Big vs smaller

[LSKC]

We've only cruised one time and that was on Disney Wonder many years back when my teens were little.

 

Researching for my family (18, 15, 10 yrs old) always leads me to the big ships because there is so much to 'do'... but I haven't bit the bullet and booked because the whole crowded ship, small pool, line ups and general feelings of (maybe) chaos and busy-ness scare me off.

 

For NCL I'm mostly drawn to Escape and Bliss because they are new with all the bells/whistles. Is there any smaller ships I'm overlooking that still have lots to do, nice pool/solarium/lounge around and enjoy the sun areas, with great food and a new "feel" to the ship. I like the idea of a newer or a fully-redone ship for the 'wow' factor.

[casofilia]

It depends on what you cruise for. Little ship time as you are on a port full cruse with little time on the ship OR larger ship as you have lots of sea days and need them filled. For us cruising is to see new places so smaller.

[AKR2011]

The Jewel Class Ships - Jewel, Gem, Jade, and Pearl - all have some nice features and are a great size! I loved both my cruises on them. You still have a lot of freedom that you don't get on big ships, like being able to just show up at the theater for a performance instead of booking it ahead. Plus, the shows change every night. I am honestly worried about my first trip on a Mega Ship. I may be headed back to Jewel class after the Escape in the fall. I think I'm going to miss the shows and the freestyle. Many others on the forum will also talk about their love of Jewel Class. They have a lot to offer - smaller slides yes, but sometimes a climbing wall, bowling, and many other features that the big ships have.

[Two Wheels Only]

Go big or go home.

Size matters.

It's not the size of the boat, it's the motion in the.....nevermind.;p

[Son of a son of a ...]

It depends on what you cruise for. Little ship time as you are on a port full cruse with little time on the ship OR larger ship as you have lots of sea days and need them filled. For us cruising is to see new places so smaller.

 

+1. We are more about the ports than the ship

[BirdTravels]

Researching for my family (18, 15, 10 yrs old) always leads me to the big ships because there is so much to 'do'... but I haven't bit the bullet and booked because the whole crowded ship, small pool, line ups and general feelings of (maybe) chaos and busy-ness scare me off. For NCL I'm mostly drawn to Escape and Bliss because they are new with all the bells/whistles. Is there any smaller ships I'm overlooking that still have lots to do, nice pool/solarium/lounge around and enjoy the sun areas, with great food and a new "feel" to the ship. I like the idea of a newer or a fully-redone ship for the 'wow' factor.

 

The Escape of Bliss is the way to go. They both will have great kids programs. Stay clear of the small ships for your kids.

[OceanBlueWaters]

Go big or go home.

Size matters.

It's not the size of the boat, it's the motion in the.....nevermind.;p

 

LOL! Too funny!

[BNBR]

We've only cruised one time and that was on Disney Wonder many years back when my teens were little.

 

Researching for my family (18, 15, 10 yrs old) always leads me to the big ships because there is so much to 'do'... but I haven't bit the bullet and booked because the whole crowded ship, small pool, line ups and general feelings of (maybe) chaos and busy-ness scare me off.

 

For NCL I'm mostly drawn to Escape and Bliss because they are new with all the bells/whistles. Is there any smaller ships I'm overlooking that still have lots to do, nice pool/solarium/lounge around and enjoy the sun areas, with great food and a new "feel" to the ship. I like the idea of a newer or a fully-redone ship for the 'wow' factor.

 

Escape has everything you are worried about. 1 main pool for 5,000 people. Definitely feels crowded and a total mess. I imagine Bliss is similar.

 

Really, what are the bells and whistles for teens on Escape? They'll hate the entertainment. And besides a couple water slides and ropes course, the ship offers nothing else. Main pool and Spice H2O is adults only, and you can't get loungers anywhere, anyways, because it's overcrowded for such a small space. Your teens can basically hang out in the kids pool.

 

The only ship class available that nails the big ship concept is Royal Caribbean Oasis. Don't think Escape is even close to the same class, it's not even close.

 

Go sail on an Oasis class. The newer ones, Harmony and Symphony will have the most to do. I'd suggest Symphony, personally. Nothing on the planet comes close. Your kids will thank you.

[WAHMto5]

My two youngest (13 &16) have been on the Escape twice and LOVED it! We also tend to go for the larger ships since there is more for them to do, especially since mine have never been the type to go to the kids programs.

[LSKC]

Escape has everything you are worried about. 1 main pool for 5,000 people. Definitely feels crowded and a total mess. I imagine Bliss is similar.

