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Norwegian Epic and Carnival Breeze (Mini review/comparison)

HazelSmrf

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HazelSmrf

HazelSmrf

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I was fortunate enough to be able to do a back to back cruise this month, Norwegian Epic (Jan 11th-18th) and Carnival Breeze (Jan 18th to 26th). My husband and I are both in our mid 30s and we were celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary with 15 days at sea, woohoo! We had been on two cruises prior, both with Carnival (Valor in 2005 and Triumph in 2011).

 

Ok so, doing these different cruises so close together, it was very difficult to not find ourselves comparing them a lot, so I figured I'd do a small review of our thoughts.

 

I'd just like to preface this by saying that while I may be critical, in no way did I have a bad cruise, FAR from it!

 

Anyways, here goes.

 

Embarkation:

Epic: Went very smoothly, Epic uses 2 different terminals in Miami and we were assigned to terminal B. From check in until we were seated in the waiting area was about 15 minutes, it was really fast. Our group was 32 or 33, once they started calling groups it didn't take too long until it was our turn to board.

 

Breeze: We had FTTF, everything went very smoothly too, there was a bit of a bottleneck when they called FTTF but other than that it went very well. I think there was only one terminal they were using.

 

 

Food:

Epic: I'm not very picky on food, the food on Epic was fine, buffet food was standard buffet fare, Cagney's was VERY good, O'Sheehan's was fine, I didn't try any of the other specialty restaurants. The buffet area was very well laid out and there were never any lines, we never had to look too hard to find an empty table either. Food in the dining room was very good as well, service was great, and while we did have to "wait" every night (they give you a pager) they always included a free glass of sparkling wine while you waited and the wait was only 10-15 minutes, so hey, free drink, I'll gladly wait! :) I thought that was a very nice touch!

 

Breeze: Again not too picky, but the first night in the dining room my food was cold (we had Anytime dining). I found dining room service to be quite slow honestly, I did not like that although we had Anytime dining we basically had to eat at the same speed as those seated around us. So if we didn't order any appetizers, we still had to sit there while everyone around us ate THEIR appetizers. And drinks were very slow to come, our last meal there I still hadn't received my drink even after the main meal was served. The buffet was horribly laid out, it all felt very claustrophobic, lines everywhere, and never a table to be found. The buffet food was fine, it was just a pain to get to it. The cookies were AWESOME :) Oh the Red Frog Pub was a great venue, the chicken wings were so good, the microbrew beer was also very tasty and the staff were great!

 

Casino:

Epic: Very smoky, good bar service. Small non smoking section. I prefered the cash in/cash out method (like Vegas) to the method on the Breeze.

 

Breeze: Horrible bar service, not smoky :) The non smoking section is quite large which I really appreciated. Did not really like having to have the money on my card, I'd have preferred the printed tickets but that's such a small gripe. I often sat at a slot for 40-45 minutes without seeing any waiters. There is a bar right there, but I also waited 15 minutes standing at the bar once for a drink, so it just wasn't great.

 

 

Cruise director:

Epic: No idea who it was

Breeze: He was annoying.

 

I'm mostly joking about this but it was just something that my husband and I noticed, we couldn't even tell you who the cruise director was on the Epic, there were not many announcements made over the ship's system like that, on Carnival it was much more in your face, his name was Pete, De Vil I think his last name was? The entertainment staff were good on both ships though.

 

 

Entertainment:

Epic: Awesome, Blue Man Group was just superb. I hadn't even gone into this cruise expecting much there but my expectations were shattered and I had a huge smile plastered across my face for much of the show. Awesome, awesome, awesome, best show I've seen on a ship by far. Legends in Concert was OK, we had Stephen Tyler who was great, Katy Perry who wasn't, and Elvis who was just OK. I did not try Cirque Dreams but the people I spoke to said it was a highlight of their cruise. The blues club was AMAZING. The band that we had in there during our cruise was so good, I forget which band it was though, sorry! I only stuck my head in during Howl at the Moon so I can't comment on that or on the Second City comedians though. Epic did have a live band playing by the pool, and musicians throughout the ship, including in the Manhattan dining room.

