Ship Size Versus"Feeling Crowded"

[Raxter54]

Just back from a 7 night cruise on the Dream, our first cruise with Carnival. Nice ship, friendly crew, enjoyable cruise. But -I just kept having this feeling of being 'crowded'. Can't really point to any one thing that made me feel like that, just a general impression.

So- are there any Carnival ships that feel 'roomier', or have a better public space set-up?

[Indytraveler83]

I just returned from the same sailing, and here's the observations I made about it:

 

1) Carnival does not seem to dedicate any extra space in Lido, the pool decks or the buffet lines on the bigger ships. These common public areas end up feeling stuffed on the larger ships, especially during prime times

 

2) The flip side, is that while everyone seems to gravitate to those areas, the Dream has quite a few other areas that don't get much attention at all, such as the Lanai or one of the many other decks that simply aren't Lido. We spent a lot of time on the Lanai and it was a ghost town.

 

So if you like the common areas like the Lido, you may wish to stick with a Fantasy or Spirit class ship that simply holds less people. However the larger ships have more alternative spaces if it's not necessary for you to be around the pool.

[Babycat]

That's a great observation Indytraveler83.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Babycat

[Je Souhaite]

Just back from a 7 night cruise on the Dream, our first cruise with Carnival. Nice ship, friendly crew, enjoyable cruise. But -I just kept having this feeling of being 'crowded'. Can't really point to any one thing that made me feel like that, just a general impression.

So- are there any Carnival ships that feel 'roomier', or have a better public space set-up?

 

The 4 Spirit ships, but we only have 2 at the moment.

[Raxter54]

That's a great observation Indytraveler83.

 

 

I agree. The crowding in the buffet was probably the worst part of the cruise. The way that Royal Caribbean set up their buffet (Windjammer Cafe) was so much better than Carnival's cafeteria style set-up. We never went to the pool areas, except to walk from the front elevators to the buffet, but they did seem to heavily populated. I would have liked to spend more time on the Lanai deck, but DW's mobility limited our walking around the ship. I will say that our balcony cabin was rather spacious. Thank you Carnival for larger rooms [emoji3]

 

 

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[skidawg79]

I agree. The crowding in the buffet was probably the worst part of the cruise. The way that Royal Caribbean set up their buffet (Windjammer Cafe) was so much better than Carnival's cafeteria style set-up. We never went to the pool areas, except to walk from the front elevators to the buffet, but they did seem to heavily populated. I would have liked to spend more time on the Lanai deck, but DW's mobility limited our walking around the ship. I will say that our balcony cabin was rather spacious. Thank you Carnival for larger rooms [emoji3]

 

 

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I've only been on 1 carnival cruise and it was on the Valor. We had 5 port days and only 1 sea day so I didn't really notice it too much since we were off the ship just about every day. The one sea day that we had was spent back at the aft pool/bar with a bunch of friends.

 

I've also been on the Oasis of the Seas and that surprisingly didn't feel crowded at all. The only one I've been on that I felt was REALLY crowded was my cruise on the Caribbean Princess. 5 sea days (9 night cruise and missed a port) and I never even found a chair with even a view of the pool, let alone next to it.

[Trumpster]

The only two areas we felt crowded on a Dream class was in fact the pool deck midships and the buffet.

 

Since we rarely eat in the buffet, once in a while breakfast, never lunch or dinner, it never impacted us much.

 

Other Carnival ships however have felt very similar, they too were "crowded" at times in both the main pool area and the buffet.

[Indytraveler83]

This is my main criticism of Carnival. The pools are hilariously small and the Lido isn't big enough on the big ships. Then they turn around and hold events, bar specials and things like that, which encourage guests to crowd the Lido anyways.

 

I wish they would utilize the other spaces, like the lanai better. One of our main observations on the Dream was how many open spaces and decks simply had no people, no activities and no utilization at all.

 

Having restaurants and bars off of the lanai IMHO would help with the Buffet crowding and probably even pull some folks off of Lido. We were really surprised at how huge of a space that was, but all it has is some chairs and the Oceanside BBQ for a few hours.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Indytraveler83

[Heirloom]

The 4 Spirit ships, but we only have 2 at the moment.

 

Personally, we ALWAYS felt squooshed while on Dream. Why ? Because we WERE !!!

 

That class of ship is simply overcrowded, for profits I'm sure. In addition, we

were shocked with how thin the walls were. Could hear guests on each side without trying.

 

Try Pride or Miracle while they're still in the U.S.A.....you'll see a night and day

difference in your comfort level.

