NCL (EPIC) vs. RCL

[syracr]

OK.

I am posting this in both forums since I know I will get opinions bias toward the line that "owns" the thread. but here goes.....

 

I am an devoted RCL cruise (Diamond member).

 

I have always been a bit intrigued by the Norwegian EPIC, and have just booked a cruise with them. For those of you that have experience with both, what are your thoughts (good and bad)

 

how do they compare:

Ships?

Crew?

Activities?

Food?

Intangibles?

 

I am curious to see what y'all think...

 

thanks in advance for your replies

[dolita22]

I have sailed RCL twice and NCL five times, twice on the Epic. For us, we just prefer NCL over RCL, mainly because we prefer the more laid-back approach of Freestyle dining and not having to get dressed up for dinner each night. I'm a sundresses and flip flops girl and my DH wears Hawaiian shirts and shorts. Neither one of us wants to drag dressier clothing along on a cruise, especially since we have to fly to port. On NCL, you can wear shorts in the MDRs and all but two (I believe) speciality restaurants. On RCL, if we didn't dress up, we felt relegated to the buffet or other non-MDR eatery.

 

Ships? - Epic recently went through drydock and it sounds like some pretty cool updates have been done! We sailed on her when she was 3 years old and again when she was 5 years old - both before the drydock, and the ship was in great shape both sailings. Rust spots on our balcony were the only inconsequential things we noticed. I imagine she will be really nice now!

 

Crew? - We've always found NCL crew to be very friendly, and nearly everyone says hello to you in the hallways. On our recent Escape cruise, we were walking down the hallway to our room when a room steward (not ours), who was in the process of changing sheets and making a bed, heard us, stopped what he was doing, looked up and said hello. We did not have that type of service on RCL. The friendliest people I recall is our room steward and an assistant waitress in the MDR. We had MTD on our honeymoon on RCL, and I remember waiters being rush and not at all friendly.

 

Activities? - RCL had some pretty fun activities, but so does NCL. If you're into shows, NCL. Not sure what's on the Epic now, but we've enjoyed Blue Man Group (Epic) and Million Dollar Quartet (Escape). If you enjoy the flowrider, waterslides, ropes courses, NCL has those, too.

 

Food? - Subjective. :) We really disliked the food on RCL, and we are not picky eaters. We tried the MDRs, Sorrento's, Johnny Rockets, and the buffet. Sorrento's and JR were our go-tos for the week. Not healthy at all, but the food was palatable.

 

Intangibles? - One thing to be aware of is that the bathrooms on the Epic are unlike bathrooms on other ships. The toilet and shower are in two separate compartments, and frosted glass surrounds each. There is also a curtain to block off both. Search for "Epic bathroom" and you'll get a host of responses from people like us who don't mind the setup to others who hate it.

 

Hope that helps some! We really like the Epic, but want to try other ships before sailing the Epic again. We'd sail on it again in a heartbeat, though. Enjoy your cruise!

[Burgmeister]

Can't tell you at the moment but we have sailed on Freedom, Independence and Explorer and we have a cruise booked on the Epic for the end of May. We have always enjoyed RCL so I'm preparing myself to be disappointed (and hoping to be pleasantly surprised!!)

[betterthanvegas?]

Hi!

Been on liberty of the sea, NCL Epic and NCL Spirit. I think they are similar in many ways. Considering NCL is cheaper I'm thinking I'd err on the side of NCL. But I would consider food and ship to be similar. Shows on the epic were great. Staff - both ships have great staff and some not so great staff.

Enjoy!

 

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