Does anyone want smaller ships to return?

[ondeckatsea]

Radiance and Vision class are fine with us. We've done them all except for the newest Freedom class ships. Believe it or not, the best cruise we ever took was on the Sun Viking. We were all set to book again when she was sold. We sailed 3 times on the Song of American and loved her as well. The Empress is a nice size. The only drawback is the lack of balconies. Even though we are booked on the Explorer this coming November, we would have been more excited to have been able to book a smaller ship on the same itinerary out of Boston. We both think you get lost in the crowd on the mega-ships. Give us the smaller ones any day.

[corkpopr]

love small ships 800-1500 pax. ship size 50,000 to 80,000 tons. do not like mega ships at all. may switch to european companies as that is where most of the old favorite ships are.

[KKeeganS]

I love the Voyager class ships, but I would also love to see some NEWER, smaller ships that are able to make it into some of the smaller, less traveled ports especially in the Caribbean. I know for the cruise line that $$ is the bottom line, but eventually as the new ships get bigger and bigger, and their smaller ships become old and outdated, some of us will stop cruising.

[alcheme]

Although many who really like traveling with RCI love the mega ships I am one person who wishes that they would also make another line of ships similar in size to the Radiance or Vision class. Is there anyone out there with the same opinion.

 

:D I was thinking you meant something smaller than they offer now, when I first read the title. Radiance and Vision class are certainly not small ships, and most of the Vision class were built either around the same time or after the Voyager class. It don't think it's out of the question that they might continue to build some relatively smaller ships, compared to the big Freedom and Voyager classes.

 

My first cruise was on the Monarch, which was considered big at the time. My second was on the Enchanted Isle (Commodore Cruises), which was much smaller than the Monarch. It was a very different feel, being on a ship that size. I probably prefer the bigger ships, but it was nice in a different kind of way.

[vickiw0318]

We can all talk about how great the midsize ships are until we're blue in the face, but the advertising convinces the masses that what they REALLY want is a floating hotel with a surfing machine. I think we're in the minority, and are therefore going to have to "hunt for" (and probably pay a premium for) our midsize ship experience for the forseeable future.

 

You hit the nail on the head as far as I am concerned. I love the smaller ships, but can see that in future, I am going to be looking for them. A good example would be replacing the Rhapsody with the Voyager out of Galveston.

[bplazo]

I would also prefer the smaller ship.

[CruiserTK]

We have sailed the Enchantment (prior to refurbishment), the Radiance, and the Navigator and Adventure. While we enjoyed all the ships, I must admit that I would hate for RCCL to completely stop making ships of the Radiance class size, even though they have none on order now. The large ships simply cannot sail everywhere.

 

Besides what was already stated regarding sailing to Alaska, the large ships will simply not be a good fit as there is no roof in the solarium. How do you then compete?

 

CHOICE is important for the consumer. Many consumers who sail RCCL do not want to sail Celebrity or pay more for Azamara. Therefore, the company must be flexible.

[AZjohn]

I have been fortunate enough to cruise on Oceania a few years ago and experience the “small” ship cruise. What I discovered was a small ship is great for a very port extensive itinerary. We were so tired from our daily excursions that we didn’t need a full night’s entertainment or activities and party atmosphere, which is what a small ship lacks over the mega ships. Just a great meal at the end of the day, maybe a hand or two of black jack, and then off to a comfortable bed for the evening is all I asked for on that cruise.;)

If there is a few sea days in an itinerary, I would probably be in favor of a larger ship for that cruise.

John

[wolfcathorse]

I think the point RCI is trying to make is that the market (Caribbean) is getting saturated and boring. Alot of people have been to the Caribbean more than once so you need a ship that becomes your destination and entertainment instead of the ports. To fit all those bells, whistles, and toys on a ship you need to increase its size. It may also make economical sense if the number of passengers moved per fuel consumed is similar (moving 2500 pax vs moving 4000 uses almost the same amount of fuel). So far, I prefer the Sovereign and Vision class ships.

[Ocean Boy]

Princess often sells out on Pacific, Tahitian, and Royal Princess, and they are only 30,200 GRT.

 

Oceania, although more expensive and perhaps not a mass market line, also often sells out their three R-class vessels.

 

There can be a market for smaller ships if they are marketed right!

I wasn't implying that there was no demand or that you couldn't sell out the ship. My point was that a 50,000 GRT ship is not THAT small. So if you are only going to have it carry 1000 PAX the cost per person is going to be fairly high in order to make a profit.

[abridalmaven]

I started out on the Empress, but would not care to go back to that size. The Legend of the Seas was the smallest I will ever go on again, but prefer Radiance and above. I like lots to do on Sea days. On the Empress, since am not a flopping by the pool person, I was finding it hard to keep busy.

[Ocean Boy]

I started out on the Empress, but would not care to go back to that size. The Legend of the Seas was the smallest I will ever go on again, but prefer Radiance and above. I like lots to do on Sea days. On the Empress, since am not a flopping by the pool person, I was finding it hard to keep busy.

 

Exactly the same here, started out on Horizon, but now I really don't care to go smaller that Radiance. I'm not a big one for sitting still very long.

[ortrud]

Hello All,

I Am Really Not Surprised At How Many People Prefer Smaller Ships. We Always Looked For Them, But Because Of The Itinery We Finally Wound Up With A Larger Ship And We Will See How It Turns Out. Maybe It's The Old Saying, "try It And You Might Like It". We'll Try.

