Choice of ship/ship size, help!

[crazylarry]

My wife and I are considering booking our next cruise and we definitely want to book with RCCL again. Though we like the idea of cruising on newer ships, the new ones are getting bigger and bigger. I have nothing against the size of the ship other than the number of passengers. We just got off the Radiance and even with 2500 on board there were long lines for just about everything. And its nice to meet people on board and actually see them again around the ship. I can't imagine having 3500 or more on board.

 

At what point does RCCL realize that bigger doesn't necessarily mean better (Genesis is supposed to have capacity for 6000)? Wouldn't it be great if RCCL decided to build a new class of ship in the 2000-2300 passenger range with creative new amenities (at a great price)? I understand economies of scale but this frustrates me. Is the 16 year old Empress the only good choice? :confused:

[TEXASMUNK]

since you like RCI, why not try Celebrity. Ship sizes are still under 100,000 tons, the ships are easy get around, outstanding service, outstanding decor....truly a step up and still personal.

[crazylarry]

Thanks for the suggestion Jim, I'll begin researching Celebrity.

[Ocean Boy]

As you know from being on Radiance, there are some design issues with the Radiance class ships that can cause some bottlenecks in certain places and at certain times. My experience on Explorer and Mariner is that even though they have more people aboard, they are designed very well to handle the number of people that they carry. We rarely stood in line for anything on either ship.

 

You can't always go by ship size and number of people aboard. Design of the ship makes all the difference. I love those Voyager class sisters.

[catjohnsn2]

RCCL's Vison class ships are a great compromise as are several of the older HAL ships...Veendam and Masdam are two of my favorite ships.

 

RCCL's Rhapsody of the Seas is my personal all time favorite. The Vison class ships are a great size and have added most of the amenities of the larger and newer ships.