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

[patseacruiser]

Neither. I just don't need to sail with 5,400 of my dearest friends. And and inside cabin is an inside cabin whether I'm looking at 4 walls or the window looks out to the courtyard. If I can't see the water, it's an interior and to be charged as if it wasn't is crazy.

[indimini]

If I can't see the water, it's an interior and to be charged as if it wasn't is crazy

.Are you talking about the balcony rooms on Oasis that face inward? The Epic's villas with courtyard access all have balconies or a covered solarium for those rooms that are forward facing. I agree that paying a premium on the Oasis for what is essentially a view of a shopping mall is kind of crazy. :)

[cindersmcphee]

I have booked The Epic for my first ever cruise. I had really fancied Oasis of the Sea but didn't book as only 7 day cruise whereas 14 day on Epic. So Epic won and go on 18th Sep 2010 for the 14 night cruise.

[tiggerman101]

I have had the Dream booked for awhile. I think it is a natural upgrade in the Carnival line. The more I read about Oasis the more I wanted to get on her so I booked that for February. I am not even thinking of it as a "normal" cruise. I think the ship will be absurd and ridiculous, but an awesome experience at the same time. I am really looking forward to it.

 

I never gave the Epic much of a thought until I really started to look it over on the NCL site. I think it has a lot of extremely interesting features. I actually find the whole concept intriguing. I would love to go on it some time in the future, but it will be awhile. I do think the ship itself is really ugly....

[Taxguy77]

I would love to go on the Oasis but I have booked the Epic because I got better casino rates. ;):D I will be on the first sailing next July. I am really excited about the Blue Man Group as their entertainment.

 

The blue Man Group tickets alone run over $100 in Vegas. If NCL doesn't charge (doubt they will) that's a big plus. :cool:

[G'ma]

No way would I book either.

 

I'm a cruiser who enjoys cruising.....

 

If I want a shopping mall/amusement park....I'll go to Six Flags.

[yesaccasey]

I booked BOTH the Dream and the Epic for the same price the Oasis would have been alone.

 

---Easy choice---

[familyof4cruising]

I have become an NCL junkie also.;)

 

Looking forward to the Epic! There is nothing like the SWEET SWEET Suite NCL life!:D

[vvmitchell]

I chose the Oasis, because once you have some cruises under your belt, you have more upgrades and benefits. Also, I've become comfortable with the line and the offerings and like what I've had.

 

The Oasis has so much more going on that I could care less as to the ports of call. The Caribbean ports are all pretty much the same.. I am going to explore the ship and all it has.

 

I DO like the fact that the Epic has Blue Man Group...excellent. I don't know what is on the docket for the Oasis, but they are going to have to be competitive with entertainment. I know it will be a zoo, but it is exciting! I am going to look into the Epic, though, just because it's there for the offering.

 

By the way, anyone wanting a 14 day cruise, just book 2 cruises back to back...they are different itineraries

[cruzeluver]

No way would I book either.

 

I'm a cruiser who enjoys cruising.....

 

If I want a shopping mall/amusement park....I'll go to Six Flags.

 

Sums it up for me quite well! If other people want ships with more and more "stuff" on them, have at it! We want to get back to what initially appealed to us about cruising: being on the sea and getting to know our fellow cruisers. That is becoming harder and harder to do with so many diversions on these ships. Plus, these ships are clearly going to attract a lot of families and those who would normally not cruise. Not the crowd we want to spend our vacation with.

[Aquahound]

No way would I book either.

 

I'm a cruiser who enjoys cruising.....

 

If I want a shopping mall/amusement park....I'll go to Six Flags.

 

Yet' date=' on the Carnival boards, you rave over the Carnival Dream, whose biggest attraction is an amusement park. I guess it isn't "cruising" if it's not on [i']your[/i] favorite line, huh? :rolleyes:

[Hunding]

I would not book either one - both are much too big for my tastes.

 

I'm waiting for Oceania's Marina, which is set to debut Dec 2010.

 

Oh, yes! I am with you on this - the Marina looks eminently "possible," and she is beautiful. I find both the Oasis and Epic more than a little intimidating - scary, in fact. Not for me, either.

[G'ma]

Yet, on the Carnival boards, you rave over the Carnival Dream, whose biggest attraction is an amusement park. I guess it isn't "cruising" if it's not on your favorite line, huh? :rolleyes:

 

It's a waterpark, with slides, at the pools.....it's free.....and is in line with Carnival's Fantasy Class ships "Evolutions of Fun".

 

Dream is a SHIP....and looks like one... no carousel, no zip lining, no "boardwalk", no real grass or trees....in other words.....it's a cruise ship...built for people who like to cruise...

 

And, with the exception of the Supper Club, there is no charge for dining anywhere.......unlike Oasis (12 out of 22 dining venues have a charge and others are listed "fee may apply).

And......I don't "rave" about Dream having not yet sailed on her. I'll be on her transatlantic in October and then may "rave" or not as the case may be. I'm just glad Carnival has stuck to cruise ships and not hopped on the "mall" bandwagon and the mentality that cruising with 5400 people will be fun.

 

It might be interesting to see where these mega-monstrosities are in 3/4 years....who knows what fleet they might be attached too...or where they might be docked.

[FLACRUISER99]

All size ships have strong points & weak points and I love them all.

[grand isle joe]

Once was enough on NCL for me. Would not cruise NCL again if you gave it too me free.IMO.

[Cruzaholic41]

Dream is a SHIP....and looks like one... no carousel' date=' no zip lining, no "boardwalk", no real grass or trees....in other words.....it's a cruise ship...built for people who like to cruise...

