Ships are now packed liked sardines?

[Shawn5]

Most of us know that cruise ships are now sailing very full. Oversold in many cases.

What tips do you have to deal with the big crowds onboard?

Arrive late to embarkation, dine at off-hours, or maybe just don't worry about it...enjoy your vacation.

Thoughts?

 

WSJ: Cruises are now packed like sardines

[Kineticoh20]

We just remember we are on vacation, take your time! When your in a hurry ship seems full but when you are leisurely strolling you don't notice. Honestly Princess ships rarely feel packed even at full capacity.

[SCX22]

Cruising is back to pre-pandemic levels, which is a good thing for cruise line survival.  We could go back to capacity caps like during the re-start but that would be detrimental to the cruise lines.  Cruise like you did pre-pandemic and roll with it. 

 

Don't cruise with the major cruise lines if you don't like crowds; after all, ship's capacity is in the thousands.  Go on a more premium cruise line or charter a yacht if you don't like crowds.

[Kay S]

It probably depends a lot on the itinerary.  Caribbean cruises have been full, I hear.  Families going to Alaska might fill ships.  Also important is the season, or days of the week.  I think anyone who wants to find a relaxing cruise can do it.  

[Mike45LC]

We had a wonderful cruise even though the ship was full.  We were flexible.  

If one hot tub was crowded, I would go to another or try again in an hour.  

 

There were always available loungers and chairs — I prefer not being poolside so chair hogs don’t bother me.  It is not like the old Love Boat tv shows where there were hordes of eye candy at the pool; I can skip the scenery!!

 

And I got no grief sitting in Vines for the Piazza entertainment — a subject beaten to death on this forum! 
 

I was on a cruise ship on vacation.  It was wonderful!

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, Shawn5 said:

Most of us know that cruise ships are now sailing very full. Oversold in many cases.

What tips do you have to deal with the big crowds onboard?

Arrive late to embarkation, dine at off-hours, or maybe just don't worry about it...enjoy your vacation.

Thoughts?

 

WSJ: Cruises are now packed like sardines

One thing which is quite nice to do is to pick a port day to stay on the ship and enjoy it half empty. It works even better if you pick a port day where the port is large and involves some travel to get places as it means people will be out longer. It does get annoying when you have a nice relaxing day by the pool and the suddenly mid-afternoon everyone starts coming back from port and crowding the pool.

[Honolulu Blue]

6 hours ago, Shawn5 said:

Most of us know that cruise ships are now sailing very full. Oversold in many cases.

What tips do you have to deal with the big crowds onboard?

Arrive late to embarkation, dine at off-hours, or maybe just don't worry about it...enjoy your vacation.

Thoughts?

Yes, yes, and yes.  

 

 A couple of other thoughts:

 

• If you want to avoid crowds, figure out when and where they're going to be, and go somewhere else.
• Some crowds are unavoidable and some worthwhile activities will be crowded.  Deal with them the best you can.

[LouChamp]

6 hours ago, SCX22 said:

Cruising is back to pre-pandemic levels, which is a good thing for cruise line survival.  We could go back to capacity caps like during the re-start but that would be detrimental to the cruise lines.  Cruise like you did pre-pandemic and roll with it. 

 

Don't cruise with the major cruise lines if you don't like crowds; after all, ship's capacity is in the thousands.  Go on a more premium cruise line or charter a yacht if you don't like crowds.

Aloha. I could not say it better.  We are blessed to divide our time between NY and Hawaii and have sailed the world on countless ships. That said, we have had our fill of the mass market sardines of the seas and other similar ships. The smaller more luxurious ships are now our go to ships. But if you are interested in the huge ships, by all means you will have a wonderful vacation if you have the mindset to do so. Enjoy!

[MissP22]

24 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Yes, yes, and yes.  

 

 A couple of other thoughts:

 

• If you want to avoid crowds, figure out when and where they're going to be, and go somewhere else.
• Some crowds are unavoidable and some worthwhile activities will be crowded.  Deal with them the best you can.

We tend to follow your advice as whenever possible. We also know from past experience which events will be the most crowded & can usually arrive early to avoid the main crowds. 

[BamaVol]

Don’t try to do everything.  We passed on the big production shows in favor of sitting in Crooners at night to enjoy the music.  Just showed up an hour before the entertainment was scheduled to guarantee a seat.  
 

Be prepared to share tables in the MDR or at bars/clubs.  We met some nice people in Crooners when we had two spare chairs.

