Epic vs. Breakaway - help needed please!

I currently have a Disney cruise booked but just feeling like their prices are out of control. We LOVE disney - we go to Disney wold every year. We are gold on DCL but have not gone on them for a couple of years due to skyrocket pricing.

We have heard great things about NCL's big ships (we have been on the Pearl on a 2 night weekend voyage and enjoyed it).

Right now, we are looking at 2 we like -the Epic and the Breakaway, both are 10 day cruises and come in $2000 cheaper (even after adding on things we would have to pay extra for like pop package, adult area) than DCL.

Just not sure which one - we are fine with either itinerary.

Here is what we like in a cruise:

It is me (46) and my daughter (22).

We like a nice adult only sundeck to have nice afternoon naps on sea days. One thing we have always loved are the round 'bed' style loungers. They have tons of these on other ships we have been on but I don't really see them in the adult areas online?

I am willing to pay the $99 each to get into the Posh or Vibe, as those areas look perfect for us.

Next thing we like that is important is stuff to do in the evening. We actually enjoy the fun adult game shows like the quest and stuff like that. We usually don't bother with the 'vegas' style shows as we are musical theater geeks and find it hard to sit through. I do like Rock of Ages being on breakaway and would love to see that, but don't want to book a cruise based on a musical for one night.

We also love outdoor movies at night. We are not casino people.

Also the spa is important to my daughter, as she gets a thermal pass and spends a lot of time in there.

Im looking at the ships and not seeing a lot of difference, but wondered if I could hear from experienced NCL people who might point us in the right direction! THanks.

I normally love the “adult game shows” on cruises too, but the Breakaway held all of them in the atrium instead of a theater. There was never enough room, and unless you arrive quite early you’re stuck standing and unable to see around people.

Otherwise we loved the ship, especially the outdoor space along the waterfront.

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I would recommend the Breakaway. We have sailed on the Epic 6 times and the Breakaway 3 times. The breakaway is newer and has better facilities. The Epic sells around 10 Posh passes first come first serve. You would need to be the very first person to board after priority boarders (frequent cruisers) and walk fast (not run) to Guest Services. The Breakaway sells 80 passes (for the 4500 passengers). You still need to be one of the very first people onboard after priority boarding.

Both ships have a Spice H20 is an adults only space on the aft of the ship. Spice on the Epic is larger.

Both ships have wonderful thermal suites (spa) on the Epic is a bit better. There are steam rooms and saunas in the female lockerrooms, and large saunas and steam rooms in the co-ed section.

The spa on the EPIC is great! It has a balcony with loungers on it and beds. I was on a cruise a few years ago with a no walking boot so I hung out in the spa all day. My cruise was basically spent on that balcony because I was in a studio cabin.

I normally love the “adult game shows” on cruises too, but the Breakaway held all of them in the atrium instead of a theater. There was never enough room, and unless you arrive quite early you’re stuck standing and unable to see around people.

Otherwise we loved the ship, especially the outdoor space along the waterfront.

 

 

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I very much agree with this. This was the biggest bummer for us during our Breakaway cruise.

I have been on the Epic twice and loved it, i will be on the Breakaway for the first time this coming October and looking forward to it.

While I Enjoyed the Spice H2O area on the Epic, I really really missed the Waterfront area....It was a great place to relax and have a drink.

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Ive been on the Epic twice and the Breakaway once...Id chose the Breakaway. The last time we were on the Epic the service was HORRENDOUS!! Everyone on the ship was complaining, it was the worst Ive ever had on a cruise ship and I wouldnt sail that ship again.

Why not try Royal Oasis Class? If you want a "big ship" experience, go Symphony, It's the newest and best ship available. No charge for

'adult areas' or any loungers on board.

Ive been on the Epic twice and the Breakaway once...Id chose the Breakaway. The last time we were on the Epic the service was HORRENDOUS!! Everyone on the ship was complaining, it was the worst Ive ever had on a cruise ship and I wouldnt sail that ship again.

