Epic vs. Reflection

[SuperTrooper00]

Hi all,

We have sailed on NCL several times, and know the product well (and love it). We are considering booking an Epic cruise and have been reading a ton on these boards. However, we have found some good deals on the Celebrity Reflection and would love to hear from some other fellow NCL fans as to a comparison between not only the two lines, but especially the two ships. Generally, I know the difference: Freestyle, better entertainment on NCL...

 

But, I would love input from anyone who has sailed Celebrity and even better someone who has sailed on one of their Solstice Class ships.

Thanks for your input.

[FiggyWig]

Well. we have done two Celebrity Solstice cruises in the past and have to say we loved every nautical mile. We are now awaiting our 1st NCL Epic cruise this summer, but a little piece of me wishes we are booked on Celebrity again.

 

I dont know why this is ... maybe the fact of the unknown. Our experiences in Solstice MDR were all fab, but I'm not so sure about Epic - the reviews dont all seem to be so favourable - and why do they have so many speciality restaurants unless its to make more money and get you away from the MDRs ?

 

The balcony cabins on Solstice were fine for the 3 of us (me, DH & 16 yo DS) - but I dont think I will be able to say the same about Epic, cant help thinking we will be squashed.

 

Why have we chosen Epic this time - well obviously to give some other line a try - but moreso because of the cost and that they offered a 7 day Med cruise rather than Celebritys normal 11 / 12 days at a higher cost.

 

I'm hoping we will still enjoy Epic - big ship just like Solstice - but currently my heart still lies with Celebrity - but open to alterations :cool:

[SuperTrooper00]

Thanks for your thoughts. Everything I can gather is that it simply depends on what you want out of the cruise. The Epic seems to be better for options, entertainment, activities, nightlife, and fun. The Solstice ships seem to be better for quality of food in MDR, formality, larger cabins, and a nicer and more sophisticated cruise experience.

I was just hoping that we could get a first hand comparison from someone to tell me if those thoughts above are correct.

[jdvmd]

Let me say, I do love Celebrity BUT I really love NCL. Have been on the Solstice and certain features that I loved on that ship have been changed on subsequent Solstice-class ships. Food and service are wonderful BUT I was thoroughly bored on about day five. NCL has wonderful entertainment options. I also love the specialty restaurants on NCL. LeBistro is only $20 a person compared to the specialty restaurants on Celebrity, which cost up to $40 a person.

 

Here is a guide to Celebrity's specialty dining:

 

How much do the specialty restaurants cost?

Murano, RMS Olympic, SS United States, SS Normandie and Ocean Liners restaurants have a cover charge of $40 USD per person, which includes a complete four-course meal. Beverage and wine are offered at current menu prices. There is an option of ordering a six-course Menu Exceptionnel which includes wine with each course for an additional charge.

 

 

Tuscan Grille has a cover charge of $30 USD per person which includes a complete four-course meal including appetizer, soup or salad, entrée and dessert. Beverages and wine are offered at current menu prices.

 

 

Qsine ® has a cover charge of $40 USD per person which includes the full menu of starters, entrees and desserts, as there are no defined courses in this restaurant. Beverages and wine are offered at current menu prices.

 

 

Silk Harvest has a cover charge of $25 USD per person, which includes the full menu of starters, entrees and desserts. Beverages and wine are offered at current menu prices.

 

Bistro on Five and The Porch have a cover charge of $5 USD per person. Beverages and wine are offered at current menu prices.

[sdmike]

...and why do they have so many speciality restaurants unless its to make more money and get you away from the MDRs ?

 

There are 2 reasons for specialty restaurants, in my opinion, and none have to do with poor food quality in the MDR's (I thought both the MDRs and buffet were great) or trying to squeeze more money out of passengers.

 

First, it's about choices. NCL freestyle wants to appeal to a broad range of customers that range from having simple needs to being demanding. The entertainment and food options allow them to have "something for everyone" without forcing people into one thing or another. I personally think this is very smart.

 

Second, it allows them to deliver a very high quality product while keeping fares among the lowest in the industry. How? It's pretty easy. The majority of cruise passengers are not very demanding when it comes to food. "Good" food becomes "great" food when you're getting served and don't have to do the dishes :). So, if 80% of your customers are fine with "good" food, why serve "great" food to 100% of your customers. What specialty restaurants allow them to do is deliver a "good" product, which lowers costs, which allows them to be hundreds less than some other lines. For that 20% that demand higher quality food, they can take some of those fare savings and put them back into specialty restaurants. Quite frankly, as a business person I think this is brilliant.

