NCL Epic or RC Oasis? Nightlife and overall

[SunshineSandAndHappiness]

 

Hello all!

My husband and I are looking to book a cruise for our 30th birthday and have narrowed it down to the Epic vs The Oasis. Best overall experience and best overall nightlife? We love to dance, drink, laugh, play at the casino, enjoy delish dinners (although don't want to spend a *ton* on upgraded speciality restaurants) and overall we just love to have fun. Since we aren't taking our kids, we are looking to take full advantage of our trip!

 

We've been on a good amount of cruises before, a few with Royal Caribbean and 1 with Norwegian Back in 2008. We've been to all of the ports that each are going to, both very similar itineraries, and both cruises depart from the same port and same dates-ish so we can't use the itinerary to help us decide. We've never been on the Epic nor have we been on the Oasis (nor the allure).

 

We are leaning towards Epic because a balcony room, beer/wine/liquor package for all 7 nights for us, and 3 complimentary speciality restaurant fees are waivered for the SAME price as the simplest interior room and 7 days of Royal Caribbean's Ultimate drink package for us on Oasis.

 

From researching online, I feel both are solid choices but the Epic may be more adult friendly and have a better nightlife, is better priced, and they also have water slides and The Second City preforming (both of which are big pluses). However I worry about feeling "nickel and dimed" when it comes to all their al a cart only options (after our first 3 specialty restaurants are comped) among gratuity not being included. However, since the oasis first came around, it's all I've talked and dreamed about going on because it just seems to be so big and bad, overall awesome, and we know what to expect service-wise with RC.

 

Any help or thoughts are so beyond greatly appreciated!!!

[Kfamilycruise]

They are both fantastic ships with great meals. The Epic has the water slides, but the Oasis has central park.

 

Epic has the odd bathrooms in cabin where toilet/shower are separated -- I happen to like it because I can put my makeup on at the sink while my husband showers.

 

Epic entertainment is adult oriented and is supposed to be very good (I was on five years ago when Blue Man Group was on so I haven't seen current entertainment) and the water show on Oasis is fantastic.

 

Epic means you have for free both in main dining rooms and the ones you have comped will be awesome. Oasis you will only get to eat for free in main dining room -- that would clinch it for me as I wasn't a huge fan of their MDR and I love Cagney's on Epic.

 

Not sure how helpful this was, but take a look at Epic cabin thread on here -- there are some cabins with larger balconies you may want to aim for (12th deck)

 

Oasis balconies -- try and stay away from ones that face boardwalk as those will be louder if you are trying to sleep late.

 

Oasis has the zip line which is pretty awesome, but the Epic slides are too. I loved both ships, but I love a good deal so if Epic is cheaper and you would get a balcony, free drinks and dinner, I say go for it!

[aubreyc1988]

I havent been on the Epic, but i have done a few RCI and a few NCL

 

layouts of RCI ships and NCL differ alot - NCL has more open floors, a more "Utilized" atrium, where they may do shows, singing, etc - it's kind of annoying to us, but others like it - casino is open to some decks, which may result in smelling smoke on other decks - for us, thats a negative, but some people dont care

 

Entertainment will be much better on RCI Oasis, I went on allure and went to see the diving show 3x :eek: But NCL entertainment isn't BAD by any means, just Royal is better

 

I find the food to be generally better on NCL, especially the specialty restaurants vs the RCI specialties - buffet selection seems to be better on NCL

 

entertainment staff is a lot more visible on NCL vs RCI and i love the different game shows that NCL does, RCI usually only does the newlywed game which gets old

 

Nightlife has always been better on NCL, which is probably due to almost everyone having the free alcohol package

 

-all in all, for what you are interested in, I would go with NCL, but you really can't go wrong with ANY cruise

[SunshineSandAndHappiness]

Thank you very much for your thoughts! Those are all great things for me to think about!

[Juanitavip]

I loved the epic and am going on her again in November. Love the thermospa and the shows were awesome. The adult pool area was also very nice. We are going on the oasis in October so I don't have an opinion yet. I think the Epic was less expensive and we received drinks and specialty dining.

[Midwest_Traveler]

I also haven't been on the NCL Epic yet (soon!!) but I wanted to give you a heads up that Second City isn't on the Epic any more. I was a bit bummed when I found out about that. But I have heard great things about Howl at the Moon.

[riclop]

OASIS hands down.

[Juanitavip]

Howl at the moon is by far my favorite nightclub on any ship I have been on to date. Great sing along dueling pianos fun.

[TommyBoy2016]

Been on both. As others have said: Oasis is the Cadillac of cruise ships. Book it!

 

 

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[Red-Sol]

I have been on both ships and would say that Oasis definitely does have a "Wow" factor to it. The aesthetics of the ship, Central Park, The neighborhood concept, Solarium, etc. are all done very nicely.

 

The Epic on the other hand is no slouch either. Many great places to eat and drink. Really good entertainment. and honestly just a more fun vibe to it. I have found that both the passengers and crew to know how to have a good time no matter what they are doing.

 

The value for your money is also important and you will be doing better with that on Epic.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Red-Sol

[Swells1]

I also haven't been on the NCL Epic yet (soon!!) but I wanted to give you a heads up that Second City isn't on the Epic any more. I was a bit bummed when I found out about that. But I have heard great things about Howl at the Moon.

 

According to NCL's website, Second City is on Caribbean sailings.