[SargassoPirate]

There's a work around for everything.  I avoid the crowds mostly because I'm an early riser.  I get my morning Promenade laps out of the way and then hit the buffet as it opens.  No crowds.  I eschew the  Melanoma Deck for a quiet shady spot on the Promenade or elsewhere.  No crowds.  I stay on the ship a lot of port days and enjoy the amenities that are otherwise busy on sea days.  No crowds.  When I go ashore, it's often with a self guided map from whatsinport.com or with a guide from Tours By Locals. No crowds.  I usually avoid the crowded and noisy MDR for an evening meal and instead take advantage of the P&E lounge nibbles or the buffet.  No crowds.  I find most production shows to be over-amplified, so I get a wee dram and enjoy the strings or guitar music in various venues. No crowds.  I'll sometimes eat breakfast or lunch in the MDR just for a change of pace.  No crowds.

 

Some might say, then why cruise at all?

 

I enjoy every day at sea.  I'm up and out for some spectacular sunrises and still and out up for some spectacular sunsets.  Somewhere to get some food when I'm hungry without food being the destination and somewhere to get a wee dram in the evening and I'm all set.

 

 

[suekel]

I'm going in 2 weeks on the CB and expect it to be packed.  I have no plans to get off the ship as I've been to these ports many times.  On port days I plan to have breakfast in my cabin, go to the fitness center and be at the pool late morning. I like to get up early also.  I don't know if I'll go to the MDR, if I do it'll be later.  I'm debating what time to get to the ship as I really really like the shrimp avocado salad that is only served that day.  Since it's a VIP casino cruise and I have a lot of OBC, I imagine I'll be in the casino on sea days.  I'm cruising solo for the first time so I'm looking forward to doing what I want to do when I want to do it.  

[neverbeenhere]

Remember: You are on Maui time!

[JGmf]

12 hours ago, Shawn5 said:

What tips do you have to deal with the big crowds onboard?

 

For me:

 

- Always take the stairs, regardless of how many decks

- Avoid peak times at venues like buffet, etc.

- If a bar is crowded, find another one

- Don't rush to be the first to off the ship at port stops

- Self-assist luggage, down the stairs, on disembarkation day

 

[1965]

4 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

There's a work around for everything.  I avoid the crowds mostly because I'm an early riser.  I get my morning Promenade laps out of the way and then hit the buffet as it opens.  No crowds.  I eschew the  Melanoma Deck for a quiet shady spot on the Promenade or elsewhere.  No crowds.  I stay on the ship a lot of port days and enjoy the amenities that are otherwise busy on sea days.  No crowds.  When I go ashore, it's often with a self guided map from whatsinport.com or with a guide from Tours By Locals. No crowds.  I usually avoid the crowded and noisy MDR for an evening meal and instead take advantage of the P&E lounge nibbles or the buffet.  No crowds.  I find most production shows to be over-amplified, so I get a wee dram and enjoy the strings or guitar music in various venues. No crowds.  I'll sometimes eat breakfast or lunch in the MDR just for a change of pace.  No crowds.

 

Some might say, then why cruise at all?

 

I enjoy every day at sea.  I'm up and out for some spectacular sunrises and still and out up for some spectacular sunsets.  Somewhere to get some food when I'm hungry without food being the destination and somewhere to get a wee dram in the evening and I'm all set.

 

 

We totally understand why you cruise. Your way of doing it sounds pretty nice. 😊

[ldubs]

12 hours ago, Shawn5 said:

Most of us know that cruise ships are now sailing very full. Oversold in many cases.

What tips do you have to deal with the big crowds onboard?

Arrive late to embarkation, dine at off-hours, or maybe just don't worry about it...enjoy your vacation.

Thoughts?

 

WSJ: Cruises are now packed like sardines

 

"just don't worry about it...enjoy your vacation."

 

BINGO!  Is your cup half full or half empty.  Choice is yours.   

[startedwithamouse]

The only place we ever felt like a sardine was at the muster drill, which is gone.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[SargassoPirate]

2 hours ago, 1965 said:

We totally understand why you cruise. Your way of doing it sounds pretty nice. 😊

Thanks.  I once spent a lovely two weeks on RCI's Allure of the Seas.  6000 pax and I never felt crowded at all.  I did, however, miss the full promenade and try to avoid ships without one since then.

 

 

[donaldsc]

Here is a solution to the overcrowded pool lounger problem when people have put stuff on the chair in the morning and are not there.  I wait around 1/2 hour to see if they come back and then ask a pool attendant if they want to take the abandoned stuff or else I will move it to somewhere else.  Works most of the time.  I almost never have to move it but when I do it will be nowhere close to where it was.

