3 Generation Cruise -Adventure or NCL Epic-need help

While not new to cruising we have not been on a family cruise in over 14 years. We now have 2 granddaughters, 7&10 at the time of this cruise in March, 2019. They have never been on a cruise. This will be to celebrate my husbands retirement. We want the Western itinerary that goes to Grand Cayman. For our week, I have it down to Adventure of the Seas and NCL Epic. We have been on several cruise lines but not NCL. I have been reading many reviews and wondering if we would be happy on either ship. Has anyone been on both and could offer me any advise, I would love to hear it. We have been on several RCCL cruises so I feel like I am leaning towards the Adventure but the Epic is a newer ship. Does that matter? Also, RCCL is having the 30% off sale right now is that typical or a deal that we should be trying to book? I'm just not sure what a "deal" is these days.

RCCL always has a sale going on for 25% to 30% off, but the underlying price is constantly changing so the discount doesn't really mean anything. The price could be more with a 30% discount than with a 25% discount. What will make a big difference for you is they occasionally have a "kids sail free" promotion. It's not showing on their website right now, but I received a postcard yesterday in the mail that had an offer for kids sail free.

I planned a cruise a few years ago where Grand Cayman was my most anticipated stop. They do not have a cruise pier, they run tenders from the ship to shore. We arrived off the coast and the captain announced that the water was too rough to run the tenders, then we left and had a sea day instead. I wish you better luck in GC.

I take it back - Kids Sail Free IS listed on the RC website right now.

Thank you! I checked out the kids sale and it wouldn't apply. Good to know that those sales are frequent.

Honestly now that Adventure has waterslides, I see much less difference and more similarity. Epic is larger and appears more modern if that is your thing. NCL has a more relaxed feel for dining and dress, but again Royal is getting more similar than different. Price would drive my decision.

Hi.

We sailed on Epic in October and prior to that we have cruised with RCCL 12 times. If you are hoping to take your youngsters to shows you should avoid Epic. Shows are very sexualised and definitely not for children. We also disliked the intense smell of tobacco that drifted from the casino to central areas of the ship...definitely not good for kids. We found the whole ship noisy and geared to adult entertainment. Lots of drinking, gambling and high quality but very adult shows.

Personally we like the RCCL package and find them very child friendly.

Epic is up there as my least favorite cruise. The ship is important to me, and Epic was horribly designed. There are no grand spaces and traffic flow was poor. Food was equivalent to RCI, but service was not too great in my opinion - it wasn't bad, but it wasn't friendly. I have Adventure booked for September, and having been on her sister ship Explorer (although not for awhile), I know I'll love the ship.

Adventure has waterslides, a Flowrider, as well as Spashaway Bay kids waterpark. There are also several speciality restaurants. She is going in for dry dock in January, so she'll be refreshed.

It would be Adventure hands down for me.

I believe Adventure is getting another specialty restaurant in the January dry dock.

We were torn between these two for next winter. I originally booked Epic for December, but I noted that reviews are very mixed. People either loved the ship, or absolutely hated it (especially the bathroom/not a bathroom design). I was mostly concerned about my dad, who is not an overly huge fan of cruising. I was also concerned about the reviews about the pool being overcrowded and small. My kids (3 & 7 now) love swimming, but not crowds.

I admit though, deposits are a big deal for me. I can't put up as much up at front and can easily make payments over time. When we were on Freedom a couple weeks ago I jumped at the chance to book onboard with the reduced deposit. So, we have switched to Adventure in November and cancelled Epic. I am much more comfortable with this booking plus we were able to get a much larger room, with a couple more nights, at a lower cost than what we had on Epic. I think my dad and the kids will be happier and all my concerns are gone.

With that being said, I also know a couple who prefer NCL. I have never cruised with them and would be willing to try. I'm just not sure Epic would be the right ship for us. For our last cruise we booked and watched the prices. People are right, through different offers the price never really changed until the 90 day/final payment mark. At that time the prices dropped. We weren't able to get money back on the room we booked, but we were able to upgrade to a better option for a similar price. Just keep checking as you go. No matter which line you book sign up for the roll call. It was on the roll call that I received information when the prices did drop. Good info is shared on these.

I was on the Epic in May and wasn’t impressed with the ship. The bathrooms are frosted glass with the sink in the cabin and a curtain to separate the bathroom to the cabin. The balcony cabin layout is very tight.

It just doesn’t have the nice flow of RCI ships.

I agree about some of the shows are not really child friendly though I don’t have any children. On an adult perspective, I prefer the late shows with RCI, also the bellyflop and sexiest man competitions. Ha ha.

Though I do prefer the buffet food and the staff were wonderful.

I will be travelling on Symphony in May doing the same itinerary as I have places I didn’t get to see.

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We will never again take a family vacation on NCL. We took a 17 member, 4-generation vacation on NCL Pride of America. While there is no casino (not allowed in Hawaii) the "freestyle" dining was horrible. Only twice in 7 nights were we able to get reservations in ANY restaurant to dine all together and both times were at 8:30 pm. That was inconviently late for for the older generation and for the pre-schoolers. It seems that they weren't set up for a larger group until everyone else has been seated! RCI makes it easy for any size group to eat together any time, and a family group would probably prefer a set dining time to get together and visit and catch up on the days activities. We had 30+ family and friends from five states on Adventure in 2006 for a wedding. After getting all the reservations linked,we were seated all together for dinner at two adjoining tables. Plus Adventure will be getting all kinds of updates in her up-coming dry dock.

On Epic Dec 16-23... stay away from this Ship!!! smells like smoke, rude crew everywhere you go, dining staff couldn't care less if you ever get service, design of the ship is confusing and not user friendly, entertainment is rudely sexual and not for anybody (walk outs continually during the shows), balcony room was terrible design and zero room to even get to the balcony, ... the ONLY good thing was grandkids go free. it was a pleasure to cancel the almost $400 in gratuities. by the way we have been on over 20 cruises...