Bigger vs smaller ships

[island lady]

23 minutes ago, zooma said:

 

Curious how you found the condition of Rhapsody on your recent sailing. We're interested in the itinerary, but I keep reading about how tired, worn, and outdated Rhapsody is. Same with Celebrity ships sailing similar itineraries. Wish we could find something more recently refreshed....

 

I have never had any problems with enjoying Rhapsody.   I like all the little Vision ships.  Still miss Legend.  

[broberts]

Radiance class offer an experience somewhat different from larger ships. Both are good, just different. It's been a few years since I was on one, but I particularly liked the aft Windjammer area.

[ryano]

1 minute ago, broberts said:

, but I particularly liked the aft Windjammer area.

 

Same here!  And the long gone Seaview Cafe.  :( 

[reallyitsmema]

4 minutes ago, ryano said:

 

Same here!  And the long gone Seaview Cafe.  😞

 

Quantum class has an outside area at the back of the WJ too.  We like eating out there on our Anthem sailings.

[ryano]

19 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Quantum class has an outside area at the back of the WJ too.  We like eating out there on our Anthem sailings.

 

I had no idea!  Unless a Quantum class ship comes to FL and most specifically Port Canaveral, my chances are pretty slim of sailing on one.  

[Queen of Oakville]

36 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Matched up on Celebrity only to Diamond level (Elite)...from there you have to earn points on Celebrity to get to higher level.  

True, but better than nothing and trying a new cruise line without any status.

[reallyitsmema]

3 minutes ago, ryano said:

 

I had no idea!  Unless a Quantum class ship comes to FL and most specifically Port Canaveral, my chances are pretty slim of sailing on one.  

 

I know you like to drive to port, Bayonne, NJ too far for you?  It is only a 4 hour drive for us, so we have sailed Anthem a bunch, though Serenade from Boston is only 20 minutes, so that won out for this fall. 😄 

[ryano]

6 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

I know you like to drive to port, Bayonne, NJ too far for you?  It is only a 4 hour drive for us, so we have sailed Anthem a bunch, though Serenade from Boston is only 20 minutes, so that won out for this fall. 😄 

 

Bayonne is about 14 hours away or almost 850 miles.  It IS a bucket list item to spend a few days in NYC at some point in my life though.  Taking a cruise out of there would be an awesome addition!  

[reallyitsmema]

3 minutes ago, ryano said:

 

Bayonne is about 14 hours away or almost 850 miles.  It IS a bucket list item to spend a few days in NYC at some point in my life though.  Taking a cruise out of there would be an awesome addition!  

 

Northstar has its own elevator, so if you are able to transfer to their smaller, narrow wheelchair, you would be able to go up in Northstar.  Two70 also has an elevator in the venue, so you would be able to go to the balcony level that way or there is a secret door from the passenger corridor on deck 6 that goes into the upper level too.  It is a huge firedoor though and is really heavy to open.  Hopefully, a Quantum class is still there when you make it to NYC. 🙂 

[Bobal]

We love the Oasis and Quantum class ships, but are also big fans of Radiance class - the outside dining area at the back of the Windjammer, both DL and CL are great (with outside seating areas), there's enough to do and enough nice spaces to spend time in and out and they have a few choices of Speciality Restaurants (plus the best venue in the fleet for Chef's Table). Obviously those things wouldn't appeal to everyone but would make us continue to book Radiance class if the itinerary is right - we have 3 coming up this year on Jewel and Serenade.

 

However......if this is your first trip to Europe I would choose the cruise based on the itinerary and what exactly you want to see and do because if the ship experience is second to experiencing Europe it won't matter which ship you're on. Some of the very best cruises we have done have been the 12 night cruises from Barcelona which used to be done on Radiance class and are now on Vision. You take in a number of countries - and the West Med one includes an overnight in Venice - and really get to see a lot of what a Med cruise has to offer. I would take a look at those for the best experience, although be aware that the West Med one will involve a lot of travelling and can be very full-on if you intend to visit Rome and Florence.

[island lady]

2 hours ago, Queen of Oakville said:

True, but better than nothing and trying a new cruise line without any status.

 

You got it, totally agree!  DH wants to try Celebrity, which we will do some day...right now we are trying to make the next C&A level, and then will branch out a bit.  

Edited June 24, 2019 by island lady

[mjldvlks]

Our first cruise was Eastern Med from Venice on Splendour [now sold, but twin of Legend] at the time the smallest in the fleet.  Last fall we were on the inaugural TA of Symphony, currently the largest cruise ship ever.  In between we've been on about everything in between except Quantum class.  For a port intensive cruise like you are talking about, I think you will be very happy with the smaller chip -- personally I would prefer it [fewer of your "closest" friends competing for services ashore.  I've always been impressed by how similar a feel there is between RC ships.  I've felt pretty much at home on all of them.

