No interest in mega ships. Am I alone?

[evandbob]

Yeah, they should sink her..... really?

 

Have you been on either the Destiny or the Sunshine?

 

 

I would pay to go on a snorkel excursion over a fantasy class ship "seeded" and sunk to be the base of a new coral reef.

[jimbo5544]

I would pay to go on a snorkel excursion over a fantasy class ship "seeded" and sunk to be the base of a new coral reef.

 

 

Fond memories?

 

 

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[Midwestgal]

I too love a smaller ship however everyone should cruise on one of Royals Oasis class ships at least one time . I have never seen entertainment on any ship as awesome as the Allure. The food was decent and the ship was really really nice, I was prepared to be like "it was just okay" let me tell you it was great ....nothing like it.

 

As someone who cruise pretty much only Carnival I now am wondering how the other class of ships are with Royal.

[Aquahound]

EDIT: Ah, I just looked up how these ratios are calculated. They use the number of passenger berths (permanent beds) instead of full passenger capacity, Pull down beds and sofa beds are not included. So my number may be closer to correct than those listed on your websites.

 

Usually you can find the ratio at both double occupancy and full capacity. For example, Norwegian Escape shows a ratio of 39.2, but at full capacity it's 32. I sailed her at full capacity and while I had a great time on that cruise, it was the most crowded I've ever felt on a cruise. Ideally, you want to be in the 40s for a comfortable cruise.

 

The number I posted earlier for Westerdam was at full capacity. At double occupancy, she's at 42. Since HAL doesn't typically attract families, you could very well be closer to the 42 mark on your cruise.

 

The thing about Carnival is, their model has been max passenger loads since day 1. I remember reading about that in the book Devils On The Deep Blue Sea. Passenger crowding has always been one of Carnival's weak points. The point about that is, all Carnival ships have a low ratio number. Carnival Spirit is 34. So if a person who loves Spirit Class is afraid to sail mega ships due to crowding, they really shouldn't be.

Edited June 12, 2016 by Aquahound

[Cruzaholic41]

I too love a smaller ship however everyone should cruise on one of Royals Oasis class ships at least one time .

 

My trip on Allure was one of the best ever, I decided what I wanted to do, made my plans and did it. You don't have to have reservations, but I know when I like to eat so I made them, I knew what shows I wanted to see so made a reservation. I didn't miss the long lines to cram in a small show room. I loved always finding a chair by the pool, the huge adult only area with food service at no charge, the technology that told me what was open for every meal and how busy it was so never waited in line unless I wanted to. Never eating in the same place twice if I choose on a weeks cruise, and most of them free. Great Service in the main dinning room, you feel the waves, you see the sea.

 

I 100% agree with you two. RCI Oasis Class is still at the top of the mega ship game. What makes it so great is the fact the main shows, which are Broadway quality, are held in 4 different venues. At the same time, there can be a show in the forward main theater, a show in the aft Aqua Theater, and a show in the comedy club. This keeps all the people apart, and is what makes the ship so uncrowded. RCI is genius at ship design and I wish Carnival would take note and stop expanding the same old crowded Conquest.

[Heirloom]

Usually you can find the ratio at both double occupancy and full capacity. For example, Norwegian Escape shows a ratio of 39.2, but at full capacity it's 32. I sailed her at full capacity and while I had a great time on that cruise, it was the most crowded I've ever felt on a cruise. Ideally, you want to be in the 40s for a comfortable cruise.

 

The number I posted earlier for Westerdam was at full capacity. At double occupancy, she's at 42. Since HAL doesn't typically attract families, you could very well be closer to the 42 mark on your cruise.

 

The thing about Carnival is, their model has been max passenger loads since day 1. I remember reading about that in the book Devils On The Deep Blue Sea. Passenger crowding has always been one of Carnival's weak points. The point about that is, all Carnival ships have a low ratio number. Carnival Spirit is 34. So if a person who loves Spirit Class is afraid to sail mega ships due to crowding, they really shouldn't be.

 

 

Regarding Spirit ships, at least........Cruise Mapper says you are quite wrong.

(go down the attachment to see all ship numbers):

 

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

[lmd4941977]

I also would prefer smaller ships. The mega ships are hard to get around and hard to embark and disembark...too many people. The service is so much better on the older smaller ships. I love the Grandeur and the Pride out of Baltimore. I wish the cruise lines would build new ships for people like us.

