All boats aren't created equal

Still trying to pick out our cruise. When I see the nice big shiny Allure and Oasis, I'm naturally drawn to them thinking "ooh. New. Must be best". But what about the other boats? Are there lots of things to keep you busy? Are the older ships getting upgraded or do they look dated?

Just looking for some opinions.

Again, thanks for everyone's help.

Ok, first you need to understand that they are not "boats" but actually "ships," A mariner once told me that a boat is something you can put on a ship (like in a life"boat"). When it comes to the size of ships its a very personal decision. Many folks like DW and myself, who have literally spend years on dozens of different ships, prefer smaller vessels on longer itineraries. But many folks prefer the huge mega-ships because they are looking for more a resort experience then a traditional cruise ship. There is no right or wrong...but its just simply a matter of preference. Have to laugh when you ask are older ships looking dated, because DW would quickly answer you that she sure hopes they look dated since she really dislikes these new mega-ships that try to be anything but a real cruise ship. But the reality is that the huge ships do offer more options, but they also have an awful lot of passengers (sometimes over 6000).

Hank

Oh no!! I didn't mean to offend. I'm honestly so cruise ignorant that my cruise questions sound ignorant.

I was wondering if people found those mega ships too crowded. They sure are pretty, but seem hard to find a place to have s quiet moment.

My true mission is to make this an unforgettable vacation.

Rob doesn't know how to swim. He has been anti cruise forever because of this. He said he is afraid he will be afraid the entire time of the boat sinking.

Both of his parents died recently. They never took vacations and regretted it. He decided to get over this fear.

Sorry for the sappy back story. I just wanted to maybe try to explain where my questions are coming from.

I'm hoping this will become an annual vacation.thanks again.

Still trying to pick out our cruise. When I see the nice big shiny Allure and Oasis, I'm naturally drawn to them thinking "ooh. New. Must be best". But what about the other boats? Are there lots of things to keep you busy? Are the older ships getting upgraded or do they look dated?

Just looking for some opinions.

Again, thanks for everyone's help.

I only have experience on Holland America Lines and their traditional cruises (no hairy chest contests, no loud dance music, no rock walls to climb, etc.).

Here are the scanned daily activities for Alaska last summer to let you see what there is to keep one occupied:

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/?page_id=1643

If you would prefer the Caribbean, here are the daily activities for the Eastern Caribbean:

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/?page_id=3819

You first have to determine what you want to experience on a cruise: itinerary, relaxation, food, weather, on board activities, etc. Some cruise lines are better than others at each of these things.

Most ships go to drydock every few years for upgrading and refitting so you should never experience frayed carpets, broken furniture, chipped dishes, rust, etc.

Here is a link to a tour of the Ms Westerdam, one of the older Holland America Lines ships:

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/?page_id=1561

Oh no!! I didn't mean to offend. I'm honestly so cruise ignorant that my cruise questions sound ignorant.

I was wondering if people found those mega ships too crowded. They sure are pretty, but seem hard to find a place to have s quiet moment.

My true mission is to make this an unforgettable vacation.

Rob doesn't know how to swim. He has been anti cruise forever because of this. He said he is afraid he will be afraid the entire time of the boat sinking.

Both of his parents died recently. They never took vacations and regretted it. He decided to get over this fear.

Sorry for the sappy back story. I just wanted to maybe try to explain where my questions are coming from.

I'm hoping this will become an annual vacation.thanks again.

That is a lovely if sad story. Sad about your inlaws. Lovely that you care to make a difference in your two lives!

I also do not know how to swim at least not enough to save my life. However when you are on a cruise ship you may not even notice you're surrounded by water! In the teeny tiny miniscule chance of a sinking, the evacuation routine (that you practice before the ship ever leaves embarkation port) will spirit you away on lifeboats.

