DCL Fantasy or NCL Epic

[TerB]

We are trying to decide between the Disney Fantasy and the NCL Epic. We are a family of 4 with the children the ages of 11 and 7. We are looking at the Concierge room with Veranda on the Fantasy or the NCL Haven 2 bedroom. The pools look better on the Epic, plus we would have use of the Haven pool. However, Disney seems much more family friendly. We will be using the kids club and the Edge for the 11 year old. We have sailed on NCL before and liked the food even though you pay extra for it. How is the food on Disney? Is there anyone who has sailed both? All opinions are appreciated.

[Shmoo here]

We are trying to decide between the Disney Fantasy and the NCL Epic. We are a family of 4 with the children the ages of 11 and 7. We are looking at the Concierge room with Veranda on the Fantasy or the NCL Haven 2 bedroom. The pools look better on the Epic, plus we would have use of the Haven pool. However, Disney seems much more family friendly. We will be using the kids club and the Edge for the 11 year old. We have sailed on NCL before and liked the food even though you pay extra for it. How is the food on Disney? Is there anyone who has sailed both? All opinions are appreciated.

 

I haven't sailed NCL, but I'd go for the Fantasy. Food is very subjective, but the food I've had on all my cruises (mostly DCL, 1 HAL) has been good+ to excellent. This was for the MDRs.

 

The only extra pay restaurants on the Fantasy are Palo ($20 for dinner or brunch) and Remy ($75 for dinner). We've done Palo dinner & brunch on the Magic and Wonder. I totally would do the brunch again. Dinner, I could take it or leave it. That said, the dinner at Palo is good, just not the kind of food I like so much. Although the chocolate souffle there is to die for.

 

:)

[FM]

We are trying to decide between the Disney Fantasy and the NCL Epic. We are a family of 4 with the children the ages of 11 and 7. We are looking at the Concierge room with Veranda on the Fantasy or the NCL Haven 2 bedroom. The pools look better on the Epic, plus we would have use of the Haven pool. However, Disney seems much more family friendly. We will be using the kids club and the Edge for the 11 year old. We have sailed on NCL before and liked the food even though you pay extra for it. How is the food on Disney? Is there anyone who has sailed both? All opinions are appreciated.

 

Saw the Epic in port - looks like a great ship. Had been thinking of trying a cruise on the Epic until I saw what the bathroom layout was like on a balcony stateroom - definitely NOT what I would go for. The Haven looks like a great option though ... but it depends on how much fun your kids will have on NCL - I think that for the kids alone, DCL may be a better option -

[SallyUK]

Haven't been on the Epic, we've been on the Jewel and the Gem, and on the Magic twice. Different ships, but have a sense of the ethos of each line.

 

DH prefers the food on Disney, I prefer NCL, for the choice and availability. I also prefer freestyle dining, though having your own team who know your tastes is a fantastic advantage with Disney. The kids offering on Disney beats anything NCL does hands down. Personally I'd choose Disney over NCL with kids if the itineraries are the same, though we have looked at some NCL cruises instead of Disney because the itineraries can be better.

 

NCL are very good at nickel and diming though. You get far more included in the price with Disney.

[Sea Monster 2]

We've done two Disney concierge-level cabins, but our last two cruises were in the Epic Haven, both in a DOS, which is larger than the cabin you're looking at, but only one bedroom. We love both! Our DS, 9, has loved Epic's kids program, water slides, rock-climbing wall, etc. At night, BMG is awesome, and Second City's early show is family-friendly, so we now have a comedy club junkie! :rolleyes: Even though it is not geared toward kids the way Disney is, he has loved our two Epic cruises because there is so much to do. In addition, the Haven is AWESOME! The cabins are gorgeous, and the service is more "present" than it was on our previous DCL cruises (on the older ships, and not that we have any complaints, because it was still great). Epic is huge, and depending on when you sail it can be packed with people-- our first cruise was relatively empty, whereas this last one was during a school vacation week in the NE, and we definitely felt the difference. However, being in the Haven does mitigate the effect of the crowds for you-- the concierge can still make same-day show and restaurant reservations, and there is SO much space dedicated to Haven passengers that you won't feel the crowds. They are different, but as long as you are ready for the difference, there's no reason not to love both of them. We were next to the Dream in port last week and saw the slide, so now we're looking at Dream or Fantasy next-- I will miss "my" amazing Epic cabin, but we know we will be spoiled on Disney, too, and we are looking forward to trying out the improved concierge experience!

[marley]

Hi, we were on the epic last November and had the two bedroom suite in the haven. We love the layout of this cabin. The haven pool is in the middle of the suites. No ocean views from the pool. It's very nice but we would have liked to see the ocean while laying by the pool.

