Balcony cabin or mini-suite on "Epic" ?

[grayjay]

The current NCL promotion snagged us to try NCL again after several cruises with other cruise lines.

But there are so many cabin categories to choose from - perhaps those who have cruised on NCL "Epic" can point out disadvantages and advantages? I'm considering:

Regular balcony cabins:

Category B6 because of the bigger balcony - but is there an overhang or does it make the stateroom dark?

Category BB/BA because of the midship position? (Our cruise will be in winter)

Category B aft balcony - love this location but how much movement is there on Epic. Are there problems with soot?

Minisuites: I know they give you a bit more space. Might be a good choice, then.(??)

What about Spa mini-suites? They're comparable in price to an aft balcony for this cruise. Are Spa balconies and mini-suites really worth it? Compared to regular balcony cabins they are about 300-400$ more for a 10-day cruise.

Thank you so much for your help.

[4774Papa]

We had a midship mini on Epic and it did not seem much larger than a balcony. We got an upgrade. I would not pay extra for a mini on Epic.

[KeithJenner]

We have stayed in a mini suite three times on the Epic, but for next time we have gone for a balcony. The size difference in in the bathroom area and we decided to save the money.

 

On the older ships I think it's worth paying extra for a mini suite, but on the Epic it is only worth a very small amount extra.

[gymbomb]

We got a mini on Epic because we were traveling with our 10 month old son and the bathtub and small amount of extra space were useful for us. We actually had originally booked a balcony, but upgraded when they ran a kids sail free promo. If it were just the two of us we'd have stuck with the balcony. My parents had a corner aft balcony on deck 11 that was really nice. They loved it and will be scouting out afts in the future!

[sha32]

I've stayed in a B6 balcony and a mini suite. If you like to be on the balcony then definatly take the B6 balcony they are huge, we had 11096, and it didn't make the cabin any more darker. Personally I don't think the mini suite is worth the extra 100s for a little more space and a smaller balcony, but you might be lucky and get a mini suite with a bath tub. 😊

 

 

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[sixesandeights]

We sail the Mini's on the Epic. We always pick one with the large shower. It is MUCH nicer then the small tube showers on most cruise ships. We also had a pretty good sized balcony. I cant remember the exact room number we had last time, but its proximity to the stairs made it one of the best cabins we have ever sailed in.

 

6&8

[Cloudyrain]

We had a brilliant Mini Suite but only because it wasn't much more than a BA balcony and it was our first cruise so liked the idea of more space, shower over a bath, and chose the bed near the balcony layout so we had more space to get ready in.

 

Now we are getting used to small cruise rooms we have gone for a balcony because it's not worth a few hundred to us.

 

With the Spa rooms you get the spa pass included so you need to work out if you are going to go in the spa enough to make it worth your while paying that bit more. I would love one (and they do look lovely too) but Mr C isn't interested and would rather chuck the extra money away in the Casino, and I have to let him win some arguments :D

[MMOMOM]

The current NCL promotion snagged us to try NCL again after several cruises with other cruise lines.

But there are so many cabin categories to choose from - perhaps those who have cruised on NCL "Epic" can point out disadvantages and advantages? I'm considering:

Regular balcony cabins:

Category B6 because of the bigger balcony - but is there an overhang or does it make the stateroom dark?

Category BB/BA because of the midship position? (Our cruise will be in winter)

Category B aft balcony - love this location but how much movement is there on Epic. Are there problems with soot?

Minisuites: I know they give you a bit more space. Might be a good choice, then.(??)

What about Spa mini-suites? They're comparable in price to an aft balcony for this cruise. Are Spa balconies and mini-suites really worth it? Compared to regular balcony cabins they are about 300-400$ more for a 10-day cruise.

Thank you so much for your help.

 

That's how we ended up on the Epic, a promotion and good timing. We'd never cruised NCL before and I don't think we would go out of our way to do it again, certainly not on the Epic. It just wasn't for us. We got the suite since we usually book a JS anyway and were glad we did. We found it either considerably smaller or because of that 'curvy' design, just not as roomy as we are used to on RCCL, or even HAL and Carnival. We also didn't like the bathroom, or lack of one, design. It's all in what you like and are willing to pay, but it just wasn't for us. We didn't have a good experience with the dining either, food mostly luke warm, other than the Specialty Asian Restaurant. We had a good time tho ... never had a bad cruise, just not something we would choose to do again. But, a lot of people love NCL and even EPIC, so good luck with whatever you choose, that's just our experience. Happy Sailing! :)

[Seafan22]

I've stayed in a mini-suite (free upgrade) and balconies; the difference is a matter of 2-3 feet in the length of the room. If there are only two people staying in the room, it is not worth the extra cost at all. If you have three or four people it may be a consideration. I would never pay it.

[grayjay]

Thank you for all your answers- it helped quite a lot to let us decide. So I narrowed it down now to either a B6 with a bigger balcony, an aft balcony cabin on deck 12 because of the view or a Spa balcony cabin because we'll sail in February or March in the Med and might need the thermal pool and the heated loungers more than usual! And because of your answers the decision was easy to swap the extra money for the mini suite for a better grade balcony category.

We have sailed on NCL only once - on the Jade - but it was o.k. for the price. We also agree to those who say: "Being on a cruise is always the better choice to staying at home in the rain". And the offer of 10 days in the Mediterranean for approx. 1100 $ p.p., beverage package and restaurant package ( or 200 $ OBC) included is not to be missed. :D