Day 1 NCL Epic

Saturday morning, we took a quick taxi ride to the cruise terminal, dropped off our luggage at the curb and made our way into the terminal. We got our key cards and pertinent information and then waited to board. We were in group 6 and got on quickly. We went straight down to the guest services counter and bought the last two posh passes available. These are passes that allow us into the private lounge area on the boat reserved for the "haven" suite passengers. We were thrilled!
Then we went down the hall to Taste restaurant for our first lunch aboard ship. The food was good and while we were dining, they announced that the cabins were ready. We rushed upstairs to deck 14 to see our family balcony cabin. It was tiny, but we loved it. I was worried before we arrived about the bathrooms on the epic, but I think they worked out fine. The bed was comfortable and our balcony was twice the size as others in our category. We dropped our backpacks and went to explore the ship and attend the sail away deck party.
The ship was gorgeous. The color palate wasn't as vivid as some NCL ships we have been on before. It was rich and luxurious. Every wall and couch and chair was rounded. There was a stunning chandelier in the center atrium. The kids were thrilled with the kids club and we signed them up. We checked out the restaurants and theaters and then went up onto the pool deck to look at the water slides and enjoy the deck party.
After the sail away, we went to our cabin, put on pretty clothes and went to dinner at the specialty restaurant, Shanghai. I had some great spring rolls and singapore noodles and then we went down to the theater to get seats to see Blue Man Group. It was so good! This was a first rate production, not a cruise-second rate one. We loved it,especially the kids, though the toilet paper at the end freaked Sam out a bit. We fell into bed around 9:30. They had pulled down a bunk bed for Davis and turned the couch into a bed for Sam. We also had a towel animal waiting on our bed which became something the kids looked forward to seeing each evening. It was a great first day.