[ryano]

See, I found the opposite when sailing the Liberty of the Seas and the Carnival Breeze (sister ships to Freedom & Magic). We sailed both during school break times, so they were both full. The Breeze clearly felt more crowded, and I waited on a lot more lines. Particularly the lounges, the lido/buffet area, and of course around the tiny pool area they have.

 

I will say, I generally didn't use elevators, so I cannot comment on those. Also I wonder if how crowded it feels depends on what you're doing, and what areas of the ship you're generally around.

 

There was definitely more lines on Magic than Freedom but I think that has to do more with the design of the RC ships public areas, more especially the buffet. The good thing is the lines always moved fast. The one thing I can say is maneuvering through the casino in a wheelchair is MUCH easier on Magic than on Freedom too.

 

The elevator issue on Freedom was hideous and being that is the only way I can maneuver through the ships I guess thats what Im basing my crowd issues on. I never had one issue on Magic catching an elevator. It was a hassle on Freedom every.single.time unless we were in port and most everyone was off the ship............If I had to be somewhere at a given time, I knew I better plan on a long wait for an elevator to get there.

Edited June 13, 2016 by ryano

[Aquahound]

Regarding Spirit ships, at least........Cruise Mapper says you are quite wrong.

(go down the attachment to see all ship numbers):

 

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

 

This site gives Spirit a ratio of 33:

 

http://www.cruise-international.com/cruise-search/ShipDetailsQuery_2?nShip=Carnival+Spirit

 

This site give Spirit a ratio of 34:

 

http://www.vesseltracking.net/carnival-spirit-container-ship/

 

For the sake of crowding, I would really hope the site you found is correct regarding Spirit Class. However, a lot of the numbers on that site don't look right. It gives Carnival Freedom a ratio of 25.9 at standard occupancy, but gives Carnival Liberty a ratio of 37. There's no way those 2 ships are so dissimilar on numbers.

[srlafleur]

Nope. No interest. I couldn't tell you the biggest ship I've cruised on, but it wasn't one of the mega-liners and whatever it was, it was more than big enough.

I wish there were more smaller ships that could go to more ports.

I suppose the monsters appeal more to people who cruise for the ship rather than the ports. I still have way to many places I want to visit before the ship becomes the destination.

[sgttami]

All I need is some decent food every now and then along with a bar and a casino. I'm good to go!

 

I rarely get off in port anymore unless it's somewhere I've never been.

 

On port days I'm happy with a chair in the sun and an empty ship.

[ers26]

I guess I'm in the minority. I am in my early 50's and it looks like I am one of the few who love the latest and greatest. My family is sailing on the Vista next March and we can't wait. We love experiencing the new ships and everything they have to offer. Our last cruise was a 14 night Mediterranean cruise on RCCL's Anthem of the Sea's and we thought the ship was fantastic.

 

I also like cutting edge technology and have a 13 year old daughter so maybe that has something to do with my likes and dislikes! :-)

 

Ed

[ers26]

If you do like the mega-ships, sail them now because mark my words, one day one of these behemoths is going to sink and I do not care how many lifeboats you have on board, you cannot get 6,000 guests and 2,300 crew off a boat quickly. The day of the mega-ship will then be over.

 

Wow, that is truly a depressing thought! Not sure if anyone remembers the SNL Debbie Downer skit but when I read this, all I heard in my head was the sad trombone "wah-wah" sound effect. :D:cool::D

[lmd4941977]

You have reminded me of my greatest problem with bigger ships. DH is in a wheelchair. We spend hours on these ships waiting for an elevator, they are always too full for us. We also have a terrible time getting off at the end of a cruise.

I would like to see the ratio of people to elevators.

[FLSteve11]

You have reminded me of my greatest problem with bigger ships. DH is in a wheelchair. We spend hours on these ships waiting for an elevator, they are always too full for us. We also have a terrible time getting off at the end of a cruise.

I would like to see the ratio of people to elevators.

 

I'm not sure it's just that ratio. What happens on the big ships is there are so many decks, that people are likely to be lot further above or below the deck they're looking to go to. So where people might opt to take the stairs for 2-3 decks to go from, for example cabin to Lido, they're not going to do 4-5 decks to do so. So you end up with more people doing elevators who might walk otherwise on smaller ships.