No interest in mega ships. Am I alone?

[fair-winds39]

I truly understand the appeal of the larger ships for some.

For myself, a cruise is more about the ambiance of the sailing, not the attractions offered.

These mega ships are fascinating to me, but aren't what I sail for.

Am I alone with this thought?:o

Nope, the mega ships really don't interest me or DH. We've been sailing for a long time. We're more comfortable with smaller ships. We like the size of say, the Carnival Spirit class ships. Any larger than that, and I think service declines, safety could become an even bigger issue in emergency situations. I also think the ship experience itself disappears and the atmosphere is more like an amusement park or a local mall. Don't get me wrong, the mega ships are a plus for families and for those going on their first cruise.

 

Going forward, we'll probably be forced to go kicking and screaming on a mega ship one day if we want to cruise, since it seems the cruise lines are really designing the newer ships to appeal to families, and thus making them bigger and bigger with amusement parks, 15-20 dining venues, accommodations for in excess of 5,000 passengers.....yikes!!!

 

We miss the days when a cruise ship could pull into the harbor on Front Street in Bermuda and other smaller ports. But, like everything else, things change. I think mega ships are here to stay. )-:

[ExFed drvr]

I do want to sail on Allure one of these days, just to try it out. That said. I love the bigger Carnival ships such as Breeze. I do love sailing on the smaller ships, but I do like the newer amenities as well

 

I have 47 cruises with Carnival and love the Spirit class ships. Just met someone on the Triumph that works for V## to G#. and she booked me on the Oasis & Allure for less than I can go on the Breeze. So I'm doing both ships in Sept. B2B..Dennis

[les37b]

Meet my baby in Monaco.

 

 

 

Maximum passenger capacity 296. Let's see Anthem of the Seas Dock here and get all passengers ashore in 10 minutes!

 

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Edited June 9, 2016 by les37b
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[stevenr597]

The best Carnival Corporation ships we cruised on included the Pride and the Coral Princess. We have felt that the best compromise is a ship around 90,000 tons. We have sailed the Equinox and I would say that Celebrity has been able to master the art of superior service on a bigger ship.

 

Several years ago we sailed with Azamara which has ships less than 50,000. The experience was fantastic in that the Captain would be able to recognize the passengers and service was excellent.

 

We did sail on the Allure, it is great for children, but in no way should it be construed as a cruise. More like Disney on wheels.

[Greselda2251]

We are with you OP!!! Our favorite class of Carnival ships is the Spirit class...hands down!

 

We sailed the Magic last year, and while any cruise is fun, my DH made many comments about the fact that "this ship is nice, but it is just too big!"....

 

We like the Conquest class too, but that is about as big as we like to go;)

[Badfinger]

This was one of things I loved about the Dream. There were 4 hot tubs on the Promenade deck and many deck loungers that were available even during the sea days. I loved it. I don't think I spent anytime at all on the Lido deck except to get some food. It was great.

 

Same with the Magic. I don't think I ever saw more than 1/3 of the deck loungers occupied at any given time on the promenade. Lots of hot tubs....and no blaring music. Deck 5 was by far my favorite deck to be on when I was not in the Cloud 9 Spa. Nothing on the Triumph (only other ship I have been on) comes close to that experience!

[FrogFritter]

I would love to go and see Royal's mega ships or NCL's but I don't think I would like to cruise on them.

My fear is (and it might be irrational) that I will miss out on stuff because I can't afford all the extras lol and I am fine without them. I like to know how much I am spending and feel comfortable with the amount before I spend more than I want or can afford.

I don't get the attraction to be on a ship that makes you forget you're on water. That's the best part.

 

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[Texasl8dy]

I much prefer any ship in the Spirit class size. A perfect compromise to mega malls and fantasy class ships.

 

I totally agree!

 

 

 

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[sammee]

Now I feel in place. My first cruise was on Explorer back in 2007. Sure the ice rink was nice, but I didn't go anywhere near it. Than onto Fascination, Fantasy, Liberty and Pride. Pride was my favorite, just wish there were better itinerary's. Tried Grandeur in May, but I liked the Pride better. I'm only an hour from Cape Liberty, but can't justify doubling the price for a mammoth ship that I won't even being utilizing most of the bells/whistles.

[2chilover]

I truly understand the appeal of the larger ships for some.

For myself, a cruise is more about the ambiance of the sailing, not the attractions offered.

These mega ships are fascinating to me, but aren't what I sail for.

Am I alone with this thought?:o

 

No. We prefer the smaller ships as they are easy to navigate and have better crews/service in our opinion. We sail with our son, DIL and grandsons and they prefer the larger ships for the extra amenities so we do every other cruise, small ship, big ship.

[esdoorn]

I agree with the OP, we much prefer the fantasy class ships. I'm sure this is the reason this ships are still around, being retrofitted and are the backbone of Carnival.

