This is our 4th cruise and we've always cruised during holiday season. We are used to crowds and used to cruises. We had a great time despite this ship being awkward and crowded. Like my daughter said, "there is something wrong with us if we cannot make fun on a Caribbean cruise." But, she said that because there were many things not great about the Epic and about Norwegian.
I will start with the good things. The price was fair (I always shop as we take about 9 people.) The Blackjack was good (I won!) and the excursions were fairly priced and fun. The shows were TOP NOTCH! We loved the Cirque show and Burn The Floor was phenomenal!
Now the less good. The track is on the 7th level and only runs the length of the ship. It is right next to the lifeboats (no view) and there is actually stinky exhaust blowing from inner rooms toward it. This is a big deal to me---I love to run/walk in the mornings on a ship and was expecting the open air environment I experienced on other cruise lines--they usually had tracks on one of the top levels.
Extremely small cabin, balcony was a good size. There was a flaw in the rail on the balcony that creaked without some attention from us (using deck chairs to quiet it down.)
Crowded, lines for food, see my picture for view pulling into the island.