Helping you find cruise ships you'll love
The Norwegian Epic was built in 2010. It was renovated in 2015. It's 4 years older than the Getaway, which was built in 2014.
The Epic is considered a large size ship. Coming in at 1,081 feet long and 171 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 3 football fields, as wide as 3.2 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 14-story building. Compared to the Norwegian Getaway, the Epic is 7% larger in terms of overall tons.
Norwegian Epic holds about the same number of passengers as the Getaway based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you compare the total tonnage of the ship to the number of passengers, or what we call the "Space Ratio," the Epic has more space per person compared to the Getaway. This means that you might have a bit more space to yourself on the ship, although there still could be some crowded areas like buffets, pools, etc.
Norwegian Epic | Norwegian Getaway | |
---|---|---|
Class | Epic | Breakaway |
Gross Tonnage | 155,873 | 145,655 |
Length | 1,081 | 1,068 |
Beam/Width | 171 | 169 |
Passenger Decks | 14 | 15 |
Passengers (double occupancy) | 4,100 | 3,963 |
Crew | 1,724 | 1,646 |
Passenger to Crew Ratio | 2.4 | 2.4 |
Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 38 | 37 |
Food is a big part of any cruise, and the ship you choose can make a huge difference in your food experience.
The Epic has 23 different dining options like Le Bistro French, The Great Outdoors, and Shanghai's Noodle Bar. Of those options, 8 are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other 14 options have an additional fee.
The Getaway has 2 more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Shanghai's Noodle Bar, American Diner, and Le Bistro French. 10 of these restaurants are complementary and the other 15 have an additional fee.
The Norwegian Epic has about the same number of dining options as the Norwegian Getaway.
Both ships have a similar number of paid versus included dining options.
Norwegian Epic | Norwegian Getaway | ||
---|---|---|---|
American Diner | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
Atrium Cafe | ✓ | ✓ | |
Cagney's Steakhouse | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
Courtyard Grill | ✓ | ✗ | |
Dolce Gelato | ✗ | ✓ | |
Garden Cafe | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
Illusionarium | ✗ | ✓ | |
La Cucina Italian | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
Le Bistro French | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
Main Dining Room | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
Moderno Churrascaria | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
O'Sheehan's Neighborhood Bar & Grill | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
Ocean Blue | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
Posh | ✓ | ✗ | |
Shanghai's Noodle Bar | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
Spiegel Tent | ✓ | ✗ | |
Studio Lounge | ✓ | ✓ | |
Teppanyaki | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
The Bake Shop | ✓ | ✓ | |
The Great Outdoors | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
The Haven | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
The Raw Bar | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
Wasabi | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
The Norwegian Epic and Norwegian Getaway both have 16 bars to choose from during your sailing.
Norwegian Epic | Norwegian Getaway | |
---|---|---|
Atrium Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
Bar 21 | ✗ | ✓ |
Bliss Ultra Lounge | ✓ | ✓ |
Cascades Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
Epic Theater Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
Headliners Comedy Club | ✓ | ✓ |
Maltings Beer & Whiskey Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
Mixx Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
O'Sheehan's Bar & Grill | ✓ | ✓ |
Posh Beach Club | ✓ | ✗ |
Prime Meridian Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
Sake Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
Shakers Martini & Cocktail Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
Skyy Vodka Ice Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
Spice H2O | ✓ | ✓ |
Starbucks | ✓ | ✓ |
Sugarcane Mojito Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
Sunset Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
Syd Norman's Pourhouse | ✗ | ✓ |
The Cavern Club | ✓ | ✗ |
The Haven Bar* | ✓ | ✓ |
Vibe Beach Club Bar* | ✗ | ✓ |
Waves Pool Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. Both ships serve the Coca-cola family of products. That means Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship.
You can check out recent the bar menus for the Epic and the Getaway below.
Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The problem is that with thousands of people on a ship, there's not always room. If you want to spend all day for 7 days in a pool, a cruise isn't for you. You would have a much better bet choosing a resort with a huge pool complex. That being said, a quick dip in the pool can be nice on a hot day.