 

Really, what are the bells and whistles for teens on Escape? They'll hate the entertainment. And besides a couple water slides and ropes course, the ship offers nothing else. Main pool and Spice H2O is adults only, and you can't get loungers anywhere, anyways, because it's overcrowded for such a small space. Your teens can basically hang out in the kids pool.

 

The only ship class available that nails the big ship concept is Royal Caribbean Oasis. Don't think Escape is even close to the same class, it's not even close.

 

Go sail on an Oasis class. The newer ones, Harmony and Symphony will have the most to do. I'd suggest Symphony, personally. Nothing on the planet comes close. Your kids will thank you.

 

Yes, I keep coming back to these things about Escape. We are also looking at Harmony (out of FLL so would need 5 flights) or Anthem out of NY (no flights - drive to port)

 

Thanks for your input.

[BNBR]

Yes, I keep coming back to these things about Escape. We are also looking at Harmony (out of FLL so would need 5 flights) or Anthem out of NY (no flights - drive to port)

 

Thanks for your input.

 

I forget that Escape runs out of NY as well as South Florida. I can't compare with Anthem. That would be an interesting comparison though I'm sure. Maybe ask on the Royal forum if anyone has sailed both?

 

I just got off Escape this morning and was thoroughly disappointed. I couldn't imagine that Anthem could, in any way, be worse. Seaplex, flowrider, solarium, ifly, etc. etc. I'd personally take Anthem, hands down, based on my general experience with Royal and Escape.

[Skipper305]

Escape has everything you are worried about. 1 main pool for 5,000 people. Definitely feels crowded and a total mess. I imagine Bliss is similar.

 

Really, what are the bells and whistles for teens on Escape? They'll hate the entertainment. And besides a couple water slides and ropes course, the ship offers nothing else. Main pool and Spice H2O is adults only, and you can't get loungers anywhere, anyways, because it's overcrowded for such a small space. Your teens can basically hang out in the kids pool.

 

The only ship class available that nails the big ship concept is Royal Caribbean Oasis. Don't think Escape is even close to the same class, it's not even close.

 

Go sail on an Oasis class. The newer ones, Harmony and Symphony will have the most to do. I'd suggest Symphony, personally. Nothing on the planet comes close. Your kids will thank you.

This coming from someone that just spent a week hating the Haven. Everybody loves the Haven.

If your teens enjoy hanging out at the mall Black Friday, they’ll fell right at home on an oasis class.

[BNBR]

This coming from someone that just spent a week hating the Haven. Everybody loves the Haven.

If your teens enjoy hanging out at the mall Black Friday, they’ll fell right at home on an oasis class.

 

The fact that even the Haven can't save Escape..... The Haven is worse than the complimentary Solarium! The Escape fell short on so many levels. Terrible "hallway" casino, terrible drink package, horrid entertainment, uncomfortable comedy club where the bar closes for the entire show, 1 pool for 5,000 people - guests shoving loungers into any pathway they can find, Haven closing at 4PM on sea days, slow and understaffed dinner service (great food though), elevators that were a mess (since you have to press the button on the front and back 4), main theater based on 1980's movie theater design, no real atrium, just a low budget, cost cutting disaster, and the list goes on. The few positives don't come close to making up for all the negatives. I honestly find it shocking that NCL has any fans at all. And based on conversations with quite a few people on the ship, almost none of them have actually sailed Royal - notably Oasis class. Which I guess isn't surprising since nobody would actually sail the Escape again when Oasis is also an option. I would say, however, that the demographic on the NCL Escape was the best I've seen. I'd give them that.

 

For some reason, I'd question whether you have been on both Oasis and Escape, being that Escape is FAR more crowded like a black Friday mall nightmare.

Edited March 4, 2018 by BNBR

[newmexicoNita]

We've only cruised one time and that was on Disney Wonder many years back when my teens were little.

 

Researching for my family (18, 15, 10 yrs old) always leads me to the big ships because there is so much to 'do'... but I haven't bit the bullet and booked because the whole crowded ship, small pool, line ups and general feelings of (maybe) chaos and busy-ness scare me off.

 

For NCL I'm mostly drawn to Escape and Bliss because they are new with all the bells/whistles. Is there any smaller ships I'm overlooking that still have lots to do, nice pool/solarium/lounge around and enjoy the sun areas, with great food and a new "feel" to the ship. I like the idea of a newer or a fully-redone ship for the 'wow' factor.

We are strong supporters of the mid sized ships like the Jewel class. There was a time when they were thought to be super large and now people often think of them as small. i do do thing the mega ships offer a lot more activities but they miss on service and can seem very crowded, plus you do have to make reservations for so many of the activities. for us, the Jewel class is number one.

