Freedom or Epic?

[pbasciano]

I am trying to choose between the Freedom of the Seas and the Epic. They are both going the same route. For about $500 less I can get a mini-suite on the Epic plus about $170 in on board credit and a bottle of wine as compared to a balcony room on the Freedom with no on board credit. We also plan to bring along our 2 year old. On the Epic they have free daycare. I think on the Freedom they have the Royal Tots but if I am correct there is an $8 an hour charge. Is the Freedom worth the price difference?

[04mach1]

Will you be driving down or flying?

[pbasciano]

Driving.

[04mach1]

If you go on the freedom you will have less of a drive and you will save a little on gas plus it is about 3 hours closer to home on the way back. I have sailed on both lines and liked RCL better but that is me.

[mtsnd1900]

Epic has an incredible entertainment lineup as well as the things for the kids. If you are going to bring a 2 year old, you may end up missing out on a lot the Epic has to offer. Does NCL offer in room babysitting at night (so you can do Blue Man Group, Comedy Shows, etc.) Cool water parks on both. For me, if same time, do the EPIC and try something different. the $700 or so savings is great. could even use that savings to bring a babysitter (NCL has much better 3/4 person rates then RCCI) Freedom was great - EPIC is booked..

[molly361]

I have not been on the Epic and am not too fond of the bathroom setup on it. That being said for $500 plus the OBC I would probably pick the Epic

[ascatsob]

I've been on both. The onboard entertainment and choice of different restaurants on Epic make it a good choice. Plus the suite amenities on the Epic are fantastic. We had the family penthouse suite and loved the club and the pool. The difference between the two for me is the promenade. I love strolling the promenade in the evening. There really isn't a great hang out place in the evening after the shows on the Epic.

[Cruz-On]

I would pick the Epic even wih t the extra 3 hour drive you still want spend the saving in gas.

[pbasciano]

Thank you for the replies thus far. I am leaning towards the Epic but liked the Mariner over the Pearl and that has me a little concerned. The price gap, on board credit and day care are hard to pass up. I really don't want to regret our choice. The difference in the drive really doesn't bother us much.

[bbbearden]

Have not sailed EPIC, but it is one of the ugliest ships afloat. Thier frees style cruise concept seems to be designed to take "nickle and diming" to levels unheard of in the industry. I would venture to guess that your onboard account will be twice what it would be on other lines due to all the extra fee charges.

[mattia1996]

I have not sailed Epic however I have sailed garden villa on Jade and Grand suite on Liberty and have to say that customer service with RCCL was a thousand times better than NCL. On NCL as well the food in the main dining rooms was inedible on RCCL the food was good 90% of the time and if you never ate it you were asked if they could bring an alternative. On NCL we finished up going to the pay extra dining rooms. Also the Epic must be the most ugly ship on the oceans. One positive on NCL is the cagneys breakfast is relaxing if you have kids

[estoyer]

We had to make the same choice. After a lot of research we determined because we are none smokers to sail the Freedom. When I called the cruise line and found out the NC allowed smoking in all of the staterooms, that was the reason we went with RCCL. So if your smokers sail NC you will probably enjoy the fact you can smoke in your room.

 

 

COUGH! COUGH!!

Happy Smoke Free Sailing For Us!

Earl & Kathy

[pbasciano]

Non-smokers here also.

[VegasChic]

I have sailed the epic with my 4 year old and we had a fabulous time. The food was the best I've had on any cruise ship including other NCL ships i've sailed on. The inboard fees you can incur are for the specialty dining jus like RCCL. However there is an extra fee for bowling and Cirque dreams and dinner oh and the character breakfast (which I would not recommend) it was awful. My biggest complaint was the pools were miniature for such a huge ship. I had the so called (mini-suite) which is just a bigger balcony room. However I loved the room lots of storage space. The kids club was huge and really nice but my daughter had no interest in going. I felt that the Epic was more for adults than kids but we had a great time and would definitely sail on her again. Another thing that didn't like was that the casino was right in the middle of the ship and had to walk through it to get to places it was usually smoke filled however they tried to solve the issue by installing portable air purifiers. It helped but not much. The shows were great and was the food carneys was probably one of the best steak houses I have eaten at I was quite impressed. But i went on the NCL Sky and carneys was nowhere near as good as the Epic Cagneys. Overall I rate it a 7.5 out of 10. Also keep in mind Epic does not have solarium, promenade, movie theatre, or ice skating. The do have a huge two story movie screen used for movies it was quite nice. Good luck and no matter what a cruise is a cruise and its what you make of it! Good luck!

[rolloman]

I have been on both. I can tell you straight up, the EPIC wins with the simple fact the kids club accepts two year olds and it is absolutely fantastic. The entertainment is some of the best on the seas. The previous poster may have not liked the character breakfast but I can assure you it blows away the character breakfast on RCCL. They put on a show for you on EPIC, RCCL is nothing more than a meet and mingle (if that). Another poster above (who states they have not been on the ship) says the ship is ugly....the ship is actually beautiful, one of the nicest I have been on with the exception of Oasis or Solstice class. I love RCCL but I can assure you with a toddler of 2 years old NCL EPIC is with out a doubt your ship.

[pbasciano]

Thank you for the information. The EPIC does appear to be much better in terms of taking a 2 year old. It seems odd to me that both Carnival and NCL take 2 and above in their daycare but RCI only takes 3 and above. That is probably the point that has us most conflicted. We loved RCI and enjoyed the experience more than our prion Carnival and NCL cruise, however, we have only been on each line once.

[rolloman]

Thank you for the information. The EPIC does appear to be much better in terms of taking a 2 year old. It seems odd to me that both Carnival and NCL take 2 and above in their daycare but RCI only takes 3 and above. That is probably the point that has us most conflicted. We loved RCI and enjoyed the experience more than our prion Carnival and NCL cruise, however, we have only been on each line once.

Believe me I have mentioned this issue a thousand times. IF your child is potty trained, why does the 3 year old kid get in for free and my 2 year old have to scramble for and pay a babysitter or pay 8 dollars an hour in a nursery that is only designed for infants????? My little one loved the kids club on Epic and the pool area is huge for the toddlers. Best ship for a child that age in my opinion.