Ships are now packed liked sardines?

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

I am not upset that a chair hog's stuff is moved so others can actually use the chairs.   

Right, but I would move it within decent eyesight.

[1965]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

I am not upset that a chair hog's stuff is moved so others can actually use the chairs.   

I'm in total agreement. 

[Shawn5]

13 hours ago, Nicole&Pete said:

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.

We're doing Alaska so guessing the pool won't be too crowded. Hot tubs, possibly.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Want to avoid crowded ships with thousands of passengers?  Simple, pay the commensurate higher fares and book on a smaller vessel with higher space ratios.  Lines such as Oceania, Azamara or Viking are great options for guests dissatisfied with the increasing size of vessels from Celebrity, Holland and Princess

[memoak]

4 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Want to avoid crowded ships with thousands of passengers?  Simple, pay the commensurate higher fares and book on a smaller vessel with higher space ratios.  Lines such as Oceania, Azamara or Viking are great options for guests dissatisfied with the increasing size of vessels from Celebrity, Holland and Princess

I would rather sail several times a year with a few crowds than pay the ridiculous fares of some of the lines mentioned

[JimmyVWine]

17 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

First, I’m not sure it is even possible for a ship to sail “oversold”. There are lifeboat restrictions to account for. That said, we arrive as early as possible on embarkation day. The terminal may be crowded, but we are moving at the front of the peloton. The Tour de France might have hundreds of riders all trying to take a turn at the same time, but that doesn’t matter when you are wearing the Yellow Jersey. 
 

For meals we make reservations. Not just on ships but for pretty much every meal we eat in a restaurant. 
 

For deck space, we simply do not care at all about sitting near the pools. We have never had a problem finding lounge chairs on the two decks above the Lido Deck. It actually isn’t all that difficult to find relatively quiet places if you go up a couple of decks. 
 

But overall we are on vacation and don’t let crowds get us down. What bums me out are mean people and inconsiderate people. I can be in a crowd of 5,000 people and not care if they are all kind and considerate. But surround me with 6 people acting like loud, entitled oafs and you can harsh my mellow in no time flat. 

[Shawn5]

9 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

First, I’m not sure it is even possible for a ship to sail “oversold”. There are lifeboat restrictions to account for.

Just to clarify, ships can sail at more than 100% capacity, since capacity is calculated at two persons per cabin and some cabins have a third person or fourth person. Oversold cruises are happening quite often now and just like the airlines, the cruise lines will offer incentives to remove booked passengers from the ship, per the Cruise Critic article:  "What happens if your cruise is oversold?"

So instead of saying "oversold" I should've said "over capacity." 

[Hlitner]

We have been cruising since 1977, and for most of our cruises (far more than 100), the ships have been full or near full.  The period right after the COVID shutdown, when many of us were on pretty empty ships (we were on the Enchanted with only 1800) were just a blip in the cruise continuum.  These days things are getting close to normal, which means if you want less crowded ships you should consider spending the bigger bucks and booking a luxury cruise line (i.e. Regent, Seabourn, Silverseas, etc).

 

Hank

[GonzoWCS]

On 5/26/2023 at 12:05 AM, 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

Look at the capacity of the ship, plan on it being at that number, and enjoy your vacation. 
 

Cheers

[Guest ldtr]

6 hours ago, Shawn5 said:

Just to clarify, ships can sail at more than 100% capacity, since capacity is calculated at two persons per cabin and some cabins have a third person or fourth person. Oversold cruises are happening quite often now and just like the airlines, the cruise lines will offer incentives to remove booked passengers from the ship, per the Cruise Critic article:  "What happens if your cruise is oversold?"

So instead of saying "oversold" I should've said "over capacity." 

The over sold situations this year have largely been on Royal and Celebrity. Their have been a couple move over offers on Princess, but nothing like the cancellations on those 2 lines.

[Princessfan20]

On 5/26/2023 at 12:57 PM, ldubs said:

 

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

 

Us either.  We are not going to spend our time being a chair vigilante when it has been our experience that there are always chairs available somewhere else.  Live and let live.

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

Us either.  We are not going to spend our time being a chair vigilante when it has been our experience that there are always chairs available somewhere else.  Live and let live.

That's not always the case at the Retreat pools on the Royal class ships. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

It means that it’s just like cruising was pre-pandemic. It’s our perceptions that are different because we weren’t in crowds for so long. Yes, crowds are annoying, but as long as you learn how to work your way around them, you’ll be fine.

 

Figure out when the buffet is most packed, and go at a different time. Make your dinner reservations in advance. Get to the theater early. Seek out loungers further from the pool. 
 

 

[kywildcatfanone]

Yep, after sailing a few ships between 50 and 65% capacity, I hate sailing on ships now full.  

[suekel]

2 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Yep, after sailing a few ships between 50 and 65% capacity, I hate sailing on ships now full.  

We sailed on the CB their first january back.  There was 847 on board.  

