Comparison between NCL Epic and RCCL Oasis

We were on the NCL Epic from 4/13 to 4/20 and had a great time. My husband and I were also on RCCL Oasis of the Seas in Aug 12 and wanted to compare the ships for those considering between the two ships. We booked the Epic before we booked Oasis, but were comparing the two before booking. My husband and I are in our mid 30’s and do not have any children. On the Epic were were with another couple around our age. On Oasis we traveled with my parents and brothers (in their early 20’s). Overall we had a great time on both ships.

We booked our trip on the EPIC over a year out for $750pp in a balcony cabin. We ended up booking the Oasis last minute in an oceanview balcony for $1250 per person. I have looked at Oasis for a very long time previously and have not found an oceanview balcony for much less.

Our first stop on the EPIC was at O’Sheehans. I had the chicken pot pie and my husband had the mozzarella sticks and chicken fingers. They were both pretty good. The chicken pot pie did have a strong cheese flavor, which was different for me. The brownie sundae at O’Sheehans was delicious. It was one of our favorite desserts.

On Oasis our first stop was the Park Café. I wanted to try the roast beef sandwiches everyone raved about on cruisecritic. Everyone in our party was very disappointed with the Park Café in general (after hearing all the rave reviews). My mom and I did enjoy the tossed salad. The roast beef sandwiches were very, very fatty. My husband tried the cheese Panini as well but said it was just o.k. My husband and I never made it there for bagels (we are not morning people). My brothers did go down there for bagels and did like the bagels and selection of cream cheese.

On the EPIC the specialty restaurants we ate at were Wasabi for sushi and yakitori, Shanghai, and La Cucina. On Oasis we ate at the following specialty restaurants: Giovanni’s Table, Izumi, and Chops. Giovanni’s Table was Excellent. I felt that it was significantly better than La Cucina. Izumi was horrible. No one at our table liked the sushi there at all. None of us had ever had hot rocks before. We asked our waiter to explain what it was but he barely spoke English and could not explain anything in regards to the menu. Probably the worst service in Izumi than any other venue on Oasis. Wasabi sushi was very, very good. The sushi was tasty and we also enjoyed the yakitori (basically skewers of meat with dipping sauces). The service was also very good at Wasabi. When we first arrived there was no one there to greet us so my husband and I just sat down. We waited for about five minutes without being approached. He ended up going up to the manager (who was the first person who showed up in the sushi bar area) to ask him if we were in the right place. He apologized and gave us a free edamane appetizer. It was a very nice gesture that was appreciated. He definitely did not have to do that. Shanghai on the Epic was excellent as well. It was the best Chinese food we have had in a while. It was certainly better than any place we have around our house. We felt the $15 cover charge was also very reasonable. Chops on Oasis was also very good to excellent as long as you ordered the Filet Mignon. My brother ordered the NY strip and stated that it was not very good. The rest of my family ordered the filet and felt that it was excellent. I had ordered the NY Strip on Freedom a year before and did not care for it then. I would have tried to talk my brother out of ordering it had I known that was what he was planning on ordering. The Chocolate cake was to die for!!!!

My brother and father also tried the Seafood Shack on Oasis. They said it was excellent. They especially liked the Dover Sole and clam chowder. The rest of us went to Johnny Rockets. We enjoyed the burgers and sundaes. We did miss Johnny Rockets on the Epic.

My husband and I felt that the main dining rooms on the EPIC and also on the Oasis were very comparable and did not notice much of a difference in the quality of the food. When we cruised Oasis it was about two weeks before the new menu’s came out.

What we felt NCL excelled at was their buffet. My husband and I normally do not care for buffets, but we do like to grab something quick before getting off the ship on port days. The only quick place to grab something to eat is the buffet. NCL had several action stations in the buffet area (omelet station, pasta station, Mongolian/stir fry station, crepe station, tossed salad station, etc) that were very good. They seemed to put out small quantities of food out to keep everything hot and fresh. Everything there was very good. We never got bored with what was offered on NCL.

We did not like RCCL’s buffet on Oasis at all. The only thing I would eat there was a salad from the salad bar. The burgers looked like they were sitting in grease and were unappetizing to me. My husband also struggled to find very much to put on his plate. The rest of the trip we usually picked up pizza from Sorrentos. This got old very quickly. Sorrentos pizza is not bad but it is not great either. I consider it to be one to two steps above a frozen Tombstone pizza. By the end of out trip on Oasis my husband was getting crabby about eating at Sorrentos. The sandwiches at the Café Promenade would have been nice if they were made as you waited. I like my sandwiches pretty plain and all of their sandwiches already had mayo or mustard on them. I probably could have asked to have one made, but I never saw anyone else do this. The cookies at the Café Promenade are excellent.

