Cruise Spotlight
Helping you find cruise ships you'll love
Norwegian Epic vs Norwegian Prima
The Norwegian Epic was built in 2010. It was renovated in 2015. It's 12 years older than the Prima, which was built in 2022. The Prima is the first of six in a brand-new class of ship.
Comparison Overview
- Ship Size
- Number of Passengers
- Food and Restaurants
- Bars and Drinks
- Pools and Hot Tubs
- Ship Features and Activities
- Cruise Costs
- Onboard Costs
- See Our Detailed Cruise Blog
Ship Size
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 Prima, the Epic is 9% larger in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
Norwegian Epic holds 32% more passengers than the Prima based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you look at the "Space Ratio," or the total tonnage of a ship compared to the number of passengers, the Epic has less space per person compared to the Prima.
| Norwegian Epic | Norwegian Prima | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Epic | Prima |
| Gross Tonnage | 155,873 | 143,535 |
| Length | 1,081 | 965 |
| Beam/Width | 171 | 133 |
| Passenger Decks | 14 | 15 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 4,100 | 3,099 |
| Crew | 1,724 | 1,506 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 2.4 | 2.1 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 38 | 46 |
Food and Restaurants
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 Wasabi, La Cucina Italian, and Cagney's Steakhouse. Of those options, 8 are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other 14 options have an additional fee.
The Prima has 1 fewer dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Le Bistro French, Hudsons, and Coco's. 10 of these restaurants are complementary and the other 12 have an additional fee.
The Norwegian Epic has about the same number of dining options as the Norwegian Prima.
If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Prima might be a better choice then the Epic. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.
Restaurants on Norwegian Epic & Prima
| Norwegian Epic | Norwegian Prima | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Atrium Cafe | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Cagney's Steakhouse | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Coco's | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Courtyard Grill | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Food Republic | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Hasuki | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Hudsons | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| La Cucina Italian | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Latin Quarter | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Le Bistro French | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Los Lobos | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Main Dining Room | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Moderno Churrascaria | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Nama | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Onda by Scarpetta | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Palomar | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Posh | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Q Texas Smokehouse - Indulge | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Seaside Rotisserie | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Shanghai's Noodle Bar | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Spiegel Tent | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Starbucks | ✗ | ✓ | |
| Studio Lounge | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Surfside Cafe | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Surfside Grill | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Tamara | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Teppanyaki | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| The Bake Shop | ✓ | ✗ | |
| The Commodore Room | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| The Garden | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| The Great Outdoors | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| The Haven | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| The Local | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Wasabi | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
Bars and Drinks
The Norwegian Epic has 1 more bar than the Norwegian Prima.
| Norwegian Epic | Norwegian Prima | |
|---|---|---|
| Atrium Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Belvedere Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Bliss Ultra Lounge | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cascades Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Epic Theater Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Headliners Comedy Club | ✓ | ✗ |
| Improv at Sea | ✗ | ✓ |
| Luna Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Maltings Beer & Whiskey Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Metropolitan Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| O'Sheehan's Bar & Grill | ✓ | ✗ |
| Observation Lounge Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Penrose Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Posh Beach Club | ✓ | ✗ |
| Proof Whiskey Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sake Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shakers Martini & Cocktail Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Skyy Vodka Ice Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Soleil Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Speedway Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spice H2O | ✓ | ✗ |
| Starbucks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Syd Norman's Pourhouse | ✗ | ✓ |
| The Cavern Club | ✓ | ✗ |
| The Haven Bar* | ✓ | ✓ |
| The Local 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 Prima below.
Pools and Hot Tubs
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 Prima has fewer pools than the Epic and fewer hot tubs. There are fewer exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Prima. 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 Prima | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 5 | 4 |
| Pools - General Access | 2 | 3 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 1 | |
| Pools - Exclusive | 2 | 1 |
| Total Hot Tubs | 11 | 6 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 5 | 2 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | 2 | |
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 4 | 4 |
Ship Features and Activities
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. On the Epic, 59% of the activities below are included in the cruise fare. On the Prima, only 50% of the activities are included, meaning you might spend more money while on board.
| Norwegian Epic | Norwegian Prima | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (free) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Arcade | ✓ | ✗ |
| Basketball | ✓ | ✗ |
| Bowling Alley | ✓ | ✗ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cigar Lounge | ✓ | ✓ |
| Climbing Wall | ✓ | ✗ |
| Comedy Club | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dart Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Escape Room | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| Golf Simulator | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ice Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Jogging Track | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mini golf | ✗ | ✓ |
| Race Track | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shows - Broadway play | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shows - musical review | ✓ | ✓ |
| Spa | ✓ | ✓ |
| Splash park | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sports Square | ✓ | ✗ |
| Thermal Suites | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thrill Slide | ✗ | ✓ |
| Virtual Arcade | ✗ | ✓ |
| Water slides | ✓ | ✓ |
| Learn more | Learn more |
Cruise Costs
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 Prima.
Onboard Costs
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.
We sailed aboard the Norwegian Prima
Follow along on our sailing on the Norwegian Prima. We take you through every aspect of our sailing, from getting to the port to debarking the ship. See the schedule of events, menus, what excursions we did, and what we really thought about the ship.
Norwegian Prima - Cruise Blog - Day 1 - NYC
Norwegian Prima - Cruise Blog - Day 2 - Sea Day
Norwegian Prima - Cruise Blog - Day 3 - Halifax
Norwegian Prima - Cruise Blog - Day 4 - Final Sea Day
5 Hits and Misses on the Norwegian Prima
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