[Mary Ellen1]

One of the big online TA sites has (used to have?) a ratio of passengers to ship's capacity, but I just looked & couldn't find it. :( It was listed where they posted all the ship facts (year constructed, # total passengers, # crew, etc.) It would be interesting to compare. I think they calculated # passengers to square feet of deck space, and usually came up with a number in the 35-40-something-square-feet-per-passenger range. Bigger numbers meant more space per passenger.

 

I've been on the Caribbean Princess, and it has a whole extra deck of cabins, compared to similar-sized ships in the Princess fleet, and that ship feels super-crowded on sea days.

 

Anybody know a site that posts square-feet-per-passenger?

[cruizinator]

 

Try Pride or Miracle while they're still in the U.S.A.....you'll see a night and day

difference in your comfort level.

 

Without a doubt...the best ships in the fleet!:)

[Raxter54]

Thinking back over the cruise, I must say that one of the places we never felt crowded was the MDR. With 2 dining available, Carnival seems to have taken the option to space out their tables instead of cramming more in. On the Serenade of the Seas, we requested a table for 2. We did indeed get a 2 topper - which was about 8 inches away from a table for 6. Awkward...

 

 

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[zqvol]

Just back from a 7 night cruise on the Dream, our first cruise with Carnival. Nice ship, friendly crew, enjoyable cruise. But -I just kept having this feeling of being 'crowded'. Can't really point to any one thing that made me feel like that, just a general impression.

So- are there any Carnival ships that feel 'roomier', or have a better public space set-up?

 

 

All ships calculate a space per passenger ratio. The higher the number the more space each passenger has and the less crowded it feels. The luxury lines often have number 3 times larger than the mass market lines.

 

Without having the numbers in front of me, my general impression is that the Fantasy class ships are Carnival's roomiest.

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

Fantasy class ships definitely feel just right and seem to have the best ratio IMO. Starting with the Destiny class the ratio starts to go down.

[stormy_weatherman]

Just wait until the Vista rolls out. Similar size (a bit bigger) to the Dream class, plus they've added staterooms on Deck 3 where the theater is on the Dream class. I'm assuming the Lido will be a similar size to that on the Dream class as well.

[skiorcruise]

I have always divided the ship's tonnage (tons of water displaced) by the number of passengers to get a guess of how crowded a ship will feel. By that measure, Carnival's Spirit class ships are the least crowded. My experience with the Legend, Pride, Conquest, Valor, and Paradise validates this thought. The first two are Spirit class, and never felt over crowded.

[k2excursion]

I have been on many Carnival ships, and the Dream-class ships have actually felt less crowded than most of the smaller ships I've been on. With one clear exception--my 1 cruise on a Spirit class ship. There were several things I didn't like about that ship, but it was easily the least crowded of every ship I've been on. That ship did have the different stations in the buffet, but it didn't really work. The stations were scattered all over the place, so anyone who wanted something from each station had to walk quite a ways, & it took awhile to get everything. I get through the one big line on the bigger ships a lot faster. Since I get a little of everything, I prefer the buffet to be the one big line. The smallest ships I've been on, Holiday & Celebration, were surprisingly crowded, with longer buffet lines than the bigger ships.

 

As mentioned already, there are areas where more people tend to congregate, and those spots can feel crowded at times. On the Dream, I would always get a deck chair up on deck 12, 2 levels above lido. It never would feel overly crowded up there, and I could always find a chair. Plus, I could see anything that was going on, such as the deck games. The waterslides were right there, and the pool was just a short walk down the stairs.

[qualifiedcruiseologist]

Just back from a 7 night cruise on the Dream, our first cruise with Carnival. Nice ship, friendly crew, enjoyable cruise. But -I just kept having this feeling of being 'crowded'. Can't really point to any one thing that made me feel like that, just a general impression.

So- are there any Carnival ships that feel 'roomier', or have a better public space set-up?

 

Scroll down on this link and you will find most cruise ships passenger to space ratio listed. This will give a good indicator on how crowded the ship will be.

 

http://www.cruisemapper.com/wiki/761-cruise-ship-passenger-capacity-ratings

[Micahs Grandad]

Have been on most CCL ships and all feel crowded at breakfast and lunch on lido.

 

For some reason on our two Princess cruises never that crowded.

[Tapi]

Without having the numbers in front of me, my general impression is that the Fantasy class ships are Carnival's roomiest.

 

 

Fantasy class and Dream class have the same space to passenger ratio of 29. Conquest class are a bit better at 31 and Spirit class is the best in the Carnival fleet at 34.

 

 

I just kept having this feeling of being 'crowded'. Can't really point to any one thing that made me feel like that, just a general impression.

So- are there any Carnival ships that feel 'roomier', or have a better public space set-up?