I did not think there was much of a difference between RCCL’s anytime dining and NCL’s Freestyle dining. On the EPIC we had tried to get into Cagney’s and Moderno at around 7:50 one night without reservations. Since it was just the two of us we did not feel like it should be a problem, especially since NCL advertises eat when you want, where you want. Moderno told us that they MIGHT be able to get us in SOMETIME after 9:00. Cagney’s was a little better and stated that they would try to find a spot for us after they sat everyone with reservations. I don’t have a problem with that, but they could not tell us how long we would be waiting. We did not want to wait 35/40 minutes to eat. We ended up going to the La Cucina instead. On Oasis since there were six of us we did make reservations. In the past when my husband and I ate at the specialty restaurants on Freedom of the Seas we never made reservations and did not have a problem being seated. I would think that since NCL claims to have a freestyle dining concept that they would leave some open spaces for walk ins. When we were waiting in the Cagney’s/Moderno area we saw NCL employees (not officers) eating in Cagney’s or Moderno (I am not sure which side was which). If they cannot seat paying guests, why should employees be allowed to eat at these restaurants during PRIME hours?

One quick note…..After 11PM there is nowhere on the ship to get dessert or anything sweet unless you order room service. We had a quick meal at Wasabi earlier in the evening before a show. After the show we wanted to grab something sweet so we went to O’Sheehans and found out that they change the menu at 11PM and do not offer any type of dessert. We were not ready to go back to the room yet so we ended up forgoing on dessert (which we probably did not need), but it would have been nice to at least be able to grab a cookie or a scoop of ice cream.

We absolutely loved the waterslides on the EPIC!!!!! They were a lot of fun. We spent most of the day we were in Nassau going down the slides. There were very few lines. The pools were very small, but would keep the small pools for the waterslide complex. I tried the flowrider on the Oasis and did have fun, but felt I got more enjoyment/use out of the slides.

RCCL really excelled in the ship entertainment. The high dive show was my favorite even though the main character was a little annoying. The divers and acrobats were really talented. My next favorite show was Come Fly with Me. That was a great show. The MC at the comedy show was hilarious along with the rest of the acts. We laughed from start to finish. We did not get a chance to see hairspray because it conflicted with other shows we wanted to see.

My husband and I absolutely hated Blue Man Group. I give NCl “A” for effort. We did not find anything amusing about them. I kept thinking it was going to get better. I am sure if you have seen them before and liked them you will love them on NCL. We simply found their sense of humor to be stupid. We witnessed probably close to 30 people walk out of this show. We also did not care much for the adult second city show. They were o.k but not great. I was wondering if maybe the second city cast that started on EPIC was moved to the Breakaway? My husband and I really enjoyed Legends in Concert. That was our favorite show on the EPIC. We did not get to see the Cirque show. I originally wanted to see this show, but I had heard a few reviews stating that you could see almost the same show in Vegas for free since the old performers were moved to the Breakaway. My husband and I go to Vegas at least once per year and have seen many of the shows there. Since I was soooo disappointed with Blue Man Group I decided to opt out of the Cirque Show.

The cabin sizes were as expected. We were in a balcony cabin Room 10139 on the Epic (sorry I cannot recall our oceanview balcony cabin on Oasis). We absolutely loved our balcony location. There were no lifeboats below us at all. I love watching the waves at night from the balcony and would have missed this if we overlooked a lifeboat. The shower in the Epic cabin was quite large compared to Oasis and other cabins we have had in the past. The bathroom stall area on the Epic was very small. A large person would most likely have problems.

NCL seemed to keep the EPIC significantly cooler than RCCL kept Oasis. This difference could have been because we were sailing the Caribbean in Aug when on Oasis or because of the doors constantly opening to the outside from Central Park and also from the Boardwalk area making it harder to keep cool.

They gym on both ships were very warm and should be kept cooler. I was sweating in the gym before I started working out. The Epic gym was very nice. Oasis was smaller and cramped for the size of the ship. You could smell a whiff of smoke as you walked in but then once in the gym I did not notice it.

Overall, we really enjoyed both ships. I felt that Oasis was more of an elegant ship. It truly is one of a kind. Epic was a great ship as well, but lacked some of the wow factor Oasis had. My husband and I agreed that overall we had a better time on the EPIC with the slides and other activities onboard the ship. For us the Epic offered better food options and satisfied both my husband and I. Considering the cost difference for similar rooms on the two ships we would most likely be sailing on the Epic again before sailing on Oasis again. We would recommend either to anyone who asks.

If it were up to me I would be booking the Getaway or Breakaway for next year, but I have to convince my husband. He is getting tired of cruising :mad: since we have been on three cruises in the last 18 months.

Great comparison between the 2 ships... I enjoyed reading it, thanks!

Thank you for the comparison. We did both ships in 2009 and while we enjoyed both cruises, we gave the edge to the Epic. On the Epic, we felt like we could have easily stayed another week to do everything. And felt like we needed a vacation after our cruise because we did so much. We went to the main dining room on the Oasis once and because the service was so horrible and the food was lousy, we never went back.

And thank you especially for pointing out the Park Cafe and those roast beef sandwiches. I completely agree with you. Had one and didn't see why people love them. No flavor and just kind of eh. Then they put way too much mustard on the sandwich. This is how I feel about Moderno - people rave about it and then we experienced it. Not a fan.

Great comparison review A+

Thanks for your comparison. Loved the Epic and have the Oasis booked for next year.

Thanks for the review.