 

Breeze: Entertainment was just OK compared to the Epic, probably not a very fair comparison. The Motown show was OK, the Brits show was AWFUL. I understand why they put it in an afternoon slot and didn't give it a prime time showing. Did not see Divas. Did not have a live band at the piano area (we already knew this going in, just thought I'd mention it), the singer in the atrium area was quite cheesy. Enjoyed the Dive In Movies with the popcorn and blankets, we saw a few movies and thought that was quite nice. I know they offer movies on Epic as well we just didn't catch any of them while we were there. We did the thrill theater too, that was fun, gimmicky but fun! We bought the unlimited pass but only ended up doing it once, just didn't line up right at other times. We did a round of mini putt as well which was fun. Never got to try the ropes course.

 

Water park:

Muchly preferred the slides on the Epic to the slides on the Breeze. Breeze had a cool area for the kids to play in before the slides, kids got me good with their waterguns while I was trying to make my way to the waterslide line :)

 

 

Staff:

I know this really depends on the room and the location, my room steward on the Breeze was AMAZING and we always had a clean room and a turn down every night. On the Epic it was hit or miss, I think we only saw our steward once and only got turn down service a few nights. Room was always clean though. Staff were nice on both ships BUT... and a big but here, we had the unlimited bubbles with Carnival and without fail every time we'd order a coke at a bar we'd get surly service. Like we were asking them a huge favor to get us a soda and it was too much to ask. They probably saved a bunch of money doing this because I didn't even bother asking for cokes after a while, it was such a turn off, I'd have been better off just buying a can when I wanted one.

 

Ship:

Overall we thought the Epic was very airy and open and we didn't ever really have any lines. In comparison we felt that the Breeze was very compartmentalized, lots of hallways, lots of small areas, did not feel open, it did create some bottlenecks. The Breeze has the big Atrium that the Epic doesn't have. Both have 3 decks within the ship dedicated to shared space, I just felt that the Epic was laid out a bit better. Getting off at the ports on the Epic was also easier/smoother than getting off from the Breeze. Not that getting off from the Breeze was very difficult, just a comparison.

 

Spa: We had a spa pass on the Breeze which was nice, the thermal suite was nice and relaxing. Did not see the thermal suite area on the Epic so I can't compare there, although I did get a pedicure and facial on the Epic and the spa staff were very nice. Both spas are owned by the same company so same products/massages are offered on both so not much of a difference here.

 

OVERALL: My balcony on the Epic cost the same thing as my inside on the Breeze, for the ship I would definitely say that we enjoyed the Epic more than the Breeze. However the Epic had ports that we had already done (St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Nassau) while the Breeze had more exciting ports (Grand Turk, La Romana, Curacao, Aruba) so I don't regret either choice. We had fabulous cruises, but if I had to redo one I'd definitely pick the Epic.

Edited by HazelSmrf
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riclop

riclop

Posted
Posted
I was fortunate enough to be able to do a back to back cruise this month, Norwegian Epic (Jan 11th-18th) and Carnival Breeze (Jan 18th to 26th). My husband and I are both in our mid 30s and we were celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary with 15 days at sea, woohoo! We had been on two cruises prior, both with Carnival (Valor in 2005 and Triumph in 2011).

 

Ok so, doing these different cruises so close together, it was very difficult to not find ourselves comparing them a lot, so I figured I'd do a small review of our thoughts.

 

I'd just like to preface this by saying that while I may be critical, in no way did I have a bad cruise, FAR from it!

 

Anyways, here goes.

 

Embarkation:

Epic: Went very smoothly, Epic uses 2 different terminals in Miami and we were assigned to terminal B. From check in until we were seated in the waiting area was about 15 minutes, it was really fast. Our group was 32 or 33, once they started calling groups it didn't take too long until it was our turn to board.

 

Breeze: We had FTTF, everything went very smoothly too, there was a bit of a bottleneck when they called FTTF but other than that it went very well. I think there was only one terminal they were using.

