For frequent cruisers - large vs. smaller ships

Would like to read about your input on your past cruises on newer/large ships vs older/smaller ships...

Pluses and minuses for these?

We like the size of Carnival's Fantasy and Spirit Classes. Also HAL's R-Class ships (Amsterdam, etc.)

Carnival's Conquest Class and HAL's Vista class are a bit too big for us.

But all of these feel like ships at sea.

Been on the Golden and Sapphire Princess. Nice and beautiful ships but didn't get that 'ocean feel. I like looking out window from an interior 'promenade' and watch the waves go by.

We prefer the bigger, newer ships. It seems there are just more "choices" of restaurants and activities.

Just depends on what you consider smaller ships

We like Oceania's smaller ships <684 pax ..cozy, no lines

we also like their larger newer ships <1250 pax

We would never sail on the new behemoths but that is our personal choice

Allure was far too large for us. Felt like a shopping mall floating on the ocean. Many of the venues had no ocean views. I like to be able to see the ocean when I'm on a ship. Plus with it being so big, I never felt like I wanted to walk from one place to the other. Just too far. Same with going back to the cabin. Add in if you're wearing heels. Forget it.

I feel ships right around 3000 pax is where I feel comfortable.

Just depends on what you consider smaller ships

 

We like Oceania's smaller ships <684 pax ..cozy, no lines

we also like their larger newer ships <1250 pax

 

We would never sail on the new behemoths but that is our personal choice

I would love to do a small ship like that one day. But the price difference is very substantial. The big pro for a small ship is you can go to more places. Allure and the like can't go to but the most tired ports.

We started out on Cunard's 18,000 ton ships and loved them -- no stabilizers -- but you got to know everyone.

Then we moved up to Princess's and HAL's "S" class ships. Loved them. Hated NCL 's ships. We moved on to the "R" class ships -- great.

We didn't think we would like the larger ships of HAL -- Vista and Signature -- about 87,000 gross tonnage. And we love them.

We did sail on the Grand Princess during her inaugural season -- 109,000 -- not too bad.

But there is no way we will sail on the Mega ships of RCI -- Oasis and Allure. Or any other larger ship.

I would love to do a small ship like that one day. But the price difference is very substantial.

Maybe not that much when you add all the extras from the main stream line

airfare in included in Oceania's pricing as well as non alcoholic drinks & specialty restaurants

You need to compare apples to apples ;)

As they say the experience is "priceless"

Maybe not that much when you add all the extras from the main stream line

 

airfare in included in Oceania's pricing as well as non alcoholic drinks & specialty restaurants

You need to compare apples to apples ;)

 

As they say the experience is "priceless"

Including RT airfare, our 11nt on Celebrity is about $1600pp, including an alcoholic pkg. That's on a 1B veranda. I just checked Oceana's site for Nov 2015 for a 10nt in a similar cabin and they start at $3750pp!:eek: Maybe one day...

You're asking for subjective personal choices. We enjoy the larger ships and have sailed on the smaller ones as well. But that is a personal choice.:)

It depends....

I mostly like small ships because 90% of my cruises are for itinerary (not Caribbean relaxation, more European/Med/Asia destinations), and smaller ships can get into a lot more ports. Also, I started cruising many years ago as a child on small ships and I am never at a loss to entertain myself.

I do cruise on larger ships (but nothing larger than Celebrity's Solstice class or thereabouts) sometimes -- IF cruising with my son, or IF looking to take a relaxing vacation where a lot of time is spent aboard ship.

Do any others like to cruise on various size ships depending on the itinerary?

LuLu

A lot will depend on your personality and why you're cruising (i.e. what you like about cruising). I'm not a "frequent cruiser", but I like the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere, sitting with a book or coffee, feeling the ship move through the ocean and watching the endless horizon. I want that calming feeling, and don't want to be in a floating city with amusement parks, shopping malls, and a background soundtrack. Other people get bored with the actual cruising of the ship and want more activities, distractions, and options - or they don't really care about the ship and spend most of their time in ports. So.....I prefer a small-medium sized ship, but since I like transoceanic voyages, I don't want it too small, LOL.

If we are going just because we want to take a cruise - I love the big ships. We have been to the Caribbean enough times that there is not a lot we want to see in port. The Oasis and Allure have so much entertainment (very good) that we have a good time without being bored or having to spend time in the casino.