[iheartbda]

It is sad that we won't be able to cruise into Hamilton harbor AND St Georges on the same trip. The Empress filled that opportunity very well after Celebrity took out both Zenith and Horizon. Years ago, ( 1994) we went on the Song of America also to both ports. All of them were affordable trips where you got to stay approximately 3 days and could really enjoy what Bermuda has to offer.

 

We are still lamenting the loss of the Zenith and her itinerary to Bermuda. We decided to go with the Empress of the Seas this year to Bermuda as it seemed to be comparable. But alas, she too will be suffering the same fate as the Zenith so I'm hoping we won't like her TOO much.:(

 

We prefer the smaller ships like most of you. We don't need a mall, ice skating, flowrider, etc. One can get to know people on the smaller ships or remain anonymous if you wish. Azamara seemed a bit too small pax wise for us (we're certainly not antisocial). Frankly, we were not willing to pay the price on the Journey for extra pampering. The Zenith, to us, had just the right amount of services and amenities.

 

Seems people want an amusement park on water and this is what the cruise lines are catering to. Like someone else said, we may have to hunt down the smaller ships. Unfortunately, since we seem to be in the minority, we're going to have to pay dearly for our choice.

[Fang]

I cruised on the Sun Viking and Song of Norway. I would take a cruise on these ships again.

 

I really like the personal feeling I got from the crew.

 

It will never happen on RCI and other cruise lines with these size ships are outside of our price range.

[LAKaye]

RCI and the customers they target are focused on the Voyager/Freedom/Genesis classes----ick! Just the reason I go to sea----to spend time indoors in an artificially-lit shopping mall.... :rolleyes:

 

For me, the only choices are to continue sailing on the Radiance class and to rediscover the Vision Class.

 

Leslie

[TheEngineer]

If there are a lot of at sea days, I prefer a bigger ship with more options of things to do and places to go. For more port intensive cruises, I prefer something a little smaller that can be gotten on and off of easier. One of the reasons I haven't done a Mexican Riviera cruise is that the Vision is the only ship serving that route (until 2009) and there are several at sea days. I could see myself getting very bored. Or fat from all the food I would eat to kill time. I look forward to doing that route when Mariner moves here in '09.

[boewok]

Ahh A good book takes care of sea days.

 

Love the smaller ships. Started on Song of Norway. Love that size. Biggest I've been on lately is Radiance Class. Nice ships with all the natural light.

 

I think the lines will try to force us on to larger ships - it's a money thing

[RM]

YES!!!! Smaller ships would be great. I love the Radiiance class ships and the Vision class ships. I am not interested in sailing on a floating resort with over 1000 kids! (Don't flame me, I have kids) I cruise for the atmosphere, the elegance, the people and to just look off at the sea. Don't need ice rinks, water parks, etc.

[whoop913]

I think the point RCI is trying to make is that the market (Caribbean) is getting saturated and boring. Alot of people have been to the Caribbean more than once so you need a ship that becomes your destination and entertainment instead of the ports.

 

I agree with you to the extent that most lines go to the same islands over and over. But I think that part of the reason for that is that the larger ships cannot port in many of the smaller islands that get bypassed. If there were more smaller ships, perhaps there would be more variety. I cannot say for sure if I would like a smaller ship, as I have only sailed once and it was on the Voyager. I enjoyed it, but as I look for options for my next cruise (whenever that may be), I would like to see different islands to choose from. Due to the saturation of the market with the larger ships and the removal of the smaller ships, the selection from which I can choose from gets smaller and smaller. THIS is why I would like to see more ships from the smaller classes.

[Aubiecruiser]

Our favorite class ship is the Radiance class. I have no idea why they decided to go to the floating malls exclusively. We currently are booked on our fourth cruise on the Brilliance (our favorite ship) for a Med cruise in Sept. 08. and wish RCI would put more of this size into the market.

Although there is no such thing as a bad cruise (IMHO), our one cruise on the Explorer was no where close to as good as our Brilliance cruises.

Aubie

[alcheme]

I somewhat agree that the smaller ships can be nice, but I'm surprised at the comments about "artificially-lit shopping mall" or "floating malls." I actually think the "Royal Promenade" is a nice feature of these big ships. It's not like that's the only place to go. You'll still find more people around the pools and other open-air decks more than in the promenade. But even the smaller ships have shops that are indoors. For those who do want to visit the shops, the Royal Promenade gives you a much more open feel, IMO, than the shops tucked in a normal deck on the other ships.

 

Edit: (And to Aubiecruiser: You bet your sweet ass, I am. :D)

[HotRoot]

Just learned the Empress of the Seas is leaving RCL next year. Does anybody know where it is going? Sorry, forget the question. I just found the answer.

[dontpanik]

Personally, I love the smaller ships. When I look back at the S/S Royale she looks like an oversized yacht as opposed to a ship. I was never bored even once. To me its all about the journey not making the cruise into a resort. I haven't tried one of the mega-ships. The Sovereign of the Seas will be my DH's first cruise and I'm glad its on a somewhat smaller ship. I still can't get over a 73,000 GRT ship being considered smaller. My only complaint is with more of the staterooms having balconies, there is less deckspace for the rest of the passengers.

[Sea and Me]

Count me in on liking the smaller ships. Hopefully then never get rid of the smaller class of ships. We love the Grandeur, the Jewel and now going on the Serenade. We did the Adventurer and vowed never again. Too big, too many passengers!! Everyone is different but for me the smaller ships have my vote:)