Help me decide, Breakaway or Epic

[tbtma]

Hey guys, I know this is a very subjective question, some will sail for the itineraries,  some for the ship but I'm really having a tough time deciding, hoping some input might sway me towards deciding on a ship, here are some details

Sailing Feb 2022

Cost, about the same for either ship

Breakaway, we've sailed on once before & liked it.

Breakaway itinerary, we've been on

Epic, we've never been on ( funky bathrooms, but thats ok)

Epic,   itinerary  we've never been to any of the islands.

Breakaway,sails out of New Orleans  *** a plus*** but we have sailed from N.O

Epic, sails from San Juan, been there but never as a departure port.

 

One last thought, we want to be either on board for the Superbowl ( Epic) or

being in a cool city to watch it (Breakaway N.O)

Thoughts ???

 

Thanks !

Bonzo

[complawyer]

breakaway! hands down.... no contest. 

[ColeThornton]

57 minutes ago, tbtma said:

Epic, we've never been on

Epic,   itinerary  we've never been to any of the islands.

 

I'd choose the Epic just for the reasons you outlined.    Try something new.

[podgeandrodge]

1 hour ago, ColeThornton said:

 

I'd choose the Epic just for the reasons you outlined.    Try something new.

+1

[tbtma]

Thank you !!

[complawyer]

what's the specific itinerary for either one. we've been to many of the carribbean islands, we're taking the epic in jan because of the ports, although we've seen a few already. while im not waiving the flag over the epic,, the breakaway is sister ship to the getaway, which is by far our favorite ship in the ncl fleet.

 

there are some islands that are just ho-hum and no great loss if you dont stop. we dont get off the ship at nassau, gsc, not much happening in aruba, although curacao is beautiful, jamaica is ok, been there done that. it may be worth seeing ports youve already been to, as opposed to ports that are relatively boring. costa maya and cozumel are interesting if you wish to see the ruins (i highly  recommend )

roaton bay not much happening there either.

 

all that being said, the fun of being on a cruise ship once again, far outweighs specific ports_ in my humble opinion

 

i still vote for the breakaway

[Gen X Life]

I Love the EPIC Spa...  If this is an ABC Cruise;  I might seriously CONSIDER that one ..... BUT....

 

Right now;  because of COVID and constant Regulation changes... (Just Cancelled 2 Europe Cruises B2B for the second time.. everyday another rule change)

 

I would take the Breakaway out of New Orleans! Great Ship.

[BrocktonCruiser]

Personally, we found the design and layout of our cabin on Epic too "funky" for our liking.    We have sailed on Breakaway multiple times and always enjoyed the ship.

[KruzPrincess]

If you’re looking at early 2022,I would sail out of a US port. Thus... Breakaway. 

[HowardK]

My favorite cruise ever was the Epic; second NCL ship I went on was the Breakaway- both great. 

I did a comparison on my video years ago and might have rated the Breakaway slightly higher but want to stress the following:

 

Epic was really unique in that it was very enclosed and half the time I felt like I was in NY NY in Las Vegas- i really liked this feeling. Spice H20 had a hydraulic pool that lifted up.

Epic had really bowling alleys, Howl at the Moon/Fat Cats/Blue Man Group/ Legends In Concert-

many of these things were gone but I think Epic had the right idea- also has an escalator which is neat.

 

Majority vote here seems like Breakaway due to travel conditions etc.. Epic had some quirks which made it wonderful itself- all subsequent ships are a little more "normal"- 

[UKstages]

3 hours ago, KruzPrincess said:

If you’re looking at early 2022,I would sail out of a US port. Thus... Breakaway. 

 

i believe both NOLA and san juan are U.S. ports.

[Gen X Life]

1 hour ago, UKstages said:

 

i believe both NOLA and san juan are U.S. ports.

 

Well good for you, You are Correct !!  One is in a US State and the Other is in a US Territory.

 

Edited August 31, 2021 by Gen X Life

[lepidoptera]

Few things things that I don’t think have been mentioned:

 

I would take Super bowl on land vs on the ship. When I was on for Super bowl  in 2020, our ship was right outside of Miami, but we didn’t have the American feed. The commercials were the same 5 or so commercials everytime. Also we had some signal interruptions. Plus the food was just okay. I feel like every place was trying to do Super bowl food, so there was a limited menu that was being served at buffet, at the poolside bars, the theatre and the local. I would much rather have some really nice food in New Orleans. 