 

 

 

Although space to passenger ratio does play a big part in how crowded a ship feels, layout and design plays a big part as well. You can sail on ships from two different cruise lines with similar tonnage and PSR and feel completely different.

 

Carnival in particular wanted to create a lively vibe aboard their ships with their design, which is why many of the more popular spots like the casino, nightclub , and some lounges are lined up purposely side by side along the promenade (to give you a somewhat "night out on the town, hopping from one venue to another" feel). This design did create the lively vibe that Carnival wanted, but a drawback is that it concentrated people in one area which is why sometimes these ships feel more crowded than they truly are. Another thing contributing to this crowded feel is passenger flow. As most of us who have sailed on Carnival know, there are decks where you can't get "from here to there" without going up or down one deck. The only class of ship in the Carnival fleet without this design flaw is the Spirit class which is another reason why they are one of the favorites. Interestingly, the Spirit class is the only one that wasn't conceived specifically for Carnival, but for Holland America.

 

Carnival followed the same similar general promenade design since the Tropicale was conceived 36 years ago. But new ship designs, not only at Carnival but also at other cruise lines, are more efficiently spreading out the crowds by not lumping popular venues in one area of the ship. This is why ships like Royal's Oasis class feel surprisingly roomy and uncrowded. These ship are divided in "neighborhoods" with their own set of lounges, eating venues, and shops, which very effectively keep passengers spread out. [emoji846].

Edited February 17, 2016 by Tapi

[bakersdozen12]

Just back from a 7 night cruise on the Dream, our first cruise with Carnival. Nice ship, friendly crew, enjoyable cruise. But -I just kept having this feeling of being 'crowded'. Can't really point to any one thing that made me feel like that, just a general impression.

So- are there any Carnival ships that feel 'roomier', or have a better public space set-up?

 

 

Based on your comment about the Dream, I would have to say that the time of year must factor into it. I sailed on the Dream the last week of October last year, and the only time it ever felt crowded was trying to walk through the area that does the pictures on elegant night. Other than that, it never felt crowded at all.

Edited February 17, 2016 by bakersdozen12

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

Sometimes scheduling tends to impact space relations. Eat at the buffet at noon and the place is crawling with people. Use the pool between 10 and 3 and it is crowded. Use the nighttime venues between 7:30 and 10:30 and so are lots of other people.

 

We always choose a cruise where there is at least one port we have little interest in and we spend the day on the ship. Ahh, the luxury of empty hot tubs, no one at the pool, lots of space at the buffet. Empty slides, as well as the rope course...no one playing miniature golf. Room service still operates so we often have a picnic on our patio looking over the port for lunch.

 

Use diverse routes to get to the dining rooms when they open. Linger a bit over meals in the MDR and don't leave when the crowds do. Stay up a bit later and use the casino after 11pm....it can be virtually empty.

 

To be fair I don't do the entertainment, don't go to the pool when the hairy chest contest is on, read my daily schedule and avoid areas where activities are taking place, sit on the lanai and watch the ocean instead of Lido deck, do my walking early and avoid the crowds on the track. Go to the bars when entertainment is offered in other locations. Never feel like we're on a ship with 4000 other passengers. East breakfast in the MDR, go to brunch early or late not at prime time. Something else that seems to help is to break up if we have a large group....not trying to get our large group into a venue at the same time (and trying to sit together) relieves a lot of the crowded feel in places like serenity.

[Heirloom]

Scroll down on this link and you will find most cruise ships passenger to space ratio listed. This will give a good indicator on how crowded the ship will be.

 

http://www.cruisemapper.com/wiki/761-cruise-ship-passenger-capacity-ratings

 

 

Thank you so much for this........WOW, this really tells the story. The Spirit

Class numbers here (as well as the overall vessel design) really impacts

the weeklong cruise experience. We need and enjoy personal SPACE.

 

Incredible how Spirit gives you more space than virtually all other cruiselines, including Celebrity, Princess, Holland, Royal Caribbean, NCL, Disney, Costa, etc.

[MtnDweller]

We were on the Fantasy's last sailing out of Charleston and it was our first cruise ever. Never once did we feel like it was "crowded". That made the trip more enjoyable.

[Tapi]

Incredible how Spirit gives you more space than virtually all other cruiselines, including Celebrity, Princess, Holland, Royal Caribbean, NCL, Disney, Costa, etc.

 

 

Not surprisingly, the Spirit class is a Holland America design. But I'm a bit confused about your statement. I did look at the various tables and the only cruise that line that didn't have any ships with a PSR higher than the Spirit class was NCL (well, and Costa. But Costa ships are basically Carnival ships with a yellow funnel). Otherwise, all other cruise lines mentioned have several ships (sometimes the entire fleet) with a better PSR, ranging from 35 to 41.