[mrstmaxx]

We are on the Emerald - 5 day to Cabo. It’s a holiday weekend and a full ship.  But we don’t even notice it.  Pools are full but not ridiculous/ plenty of loungers.  Have not had a problem getting seats in the buffet.  No problem getting seats in the venues.  Been great and really enjoying our cruise

[Hlitner]

3 hours ago, suekel said:

We sailed on the CB their first january back.  There was 847 on board.  

As soon as the cruise lines resumed operations, DW and I resumed cruising :).  We quickly booked some amazing cruises (with luxury line) with the thought that it was a great opportunity.  When we were docked (on the Seabourn Ovation) in Pireaus back in Aug 2021, the new Celebrity Apex was docked next to us and cruising with less than 50% capacity.  What an opportunity for those folks who had some spirit of adventure and could get past all the covidphobia.  It was a fabulous time to be moving around the Greek Islands and we knew (at the time) that it was a once in a lifetime kind of thing.

 

Hank

[capriccio]

13 hours ago, suekel said:

We sailed on the CB their first january back.  There was 847 on board.  

We were 2 of those passengers!  As I remember there were over 1,000 crew.  The ship felt deserted. The Vines bartender joined us at our table the two nights we stopped by.  We were the only passengers in Vines at 7 pm.

[voljeep]

same situation on the REGAL late January - we booked a little 4 day RT from PE to Grand Turk with a nurses 50% discount.  More crew than passengers - and like @capriccio we were sometimes the only couple in Vines...

 

then things changed, of course - our Thanksgiving cruise on CB was over 100% capacity - mdr 2 plus hours, Crooners SRO, Vines crowded - we ended up sitting at the bar which was fine.

 

next cruise on the CB starting on Halloween - the price for the cabin next door to ours is 92% more than what we booked at.  disclaimer - ours in PLUS50 and new bookings PLUS60  but still.

 

I would think our cabin might be ripe for a moveover offer - and we would jump on it if offered 7 day free and current fare as refundable OBC on the cruise.

[Expat Cruise]

Crowds are one of the reasons we do not like the newer, larger ships. We loved the Sun Class and would book them whenever we could. The Pacific Princess with it's 690 guests never seemed crowded. 

 

Do your sailing in the South Pacific, Australia, Europe, that is how to avoid crowds. Do longer sailings with extra sea days, sail on the smaller or the older ships, and stay away from the party ship cruise routes. 

 

If you sail on a new big ship in the Caribbean, sailing during holidays or breaks, and or do short cruises, you will be with the crowds.  

[CaptainPedantic]

We were on the Caribbean Princess 6-20 May, both 7 day cruises were fully-booked but never felt crowded. The only really noticeable / recurring issue was bar service on the open decks on the sea days, this could be pretty slow and crowded at times, but then I probably could also have been less polite if I was truly in a hurry 😉

[JG&Lcruisingnewbies]

8 minutes ago, Expat Cruise said:

 

Do your sailing in the South Pacific, Australia, Europe, that is how to avoid crowds.
 

To be honest my experience is that Europe cruises are not quieter. even outside of school holidays large ships in Europe are sailing at full capacity.

 

every cruise I’ve sailed has been on largeish ships between 2000-5000 capacity, south to The Med, and north to Belgium, Germany & Netherlands. all but our 1st one were full. My cruise to Norway In August on Sky Princess I expect will sell out too.

 

cant comment on the smaller ships in Europe though.

 

Re. Party routes. Perhaps avoid those in Europe too. routes on short cruises, Southampton to places like Le Harve, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, can sometimes be party routes. Especially, by personal experience & friends experience, on RCCL & MSC. On the short trip I did on the independence of the seas I was pleased they were refusing to do drinks packages. Or it would have turned into what’s known as a “Booze Cruise” 😂 

 

[fabby50]

We sail off season if possible, usually, between Thanksgiving and Christmas and between Spring break and summer.  If you can afford it or find a good sale, book a suite and take advantage of everything, suite lounge, cocktail hour, much less crowded and not many small children.  Eat at the speciality restaurants if you like the offerings.  On Princess, to avoid the buffet, I like the cafe, I bring a tupperware box to serve as a carrying container and will get breakfast or lunch and sometimes even dinner, carry it out, and eat it elsewhere less crowded.  I like to book the spa on port days after returning from shore but before sailing.  They offer discounts and usually available, or if I really want a time I book before sailing, which is also less expensive.

[JG&Lcruisingnewbies]

19 minutes ago, fabby50 said:

 I like the cafe, I bring a tupperware box to serve as a carrying container and will get breakfast or lunch and sometimes even dinner, carry it out, and eat it elsewhere less crowded.

Thank you for this tip! 

 

I feel a bit silly for not thinking of this before. I been going around balancing things on a plate and hoping for the best 😂 

 

 

[fabby50]

27 minutes ago, JG&Lcruisingnewbies said:

Thank you for this tip! 

 

I feel a bit silly for not thinking of this before. I been going around balancing things on a plate and hoping for the best 😂 

 

 

I pack my socks in it so it doesn't take up room in my luggage.  Bonus is if you take the lid and there's something you really like (like a particular flavor of daily croissant 🙂 ), you can grab a couple of extra and have them the next day!