We choose this cruise as our family vacation for the year. We enjoy beach type vacations and have enjoyed cruises in the past. We choose the Epic because it looked like it had a lot to offer our whole family. Unfortunately, we could not have been more wrong. The ship was severally under staffed. Everything had massive time consuming lines. For example, the boat offered 3 water slides, but they typically only ran 2 at a time because they didn't have enough staff to run them all at the same time. We only saw the rock wall open twice and both times it had huge lines. The climbing tower and trampoline never opened. The 2 small pools were extremely overcrowded. The sprinkler system that was supposed to offer splash pad type of setting was broken. They only had about 15 tubes out for the tube slide, which resulted in another huge line. I watched a teenager pass out waiting for a tube. The cruise medics took more than 30 minutes to respond. This was the 3rd time that I have been on a Norwegian cruise, and the 3rd time that I was disappointingly informed that the sea was too rough to get on the tender boats. It was a beautiful day with very calm waters considering we were on an ocean. This resulted in an overcrowded boat with a insufficient staff and amenities. The staff did not seem too shocked as a few informed me that during the last 5 months, they only made it to the island 3 times. The cruise directer responded by offering a few additional activities, most of which required additional fees. The boat was also under construction and we were not informed that the massive rock wall would be unavailable for our cruise. The drinks seemed to be watered down. I weigh under 140 pounds and did not catch even the slightest buzz after drinking 20 mixed drinks (Miami Vices, BBCs, Mango Melt Downs). I am a lightweight when it comes to drinks and I did not feel any effects from these beverages. Boat departure took 3 hours, seriously 3 hours. We missed our shuttle to the airport and nearly missed flights. Once again the cruise director managed to find a place to let the blame fall; she went with port authorities this time. Although my friends managed to get off much quicker due to dumb luck and had no trouble with port authorities or customs. By the third day much of the boat smelled of septic. The other attractions such as Escape the Big Top and the Circus De Sol la booked very quickly and were nearly impossible to get into. The comedian on board made fun of guests to obtain pity laughs rather than relying on wit and originality. Much of the food on the buffet was cold and repetitive. They encourage hand washing, yet many of their bathroom sinks and soap dispensers would not work. I am very upset that our family wasted our vacation time and money on this horrible experience.