 

 

Food:

Epic: I'm not very picky on food, the food on Epic was fine, buffet food was standard buffet fare, Cagney's was VERY good, O'Sheehan's was fine, I didn't try any of the other specialty restaurants. The buffet area was very well laid out and there were never any lines, we never had to look too hard to find an empty table either. Food in the dining room was very good as well, service was great, and while we did have to "wait" every night (they give you a pager) they always included a free glass of sparkling wine while you waited and the wait was only 10-15 minutes, so hey, free drink, I'll gladly wait! :) I thought that was a very nice touch!

 

Breeze: Again not too picky, but the first night in the dining room my food was cold (we had Anytime dining). I found dining room service to be quite slow honestly, I did not like that although we had Anytime dining we basically had to eat at the same speed as those seated around us. So if we didn't order any appetizers, we still had to sit there while everyone around us ate THEIR appetizers. And drinks were very slow to come, our last meal there I still hadn't received my drink even after the main meal was served. The buffet was horribly laid out, it all felt very claustrophobic, lines everywhere, and never a table to be found. The buffet food was fine, it was just a pain to get to it. The cookies were AWESOME :) Oh the Red Frog Pub was a great venue, the chicken wings were so good, the microbrew beer was also very tasty and the staff were great!

 

Casino:

Epic: Very smoky, good bar service. Small non smoking section. I prefered the cash in/cash out method (like Vegas) to the method on the Breeze.

 

Breeze: Horrible bar service, not smoky :) The non smoking section is quite large which I really appreciated. Did not really like having to have the money on my card, I'd have preferred the printed tickets but that's such a small gripe. I often sat at a slot for 40-45 minutes without seeing any waiters. There is a bar right there, but I also waited 15 minutes standing at the bar once for a drink, so it just wasn't great.

 

 

Cruise director:

Epic: No idea who it was

Breeze: He was annoying.

 

I'm mostly joking about this but it was just something that my husband and I noticed, we couldn't even tell you who the cruise director was on the Epic, there were not many announcements made over the ship's system like that, on Carnival it was much more in your face, his name was Pete, De Vil I think his last name was? The entertainment staff were good on both ships though.

 

 

Entertainment:

Epic: Awesome, Blue Man Group was just superb. I hadn't even gone into this cruise expecting much there but my expectations were shattered and I had a huge smile plastered across my face for much of the show. Awesome, awesome, awesome, best show I've seen on a ship by far. Legends in Concert was OK, we had Stephen Tyler who was great, Katy Perry who wasn't, and Elvis who was just OK. I did not try Cirque Dreams but the people I spoke to said it was a highlight of their cruise. The blues club was AMAZING. The band that we had in there during our cruise was so good, I forget which band it was though, sorry! I only stuck my head in during Howl at the Moon so I can't comment on that or on the Second City comedians though. Epic did have a live band playing by the pool, and musicians throughout the ship, including in the Manhattan dining room.

 

Breeze: Entertainment was just OK compared to the Epic, probably not a very fair comparison. The Motown show was OK, the Brits show was AWFUL. I understand why they put it in an afternoon slot and didn't give it a prime time showing. Did not see Divas. Did not have a live band at the piano area (we already knew this going in, just thought I'd mention it), the singer in the atrium area was quite cheesy. Enjoyed the Dive In Movies with the popcorn and blankets, we saw a few movies and thought that was quite nice. I know they offer movies on Epic as well we just didn't catch any of them while we were there. We did the thrill theater too, that was fun, gimmicky but fun! We bought the unlimited pass but only ended up doing it once, just didn't line up right at other times. We did a round of mini putt as well which was fun. Never got to try the ropes course.

 

Water park:

Muchly preferred the slides on the Epic to the slides on the Breeze. Breeze had a cool area for the kids to play in before the slides, kids got me good with their waterguns while I was trying to make my way to the waterslide line :)

 

 

Staff:

I know this really depends on the room and the location, my room steward on the Breeze was AMAZING and we always had a clean room and a turn down every night. On the Epic it was hit or miss, I think we only saw our steward once and only got turn down service a few nights. Room was always clean though. Staff were nice on both ships BUT... and a big but here, we had the unlimited bubbles with Carnival and without fail every time we'd order a coke at a bar we'd get surly service. Like we were asking them a huge favor to get us a soda and it was too much to ask. They probably saved a bunch of money doing this because I didn't even bother asking for cokes after a while, it was such a turn off, I'd have been better off just buying a can when I wanted one.