The Norwegian Epic has a total of 5 pools and 11 hot tubs. Tired of loud kids and splashing? 1 of the pools and 2 of the hot tubs are adults only. 2 of the pools and 4 of the hot tubs are exclusive access, which means there's either an extra charge to access them or you need to book a certain class of cabin to have access to them.
Norwegian Getaway has fewer pools than the Epic and fewer hot tubs. There are fewer exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Getaway. If you like ships without extra charges or exclusive areas, this might be a better choice since everyone will have access to these areas.
Norwegian Epic | Norwegian Getaway | |
---|---|---|
Total Pools | 5 | 4 |
Pools - General Access | 2 | 2 |
Pools - Adults Only | 1 | 1 |
Pools - Exclusive | 2 | 1 |
Total Hot Tubs | 11 | 10 |
Hot Tubs - General Access | 5 | 4 |
Hot Tubs - Adults Only | 2 | 2 |
Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 4 | 4 |
Both ships have lots of activities to keep you busy throughout your cruise. Below you'll see a list of some of the major features on these ships. You might up paying more while on board the Epic. Only 59% of the activities below are included in your cruise fare. On the Getaway, 60% of the activities are included at no additional cost.
Norwegian Epic | Norwegian Getaway | |
---|---|---|
Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee) | ✗ | ✓ |
Adult Only Relaxation Area (free) | ✓ | ✓ |
Arcade | ✓ | ✗ |
Basketball | ✓ | ✗ |
Bowling Alley | ✓ | ✗ |
Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
Cigar Lounge | ✓ | ✗ |
Climbing Wall | ✓ | ✗ |
Comedy Club | ✓ | ✓ |
Escape Room | ✓ | ✓ |
Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
Ice Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
Jogging Track | ✓ | ✗ |
Mini golf | ✗ | ✓ |
Ropes course | ✗ | ✓ |
Shows - musical review | ✓ | ✓ |
Spa | ✓ | ✓ |
Splash park | ✗ | ✓ |
Sports Square | ✓ | ✓ |
Thermal Suites | ✓ | ✓ |
Water slides | ✓ | ✓ |
Learn more | Learn more |
Norwegian is a mainstream cruise line. Mainstream cruise lines cater to a variety of guests, hoping to provide something for everyone. These typically cost about $100 - $350 per person per day.
Cruise pricing is dynamic and varies for each specific sailing based on factors such as departure point, ports of call, and time of year. Typically newer ships cost more, so a cruise on Norwegian Epic will likely be cheaper than on Norwegian Getaway.
Another way to gauge the cost of a cruise is to consider how much you'll spend on board. Even though a lot is included in the base cruise fare, you may still spend money on things like spa treatments, specialty dining, drinks, and excursions. In addition, guests can also have to pay for things like gratuities and tips.
Typically guests can expect to spend about 25 - 40% of the cost of the cruise on onboard expenses. In other words, if the cruise fare is $1,000 per person, you might spend between $250 and $400 on extra expenses.
The table below will help you understand what you might spend onboard a Norwegian ship.
Norwegian | |
---|---|
Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day) | $20.00 |
Tip added to drinks & services | 20% |
Soda Price | $3.50 |
Domestic Beer Price | $6.00 See drink menus |
Drink Package Price | $109 Learn more |
Internet Plan | $12.50 to $25 per device per day |
*Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates. |
Norwegian Cruise Line offers a Free at Sea fare. Through this program, guests receive free open bar, a discount on excursions, some free internet, and some meals at their specialty restaurants. If you book using this promotion, you'll be responsible for the gratuities on the dining and drink package. If you won't be using these options, booking a "sail away" rate that doesn't include the Free at Sea benefits is considerably cheaper. Also, most of these benefits are the base packages; you can spend more to upgrade to better alcoholic drinks or faster/more wifi.
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