I was also rather "Anti-Cruise" for many years. My reason was that looking at SO MUCH WATER would be boring! My husband did not break this mind-set with my first two cruises -- crossing the southern Pacific on a very small ship (see my taglines), and sailing to and from Hawaii on the Statendam which is also a smaller "mid-size" ship.

Finally I relented and agreed to do cruises as long as they were to places you didn't get to see EXCEPTING from a cruise ship. In 2009, we sailed to Alaska on the same ship as to Hawaii, and through the Panama Canal on a somewhat larger ship. Before the Canal trip, I found Cruise Critic and slowly began to develop a cruise mentality!

Now we are just back from circumnavigating South America. I enjoyed the ship (the same size as the Statendam) about as much as the ports! We have booked two future cruises -- a Transatlantic + Mediterranean, and another Panama Canal!

So from my own experience -- Pick a cruise without too many seadays for your (and DH's) early ventures... on the other hand, do not fill every port day to the max if you can help it! I like to pick a morning ship's tour that gets us off the ship early -- experience something of the port or something unique -- then have some time to soak up the feeling of the area and/or seek out a wifi hotspot!

As far as the mega-ships -- I have it from CC that you will not feel crowded as the space is well-thought-out -- but I am still not drawn to them! Our last ship held 2,000 (passengers+crew) and our next ship, 3,000 total (although it may not be full to capacity on the Transatlantic portion of the cruise?). Let the itinerary and Cruise Critic (!) help you choose!

Best of luck in your mission to open your Rob to new experiences. Keep asking questions here until you get it sorted for yourself!

PS I still call cruise ships "Boats" in shore-side conversations! Just always always "Ships" on CC and at sea!

Oh no!! I didn't mean to offend. I'm honestly so cruise ignorant that my cruise questions sound ignorant.

I was wondering if people found those mega ships too crowded. They sure are pretty, but seem hard to find a place to have s quiet moment.

My true mission is to make this an unforgettable vacation.

Rob doesn't know how to swim. He has been anti cruise forever because of this. He said he is afraid he will be afraid the entire time of the boat sinking.

Both of his parents died recently. They never took vacations and regretted it. He decided to get over this fear.

Sorry for the sappy back story. I just wanted to maybe try to explain where my questions are coming from.

I'm hoping this will become an annual vacation.thanks again.

Two things - one of which is a matter of personal opinion.

If you ask long time cruisers, many of them would disagree that the mega ships are pretty. I agree with them. To me they look more like floating boxes than ships. They have no style at all and are built to jam in the maximum number of bodies. The older ships and even some of the newer ones look more like the classical liners of old and I like them. However, I am sure that many CC'rs will disagree with me on this point.

With regard to your husband's swimming problem, do a search on Google to find out how many ships have sunk in the last 20 years or so. The number is astonishingly low. Even in the nearly zero chance that your ship does, there are plenty of lifeboats. They will load you off the ship into the lifeboat and your feet will not even get wet. I realize phobias are difficult to get over but getting over this one should not be a problem.

DON

We also do not like the big Mega ships. We are not interested in all that "glitz".

Ports are more important to us.

All cruise lines are constantly working on their ships to keep them in shape. The ships go through regular dry docks every few years.

My true mission is to make this an unforgettable vacation.

Rob doesn't know how to swim. He has been anti cruise forever because of this. He said he is afraid he will be afraid the entire time of the boat sinking.

he stands a better chance of drowning in his bathtub at home than he does on a cruise ship.

My Not So Humble Advice: choose a shorter itinerary( 3-5 days) on a mid size ship. not too many bells and whistles, but not the very smallest ships each line offers. that way if he finds out he doesn't like it, it's not too long and he can get through it knowing that is it only for a couple of days.

I too am not enamored by the mega ships. but at the same time even they have out of the way places to find quiet and solitude.

first thing you have to decide is: Port versus ship. do you want cruise for t ship? or the destinations? if the former, you want one a little more upscale that offers your idea of a great time. that could be a lively party atmosphere, or it could be a more refined laid back vibe.

if your goal is the ports of call, then he ship itself is less important, and you want the best itinerary.

one thing understand is standard cabins are much smaller than a typical hotel room. if you want a porthole(window) or balcony, it's going cost you.

