Oasis of the Seas vs. Norwegian Epic: Which would you book?

[mom2tcdx2]

I like both ships however the costs of the Oasis are pretty much scaring me off. So much that at this point I would much rather wait and see what the costs will be on the new Disney ships.

 

I do however have the Carnival Dream booked for this year and I think that is going to be a wonderful ship too!!!

[JohnIreland]

I don't think comparing base fares is the best way to compare between these two ships. If you look at a comparable experience between the two ships (same bar consumption, same specialty restaurant experiences, similar excursions) you will end up paying more on NCL once the final tally comes in.

 

Admission charges to get into a bar on Epic? Oh, that tab is going to be CRAZY! Like the variety of dining though...

 

Come on though...OASIS of the SEAS look much nicer than Epic. (hee-hee)

 

Mike

 

Is the Ice bar on the Oasis going to be free ?

[Aquahound]

The only bar on Epic with a cover charge is the Ice Bar, which is one of only a handful in the world and the only one on a ship. I think that, in itself, justfies some sort of cover.

 

Celebrity Solstice has an ice bar, as will her sisters Equinox and Eclipse.

 

....and no, there is no cover charge.

 

Granted, it isn't a full blown, dress in a heavy coat bar. But the bar, itself is kept frozen. This way, your drink stays cold, and you can remain comfortable.

[Aquahound]

But they are also similar, in that they are both pushing envelopes of innovation and size.

 

Sorry, but the only size envelope the Epic is pushing is the size of her forehead. What the heck was NCL thinking? Their ships looked so pretty up until this design.

[RickEk]

Yawn... both of them are too big... and as others have said, the Epic is just downright ugly... I wonder how much extra they're going to spend on fuel because of that airbrake in the bow.. :p

 

That being said, the Oasis does intrigue me, but I'll wait until she actually sails and reviews start coming in... :rolleyes:

[petesweet]

We are tentatively planning a B2B on these two amazing ships--but later, when the prices go down a big (inside cabin). Once the reviews come in, we may change our minds--especially information about the shower situation on the Epic.

[sjcruiser]

Could you really enjoy yourself on a ship with that many people? The experience on going on such large, new, sophisticated, technological wonders would be great, but I'm just thinking of the lines for everything. Since I have only been cruising a few years, the new ships and their crazy high prices don't appeal to me. I just thinking with an inside on either ship, I can get two or maybe three or more cruises in a balcony in the off-season or when I want to travel. I could also get a great B2B on either one of the other ships. I do want to see the ampi/aqua theater on the Oasis, but I can wait.

[patriot92]

After sailing on the Emerald Princess any ship over 2500 pasengers is to big. My answer is neither.

[Spoarzy]

I totally agree, you can't really compare the two of them, they are worlds apart! I'm sure I will get on Epic someday, but I'm on the Inagural Oasis for a reason! HUGE! Price never was a thought, just had to be on her!

 

Jon

 

btw, Spoarzy, we were on Navigator in Jan with you, I must not have noticed you were from Niagara Falls, ONT

greetings from the other side of the falls, Niagara Falls, NY USA

 

Hey Jon, Greetings from your neighbors to the north!! lol Small world how we sailed on the same sailing of Navigator and live just 15 mins form each other. Awesome you are on the inaugural!! My fiancé and I are getting married on Oasis on September 25th 2010 sailing. We can not wait to sail on her!!!!! As for Epic, not in any rush but maybe some day. Well it was nice chatting with you and maybe we will sail together again in the future :)

[Spoarzy]

I totally agree....why compare Oasis to the Epic? The Freedom class ships IMO offer more than the Epic will. For the Epic to be slightly smaller than the Freedom class ships but have 600 fewer cabins as the Oasis really concerns me....:eek::rolleyes:

 

Well put!! I was thinking the same thing.

[Spoarzy]

Could you really enjoy yourself on a ship with that many people? The experience on going on such large, new, sophisticated, technological wonders would be great, but I'm just thinking of the lines for everything. Since I have only been cruising a few years, the new ships and their crazy high prices don't appeal to me. I just thinking with an inside on either ship, I can get two or maybe three or more cruises in a balcony in the off-season or when I want to travel. I could also get a great B2B on either one of the other ships. I do want to see the ampi/aqua theater on the Oasis, but I can wait.

 

We will have to wait and see but as for long lines, other than the Life boat drill, I have never had long lines for anything on all of my 14 cruises including Freedom of the Seas. Maybe Oasis will be the tipping point and have long lines but we will have to wait for some reviews in December to come out. I love the fact that I can brag to family when we get back that we got married on the largest cruise ship in the world. That has a nice ring to it...lol but that is just me :rolleyes:

[ILoveScotland]

I cannot imagine such huge ships and don't want to even contemplate cruising on one. I find the 2000+ pax ships too big, but I manage because I love cruising.

[Maryfrei]

They both look amazing to me and I would love to see both.