[deliver42]

We sailed the Jewel in May, and the Escape in December. We fond the Jewel more friendly, and had good entertainment, plus nice intimate lounges. The Escape has much more to do, but nothing is intimate. We enjoyed both though, and don't think you can go wrong with either. The kids would definitely enjoy the Escape more. By the way, the Escape has 2 pools on deck 16. The deck space is lacking though.

[BNBR]

By the way, the Escape has 2 pools on deck 16. The deck space is lacking though.

 

Technically true. Though the 2nd pool is a family pool (kids pool) that is part of the splash pad (which was quite nice though half non-functioning).

 

Let's not pretend the main pool is anything but what this picture suggests:

 

[craigers]

How deep is the family kids pool?

[dexddd]

This coming from someone that just spent a week hating the Haven. Everybody loves the Haven.

If your teens enjoy hanging out at the mall Black Friday, they’ll fell right at home on an oasis class.

 

I wouldn't say everyone "loves" the Haven on the newer ships. Our BA Haven trip was average at best and we didn't even have any of the screaming kids or loud adults.

 

Actually most of everything we ran across on the BA seemed 1/2 axx.

[LrgPizza]

It always cracks me up when someone shares that photo. It's apparent that this was taken during one of the contests that they do on the stage (which would be at the bottom of this photo, if it were a bigger photo.) You can tell by all the people standing, crowding around, and looking that direction. Sure, the pool area is always busy, but it does NOT always look like it does during the 30 minutes or so that a competition is taking place, like in this photo.

[robmac330]

Technically true. Though the 2nd pool is a family pool (kids pool) that is part of the splash pad (which was quite nice though half non-functioning).

 

Let's not pretend the main pool is anything but what this picture suggests:

 

 

Based on the fact that almost everyone is facing the same way, the crowd is standing several deep along the pool and along all the rails, is it fair to assume this was taken during pool games like Mr. Sexy Legs? If so, it's not a fully accurate portrayal of the crowds either, IMO.

 

I've cruised big and I've cruised small and my takeaway from it all is that, in a shocking twist, people want to be out in the sun when they're on a cruise. And even more people will be out there when something of interest, like pool games, is happening. I don't think I've ever been on a ship in warm weather that had adequate deck space for everyone to have their lounger during a day at sea. If wide open areas of relaxation and being able to swim unobstructed in a pool for a good chunk of your vacation is really important to you, cruising may not be for you.

 

To answer the OP's question, if you're looking for a smaller ship that feels relatively new, I'd suggest the Dawn. Good size, never felt really crowded, and had good programming throughout the week. Can't speak to the Kid/Teen club activities directly, but we were on a trip during August and the only kids that seemed unhappy were the ones under 18 being told they weren't allowed into Bliss once it went into nightclub mode.

[robmac330]

It always cracks me up when someone shares that photo. It's apparent that this was taken during one of the contests that they do on the stage (which would be at the bottom of this photo, if it were a bigger photo.) You can tell by all the people standing, crowding around, and looking that direction. Sure, the pool area is always busy, but it does NOT always look like it does during the 30 minutes or so that a competition is taking place, like in this photo.

 

Ahh you beat me to it...

[Antman1131]

Although I have an upcoming trip on the Escape (because I am going with family and that is the ship they opted for) as a many time NCL cruiser I prefer the smaller ships like the Gem and Dawn (seems funny to say since my very first cruise years ago was on a much smaller ship). I have done a few on the Breakaway and the Gem is my favorite of all. I must say the newer larger ships are definitely beautiful and as someone stayed in this thread have the “wow factor “ however.....If you go peak season and do not like crowds I suggest the smaller ships. The larger ships hold many more passengers but the common areas are not any larger in many cases they are smaller like for example the theater on the Gem seats many more than the theater on the Breakaway unless you plan on staying in the Haven. As I stated I am booked in the Escape this coming August and am staying in the Haven to avoid the crowds.... NCL seems to know this too as their next class of ships are going to be built smaller, at least that is their plan as of now. Either way though you will have a great time, I have never been disappointed with NCL

 

 

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[cait6531]

I cruised a lot from age 12-17 and never cared about the programs. As a teen you can always find stuff to do! Book for the destinations and the rest will be just fine!

 

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[LrgPizza]

The kids programs are going to be pretty much the same on all the ships. It's all the things to do outside of the kids and teen clubs that make the larger ships a better choice for kids and teens.

[LSKC]

So much helpful info. Thanks!