[/quote']

 

So if I am interested in Oasis or Epic, I am not a person who likes to cruise, and Oasis and Epic are not SHIPS.

 

Interesting logic.

[cruiselover57]

Try to imagine 5,000 people disembarking at the same time in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. It's crazy enough with 3,200 people coming off a Voyager & Freedom class ship...now we're adding 2,000 more to the mix??? What a great way to ruin a stress-free vacation.

 

I totally agree and what about when the ship can't dock and has to tender in? I'm sure the Diamond and Diamond Plus members will be sure to get their priority disembarkation cards before anyone else! Although both ships sound very intruiging to me, I want to wait to hear what people liked/didn't like before I book either of them.

[999Cruises2Go]

I like both of the ships and the facts that they are trying new things. But I don't like a couple things about them both:

 

Oasis: The prices. Just because the ship is bigger doesn't mean only millionaires should be able to enjoy it. I know the prices will drop eventually but I wouldn't expect price drops for several years even with Allure coming out. Another thing is I don't see is many people outside of Florida paying airfares on top of cruise ticket fares. On my last cruise (which ended yesterday) I noticed we had a lot of east coasters who flew out because ticket prices on the Mariner of the Seas were just reasonable enough for them to be able to pay airfare as well. I don't see Oasis or Allure attracting too many cruisers from Western US.

 

Epic: I like the idea behind Freestyle cruising but when you have 4000-5000 people on one ship you need to set guidlines. Let me give you an example... You know how people react to a fire in a building when a genuine alarm goes off? Every man for themself (chaos and madness) and then you have people trampled and people fighting each other. I see this happening a lot on Epic (not as much trampling but fighting yes). Especially during disembarking. I really would not let everybody try to get off at once. That's a mistake waiting to happen. I can see that being like what it feels like to leave a major sporting event from a stadium that has only one exit door. Not going to work people. I would do what RCCL is doing now and give people an option as to whether they want an assigned eating time or freedom to choose. Sometimes people need a little order to keep the peace.

[indimini]

999Cruises2Go, it seems the argument regarding disembarkation against the Epic really applies to the Oasis as well (if not more so) given that it has an even larger number of passengers.

 

As for crowds in restaurants, Epic expects around 4,200 passengers served by 17 dining venues (per NCL's site). For any evening that is, on average, just under 250 people being served per restaurant. (Clearly the larger venues will serve more and the smaller ones like Teppanyaki will serve fewer). With even a 4 hour dinner service window, that works out to just over 62 people served by each restaurant each hour. (I know the math is overly simplistic due to peaks at certain hours). However, this tells me that Epic will be able to handle its guests without riots breaking out in the hallways. (And if they do, I'll just retreat to my suite and order in. ;))

[Missabby]

I know a lot of people disagree, but I have no interest in sailing either one. I don't like the big ships and I have been to the Caribbean enough.

Totally agree with you.

[sverigecruiser]

I can say two bad things about the Epic, she's really ugly from the outside (but since most of the time will be spent inside the ship, that's really not a big problem for me) and why do they put the sink in the sleeping area? Don't they think that most people likes to wash their hands after using the toilet?

 

Except for that, I really can't think of anything bad to say about the Epic. With 17 restaurants and 18 bars I can't see where the long lines some people talk about will be. As for debarkation, they will probalby use more than one exit so that shouldn't be a problem either.

[Boston and beyond cruiser]

No comparison between the two. The Oasis is in a class by herself and by the level of excitement during every phase of the building process, will be a legend by the time she sails. The Epic, on the other hand, has been roundly criticized (and rightly so) for the hideous design -- even by NCL diehards.

 

Also, the Epic is barely bigger than the RCCL Voyager class (15,000 tons), but will hold 1,100 more passengers. Crowded?? The Oasis will hold 1,200 more passengers than the Epic, but she is almost SEVENTY THOUSAND TONS bigger. No comparison whatsoever - sorry NCL. NEXT! :)

[dingoboy]

Bottom line (no pun) is that the Norwegian Epic is just butt ugly.

 

Royal Caribbean boast they build WOW.

 

And I can attest to that, even on the smaller, older ships in the fleet.

 

NCL on the other hand, at least in my humble opinion build YUCK!

 

I happened across a recent poll where the NCL's Pride of America was voted the ugliest ship afloat. (But I might add, that was before Epic raised it's sad profile) I saw it in Hawaii just last Nov. It is just a big ugly box on the water, not much different to a container ship or car/sheep transport vessel. And if the lines of the vessel aren't bad enough, they then go and paint those hideous graphics all over them.

 

What were (are) they thinking?

 

It's like a child on ADD without medication who has been let lose with a set of crayons. Such artistic(?) vandalism could make even the beautiful lady of the sea the QEII look like Courtney Love at a White Trash Wedding.

 

If this is their target market, which you must assume it must be, due the persistent use of such atrocious war paint - I would never risk booking a cruise with them. And from the feedback I have heard from people who have sailed with NCL the food and service matches the murals perfectly.

 

The only aspect I find appealing on the Epic are the new interior designs, the colors and textures used for the cabins. A great improvement on current explosion of color splashed about on the existing fleet.

[TrikeRider]

I was originally booked on the Epic for next Aug 21st. However, due to the shower/bathroom situation which has not been seen yet, I couldn't take the chance to book and not be able to cancel after its first sailing. So I am now on the Oasis.

[firefly333]

Oasis of the Seas, just because ....

 

not for the reasons listed. .... of course I have zero interest in NCL and dying to do Oasis, so probably not a fair question.