 

That said, I am a true NCL loyalist. NCL has been very, very good to me! See you on the Epic inaugural!:p

[alohagirl66]

Going on RCI 'Oasis Of The Seas' in Dec..2010. Very affordable when you purchase way in advance and make payments or save money until due. Got Oceanview Balcony for 2 for 7 nights. First cruise ever! I picked this ship because of the resort style it has. It does not look like your typical cruise liner. More comfortable and luxury looking than others. Out of the norm when it comes to style and comfort. Besides, Oceanview Balcony was a very good deal..I'm extremely excited. This is an Anniversay gift for next year.

 

[Crystal50]

I have booked the Oasis of the Seas and can't wait to sail on her. She looks spectacular. I don't like the cabin layout of the Epic at all with the sink in the main cabin.

[MillbrookMom]

Epic vs Oasis??? Really??? Can we compare these two as equals???? In my opinion, the only ship that will compare to Oasis is Allure!! lol Epic looks nice but is totally different in so many ways. Oasis is in a league of it's own!! Look at the poll, the results are night and day.

 

Shouldn't the Epic be compared to the Freedom/Liberty/Independence....that would be a closer comparison. With everythign the Oasis has to offer, you can't do a straight $$ comparison at all.

[larry1365]

Personally, the embarkation and debarkation lines, extra charges for so many things (not just restaurants, but a bar?) plus the overcrodwing of ports does not appeal to me. But that's why there are so many flavors of ice cream. Variety is the spice of life.

[mmsatkins]

As an ECC, I feel it's my obligation to "explore" and experience the ships and cruise lines we sell. Norwegian has never lived up to my expectations and has fallen very much below them. I cannot and will not put my reputation on a product that has been so insufficient and "underwhelming".

[mavincent]

Looks like you are working your way through every ship out there! Lucky you! Boy, I wish I were your travel agent! :-)

[travelqueen12]

We originally were planning to go on the Oasis on a balcony for my son, husband and I, but then we saw the prices. Since we've been on Norwegian before and like the freestyle concept, we booked a balcony on the Norwegian Epic. We are very excited about the entertainment such as Blue Man Group and the Circus. We are also excited about the new Aqua Park with three water slides, the rock wall and repelling wall, and many restaurants on board. So that is why we booked the Epic.

[wvlibra]

We are booking the Epic's Garden Villa stateroom which comes with private pool area.

[Lindabs]

Booked a back to back Dec 09 on the Epic.

 

Why? I too prefer in entertainment options on the Epic especially Blue Man, Cirque and the Ice bar and such. I spend very little time in my room. If I have a balcony I'm happy.:) I am hoping since these are offered every night I will have a change to actually attend them as the crowds do concern me.:eek:

 

I am a big fan of freestyle and no formal nights. Not everyone's the same.

 

I gave an edge to the NCL itinerary. More places I haven't been.

 

Food goes to RCL hands down, but then again I have yet to go hungry on a cruise.:D

 

The rooms are a toss up. I like the wave design and little goofy things like mood lighting on the Epic. The loft rooms on the Oasis are awesome but I do not need the space. Not sure about the Epic bathrooms though.:confused:

 

I too am waiting on the reviews. There is just too little info out there. From the videos it appears to me that one is pushing a more adult experience and one a family experience. If I had kids with me it would probably be the Oasis and a loft. RCL needs to back off a bit in the videos as they make it look like a mall rather than promote the experiences offered. That left me with lowered expectations.

 

I agree the Epic is UGLY but the only pretty ships I've been on were Disney's. I'm waiting on the new Disney's too.:rolleyes:

 

I will book the Oasis, but for a shorter cruise. I'm just not as excited about it.

 

Linda

[BroncosFan2010]

1. I don't care for "freestyle" cruising.

2. Anything larger than the Radiance class ships is too big for my blood!

 

I choose neither!

[Leafpeeper]

Like many people, I am not crazy about megasize ships because they seem to have more cabins but not more restaurants. DH and I enjoy dining at different venues. We sail different cruiselines each year for the same reason that we eat at different restaurants. We like seeing new entertainment, experiencing different ships, trying different restaurants, etc.

 

We did enjoy NCL Gem last winter. they are the only cruiseline we've sailed that has an Asian restaurant--which surprises me because so many Americans love Chinese and Thai food. I've seen food stations in the buffet but not Asian restaurants on other lines. The Gem offered 2 for 1 earlybird dining prices at several specialty restaurants (LeBistro, Italian, Asian). We ended up only paying $10 for 2 people for the Italian and Asian restaurants. LeBistro is only $15pp regularly and well worth every penny--especially compared to other cruiselines where we have paid $20-$30pp for similar dining. DH and I prefer quiet intimate restaurants. We don't dine in the main dining room on RCCL very often because of the noise--prefer having dinner on the balcony under the stars. RCCL is great about having a room service hot food dinner menu on the cabin tv. Love that. I told DH that specialty dining is my favorite thing on cruiseships--his is the casino.

[phish tales]

i don't care what ship NCL would provide, i would rather sail in a RCL tender than any NCL mega ships. NCL is absolutely the bottom of the barrel in our book. even if the NCL cruise was free i would not go. NCL is absolutely, positively, and for certain--- the PITTTTTTTTTS