 

Given we are in our early 50's we prefer the smaller walkable ships that allow us to avoid having to use elevators, meet people over and over again and connect with the ocean.

[balcony bound]

OP, you aren't alone.

 

We enjoy cruising for the cruise itself and the ports, and so far can't imagine ourselves getting the kind of experience we enjoy on a "mega ship"

 

I remember not even wanting to book ships that had the huge projection/movie screens on the lido. We want to see/hear the ocean, unplug from the daily life, and really aren't looking for a mall experience, and guess that is what we think it would be.

 

We still enjoy the fantasy class ships, but the itineraries are lacking for us (except now the southern route from Puerto Rico).

 

Hopefully there will always be choices!

[OCruisers]

We absolutely HAD to try a MEGA ship to see what it was like for ourselves. :D

Glad we did ... but probably won't do it again.

[JimAOk1945]

I like the big ships and my wife prefers the small ships. This year we are compromising with one of each. We haven't tried any of the mega ships yet. If the ship was our only destination, then we might do it just for the experience.

 

Cruising is a great way to travel. It's nice to have so many choices!

[Naomi John]

I don't think bigger is better necessarily. I am fine with the Fantasy class of ships-big enough for me.

 

I enjoyed the Magic. The Lanai and Cove Balcony were the best, see my review. It never felt crowded because of that deck. Never had to go up to Lido, unless I wanted to golf or ride the slides.

 

I am excited the Fantasy will be in Mobile. She was my first and favorite. Will take an inside on Fantasy over a Balcony on a Conquest class.

 

Cannot comment on a Spirit Class, never been on one.

[riclop]

We love the bigger the better.

[stefs111]

We have done lots of different sizes. We don't do all the extra stuff, but enjoy specialty dining restaurants and the casino. We went last September with our son and his family, on the Oasis of the Seas, and it was beautiful, we enjoyed the water shows, but the most disappointing thing about it, was that I could not feel the ocean!! I love the swaying of a ship, and this felt like I was on land. The more movement, the better. We will only do mega if our son invites us to travel with him, or I get a great deal that I cant pass up, and it is leaving out of Port Canaveral.

[jimbo5544]

We absolutely HAD to try a MEGA ship to see what it was like for ourselves. :D

Glad we did ... but probably won't do it again.

 

Same for us, tried Oasis....sailed in twice (actually once, but it was the first and last time), agree it is much more like a Disney vaca than a cruise.

[Sitzmark]

Same for us, tried Oasis....sailed in twice (actually once, but it was the first and last time), agree it is much more like a Disney vaca than a cruise.

 

As someone who loves going to Disney, being on Oasis is nothing like Disney.

[cruising maniac]

I seriously prefer the newer, bigger ships. There is so much more to see and so many more choices of things to look at. Usually there are more dining options and you can walk for a week and not see it all. Give me a bigger ship.

[Je Souhaite]

I thought the mega ships where bad because of what I encountered on Carnival.

 

But I eventually found out it's just Carnival that performs poorly with the mega ships, starting with the amount of people they cram on them.

 

Still amazes me that they cram 4000 people on a 135000 ship, and Royal puts 6000 people on a 220000 ship.

[ryano]

I seriously prefer the newer, bigger ships. There is so much more to see and so many more choices of things to look at. Usually there are more dining options and you can walk for a week and not see it all. Give me a bigger ship.

 

I prefer the big ships because of that too. Could not care less about waterslides, rope courses and all that as Im paraplegic and cant use them anyway. The bigger, newer ships seem to have all the extra included dining venues though and better entertainment.

[ryano]

As someone who loves going to Disney, being on Oasis is nothing like Disney.

 

Thats actually good to know :) I absolutely loathe Disney but really want to try Oasis. :) The prices are coming down and she will be in my favorite homeport of Port Canaveral soon. Hopefully in 2018.

[seamusdad]

I agree with the OP, we much prefer the fantasy class ships. I'm sure this is the reason this ships are still around, being retrofitted and are the backbone of Carnival.

 

Given we are in our early 50's we prefer the smaller walkable ships that allow us to avoid having to use elevators, meet people over and over again and connect with the ocean.

I totally agree. The biggest ships I've sailed on have been the Conquest class. 3 out of 13 Carnival cruises. I have 4 more booked through January 2017. 3 on Liberty and 1 on the Breeze. Looking forward to Liberty (sailed Conquest and Freedom ) while excited about my Breeze cruise I am a little apprehensive about the,size and crowds. All those bells and whistles are things I don't care about on land or cruises.

 

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[Je Souhaite]

As someone who loves going to Disney, being on Oasis is nothing like Disney.

 

Just on service alone, NOTHING compares to Disney. And even more important, crowd control.