[SuperTrooper00]

There are 2 reasons for specialty restaurants, in my opinion, and none have to do with poor food quality in the MDR's (I thought both the MDRs and buffet were great) or trying to squeeze more money out of passengers.

 

First, it's about choices. NCL freestyle wants to appeal to a broad range of customers that range from having simple needs to being demanding. The entertainment and food options allow them to have "something for everyone" without forcing people into one thing or another. I personally think this is very smart.

 

Second, it allows them to deliver a very high quality product while keeping fares among the lowest in the industry. How? It's pretty easy. The majority of cruise passengers are not very demanding when it comes to food. "Good" food becomes "great" food when you're getting served and don't have to do the dishes :). So, if 80% of your customers are fine with "good" food, why serve "great" food to 100% of your customers. What specialty restaurants allow them to do is deliver a "good" product, which lowers costs, which allows them to be hundreds less than some other lines. For that 20% that demand higher quality food, they can take some of those fare savings and put them back into specialty restaurants. Quite frankly, as a business person I think this is brilliant.

 

I totally agree with this. I have never quite understood the knock on NCL's food, and I love a great meal. Speaking for me, I cannot eat at a place like Ruth's Chris every night of the week. It kills my stomach. I can do it once or twice, but not every night. Its too rich.

On a typical 7 day cruise, we usually eat in the MDR 3 or 4 times, Specialty twice, and once in a random free venue. That works perfect for us.

[SuperTrooper00]

Food and service are wonderful BUT I was thoroughly bored on about day five. .

 

Thanks for this. This was my biggest fear.

[gskimmel]

We are big fans of Celebrity and only recently started to try NCL. In 2 weeks, we will be on the Epic but initially we were going to be on the Reflection. When we were on the Eclipse (Reflection's sister ship), we stayed in a Aqua class room both times we were on her. A rough equivalent to Aqua on the Epic is the spa cabin. But with Celebrity's Aqua class, you get a lot more. Aqua passengers have access to Blu as their main dining room. Blu is more like a specialty restaurant than a main dining room as you get personalized service and each meal is cooked to order. The Reflections is the first ship to have Aqua class rooms for both cabins and suits (the other ships only have it for regular cabins and not suites).

 

While this is subjective, we found the food in Celebrity's specialty restaurants to be better than NCL's. However, we found the MDR food in NCL to be better than Celebrity. (This does not include Blu because Blu is very good. We met another couple on board who were not in Aqua and we had dinner with them in the MDR. The food in the MDR was not as good as it was in Blu).

 

If you are wine drinker, then you will love Celebrity. There is a wine bar and they offer wine tasting classes. They also have sommeliers dedicated to helping you choose the best wine for each meal.

 

We found that Celebrity and NCL had a lot of things in common. Staff on both are friendly. Celebrity won't be as active as NCL. What I mean by that is there will be shows, but towards 10pm-midnight, things start slowing down on Celebrity. I'm told the entertainment on NCL is better, but we never watched the entertainment on NCL or on Celebrity.

 

On Celebrity, you can also eat whenever you want to eat. You just need to indicate that at the time of the booking. (You will also be charged gratuities ahead of time) However, Celebrity does have 2 formal nights for a 7 night cruise.

 

Ultimately, I think you will have a great time on the Reflection. The only reason we decided to cancel our Reflection booking and try the Epic is because we wanted variety in our cruise vacations. After 2 cruises on the Celebrity Eclipse, we felt the Reflection would have been a very similar experience. As you can see from my signature, after the Epic we plan on trying Disney and Holland America before returning to NCL. It is always good to try new things. :-)

[psyfi]

I haven't been on Epic but we sailed on the Eclipse and I have to disagree, I found the entertainment to be wonderful. We were pouring ourselves into bed at 1-2 am leaving a still packed disco with live band going strong, their use of the main lobby for parties was brilliant. there were many activities that we did not get a chance to do. Food was fantastic, Qsine and Bistro on 5 were wonderful. I find myself dreaming of being able to get back on an S class ship. We are married 40 year olds, no kids.

[SuperTrooper00]

I haven't been on Epic but we sailed on the Eclipse and I have to disagree, I found the entertainment to be wonderful. We were pouring ourselves into bed at 1-2 am leaving a still packed disco with live band going strong, their use of the main lobby for parties was brilliant. there were many activities that we did not get a chance to do. Food was fantastic, Qsine and Bistro on 5 were wonderful. I find myself dreaming of being able to get back on an S class ship. We are married 40 year olds, no kids.

 

Thanks for that. It is good to hear about the S-class ships. It does seem like the Epic is on an entire different level when it comes to entertainment though.