I have to say that of the two I actually enjoyed PoE a lot more. PoE2 has the better character building system, but PoE was more engaging in terms of story and characters. Well, at least until the final chapter. Plus I enjoyed the party size and the magic system in PoE more; PoE 2 combat felt a lot more skirmishy and tactics didn't seem to matter as much.
ship combat were intended to be a tangential mini-game, sorta like kotor swoop racing or pazak. the disconnect is natural and arguable intentional. as xar-monty mentions, you may skip ship combat entirely, which is possible in part 'cause o' the fact such encounters is non-essential.
that said, particular for a potd and/or solo run, ship combat, while repetitive, is offering the best early-game 1007 and xp opportunity. is difficult for us to not exhaust ship combat opportunities o' named c