Breakaway vs Epic

Hi, I have sailed on the Breakaway before but I have never sailed on the Epic. I must say my favorite ship is the Gem out of all the NCL ships I have sailed. I really missed the Spinaker lounge on the Breakaway and the ship itself just seemed a little more formal to me then the Gem.

Is the Epic more similar to the Breakaway? I would love to know the differences.

Thank you,

Epic is definitely more similar to Breakaway class ships than the older Jewel class ships (Gem being the last of them).

I can't help with the differences between Breakaway and Epic except that on Breakaway the midship MDR (Taste on Epic) is split in to two different restaurants (Taste and Savor on Breakaway) and there is a corridor between them all the way to the aft elevators (which aren't available on deck 6 on Epic). Plus of course the Waterfront area with restaurants outside deck 8.

The Epic is very similar to the Breakaway. If you didn't care for the Breakaway you most likely will not like the Epic.

The Epic does not have many places where you can connect to the water. It's also set up like the Breakaway with the open casino area, they share many of the same restaurants, they both have Spice H20 and Bliss (which is better on the Epic), and both have really fun slides.

I didn't find the Breakaway to really be formal so I can't comment on that.

I was a little concerned when the breakaway would be in port at Bermuda that the open Casino area would be empty. Now with being able to gamble at night, it may be a lot better .

The Breakaway took things pioneered by Epic and improved upon them, and attempted to eliminate some issues. Here are some key differences:

Breakaway rooms are more traditional with straight walls and enclosed bathroom. Epic balcony rooms have modern curved walls and separate shower/toilet areas behind frosted glass. The balconies on Epic appears to be a bit larger.

The ships have different shows. Epic has Blue Man Group instead of Rock of Ages

The slides are great on both, but they are different. I believe Breakaway has more pool area than Epic. Epic doesn't have the ropes course or mini-golf.

Breakaway has the waterfront area and the Epic does not. This was in response to people feeling like the Epic lacked the ability to easily look out on the ocean from public areas.

The Epic is very similar to the Breakaway. If you didn't care for the Breakaway you most likely will not like the Epic.

 

The Epic does not have many places where you can connect to the water. It's also set up like the Breakaway with the open casino area, they share many of the same restaurants, they both have Spice H20 and Bliss (which is better on the Epic), and both have really fun slides.

 

I didn't find the Breakaway to really be formal so I can't comment on that.

Having just returned from the Gem 2 weeks ago, and from the Breakaway 3 months ago, and from my 3rd trip on EPIC last April....

I agree with SD Mike. BA is more similar to EPIC than either is, to the Gem.

But between the BA & the EPIC..... it's EPIC by a mile.

The outcome of trying to 'fix' the connection with the ocean, meant that almost every venue on BA is a smaller version of the same venue on the EPIC.

Because so much space has been given-over to the Boardwalk, everything feels a little more constrained inside BA.

That won't stop me from a 2nd BA in January, though....12 days! :)

Stephen

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Lol. Thanks for the responses. Have to decide what to do next . But soon I will be cruising again :)

Never have done epic, but I had a horrible experience with breakaway. Too many up charges, and service and food were not that good. Entertainment good, though.

Never have done epic, but I had a horrible experience with breakaway. Too many up charges, and service and food were not that good. Entertainment good, though.

Whoops!

Turtle you should edit your post, you forgot to push Carnival.

Whoops!

 

Turtle you should edit your post, you forgot to push Carnival.

I love carnival, but I am not going to persuade others to try them. When they do try carnival, they will realize that carnival offers everything all of the other lines offer, for a better price. If they do want a more elegant and upscale experience though, I would recommend ncl, rcl, princess. But for fun and a great value cruise, carnival.

Lol. Thanks for the responses. Have to decide what to do next . But soon I will be cruising again :)

I saw in your signature you did the 2 night Breakaway cruise. I would sail the Epic again and the Breakaway (and the Breakaway Plus). I really like the mega ships with all there is to do. I've sailed on the Sky and thought it was fun but now that I've sailed on the big ships I don't think I could go back to a smaller one.

I feel the Epic and Breakaway have more things to go do and see. Sure things can get crowded but I never thought it was overwhelmingly awful. I liked having a lot of dining options too.

I didn't mind the Epic cabin layout (there are a lot of threads on bathroom hate), but for my husband and I, the cabin layout was great. I have pictures in my signature of my Epic cruise and Breakaway cruise.

Spice H20 on the Epic is a great place to hang out and view the ocean. There are also the stairs to nowhere in the Aft that you can be sheltered from the elements and watch the world go by.

Never have done epic, but I had a horrible experience with breakaway. Too many up charges, and service and food were not that good. Entertainment good, though.

Hi Turtle. I've done NCL, RCL and CCL and found the upcharges to be about the same. I think the difference is that NCL has more options, which makes it seem like there are more charges. However, they're really optional and not necessary for a great time. Funny that we view food differently, but it's all subjective. I thought the food on NCL and RCI were good and similar, but on CCL we often had trouble finding something we liked.