[DfDinLA]

I did a 10 day European itinerary (Barcelona to Amsterdam) on Vision and liked it very much.

 

Independence of the Seas was too big for me.  Too crowded.  Not a fan of the Royal Promenade.  

 

I'm going back to Vision for my next cruise.  No more 4,000+ passenger ships for me.

[George C]

My favorite class is voyager not that big or small , love the ice show. We have done the smaller rccl ships which I liked for Europe but not enough entertainment in general. I do like oasis for suite lounge and costal kitchen but too many children at least on the 7 night cruise. 

[karena1]

On 6/23/2019 at 2:45 PM, reallyitsmema said:

 

Wondering if Serenade has anything different than the other Radiance class ship that makes it your favorite of that class.  We have sailed on Jewel, Radiance and Brilliance before and have Serenade booked for October.  It is not our favorite class of ship, we prefer the larger ships, but it is doing Bermuda from Boston, so well worth the convenience for us.

We just love the beauty of Serenade.  We like them all, but that is our favorite, just like Allure is my favorite of the Oasis Class

[reallyitsmema]

11 minutes ago, karena1 said:

We just love the beauty of Serenade.  We like them all, but that is our favorite, just like Allure is my favorite of the Oasis Class

 

Gotcha, thanks.  If there was anything specific we should look for, I didn't want to miss it.  🙂   We prefer Harmony over Allure and Oasis, will have to see if Symphony replaces that once we sail her next year.

[depplep]

7 hours ago, zooma said:

 

Curious how you found the condition of Rhapsody on your recent sailing. We're interested in the itinerary, but I keep reading about how tired, worn, and outdated Rhapsody is. Same with Celebrity ships sailing similar itineraries. Wish we could find something more recently refreshed....

I don't see where it looked tired. It still has the brass everywhere but it looked like it did in 1998 when we were first on, brand new. I really didn't see signs of neglect. Carpet looked well kept. I wouldn't do Rhapsody in the Caribbean only because there isn't enough to do on board. For the Greek Isles, we were only on the ship at night. We were very happy with the condition as this was our first ever cruise in 1998 and were afraid it would be a let down. It wasn't.

[WeLuvVacation]

Radiance has a Park Cafe in the adult pool area but it is not nearly as big and does not offer as much as the Park Cafe on Oasis Class ships. 

[karena1]

2 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Gotcha, thanks.  If there was anything specific we should look for, I didn't want to miss it.  🙂   We prefer Harmony over Allure and Oasis, will have to see if Symphony replaces that once we sail her next year.

Same here, we are going on Symphony in Dec so will decide if Allure is still my favorite

[tamom]

This is an interesting topic for me.  We are considering a transatlantic next spring and are trying to decide between Anthem (Cape Liberty to Southampton) and Vision (San Juan to Barcelona).  Leaning towards the southern route but are afraid Vision will be too small for that many sea days.  We have not been on that class before.  We’ve been on Anthem and most other classes except for Oasis class.  

[GUEST71919]

We love the medium to smaller ships (the RCL Grandeur and NCL Jewel). ❤️  The suites on the smaller ships get less perks, but there is still a lot to be said for them - it’s easier to get to know people, it’s easier to get around the ship, it is easier to get access to a view of the ocean (as there are more percentage wise), and there is less rushing around by everyone. There is plenty of food regardless of the ship’s size and also plenty to do (as long as you just can live without things like rock walls and putt putt!).  We don’t hate the big ships like the Allure, but we are starting to avoid booking them in favor of the smaller, cozier options.

[George C]

My favorite lounge is concierge lounge on brilliance I perfer that over all other concierge or suite lounge.

[Clarea]

7 minutes ago, George C said:

My favorite lounge is concierge lounge on brilliance I perfer that over all other concierge or suite lounge.

 

I think CLs on Radiance class may have been the only ones that took over a fully functioning lounge, with bar.  We like sitting around that bar.

[Big_G]

13 hours ago, zooma said:

 

Curious how you found the condition of Rhapsody on your recent sailing. We're interested in the itinerary, but I keep reading about how tired, worn, and outdated Rhapsody is. Same with Celebrity ships sailing similar itineraries. Wish we could find something more recently refreshed....

 

We were on Rhapsody in March and she was far from tired and worn out.

[NumnuT]

Radiance - smallish

loved the view to the ocean from almost everywhere

not too many 2,500 pax

CL - good size never full sailing ex Sydney

DL - too small was very busy ex Sydney

 

Ovation - big (Oasis = HUGE)

big ship 4200 pax

plenty of stuff to do

love the CK

CL - just awesome full width aft - perfect views of wake

handles rough seas really well

 

Going on Voyager early 2020 & cant wait

 

Craig