Freedom of the Seas or NCL Epic?

We are going to take a cruise for this year's family vacation and up until now we were going to go on RCCL's Freedom of the Seas but we recently found a great rate for the NCL Epic. Please tell me which line or ship is better. Price is not a huge factor.Freedom of the Seas or NCL Epic?
I enjoyed sailing with Royal Caribbean more than NCL.



Royal Caribbean is very active, and a fun ship. It was lacking good food and entertainment.



NCL was terrible. The service was bad, the teens club was non-existant, the ship was old (this doesn't apply to you), the food was bad. But this ship does have it's advantages, like the blue man group, or how new it is.
I'm going to go against the grain here and just say that, I have been on Freedom of the Seas when they first started sailing and was frustrated by the huge lines for everything. At that time it seems like they needed some crowd management. I like NCL having been on the Sky and the Pearl, I have not been on EPIC. It is their brand new ship. I think the staff was equally nice on both lines. You know if your nice to people you generally get the same back. With EPIC you would be sailing on a brand new ship rather then one that has been out for about 4 years now. I recently sailed on the Liberty of the Seas and will have to admit that the crowd management was much better and the dining times were expanded too. IOW I found myself missing lunch a few times on FOS too late this didn't happen on LOS. You will have a good time on both ships but keep in mind that FOS sails out of Cape Canaveral now so both these ships sail from different ports. I think Epic is out of Miami but you will have to check on this detail. For more info and past customer reviews go to www.cruisecritic.com. I practically live on this site when planning a trip. It is loaded with great info.Freedom of the Seas or NCL Epic?
I personally like Royal Caribbean Ships better than NCL. The Epic is is a great ship with tons to do and has some better shows and activities than the Freedom. The Epic also has a funny bathroom layout that you need to be aware of depending on cabin and how many in the cabin.



Also your question depends on the group that is going .... do you have kids, do you like to be active, is food and wine important to your vacation, how about the entertainment?



For example ... If you have kids I would choose the Freedom (mine love RCL) If you like entertainment then the Epic has Blue Man Group and Cirque. Also NCL Epic has the best suites if that is what you are looking for.



With that being said I would highly recommend you call an independent qualified cruise specialist as they can give you tons of details and personalized service. They will also help you narrow down what you are specifically looking for and match the right cruise for you at the right price point.



Good Luck !!



Dave - "We take personalized service to the limit"
My preference would be the Freedom of the seas because I have cruised on it, and its sister the Liberty, and liked it enough to go on it again next year. It has something for everyone and more great on-board activities than the Epic. Plus I DO NOT like the NCL Freestyle cruising, poor service.



Just my personal and biased opinion based on doing a lot of NCL cruises and also cruising on the Freedom.
There's more to do on the RC ships. Stick to your original plans.