[Winnigirl]

We have been on both and for us, the Oasis would win, hands down. I've never been in such a well-thought-out ship. Loved the "neighbourhoods", the specialty restaurants were very good and the entertainment is fantastic. Not that the Epic isn't a nice ship....it is - but it's layout is so odd. The smoke from the casino infiltrates a great portion of the ship. The bathrooms in the cabins are bizarre. It's like they designed this ship and then said - "Oh - we forgot the library! So they plunked a "library" down in an obscure corner. Oh- we forgot the Internet Café!" So it was plunked down in another weird spot. We came across so much of that. I don't think the entertainment on the Epic was as good as the Oasis. The "Cirque de Soleil" type show was good - but the dinner was terrible. Personally we thought the Oasis food was better over-all, although some of the specialty restaurants on the Epic were very good too. Let me put it this way.....we've been on a lot of cruises, but when I'm standing at the sink, washing dishes and daydreaming, the ship I'm dreaming of is the Oasis.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Winnigirl

[cherry30]

I have been on both more than once. For nightlife epic wins, for daytime oasis wins. I would do either again but the booking perks on ncl at the moment mean oasis is just over priced.

[Red-Sol]

I have been on both more than once. For nightlife epic wins, for daytime oasis wins. I would do either again but the booking perks on ncl at the moment mean oasis is just over priced.

 

Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner! What a concise way of putting it (and accurate)

[timeracer72]

I haven't done Epic yet. Will be cruising on her in December this year.

 

Hoping the nightlife is better than the Oasis. The ship is impressive for sure. But I found the nightlife to be pretty bad. I'm the type that likes to enjoy some good music and drinks and maybe if the mood hits get on the floor and boogie a bit. That was never a option on Oasis. You would go in the night club and there would be a half dozen people in there usually. I think mainly because the DJ was terrible. Played mostly top 40 type stuff that no one on the ship wanted to hear. You'd have thought he was DJing a 13 year olds birthday party.

 

They did have a party sponsored by Absolut one night in the Solarium. They had I guess a special DJ for that which played more club type songs that people in their late 20's through 40's could appreciate and it got fun. For about a hour, then that DJ left and the regular one came back and went back to Miley Cyrus music and it was like a stampede out of there.

 

Thankfully the bartenders in the casino bar were awesome and that I met some cool people there otherwise I would have been bored stiff.

 

 

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Edited June 9, 2016 by timeracer72

[Juanitavip]

Just got off the oasis and I think I prefer Epic, but both are very nice.

 

 

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[Justaddvodka68]

[quote name= However I worry about feeling "nickel and dimed" when it comes to all their al a cart only options (after our first 3 specialty restaurants are comped) among gratuity not being included. However' date=' since the oasis first came around, it's all I've talked and dreamed about going on because it just seems to be so big and bad, overall awesome, and we know what to expect service-wise with RC.

 

Any help or thoughts are so beyond greatly appreciated!!![/font][/color][/size]

 

I haven't been on either, but to shine a light on the nickled and dimed issue . . . consider what you're saving vs RCL and what you're gaining. So you're already ahead by 3 specialty dinners and a better cabin. Price apples to apples - what would it cost for that cabin on RCL and what would 3 specialty dinners cost? If you don't think you'll spend more than the difference in nickels and dimes, you're ahead with NCL. And of course there is plenty of nickle & diming going on at RCL too.

[smart_alec]

I haven't been on either ship, and I never cruised on RCL.

 

The nickel-n-diming on NCL is a bit annoying. Just got back from Getaway and here's what was annoying:

 

I don't care about the speciality restaurants since the main dining room is excellent (and there are other free places to eat, like O'Sheehan's bar & grill, the noodle place, and the buffet). However, they now charge $7.95 for the room service, which they still call "free" ($7.95 is a "convenience charge"). I never use it so I don't care much, but it is annoying.

 

We paid $35/each for their magic dinner show (The Illusionarium). The show was OK, the dinner was nothing special, overall I feel that it should've been included in the cost of the cruise. However, the theater is very small and it would've been impossible to get most of the passengers in. Overall I was glad to have an extra show to see, but was annoyed that I had to pay for it.

 

Wine Lovers the Musical was ok for $30/person since it included 6 glasses of wine. I'm not really a drinker, so I actually would've preferred another free show, but I thought considering the cost of the booze it was a fair price/deal.

 

The free shows were excellent, and they even had something going on in the main dining room every night (live band or the professional dance show, Burn the Floor).

 

I know this is not what's on Epic, but I assume Epic would be similar (could be wrong).

 

They did charge us mandatory 18% gratuity on the retail cost of the SDP, which was a bit annoying as well. We are already paying mandatory gratuity per day, and if we are not eating in the main dining room, those tips show go the specialty dining people. I didn't think the service was much (if any) better than in the MDR.

 

What other charges were concerned about?

[Juanitavip]

I prefer the open air adults area compared to a solarium on the Epic. I also love the dueling pianos on Epic. Food and service was definitely better on the Epic. Oasis was a prettier ship to walk around with the Central Park area, boardwalk. I also love the free pastries (cheesecake pops) in the oasis coffee shop.

 

 

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[cbowls30]

I've been on epic and allure (oasis sister ship) and i would say for nightlife epic hands down but during the day was pretty poor - didn't seem to be much going on. Allure had lots going on during the day and evenings were good but we just felt epic was better....

 

 

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