 

Ship:

Overall we thought the Epic was very airy and open and we didn't ever really have any lines. In comparison we felt that the Breeze was very compartmentalized, lots of hallways, lots of small areas, did not feel open, it did create some bottlenecks. The Breeze has the big Atrium that the Epic doesn't have. Both have 3 decks within the ship dedicated to shared space, I just felt that the Epic was laid out a bit better. Getting off at the ports on the Epic was also easier/smoother than getting off from the Breeze. Not that getting off from the Breeze was very difficult, just a comparison.

 

Spa: We had a spa pass on the Breeze which was nice, the thermal suite was nice and relaxing. Did not see the thermal suite area on the Epic so I can't compare there, although I did get a pedicure and facial on the Epic and the spa staff were very nice. Both spas are owned by the same company so same products/massages are offered on both so not much of a difference here.

 

OVERALL: My balcony on the Epic cost the same thing as my inside on the Breeze, for the ship I would definitely say that we enjoyed the Epic more than the Breeze. However the Epic had ports that we had already done (St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Nassau) while the Breeze had more exciting ports (Grand Turk, La Romana, Curacao, Aruba) so I don't regret either choice. We had fabulous cruises, but if I had to redo one I'd definitely pick the Epic.

Thanks for the comparisons, you didnt eat at the Cucina del capitano? That is fantastic.

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v3cruiser

v3cruiser

Posted
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I was fortunate enough to be able to do a back to back cruise this month, Norwegian Epic (Jan 11th-18th) and Carnival Breeze (Jan 18th to 26th). My husband and I are both in our mid 30s and we were celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary with 15 days at sea, woohoo! We had been on two cruises prior, both with Carnival (Valor in 2005 and Triumph in 2011).

 

Ok so, doing these different cruises so close together, it was very difficult to not find ourselves comparing them a lot, so I figured I'd do a small review of our thoughts.

 

I'd just like to preface this by saying that while I may be critical, in no way did I have a bad cruise, FAR from it!

 

Anyways, here goes.

 

Embarkation:

Epic: Went very smoothly, Epic uses 2 different terminals in Miami and we were assigned to terminal B. From check in until we were seated in the waiting area was about 15 minutes, it was really fast. Our group was 32 or 33, once they started calling groups it didn't take too long until it was our turn to board.

 

Breeze: We had FTTF, everything went very smoothly too, there was a bit of a bottleneck when they called FTTF but other than that it went very well. I think there was only one terminal they were using.

 

 

Food:

Epic: I'm not very picky on food, the food on Epic was fine, buffet food was standard buffet fare, Cagney's was VERY good, O'Sheehan's was fine, I didn't try any of the other specialty restaurants. The buffet area was very well laid out and there were never any lines, we never had to look too hard to find an empty table either. Food in the dining room was very good as well, service was great, and while we did have to "wait" every night (they give you a pager) they always included a free glass of sparkling wine while you waited and the wait was only 10-15 minutes, so hey, free drink, I'll gladly wait! :) I thought that was a very nice touch!

 

Breeze: Again not too picky, but the first night in the dining room my food was cold (we had Anytime dining). I found dining room service to be quite slow honestly, I did not like that although we had Anytime dining we basically had to eat at the same speed as those seated around us. So if we didn't order any appetizers, we still had to sit there while everyone around us ate THEIR appetizers. And drinks were very slow to come, our last meal there I still hadn't received my drink even after the main meal was served. The buffet was horribly laid out, it all felt very claustrophobic, lines everywhere, and never a table to be found. The buffet food was fine, it was just a pain to get to it. The cookies were AWESOME :) Oh the Red Frog Pub was a great venue, the chicken wings were so good, the microbrew beer was also very tasty and the staff were great!

