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RCI Customer here about to book EPic

octagonmike

By octagonmike,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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RCFan60

RCFan60

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I've only sailed Royal Caribbean but the Epic is a ship I can't resist. Sailing in January as a solo in a studio cabin. Really looking forward to reading the reviews and detailed information about her once she starts to sail.

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Venusleo1

Venusleo1

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Another RCI cruiser here also booked on the Epic. Being a solo traveler NCL really won me over with their studio cabins and no singles suppliment. Hopefuly RCI will take some tips from this and add some singles/solo cabins to their fleets. I can only afford to do 3-4 nighters with RCI but I finnaly get to go on a 7 nighter and the boat looks AMAZING! It honestly looks like more fun then the Oasis/Allure too. IMHO the entertainment options are far superior to the Oasis. So looking forward to it. :D

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izodlacoste

izodlacoste

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It just looks like such a fun ship.

 

Looking to book 14 night cruise out of Miami commencing 4th September.

 

Can't wait and yet havent even booked it yet !

 

Mike

 

Us too! We are platinum on RCl but booked a European cruise on Epic because of the suites. We booked a villa with two rooms and two bathrooms for way less than anything close to that would have been on RCL for the same dates. Hope it is as fun as it looks.

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rednsassy

rednsassy

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My family and I enjoyed our two cruises on Royal, but have decided that we LOVE NCL! We were supposed to do a Baltic cruise last summer on the Jewel of the Seas, but my DH was unhappy with some of the changes they were making, so we switched over to the NCL Jewel. We got a gorgeous 2 bedroom Courtyard Villa with butler service and a private courtyard area for my whole family for about $200 more than we were going to pay for a 1 bedroom Grand Suite! While I am sure we would have had a great time either way (bad day at sea better than a good day at work!), we just felt like we got more bang for our buck. NCL definitely has the best suites (and service with them) of any of the cruiselines geared towards families.

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gkbiiii

gkbiiii

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This will be my first NCL cruise as well (Epic's first cruise June 2010). I have done several RCCL cruises as well as one Disney, Celebrity, and one Carnival. It will be interesting to see how the NCL experience is compaired to the others.

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paulsurf

paulsurf

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Done 18 cruises, various lines. We are Platinum on Princess and RCI.

Have enjoyed 3 NCL cruises !!( Hawaii,Caribbean and Bermuda) , in particular all the specialty restaurants are a treat. When looking at this August for a caribbean cruise , the EPIC became a no brainer. This is a special ship with all out entertainment events . Best thing is enough specailty restaurants that you can't hit them all in 7 nights.

Lookin forward to this one !!!

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BBTT

BBTT

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we too have sailed royal, carnival and ncl. I think what ncl did right on this ship was pricing!!! seems that royal really went high on their original (and current) pricing on oasis since it is the largest ship and so on. I think you will see royal start to come down on their pricing once epic is out and alure comes out. imho I would be happy on any ship but I as many have to really watch finances in this day and economy. :)

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octagonmike

octagonmike

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My DH will only cruise NCL... he hates getting dressed up & wearing a suit/tux on vacation. Our first cruise was with Celebrity' date=' and although we loved it, freestyle with NCL is the way we will go now:)![/quote']

 

You don't need to get dressed up or wear a suit or Tux on RC

 

It's a myth. They are actually very laid back fun ships but Epic just looks "grown up" and ideal for those of us that like to party without ankle biters running around. There are quite a few Adults only areas on Epic that I like the look of.

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welove2cruise*

welove2cruise*

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More Royal Diamond members thinking about trying the Epic. Miss that $200 balcony discount though.

 

We are also Diamond RC. I have found that NCL's prices are usually better even taking the RC balcony discount in consideration.

 

My parents are joining us for the Epic cruise in September. They are Diamond Plus with RC. They have joined us for a few NCL trips over the past two years and have really enjoyed them. I am SO excited about the Epic. :) I don't want to wish away the summer though, so I am happy to wait until September gets here.

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welove2cruise*

welove2cruise*

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Yay for you Octagonmike....I'm sure you won't be disappointed! Does RC also have open dining rooms' date=' or are you locked into a certain seating? Seems we tend to be late for dinner if we have a good time on shore;)!

Kathy[/quote']

 

I just sailed the Mariner of the Seas to the Mexican Riviera in March. That was the first time back on RC since they added the "anytime dining" option. I had the opportunity to join my parents in the Owner's Suite which was very nice. :)

 

We had a large group so we made a reservation for 7:15 every night, but otherwise it seemed to work similar to NCL's freestyle. They still have the formal nights though. I know lots of people say you don't have to get dressed up, but I prefer being on NCL where it is promoted by the cruise line as "dress up or not". I thought there were quite a lot of people dressed up on the formal nights on RC.

 

Also, to compare I had just cruised on the NCL Jewel this February. Both the food and the entertainment were hands-down better on NCL. I was actually a bit surprised by that.

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molly361

molly361

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We are also Diamond RC. I have found that NCL's prices are usually better even taking the RC balcony discount in consideration.

 

My parents are joining us for the Epic cruise in September. They are Diamond Plus with RC. They have joined us for a few NCL trips over the past two years and have really enjoyed them. I am SO excited about the Epic. :) I don't want to wish away the summer though, so I am happy to wait until September gets here.

 

Compared to the sailings we have done on RCL (not summer dates) it seems the opposite for us. Balconies on NCL seem to be around $200- $300 more for 7 days than on RCL with the $200 discount. Of course, these are NOT summer sailings I am talking about. Not that $200 is make or break but it is a factor , at least to us.

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octagonmike

octagonmike

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Yay for you Octagonmike....I'm sure you won't be disappointed! Does RC also have open dining rooms' date=' or are you locked into a certain seating? Seems we tend to be late for dinner if we have a good time on shore;)!

Kathy[/quote']

 

 

Thanks Kathy we can't wait to try something different.

 

To answer your questions, since My Time Dining was introduced on RC you are not tied to the same table every night.

 

As a MTD passenger you will dine on the top floor of the Main Dining Room and be allocated a table based upon what is available.

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CaptData

CaptData

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Yay for you Octagonmike....I'm sure you won't be disappointed! Does RC also have open dining rooms' date=' or are you locked into a certain seating? Seems we tend to be late for dinner if we have a good time on shore;)!

Kathy[/quote']

 

 

They have My Time Dining available for you but you must pre-pay your gratuities to do this.

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Kruizin'Kath

Kruizin'Kath

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Thanks CaptData and Octagonmike....that might just work for us. I wouldn't mind prepaying gratuities...we sort of do that on NCL anyway. Although, I would be hard pressed to convince DH to change cruise lines. He's of the mind that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". And he loves free style:)

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octagonmike

octagonmike

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Thanks CaptData and Octagonmike....that might just work for us. I wouldn't mind prepaying gratuities...we sort of do that on NCL anyway. Although' date=' I would be hard pressed to convince DH to change cruise lines. He's of the mind that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". And he loves free style:)[/quote']

 

 

I am convinced our first sailing on NCL is going to convert us to the cruise line for the forseeable future to be honest. If you really truly enjoy freestyle cruising then I would suggest your husband is probably right. RC quite laid back really but still that niggling discrepiancy over formal attire etc.

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