic, I happen to think that my gals are looking quite fantastic. They gave a stellar performance the entire cruise as well. Sometimes, being able to dress a little sexier makes this mama feel really good.

I’ll also like to note that I did this entire cruise make-up free. It was a stretch for me, but it made me feel great as well. We were able to just get dressed and go each day or night. I might do it again next year.

After Cirque Dreams, we walked around on the upper deck for a bit of time – yes, in my heels until got tired.

After photos taken by strangers, we whisked down to our room to change for the evening showing of The Blue Man group. VERY gross show, but VERY entertaining. Word to the wise, don’t come into a theater late where a Blue Man Group act is taking place, because you WILL be embarrassed. That poor couple. I was lucky enough that one of my friends on FB let me know, but it also states on everything that you won’t be allowed in shows once they start – I’m guessing it was lax for the Blue Man showing for this very reason.

I will also let you know that if you have an aversion to getting wet, or sprayed, or anything like that, do not sit close to the stage. You’re asking for trouble. The music was kind of loud, but it didn’t bother me much. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed during this performance either, but we were able to do a meet and greet with the Blue Men afterward:

The aftermath of a Blue Man show. That’s toilet tissue by the way.

The band.

I love my husband in all his fuzzy picture taking glory. LOL!

We ended our evening at O’Sheehan’s, which is the Epic’s all night restaurant. It serves pub style fare, and usually you could fine Slam Allen there, with some of his bandmates after their set. I’ll tell you more about them later. An order of buffalo wings and fries became standard for me, and usually Mr. Houseful switched his around.

Once again, we walked a bit around the ship after eating (I didn’t want to go to sleep immediately after eating that late) and just enjoyed the fact that we were honestly relaxing. You’ll probably get tired of me saying that, but I’m not worried. We also loved the fact that we still had five more days left of this wonderful feeling.

Did you miss Day 1? Click here and you can catch up!