 

Casino:

Epic: Very smoky, good bar service. Small non smoking section. I prefered the cash in/cash out method (like Vegas) to the method on the Breeze.

 

Breeze: Horrible bar service, not smoky :) The non smoking section is quite large which I really appreciated. Did not really like having to have the money on my card, I'd have preferred the printed tickets but that's such a small gripe. I often sat at a slot for 40-45 minutes without seeing any waiters. There is a bar right there, but I also waited 15 minutes standing at the bar once for a drink, so it just wasn't great.

 

 

Cruise director:

Epic: No idea who it was

Breeze: He was annoying.

 

I'm mostly joking about this but it was just something that my husband and I noticed, we couldn't even tell you who the cruise director was on the Epic, there were not many announcements made over the ship's system like that, on Carnival it was much more in your face, his name was Pete, De Vil I think his last name was? The entertainment staff were good on both ships though.

 

 

Entertainment:

Epic: Awesome, Blue Man Group was just superb. I hadn't even gone into this cruise expecting much there but my expectations were shattered and I had a huge smile plastered across my face for much of the show. Awesome, awesome, awesome, best show I've seen on a ship by far. Legends in Concert was OK, we had Stephen Tyler who was great, Katy Perry who wasn't, and Elvis who was just OK. I did not try Cirque Dreams but the people I spoke to said it was a highlight of their cruise. The blues club was AMAZING. The band that we had in there during our cruise was so good, I forget which band it was though, sorry! I only stuck my head in during Howl at the Moon so I can't comment on that or on the Second City comedians though. Epic did have a live band playing by the pool, and musicians throughout the ship, including in the Manhattan dining room.

 

Breeze: Entertainment was just OK compared to the Epic, probably not a very fair comparison. The Motown show was OK, the Brits show was AWFUL. I understand why they put it in an afternoon slot and didn't give it a prime time showing. Did not see Divas. Did not have a live band at the piano area (we already knew this going in, just thought I'd mention it), the singer in the atrium area was quite cheesy. Enjoyed the Dive In Movies with the popcorn and blankets, we saw a few movies and thought that was quite nice. I know they offer movies on Epic as well we just didn't catch any of them while we were there. We did the thrill theater too, that was fun, gimmicky but fun! We bought the unlimited pass but only ended up doing it once, just didn't line up right at other times. We did a round of mini putt as well which was fun. Never got to try the ropes course.

 

Water park:

Muchly preferred the slides on the Epic to the slides on the Breeze. Breeze had a cool area for the kids to play in before the slides, kids got me good with their waterguns while I was trying to make my way to the waterslide line :)

 

 

Staff:

I know this really depends on the room and the location, my room steward on the Breeze was AMAZING and we always had a clean room and a turn down every night. On the Epic it was hit or miss, I think we only saw our steward once and only got turn down service a few nights. Room was always clean though. Staff were nice on both ships BUT... and a big but here, we had the unlimited bubbles with Carnival and without fail every time we'd order a coke at a bar we'd get surly service. Like we were asking them a huge favor to get us a soda and it was too much to ask. They probably saved a bunch of money doing this because I didn't even bother asking for cokes after a while, it was such a turn off, I'd have been better off just buying a can when I wanted one.

 

Ship:

Overall we thought the Epic was very airy and open and we didn't ever really have any lines. In comparison we felt that the Breeze was very compartmentalized, lots of hallways, lots of small areas, did not feel open, it did create some bottlenecks. The Breeze has the big Atrium that the Epic doesn't have. Both have 3 decks within the ship dedicated to shared space, I just felt that the Epic was laid out a bit better. Getting off at the ports on the Epic was also easier/smoother than getting off from the Breeze. Not that getting off from the Breeze was very difficult, just a comparison.

 

Spa: We had a spa pass on the Breeze which was nice, the thermal suite was nice and relaxing. Did not see the thermal suite area on the Epic so I can't compare there, although I did get a pedicure and facial on the Epic and the spa staff were very nice. Both spas are owned by the same company so same products/massages are offered on both so not much of a difference here.