 

Flights to San Juan were pretty expensive in my opinion. Maybe things have changed since the pandemic though. 

 

I would normally say new itinerary. But I think it would be more upsetting for me if the itinerary changed and I hadn’t been there vs if of this is my 4th time on this island. 

[KruzPrincess]

3 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

i believe both NOLA and san juan are U.S. ports.

Okay. Continental US. 

[Trimone]

Normal cabin Breakaway 

Haven Epic

[HowardK]

The best Superbowl as when the Eagles won. Hands down best game ever other than the time the Phillies won the WS in  '08 (i was there)

I would have loved to have watched this on a ship- watched a monday night game on the Breakaway and we sang the Eagles song and people looked at us like we were crazy

[tbtma]

Thanks for all the input !! It does sound like The Breakaway wins by a hair! The ports are a bit ho-hum compared to The Epics ports . Believe it or not we were taking this cruise because we wanted to be on vacation somewhere during the Superbowl, that may sound silly to some, but its a huge factor to us.  I am a bit concerned about the " feed" being interrupted....decisions, decisions

 

Thanks

Bonzo

[BermudaBound2014]

Biggest benefit of Breakaway is the waterfront. Did you use that area much? It's missing on Epic. But, a huge benefit to the Epic is the spa. IMO it's the best spa at sea. I like leaving from San Juan in February because you are basically guaranteed great weather from the first moment. However; San Juan was just moved to level 5 for covid awareness so that could be a factor for insurance and the flight will likely be more. I always like different itineraries, so I'd pick the Epic even though I've sailed both.

[KruzPrincess]

Like the previous person posted, I just read that San Juan is a Covid hotspot and they’re recommending limited travel there if that’s important to you. My friends are sailing on the Epic in December and aren’t concerned. I won’t go. Things could change by then, but too many worries for me.  If Covid isn’t an issue at all, I would go for a new (to you) ship and itinerary. Pre-Covid I would have done that. As long as you don’t care about the funky cabins. 

[ClevelandCruisin]

Epic for the bathroom layouts.

 

I'm kidding...

 

Breakaway all day

[phillygwm]

On 8/30/2021 at 10:09 AM, tbtma said:

Hey guys, I know this is a very subjective question, some will sail for the itineraries,  some for the ship but I'm really having a tough time deciding, hoping some input might sway me towards deciding on a ship, here are some details

Sailing Feb 2022

Cost, about the same for either ship

Breakaway, we've sailed on once before & liked it.

Breakaway itinerary, we've been on

Epic, we've never been on ( funky bathrooms, but thats ok)

Epic,   itinerary  we've never been to any of the islands.

Breakaway,sails out of New Orleans  *** a plus*** but we have sailed from N.O

Epic, sails from San Juan, been there but never as a departure port.

 

One last thought, we want to be either on board for the Superbowl ( Epic) or

being in a cool city to watch it (Breakaway N.O)

Thoughts ???

 

Thanks !

Bonzo

I've been on both twice.  Strictly for the ship amenities, Breakaway is by far the better experience.  But for me, I'm usually choosing based on destination.  

 

I happened to enjoy the Western Caribbean itinerary that you'd be doing on Breakaway and I've not done the Epic itinerary.  If you were dying to do those islands, choose Epic.  Otherwise, Breakaway.

[HowardK]

On 8/31/2021 at 3:34 PM, tbtma said:

Thanks for all the input !! It does sound like The Breakaway wins by a hair! The ports are a bit ho-hum compared to The Epics ports . Believe it or not we were taking this cruise because we wanted to be on vacation somewhere during the Superbowl, that may sound silly to some, but its a huge factor to us.  I am a bit concerned about the " feed" being interrupted....decisions, decisions

 

Thanks

Bonzo

When i did my notes at the end of the Breakaway 2013 vs Epic 2011- i slightly gave the breakaway a slight nudge ahead in terms of the ship. I think having the waterfront and the area in Spice H20 with the waterfalls as the bump. 

I don't think one can go wrong with either ship though.