My kids loved the watersides. They could not get enough time on them. They were awesome. They are still talking about them. The food in the haven was fantastic as was the service. The ship itself sort of looks in on itself. Not a lot of ocean views. We did not like the ship overall but the service was great. As was the entertainment. Blue man group! We are sailing on the fantasy next month so I will have to follow this reply up when we get back.

[mizdiz]

We just sailed Epic a couple of weeks ago. We have been on 5 Disney cruises, with our last being on the Dream this past June.

 

My kids are also 7 & 11.

 

 

Overall - dh and I like DCL better because the service is so much better, staff is friendlier, food is better, kids club hours and convenience that they will feed the kids, and there is not a smoke stench every where you go. We also love the pirate party!

 

DS 11 likes DCL better - likes Aqua Duck better than the Epic slides. Likes the food better. Likes the pirate party. Says kids club is equal.

 

DD 7 likes Epic better because of slides, rock wall, kids club.

 

Sorry this is long - but here is a summary.

 

Epic has the kids grouped 6-9 and 10-12. They are all in the same area, but they keep them separated unless there are only a few kids in there.

Disney has the kids club in ages 3-10 and 11-12.

 

My dd (7) loved the kids club on Epic, better than DCL. I think the difference is that the Epic kids club did not have as many kids as the Disney kids clubs have and she got more individual attention. All of the Kids Club staff knew her by name.

 

She also liked the Nickelodeon craft sessions (not in the kids club) that they had on board. One day, they decorated Spongebob/Dora tote bags that the kids got to keep.

 

My ds 11 thought the kids clubs were equal, but when we were on the Dream - he was still in the younger kids club. He does like that on DCL they do science experiments (although I don't think they do this in the 11-12 age group). Although on Epic - the sports deck has organized sports and he got to play soccer and basketball with other kids. Disney has a sports deck, but we have never seen them have organized sports.

 

What I did not like about Epic kids club is that they do not feed the kids and they are only open until 10:30 - you can pay to keep them later. Disney will feed them and the kids club is open later.

 

On Epic, DH and I had scheduled 2 dinners without the kids. We found it a huge inconvenience to take the kids to dinner. One night, we put them in the kids club, went to dinner, picked them up for their dinner, then put them back in the kids club so we could go to Howl at the Moon.

 

Epic's entertainment on board is so much better than Disney's - from the adult perspective. My ds 11 liked the Blue Man Group and Legends, but dd7 could care less about those.

 

My family loves the movie theatre on DCL - which plays movies currently in theatres. Last year, we saw the new Pirates movie while on board and it had just been released in theatres.

 

Food on DCL is much better We thought food on Epic was just okay. The first night was lobster night and dinner was really good that night. We did have some things we liked, but overall DCL is better. We only ate in the Main Dining Room on Epic 3 nights. The specialty restaurants on Epic are very good and so was service. Aren't they included if you are staying in the Haven?

 

Palo and Remy are excellent. Palo is $20 per person and Remy is $75/person. Service is excellent and gratuity is not required, but we have always left additional gratuity at these restaurants because service was so wonderful. We got good service in the specialty restaurants on Epic, but not so great that we felt we should leave additional gratuity.

 

On Epic, we got aggravated with the schedule for the Spider web and Epic Bounce - it was not always open when the schedule said it would be open. They were never open at the same time and only open for 2-3 hours at a time. Our kids kept wanting to do those 2 things and it was very tiring and disappointing to walk up to that deck and find that they were not running. When they were running, the Epic bounce had over an hour wait.

 

We did enjoy Epic and would sail again if we got a good price and itinerary we liked.

Our next cruise is on Fantasy.

[slotaddict]

If you would be staying in the Haven on the Epic, you would have perks like no other ship can offer....the Suite Life on Norwegian is simply the best at sea.

 

For the kids the major water slides during the day, enjoyed by the adults as well, rock climbing wall...a kids program.

 

If you are booked in the Haven your butler will pamper your kids with everything...research the other things that NCL has to offer in the way of entertainment for the kids..

 

I can;t comment on Disney, however I have heard nothing bad about them, outstanding service and food...

 

The Epic is a very unique ship, we loved it and I hope to be on her again soon...Good luck with whatever decision you make...

[dexddd]

The specialty restaurants on Epic are very good and so was service. Aren't they included if you are staying in the Haven?

 

Epic Club is included but the other for fee are not if you stay in the Haven.

 

See link for details (look for the correct ship):

 

http://www2.ncl.com/sites/default/files/Dining_Flyer_062211.pdf