For cruises where we are going to see ports for the first time the smaller ships usually can dock closer to the city center and visit ports the large ships can't visit. Also the smaller ships can dock at more ports - tendering can take a long time especially on a large ship with lots of passengers.

I want to be on a ship large enough so I don't feel too much motion (the smaller the ship, the more you feel), but not so large that I don't still feel like I'm cruising.. I think the Voyager Class (RCI) is the perfect size.

We like the small Princess ships. The Ocean and Pacific Princess have spectacular itineraries.

Smaller is better for me, although "small" is relative, isn't it? I certainly love the RCI Radiance class. We'll be sailing on our third ship in the class in a couple of weeks (Serenade. Already sailed on Brilliance twice and Radiance once). So easy to find your way around these ships, and so many places you can see outward while you eat, drink and enjoy the ship.

However, this past winter we sailed on Legend, still smaller, and had a wonderful time. The ship was so small we became a community. Meeting and knowing so many people as the trip went on made our time on the ship really enjoyable.

My least favourite trip was on RCI Independence. I never could figure out my way around on that ship.

If I sailed on something as big as Oasis or Allure I'm sure I'd stake out my favourite places (where I'd see my favourite people) on the ship and never see most of the rest of it. Not much point on sailing for the enjoyment of only part of the ship - yes?

However, this past winter we sailed on Legend, still smaller, and had a wonderful time. The ship was so small we became a community.

As others have said, what's considered "small" or "large" is relative...and they can be measured in different ways (size of the ship - gross tonnage - and passenger capacity).

The above quote about the Legend of the Seas brought that into focus. To me, 2000 passengers is a big ship; my most recent cruise ship carries about 1000. However, the gross tonnage of the Legend is almost exactly the same as that of my last cruise (Crystal Serenity). So, was that cruise ship "smaller" than the Legend (at half the passengers) or the same size (because the ship is the same physical size)?

As others have said, what's considered "small" or "large" is relative...and they can be measured in different ways (size of the ship - gross tonnage - and passenger capacity).

 

The above quote about the Legend of the Seas brought that into focus. To me, 2000 passengers is a big ship; my most recent cruise ship carries about 1000. However, the gross tonnage of the Legend is almost exactly the same as that of my last cruise (Crystal Serenity). So, was that cruise ship "smaller" than the Legend (at half the passengers) or the same size (because the ship is the same physical size)?

Yikes....."small ships" to me are the Swan Hellenic Minerva and Voyages to Antiquity Aegean Odyssey -- each carries about 350 passengers max.

We like the Oceania and Princess R class ships. 700 passengers and wonderful itineraries. And the libraries are the best of any ship we have been on. Azamara also has 2 R class ships with good itineraries but we have only been on 1 cruise with them.

We enjoy seeing the newer mega ships but the experience is more resort or amusement park, not cruise like.

We were on the Ocean Princess this past summer, and really enjoyed it. One of the best things was getting to know fellow passengers and even crew members. Plus it was nice never having to use the elevators!

In the summer of 2012, we were on the huge NCL Epic. It was the unfriendliest ship we ever sailed (10 cruises so far). On the first night, we were asked if we wanted a table for 2 or to have tablemates. Since we like to meet out fellow cruisers, we asked for tablemates. After waiting and waiting and waiting, we finally gave up on anyone else wanting to eat with others, and said make it a table for 2. The only time we had tablemates was at the Cirque de Soleil dinner theater. One of our tablemates was very chatty. It was our second night, but almost her last. (There were different ports you could get aboard on.) My DW thought it was the first time all cruise she probably had someone to speak to!

We like larger ships, but not giant ships (we found Allure to be overwhelming and exhausting, as well as impersonal and unfriendly)

It depends on the itinerary and the number of sea days.

For instance- we went on RCI's Independence to the Norwegian fjords- a mistake, because she's an inward looking ship with few indoor places to see the amazing views. Built for hot climes, the only way was to dress warmly and stand on the open decks, frequently returning to the cabin to alleviate the cold. A small ship, with indoor viewing and not so much in the way of activities would have suited us more.

But for a TA, we'd probably go for a ship like the Independence with all the activities, and enjoy the outdoor decks and even the underused sea screen as we reached the warmer areas.

Small ship is not identical to old ship. Oceania has two new ships of 1200 passengers. We were on one and liked it very much, 7 dining venues + coffee shop and high tea, all of them country club casual. We go by itinerary which excludes the behemoth ships. They can only go to certain ports - not interesting for us.

Both are good for different things..