 

DON

Edited May 26, 2023 by donaldsc

[ldubs]

2 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

Here is a solution to the overcrowded pool lounger problem when people have put stuff on the chair in the morning and are not there.  I wait around 1/2 hour to see if they come back and then ask a pool attendant if they want to take the abandoned stuff or else I will move to to somewhere else.  Works most of the time.  I almost never have to move it but when I do it will be nowhere close to where it was.

 

DON

 

Do you actually then use the chair(s) or is this mischievousness?😀  I'm thinking it might be fun to hang around the pool deck early in the morning.😀

[donaldsc]

17 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Do you actually then use the chair(s) or is this mischievousness?😀  I'm thinking it might be fun to hang around the pool deck early in the morning.😀

 

I do use the chair.  There is no reason to demand a chair and not use it.  That would not be nice and then I would be acting like a jerk.  With regard to the person calling me a "jerk" - I would suggest that the bigger jerks are the chair hogs.  I can't see why we have to coddle the chair hogs by ignoring them.  There obviously has to be some middle line between the people who put stuff on their chairs at 6 AM and leave them there all day and the people who leave stuff on the chairs for a short time get a snack or to go to the loo or to go to their rooms to get something.  However the cruise line's solution to the problem is to pretend that it doesn't exist.  Perhaps the only solution for those of who want to sit by the pool is to handle the problem themselves.  After all I have as much right to a poolside chair as the chair hogs.

 

DON

Edited May 26, 2023 by donaldsc

[ldubs]

2 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

I do use the chair.  There is no reason to demand a chair and not use it.  That would not be nice and then I would be acting like a jerk.  With regard to the person calling me a "jerk" - I would suggest that the bigger jerks are the chair hogs.  I can't see why we have to coddle the chair hogs by ignoring them.  There obviously has to be some middle line between the people who put stuff on their chairs at 6 AM and leave them there all day and the people who leave stuff on the chairs for a short time get a snack or to go to the loo or to go to their rooms to get something.  However if the cruise line's solution to the problem is to pretend that it doesn't exist.  Perhaps the only solution for those of who want to sit by the pool is to handle the problem themselves.  After all I have as much right to a poolside chair as the chair hogs.

 

DON

 

Good for you.  And yeah, the name calling was completely out of line.   

[ldubs]

11 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Wow, moved far away so they can't find it, then watching them?  You do you.

 

 

I never move or have moved anything.  Don't understand the basis of your anger.     

[Kay S]

I guess if you're going to chair hog, you run the risk of stuff going AWOL.  

[JG&Lcruisingnewbies]

we have to travel in the school holidays- avoiding full ships is not an option

and I’m not good with crowds thanks to many things including GAD & sensory processing issues

Holidays always take a healthy dose of planning as a result. Sounds like work but it makes the world of difference

 

First- I choose where the cabin is, not the cruise line, ever

I prefer far forward or aft, away from foot traffic, stairs/lifts, with cabins above & below. So If all else fails I know my cabin is as quiet as I can make it, and we go for a balcony cabin so I have a place to decompress with a view. Escape plan sorted and what a wonderful space to escape too!!!!!

 

In public areas- we sit in places out of the way, or further away

Walking is our friend!

we explore a new ship early to ‘scope out’ where is bound to be quieter

avoid the buffet at breakfast full stop

Avoid peak meal times

use room service

ask for a MDR table at the edges of room

use the stairs when we can

get to shows/ events early so I can sit at the end of an aisle or a table at the edge of a room

go to the earlier show & retire to cabin earlier than many

Ask the staff where is quiet- they’ll usually be able to help

Don’t get off every port- enjoy a quieter ship!

do our own thing in ports

leave ships later when in port

And this is the big one: one I struggle with

 

don’t put any pressure on we what do

No ‘must’ or ‘should’ do

If we don’t make it off the ship to port 🤷‍♀️ 

If we don’t make a show or event 🤷‍♀️ 

if I need to rest for a day to enjoy the next day fully 🤷‍♀️

holidays shouldn’t be stressful after all

 

Yes, ships are packed, But if I can do more than ‘just cope with it’ & if I can really enjoy it, it can be done!

 

The thing is, if it gets too much, I look out to sea and the last thing I feel is crowded
 

i always come off a cruise far less anxious than I was before cruise. It’s the best anti anxiety medicine their is!! 😃