When did you sail last?

I normally love the “adult game shows” on cruises too, but the Breakaway held all of them in the atrium instead of a theater. There was never enough room, and unless you arrive quite early you’re stuck standing and unable to see around people.

Otherwise we loved the ship, especially the outdoor space along the waterfront.

We were just on the Epic and it has the same problem. Most game shows were in the atrium, and unless you're in the first 2 rows of seats you can't see the top of the screen. It's cut off by the ceiling if you sit too far in the back. There was a "not so newlywed game" held one evening in the Headliners bar which was a bit better for sound and visuals, but doesn't hold a whole lot of people either.

The waterfront on the Breakaway class ships are phenomenal. I love the Epic too, but love the cruising experience on the away class ships more. The Escape was amazing. Can't wait to try the Bliss!

I've been on both and I would choose Breakaway. Epic has less of a connection to the outside, unless you go to the pool deck or to Spice H20 in the back of the ship, neither of which is relaxing. Breakaway is newer. The casino smoke is not as obnoxious. The atrium area in both gets very loud and noisy on both ships.

We just did the Epic in May for the first time and are doing Breakaway out of NOLA in November. The Epic cruise had several issues we did not like:

1. Elevators - only one set on each end of ship. Lots of long waits; aggravating at times.

2. Atrium area - Like others have mentioned it was loud. We don't do game shows but we did have several meals at the O'Sheehan's and we had trouble conversing with our cruising friends because of the noise.

3.Walking track - very small for a large ship. Also bad smell coming from somewhere. Therefore only used once. We found another deck that we used instead. Really not a walking track but better than stinky, small Epic walking track.

4. Casino location - had to go through casino to go to almost all dining and entertainment venues it seemed.

The food at both specialty and free dining was great. Unlike others we were not bothered by the bathroom arrangement in our cabin. There were a few other subtle things but the items listed above were our biggest disappointments.

To those of you that have done both the Epic and Breakaway how do they compare?

1. Any issues with elevators on Breakaway?

2. Atrium area - Ship design on Breakaway appears to be better looking at deck plans. Any comments one way or the other?

3. Walking track - It appears small like the one on Epic. We may have to use waterfront for walking.

4. Casino location - Again ship design appears to be better at least on paper anyway.

Also the Breakaway cruise we are doing out of NOLA has 3 sea days and is not port intensive like the Epic was in the Mediterranean. It seemed that Epic was overly crowded and there were people everywhere. We have done the Oasis of the Seas before and did not get that same overcrowded feeling. We are hoping that the Breakaway is more like the Oasis than it is like the Epic.

Please anyone that has done both Epic and Breakaway let us know what to expect.

We just did the Epic in May for the first time and are doing Breakaway out of NOLA in November. The Epic cruise had several issues we did not like:

 

1. Elevators - only one set on each end of ship. Lots of long waits; aggravating at times.

2. Atrium area - Like others have mentioned it was loud. We don't do game shows but we did have several meals at the O'Sheehan's and we had trouble conversing with our cruising friends because of the noise.

3.Walking track - very small for a large ship. Also bad smell coming from somewhere. Therefore only used once. We found another deck that we used instead. Really not a walking track but better than stinky, small Epic walking track.

4. Casino location - had to go through casino to go to almost all dining and entertainment venues it seemed.

1. Elevators appear to be in the same location on both ships, so you may experience the same frustrations.

2. (I’ve only been on the breakaway, not epic)the atrium on BA is open to osheehans. More often than not when we tried to eat there during the evening there would be a musician playing so loudly no one could converse at the table and we had to yell for the waiters to hear us. Probably not much improvement over epic, possibly worse..

3. Walking track was around the upper pool deck, and was also a major thoroughfare and where many end up putting their loungers as the pool deck is crowded in the afternoons. Likely to have a better experience walking on the waterfront.

4. We never walked through the casino with our children as it was very smokey. I don’t recall making much additional efforts to avoid, usually crossed on decks 6 or 8.