 

OVERALL: My balcony on the Epic cost the same thing as my inside on the Breeze, for the ship I would definitely say that we enjoyed the Epic more than the Breeze. However the Epic had ports that we had already done (St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Nassau) while the Breeze had more exciting ports (Grand Turk, La Romana, Curacao, Aruba) so I don't regret either choice. We had fabulous cruises, but if I had to redo one I'd definitely pick the Epic.

 

I wish the Epic had the itinerary of the Breeze! A lot of walking on the Epic but what an overall cruise experience! Nice review btw! I did think room and balcony were smaller on epic than on typical carnival ships but i cant speak for Breeze. I wish carnival could through a white hot party like the epic did. That was awesome!

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HazelSmrf

HazelSmrf

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Posted (edited)
I wish the Epic had the itinerary of the Breeze! A lot of walking on the Epic but what an overall cruise experience! Nice review btw! I did think room and balcony were smaller on epic than on typical carnival ships but i cant speak for Breeze. I wish carnival could through a white hot party like the epic did. That was awesome!

 

I can't comment on the room since we booked pretty late and were given a handicapped balcony, our room and balcony were huge... balcony had 2 lounge chairs and 2 regular chairs. So I didn't get to experience the wavy room design and bathroom (ours had the toilet and the shower together). The Breeze was our first inside room ever and we were pleasantly surprised, I would book an inside again, there was enough space and we slept really well. Agree on the white hot party too, that was a ton of fun, I blacked out I think (Jello shots!) but my husband said I attempted to twerk.

Edited by HazelSmrf
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LindaJSteele

LindaJSteele

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We were on the Breeze with you. Agree with the bottleneck comment....at times anyway.

 

But you are dead on about the CD. He seemed a bit arrogant and not sincere. Wonder why Carnival has him on their "flagship".

 

He was annoying.

 

The "real" CD for the Breeze got off on the 18th (same day we got off) to go to the Sunshine for two months. He is fantastic! It's too bad you missed him..most people would agree that he is Carnival's best CD!

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

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NCTribeFan

NCTribeFan

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People, you really don't need to quote the entire original post. Just respond! Then everyone else won't need to scroll down and down and down just the read. ;)

 

I'm not really interested in sailing NCL. Not sure why. Just doesn't seem to appeal to me.

 

DD's maid-of-honor and BFF worked on Epic for about 2 years in the theater department, specifically with Blue Man Group. Ship was in port in St Marten with Conquest in November but she had left the week before. She's now on Getaway.

 

I tried ATD once and didn't like it. I really think service and food suffers when every table arrives at a different time.

 

Were you seated with others or at your own table? Can't image that you had to wait for people at other tables to eat, but if you were all at one table, no, they aren't going to serve you separately. Can't imagine why you would expect that they would. It would be just like set-time dining. Am I just confused on what you were saying?

 

Anyway, thanks for the input. From the outside, I think Epic is hideous, but I'm also not a fan of Carnival's ship designs (except for the Spirit-class).

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HazelSmrf

HazelSmrf

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Were you seated with others or at your own table? Can't image that you had to wait for people at other tables to eat, but if you were all at one table, no, they aren't going to serve you separately. Can't imagine why you would expect that they would. It would be just like set-time dining. Am I just confused on what you were saying?

 

No we each had our own tables, but the waiter did the whole section as a whole. Took everyone's orders at the same time, brought everyone's food at the same time etc. So even though we were our own table, we had to wait while the tables around us ate.

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Cruzface

Cruzface

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No we each had our own tables, but the waiter did the whole section as a whole. Took everyone's orders at the same time, brought everyone's food at the same time etc. So even though we were our own table, we had to wait while the tables around us ate.

 

That would really bother me. We loved freestyle on Epic and had the same experience as you. We may just stick with late dining, but hate that because you miss some of the entertainment then.

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saphir

saphir

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No we each had our own tables, but the waiter did the whole section as a whole. Took everyone's orders at the same time, brought everyone's food at the same time etc. So even though we were our own table, we had to wait while the tables around us ate.

