Breakaway or Epic?

[RaiderFaninNM]

Was thinking about either a mid November cruise or a Thanksgiving cruise this year. And being I am new to NCL and not cruising, I was pondering these two ships?

Please for those whom have sailed them give me your thoughts, likes, dislikes?

Edited January 8 by RaiderFaninNM
Spelling

[www3traveler]

The deciding factor for me would be is:

  From where you live which would be easier to do:

     (A) Flying into or out of Orlando, Florida (Epic)

     (B) Flying into or out of Miami, Florida (Breakaway)

 

Is there a difference in the price of the airline fares between the two cities?

 

Either ship will be fully booked for a cruise over Thanksgiving and more expensive than a week or two in front of or behind Thanksgiving.

    

[RaiderFaninNM]

54 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

The deciding factor for me would be is:

  From where you live which would be easier to do:

     (A) Flying into or out of Orlando, Florida (Epic)

     (B) Flying into or out of Miami, Florida (Breakaway)

 

Is there a difference in the price of the airline fares between the two cities?

 

Either ship will be fully booked for a cruise over Thanksgiving and more expensive than a week or two in front of or behind Thanksgiving.

    

Surprisingly the difference of a non TG cruise for me was about $400, being the airfare was a bit more because of the holiday.

Expected them to be packed because of the holiday but the Mrs and myself have never cruised during the holidays so figured why not try this year and on a new cruise line!!

[BirdTravels]

I would pick the Breakaway because it’s slightly newer. More of the contemporary branded features. We have sailed on both ships around 6 times each. Have a good cruise. We also prefer sailing out of Miami. 

Edited January 9 by BirdTravels

[calcruiser64]

Having sailed on both a few times, I’d recommend the Breakaway over the Epic, especially to a newcomer to NCL. NCL’s Waterfront concept was introduced on the Breakaway, and it definitely serves to help one feel a connection with the water. The Epic doesn’t offer that. Many people find the split bathroom configuration on the Epic unappealing. The ship isn’t the best representation of NCL’s offerings.

[luv2kroooz]

Breakaway. What calcruiser64 said above. Waterfront is cool. Stateroom design is more functional.

[RaiderFaninNM]

1 hour ago, calcruiser64 said:

Having sailed on both a few times, I’d recommend the Breakaway over the Epic, especially to a newcomer to NCL. NCL’s Waterfront concept was introduced on the Breakaway, and it definitely serves to help one feel a connection with the water. The Epic doesn’t offer that. Many people find the split bathroom configuration on the Epic unappealing. The ship isn’t the best representation of NCL’s offerings.

I have seen the shower/bathroom setup and it does no bother us, why have that tiny space of a bathroom given to it??

Seems like that is the deal breaker for this ship....

 

For us it was 5 day vs 7 day, if we are going to fly to FLA let's make it longer...

Thanks for the reply!!!

[www3traveler]

2 hours ago, RaiderFaninNM said:

Surprisingly the difference of a non TG cruise for me was about $400, being the airfare was a bit more because of the holiday.

Expected them to be packed because of the holiday but the Mrs and myself have never cruised during the holidays so figured why not try this year and on a new cruise line!!

I have sailed both Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Love Christmas cruises.  Love watching the kids waiting for Santa Claus to arrive.  Every child on board gets a gift.  Many multi-generational families dress on Christmas morning in matching pajamas waiting for Santa.  Fun to watch.

Enjoy

 

[Two Wheels Only]

What stateroom type are you considering?

 

If you have questions about stateroom types, feel free to ask.

Edited January 9 by Two Wheels Only

[RaiderFaninNM]

15 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

What stateroom type are you considering?

 

If you have questions about stateroom types, feel free to ask.

Balcony room....

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, RaiderFaninNM said:

Balcony room....

 

Oh boy....

 

The standard side balconies on Breakaway/ Getaway are very small. However, there are some angled balconies that are the same price as standard that are about 50% larger. In addition, there are larger and much larger/deeper side balconies that cost a bit more than standard. Finally, there are aft-facing balconies that are much deeper than standard but those vary in depth and width depending on location. 

 

Things are a bit less complicated with Epic side balconies and Epic aft-facing balconies. There are still differences such as bed near balcony or bed near "bathroom" as well as sink near foot of the bed or sink near head of the bed.

 

With everything taken into consideration, I would strongly suggest Breakaway over Epic if booking a balcony stateroom. For the sake of transparency, I must admit that I'm probably in the top 3 of forum members who insults Epic for the ship's appearance both inside and out. 😏

[tomk3212]

Breakaway, by all means.