All that being said we had a fabulous time! Our last trip prior to the a Breakaway was on an Oasis class (HOTS), and we’re planning on spending another week on both ships this March since we couldn’t decide which we preferred.

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I have been on both. I much preferred the spa on Epic. It was gorgeous and the aft balcony was wonderful. The locker rooms were laid out better. Spice2O was better also. If I remember correctly you can watch the game shows from above by sitting along the railing of OSheehans. Epic is still my favorite ship.

1. Elevators appear to be in the same location on both ships, so you may experience the same frustrations.

 

2. (I’ve only been on the breakaway, not epic)the atrium on BA is open to osheehans. More often than not when we tried to eat there during the evening there would be a musician playing so loudly no one could converse at the table and we had to yell for the waiters to hear us. Probably not much improvement over epic, possibly worse..

 

3. Walking track was around the upper pool deck, and was also a major thoroughfare and where many end up putting their loungers as the pool deck is crowded in the afternoons. Likely to have a better experience walking on the waterfront.

 

4. We never walked through the casino with our children as it was very smokey. I don’t recall making much additional efforts to avoid, usually crossed on decks 6 or 8.

 

All that being said we had a fabulous time! Our last trip prior to the a Breakaway was on an Oasis class (HOTS), and we’re planning on spending another week on both ships this March since we couldn’t decide which we preferred.

 

 

 

 

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Thank you. On the Breakaway from NOLA we are going to have much more time on the ship time than we did on Epic. The Epic had more port days and since we had not been to Europe in 20 years we were more interested in the ports than we were in the ship itself.

On the Breakaway the only ports are Cozumel, Costa Maya, and the private island. We chose this one more for the ship and relaxation. It has 3 at sea days. Much more time to really check out the ship. It looks to me like the Breakaway has more to offer. The waterfront appears that it will be a big plus and I noticed in reading other reviews that Breakaway has some of the breakfasts available in Moderno and Margaritaville which will be nice to try something different. All in all the ships seem kind of similar. Can't wait for November so we can sail on the Breakaway for the first time.

Hmmm... I've been on both. The Breakaway once and the Epic twice. I remember very little about the Breakaway, but loved Epic. I didn't DISLIKE the Breakaway, it just wasn't memorable to me for whatever reason. I don't really think you can go wrong with either though.

I've been on Epic twice and Getaway once (sister ship of Breakaway). Each has perks and disadvantages. I liked the venues and facilities more on Epic. Getaway/Breakaway has a better water park and the water front.

Epic has quirks that some don't like i.e. curved walls, sink in bedroom, etc.

Just got off Breakaway last week. Much of the service there is pretty bad, especially Guest Services. Rock of Ages was horribly BAD (worse than I can put into words), and probably the worst thing about the entire cruise. And as said before, the Atrium is too crowded for the game shows, and most people aren't in position to even see all of the screen since it towers across two decks, only visible by the few people able to get seats. The food on Breakaway is nothing special at all.

All that said, we still loved our cruise and the ship. If you go expecting the bad service and food, you won't be disappointed, and can enjoy the great aspects of the ship.

My best tip for the breakaway is going to margaritaville for breakfast on port days. It was never crowded and we could enjoy a view of the island. Options are limited, but all the traditional American breakfast items were available.

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My best tip for the breakaway is going to margaritaville for breakfast on port days. It was never crowded and we could enjoy a view of the island. Options are limited, but all the traditional American breakfast items were available.

We got off Breakaway 10 days ago after a 9-day cruise. I passed thru Margaritaville several times, but never once saw it open.

We got off Breakaway 10 days ago after a 9-day cruise. I passed thru Margaritaville several times, but never once saw it open.

Possible it was open, but so slow inside you thought it was closed [emoji23] we were the only people eating there one morning.

On our Caribbean sailing the buffet was open in the morning on at least all of our port days. Maybe more, but those were the days we went.

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