Star Trek: 10 Biggest Differences Between Kirk's Enterprise And Picard's

[TMC]

One of the most hotly debated questions in science fiction is "Kirk or Picard?," but these arguments usually don't factor in their ships, likely because, by all accounts, the Enterprise-D is far superior to Kirk's NCC 1701. Starfleet made a lot of progress in the time between making these two ships (from the years 2245 to 2363), but what exactly is it that makes The Next Generation's Enterprise so dissimilar?

Some differences had to do with the technology available at the time, but also how the ships were designed to function. The two Enterprise's were created over one hundred years apart and for very different purposes. In general, Kirk's ship is geared more towards quick exploration from planet to planet (their five-year mission), and Picard's ship is better at long-term diplomatic tasks.

This list will be looking at the biggest differences between NCC 1701 and NCC 1701-D, and how these differences affected the operation of both ships as well as their crews' everyday lives.

10. Size

9. Speed

8. Computer Systems

7. Holodecks

6. Replicators

5. Shuttlebays (And The Captain's Yacht)

4. Families Onboard

3. Cetacean Ops

2. Weapons

1. Saucer Separation