 

 

on the Breeze, do you have a server for the wine and water? is the wine glass is filled when it is empty or it asks if you want to change the kind of wine? Than, you, i will on Breeze next april 26.

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b_cruise

b_cruise

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Epic is suppose to be going to Barcelona in March 2015 - still wishing for Carnival. :(

 

Questions for the Epic:

 

1. How did you like the bathroom layout? I like privacy and it freaks me out, lol!!

2. Were the pool areas crowded?

3. I heard you pay for the shows on the Epic? Is that true, if so how much?

4. Did you use the gym/classes? Pay rate for classes?

 

Thanks in advance!!

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HappyAboard

HappyAboard

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Staff were nice on both ships BUT... and a big but here, we had the unlimited bubbles with Carnival and without fail every time we'd order a coke at a bar we'd get surly service. Like we were asking them a huge favor to get us a soda and it was too much to ask. They probably saved a bunch of money doing this because I didn't even bother asking for cokes after a while, it was such a turn off, I'd have been better off just buying a can when I wanted one.

 

 

I am disappointed to hear that this poor service is still a problem. This is exactly what I experienced on the dream in 2011. In 2012 I decided to just pay for my pop individually and it was much better. Now I am considering the cheers program on the Breeze in a couple of weeks, I was worried about poor service as I don't want to set myself up for frustration, but and others have said there is no problem with service, but it sound like there is still a problem. I just don't get why :confused::(

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S.S.Oceanlover

S.S.Oceanlover

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Epic is suppose to be going to Barcelona in March 2015 - still wishing for Carnival. :(

 

Questions for the Epic:

 

1. How did you like the bathroom layout? I like privacy and it freaks me out, lol!!

2. Were the pool areas crowded?

3. I heard you pay for the shows on the Epic? Is that true, if so how much?

4. Did you use the gym/classes? Pay rate for classes?

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

Those bathrooms give me hesitation too lol.

 

I believe that there is one show you pay for on Epic but that comes with dinner.

 

Bill

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jonbgd

jonbgd

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Epic is suppose to be going to Barcelona in March 2015 - still wishing for Carnival. :(

 

Questions for the Epic:

 

1. How did you like the bathroom layout? I like privacy and it freaks me out, lol!!

2. Were the pool areas crowded?

3. I heard you pay for the shows on the Epic? Is that true, if so how much?

4. Did you use the gym/classes? Pay rate for classes?

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

The Bathrooms are a little weird. The first time on the Epic we traveled with friends and really disliked it.

The second time we did a minisuite for our TA Just the 2 of us and it actually helped with us getting ready

 

The pool deck is huge and does get crowded but there is an adult only area in the Aft Also there is an area up a deck foreward that is nice to relax

 

The only show you pay for was Cirque. It is a dinner show we enjoyed it

 

The Gym is the largest at sea and has some great equipment

I don't remember the class prices but sure you can find the answers on NCL

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jennknee

jennknee

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The "real" CD for the Breeze got off on the 18th (same day we got off) to go to the Sunshine for two months. He is fantastic! It's too bad you missed him..most people would agree that he is Carnival's best CD!

 

I agree! 9 Carnival Cruises and 4 RCCL Cruises and Butch on the Breeze is the ONLY CD I remember...he was awesome! It's too bad they missed him. I knew he had just recently gotten off the Breeze, but wasn't sure if the OP would have just missed him or been the last group...when they said he was very annoying I just thought "Butch??? NEVER!" :)

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Dave85

Dave85

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Thanks for the comparison OP, it as a very interesting read for me as someone who was on Breeze last year and will be trying NCL (Breakaway) for the first time this year.

 

I'm sure I'll have the three way comparison between Carnival, NCL, and RCI going on in my head throughout the cruise.

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muleevans

muleevans

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We were on the same Breeze sailing too and agree with you about the dining room service. We had early seating and it was the worst service in 10 Carnival cruises!!

There was no "flow" to the service - cold food, long waits. It never did smooth out like it usually does after a service or two.

Seems like the staff has way too many tables to take care of !!

 

But the room steward was great !!!!

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