How about a 10,000 Passenger Cruise?

[cruisemom42]

47 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I prefer smaller ships, but we did give Allure of the Seas a shot. With 6,000 passengers onboard, I was expecting absolute chaos, but it was far from it. In fact it felt less crowded than ships I’ve sailed on that carry 1/3 as many passengers. Oasis class ships were conceived to handle that many passengers. From the moment you arrive in the cruise terminal, passengers are divided based on their stateroom location, using multiple gangways to board.
 

Once onboard, the ship is divided in “neighborhoods”, each with its own restaurants, entertainment, etc. Contrary to smaller, more traditional ships, things on these big ships are de-centralized so passengers are spread out. There were times when I found myself walking around and feeling as if I had the ship all to myself because there weren’t any crowds. Going ashore was simple as well, with multiple gangways. 
 

With all of that said, a big ship like that is definitely not for everyone. It felt less like a cruise and more like taking a vacation at a big resort on land. Even though we thoroughly enjoyed it and it proved to be much better than I expected, I’m not rushing to sail on an Oasis class ship again. Glad I experienced it, but not what I would select repeatedly for a cruise vacation. 

 

It's not so much the crowding that bothers me (in theory) as the sheer number of other souls on board and the extreme un-likelihood of developing the kind of rapport with others that you get when you repeatedly run into the same people over the course of the cruise. Also, the relatively low number of ports where these behemoths can call. I am all about itinerary.

 

[Mud_Shark]

I would be in to try it.  Size of ship is not our first concern or priority on cruises.

 

Don

[Aquahound]

If my math is correct, at full capacity, this ship would have a space to passenger ratio of only 20.  I'll never say never but I would have to feel out the reviews before I try something like this.

 

And I agree about the earlier reports ref Oasis Class.  At full capacity, the ratio is 35, and over 40 at double occupancy.   That's better than a lot of HAL ships.  

Edited January 8, 2020 by Aquahound

[rwams]

I don't think so!

[dogs4fun]

18 hours ago, Mickb said:

How would you evacuate 10000 passengers in case of a critical emergency?

I was wondering the same. Theory versus actual practice would be my concern - I still recall the Concordia disaster and the passenger load was about 3800.

 

[DeeniEncinitas]

1 minute ago, dogs4fun said:

I was wondering the same. Theory versus actual practice would be my concern - I still recall the Concordia disaster and the passenger load was about 3800.

 

We were in Santorini for a week when a horrific tragedy happened and it sunk Concordia in the caldera.All I can say is WOW. Behemoth cruise ships not for us!

We had sailed on on Windstar.

We enjoy smaller ships. HAL’s ships we prefer . I can not imagine 10k!

Denise😊

[dogs4fun]

The Concordia overturned after hitting a rock whilst deviating from her route off the Isola del Giglio. There was no caldera involved. I can't imagine attempting to successfully evacuate 10K passengers when the evacuation of less than 3800 passengers proved too daunting a task.

 

Edited January 8, 2020 by dogs4fun

[DeeniEncinitas]

12 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

The Concordia overturned after hitting a rock whilst deviating from her route off the Isola del Giglio. There was no caldera involved. I can't imagine attempting to successfully evacuate 10K passengers when the evacuation of less than 3800 passengers proved too daunting a task.

 

Your absolutely right!! We could see the ship while on our balcony! While there the magnitude of rescue  was overwhelming.

Denise😊

[VennDiagram]

23 hours ago, stratixman said:

Who's up for this?

 

Not me, thanks.  Ugh!  I have friends, though, who would love it.  So, different strokes for different folks, right? 😉

[Hlitner]

It is very interesting that all of the ultra luxury lines (i.e. Seabourn, Silverseas, etc) use relatively small vessels.   

 

Hank

[wwcruisers]

For nearly 10 years, we cruised RC exclusively -- but they lost me at 'Oasis'. We switched to X, but sadly -- they sold off their lovely Century class ships, shortly thereafter. My desire to never set foot on their new 'Edge' class ships (with their faux balconies) is what drove me to take a closer look at HAL. Hoping that they don't succumb to the 'bigger is better' philosophy, too! Looking forward to our first HAL cruise, on K-dam. Although many HAL cruisers think of this class as 'huge', it will probably not seem all that big to us, given the size of the RCCL ships that we're used to sailing on!😎

[kazu]

Well you should “never say never”, I think DH and I are fine to say NEVER.

 

We have loved the smallest ship that just left the fleet and are willing to try a Vista class again - but 10,000?  No thank you.

[Spire2000]

Sounds like a blast! This would be something my family would do as soon as possible. More things to see and do, means more bang for your buck.

 

We've been on the Oasis twice. It is huge, and there is less waiting than on HAL usually. 

 

To be fair, the people visiting the HAL forum are generally not the intended crowd for a ship like this.

[Spire2000]

6 hours ago, dogs4fun said:

I was wondering the same. Theory versus actual practice would be my concern - I still recall the Concordia disaster and the passenger load was about 3800.

 

In the event of a real emergency out at sea only the fittest and fastest passengers stand a chance. Those who think the cruislines have a plan to save everyone are fooling themselves.

[VennDiagram]

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

It is very interesting that all of the ultra luxury lines (i.e. Seabourn, Silverseas, etc) use relatively small vessels.   

 

Hank

 

3 minutes ago, Spire2000 said:

Sounds like a blast! This would be something my family would do as soon as possible. More things to see and do, means more bang for your buck.

 

 

Our friends are quite happy to give up luxury and get zip lines and race cars 🙂