Hi Turtle. I've done NCL, RCL and CCL and found the upcharges to be about the same. I think the difference is that NCL has more options, which makes it seem like there are more charges. However, they're really optional and not necessary for a great time. Funny that we view food differently, but it's all subjective. I thought the food on NCL and RCI were good and similar, but on CCL we often had trouble finding something we liked.

Your right! Imagine how boring it would be with one cruise line. Different lines are better at different things. Which "things" are important to you should decide which line you want to cruise on. Different strokes for different folks

Your right! Imagine how boring it would be with one cruise line. Different lines are better at different things. Which "things" are important to you should decide which line you want to cruise on. Different strokes for different folks

Yep! Agree! :)

I went on both (Breakaway 9/15-9/22 this year, and Epic December 2011)

I am a little biased but I liked the Breakaway a little more but still loved the Epic.

- I am from SJ so it was much easier getting to the Breakway, I had a studio on the Epic and one booked for the Breakaway but was able to upgrade to a Balcony days before.

I liked the Breakaway had more open spaces and felt spice h20 was a little better with the waterfall wading pool. - I didn't use the main pool on either ship.

Food- pretty equal. ButMDR had somethings I really enjoyed on the Breakaway

Entertainment- Epic because I liked BMG and Legends more than Rock of Ages.

I liked Fat Cats and Howl at the Moon on both-

Liked being in Bermuda 3 days vs leaving the port on the same day.

*I will likely go on the Breakaway next but am still very fond of the Epic

Breakaway beats Epic on the open decks and I just loved the boardwalk area and the improved upper deck space on the sun decks.

Breakaway also has more space and nice booths in O'Sheehans and a better Cirque venue.

Fiords card players a room dedicated and a library..

However...

Breakaway lacks a decent internal lounge. Bliss is not a lounge but a dance floor and a bar!

Spice H2O (once you have worked out how to get there) is a fraction on Epic.

And no open great outdoors area.

Also the ice bar on Epic is slightly better than Breakaway.

Studio lounge on Breakaway nowhere near as good as Epic's

I'm hoping Breakaway Plus will take the current Breakaway design but add a proper Bliss lounge, restore multi-storey Spice at the back

EPIC wins hands down!

A draw back of EPIC is you have to struggle to see the ocean because there's no viewable promenade deck like the Boardwalk on Breakaway, everything on Breakaway is pint-sized. I did the Trans-Atlantic crossing and some of the rooms on Breakaway on nights when there was a good entertainer in there meant standing out the door or freezing outside to hear them. I can't imagine the ship packed.

I like nightlife and the room on Breakaway is a joke. On Epic there's a tiered system to fill up Spice. On Breakaway there is one tier and the space is so much smaller. When guests go up there for the 80s party coupled with the fireworks it gets insanely cramped. With the fire restrictions they have to do with the ship being at sea you really can't enjoy the fireworks show. Again this was only with 2800 people onboard and not a full ship.

Bliss Lounge on EPIC is far bigger and better than the LED postage stamp on Breakaway. I liked the LED wall and thought it was a cool addition but on Breakaway the place is so small. You'll find a darker but far LARGER Bliss on the EPIC with bowling alleys included!

If you felt cramped on Breakaway you'll enjoy the extra space EPIC gives to you in public areas. The designs outside of those two venues are fairly similar.

I keep wondering if it is time to try a new NCL ship... but you guys are not selling either ship very well.

I keep wondering if it is time to try a new NCL ship... but you guys are not selling either ship very well.

All ship have their pros and cons

I keep wondering if it is time to try a new NCL ship... but you guys are not selling either ship very well.

:D I concur. Ironically they both post the same space ratio. Obviously distributed differently though.

:D I concur. Ironically they both post the same space ratio. Obviously distributed differently though.

Do I try one of the new NCL ships or some other lines?

Do I try one of the new NCL ships or some other lines?

It's up to you. I recommend doing some research, visiting websites, tas, checking prices, etcetera before making a decision. I would try carnival cruise lines, but that is just me. My experience on ncl wasn't all that great, but the entertainment was good.

We have been on the Pearl, The POA, The Epic and the Breakaway. All have pros and cons but we had the most fun on the Breakaway!

Now that might be because we had more sea days than we typically have on our other cruises and we were in Bermuda and back on board early enough to enjoy the nightlife!

I much preferred the Epic room and balcony and even the bathroom set up, one can shower while the other uses the toilet in private! Our balcony was much bigger and I think the room flowed well with the curve.

I much preferred the outside walkway on the Breakaway, we love walking outside around the ship and really missed this on the Epic.

I much more enjoyed the H2O on the Epic than the Breakaway, pool and hot tubs. The Breakaway only had hot tubs and a wall water area, nice to cool off in but still missed the pool area.

The Pearl we were bored, couldn't do outside stuff as we were in Alaska and on the POA we were so exhausted we didn't do much on board but all rooms and balconies were just fine and dinning was great

maybe with the breakaway plus they will keep the boardwalk area, which is a big hit, but reduce the NUMBER of venues so they can bring the size of each back up.

I will stay in the Haven if I choose NCL. I will take a look at some Haven comments now.

Thanks for the replies.