How crowded do these new big ships feel?

[BTromboneFrack]

We have been on both the Mardi Gras (January 2022) and the Celebration (December 2023).  When we were on the Mardi Gras, it wasn't full because of COVID restrictions.   It was VERY nice.  When we were on the Celebration, it was full, but still didn't seem crowded.   The second week (Christmas), when we were on the Celebration it was REALLY full, but still we only thought it seemed crowded a couple of times.   Those times were the formal dinner on Christmas and the SeaDay brunch on Christmas.   We even found places on the Serenity Deck in the afternoon on sea days.   I think Carnival has done a good job in engineering the flow of people through the ship.  We never felt more crowded than any other Carnival ship.

 

[cruisinqt]

I’ve been on the Mardi Gras and Celebration twice. It all depends where you’re at and what time it is. Early mornings and late evenings after 9 or 10 pm it’s not crowded at all and you can easily stroll wherever you want to. From 10 am till 8 pm the popular places like food areas (MDR, specialty restaurants, lido), pools, shops, and entertainment lounges were often crowded during peak times. But I found certain areas like the lounge area between the Alchemy bar and the steak house to always be empty. And those sofas are super comfy. The Summers Landing area with the soft serve ice cream, soda fountains, games, and sofas was usually not very crowded and lots of fun. I just visit the popular areas at non peak times and hang out in the quiet little areas during busy times. 

[SRQbeachgirl]

18 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

The Summers Landing area with the soft serve ice cream, soda fountains, games, and sofas was usually not very crowded and lots of fun.

 

SHHHHHHHHH! Geesh, now everyone is going to be in on the secret! 🙄 😆

 

[cruisinqt]

1 hour ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

 

SHHHHHHHHH! Geesh, now everyone is going to be in on the secret! 🙄 😆

 

Oops my bad! 🤭

[BoozinCroozin]

Celebration will be our first cruise with full capacity. Our previous 2 were during the restart and 70% capacity. My feeling is if they have enough entertainment to thin out the herds, it won't be bad. However, if it is anything like NCL it will be insanely crowded with nothing going on. 4,000 people on a ship, all chairs on the top decks reserved by 7AM, and hardly anything going on: you get to choose 2 minutes of playing Mario Cart or sit at the bar for a drink. That was pretty much it on NCL. They pretty much only had 1 activity at a time. If it was interesting, the first 200 got to enjoy it the rest just sit at a bar all day.

[EngIceDave]

BTW, remember many (if not most) people feel more easily crowded now days, due to recent social changes.

 

What once felt normal, now feels crowded.

 

So "feeling crowded" is very subjective.