 

IMHO, Epic has one and only one advantage over the Breakaway/Breakaway Plus class of ships; the size of Headliners Comedy club.  On Epic it is almost twice as large as the Headliners on the other ships.  In our cruise on Epic last April we had NO issues with getting into ANY of the comedy or Howl At the Moon performances.  Yes, it was sometimes crowded but NOBODY had to stand during these performances.  Sadly that is NOT the case with Headliners on the other ships!  On these ships NCL has tried reservations (they 'sell out' almost immediately which gets us pax annoyed) and are now using a first-come-first-seated no reservations routine (which forces pax to wait in line...also annoying!).  Solution for NCL; during the next refit on these ships just do whatever you have to do to make Headliners the same size as on Epic.

 

My 2 cents...lol

[vacation44]

Breakaway.    We were on the Epic last year and missed the Waterfront.  

[Sailing12Away]

9 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

What stateroom type are you considering?

 

If you have questions about stateroom types, feel free to ask.

That was going to be my question as well. Haven't sailed on the Breakaway yet, but the experience on Epic is very different if you're in their regular 'odd' cabins vs sailing in the Haven.

Having said that, our very first NCL trip was on Epic with 3 people in a club balcony and we not only survived but took 10+ other NCL trips since then. Returning on the Epic for the 3rd time next month. Full disclosure though, the last Epic trip and this upcoming one will be in Haven.

[mafig]

10 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

What stateroom type are you considering?

 

If you have questions about stateroom types, feel free to ask.

We were considering the Haven on Epic.  I had read that it was, by far, the nicest.

However, the price for the Haven (an older ship, and not in the greatest shape) is higher than the Breakaway and Breakaway + ships.  Also, I'd rather sail from Miami.

 

 

[zqvol]

15 minutes ago, mafig said:

We were considering the Haven on Epic.  I had read that it was, by far, the nicest.

However, the price for the Haven (an older ship, and not in the greatest shape) is higher than the Breakaway and Breakaway + ships.  Also, I'd rather sail from Miami.

 

 

Why do you say that the ship is not in the greatest shape? I have never sailed on any NCL ship,that is not in great shape

[RaiderFaninNM]

2 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

That was going to be my question as well. Haven't sailed on the Breakaway yet, but the experience on Epic is very different if you're in their regular 'odd' cabins vs sailing in the Haven.

Having said that, our very first NCL trip was on Epic with 3 people in a club balcony and we not only survived but took 10+ other NCL trips since then. Returning on the Epic for the 3rd time next month. Full disclosure though, the last Epic trip and this upcoming one will be in Haven.

Thanks and nice to hear as after looking into this ship there are some not so nice reviews on her. Had me wondering but I know take those with a grain of salt as some like to complain to complain. Nice to hear you enjoy this ship, thanks for your post.

1 hour ago, mafig said:

We were considering the Haven on Epic.  I had read that it was, by far, the nicest.

However, the price for the Haven (an older ship, and not in the greatest shape) is higher than the Breakaway and Breakaway + ships.  Also, I'd rather sail from Miami.

 

 

I hear ya on sailing out of Miami, but I have never sailed out of Orlando so....

 

Thanks for the post and being new to NCL never heard of the haven. 

[david_sobe]

I am the minority opinion but I would sail Epic over Breakaway.   Breakaway was the over-correction from the Epic.  Yes Breakaway did correct some of the quirks like the split bathrooms, made the walls straight and not curved, added an outside area for restaurants, etc.  But IMHO Epic is a superior ship.  The venues are bigger and better.  Epic got such flack that Breakaway suffers from any innovation and is just a modern basic ship.

[RaiderFaninNM]

7 hours ago, david_sobe said:

I am the minority opinion but I would sail Epic over Breakaway.   Breakaway was the over-correction from the Epic.  Yes Breakaway did correct some of the quirks like the split bathrooms, made the walls straight and not curved, added an outside area for restaurants, etc.  But IMHO Epic is a superior ship.  The venues are bigger and better.  Epic got such flack that Breakaway suffers from any innovation and is just a modern basic ship.

The room setup is definitely odd but we can live with it. But seeing how this is our first time on NCL different is good IMO...

[Ottawamomof2]

I’ve sailed both and I would go back one the Breakaway over Epic. The waterfront, ropes course and better entertainment.