Great advice to book an itinerary that you can't do on land. Alaska's fjords comes to mind, but the weather may be rough, so maybe not the best first choice. How about the Panama Canal? The ships sail along the Mexican coast and then through the canal and then from Caribbean island to island or vice versa. Ships are midsized.

We have spent over 300 days on the Princess "R" class ships. These hold about 680 passengers. We have never been bored

Good advise from many here.

I would add that most mega ships have few, if any, itineraries of less than 7 days.

Shorter itineraries often attract younger, more energetic passengers. Hence the term 'booze cruise' is often applied to 3,4 day cruises.

The longer the cruise, the older the crowd, fewer children.

A Panama Canal (full transit) is wonderful, but is usually 14+ days long. Not the best choice for new, somewhat hesitant cruisers.

Kudos to your hubby for his willingness to try this in spite of his fears.

Some people cruise for the itinerary, some for onboard activities, some for pure relaxation, some for the food, some for getting pampered, some for gambling, and some for entertainment, many for a combination of these at varying degrees. Oasis/Allure is a large that offer a bit of everything for everyone .... but so do many other ships on other lines.

Enjoy your cruise!

A happy medium is to book a cruise on a ship like Royal's Freedom of the Seas. It's in drydock right now getting "freshened up" but it's a beautiful ship. It's large but not the size of Allure or Oasis. It still have tons of activities like the rock-climbing wall, mini-golf, flow-rider, ice show, and the big production shows. It has a promenade deck where you can shop and shows are put on two nights during a 7 day cruise. It's not the largest but it's not small or mid-size. It's our favorite ship. It leaves out of Port Canaveral and it is going to seem gigantic when you get your first glimpse. We're taking a first-time cruiser with us on Freedom in June and we can't wait. We took a 3-day many years ago to see if everyone would like cruising (extended family) for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary. The only complaint was that it wasn't long enough. Go and enjoy. :D

First decision.... do you want travel on a boat or a ship?

We prefer the smaller ships.

Thank you all so much for your advice!!! I'm so glad I found this forum! It's wonderful!

We have spent over 300 days on the Princess "R" class ships. These hold about 680 passengers. We have never been bored

Unfortunately, except for the very expensive lines, I believe that the era of the mass market smaller ships is almost over. The companies can make more money on mega monsters. So we should enjoy the more personal smaller ships while we can.

DON

The ships are designed for the number of passengers aboard. Most of the mass market lines have about the same amount of space PER PASSENGER...so the larger ships will still do a good job of dispersing folks around the ship. So, you really don't have to worry about "crowding" too much.

The ships are designed for the number of passengers aboard. Most of the mass market lines have about the same amount of space PER PASSENGER...so the larger ships will still do a good job of dispersing folks around the ship. So, you really don't have to worry about "crowding" too much.

True. The crowding feeling on ships depends on quantity, size, and diversity of public spaces to spread all of the passengers out in. For example, the Royal Promenade that Royal can better handle a larger volume of people and move them faster than the side promenade design that Carnival's Fantasy class ships use.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Unfortunately, except for the very expensive lines, I believe that the era of the mass market smaller ships is almost over. The companies can make more money on mega monsters. So we should enjoy the more personal smaller ships while we can.

 

DON

I think you're right.

It's still tough to deal with.

As has been said, this is really a matter of what you are looking for. DW and I prefer smaller ships, and you can see that we have preferred Oceania's offerings, as their smaller ships have 670 passengers and the larger ones only have about 1200. We are looking for more port-intensive itineraries and frankly like the food a whole lot better than the other lines we have been on.

That being said, we were on one of Disney's larger ships, and the size did not bother us at all, though a Disney cruise with children is a completely different experience!

On the other hand, if you are not as interested in the ports, you might be more interested in one of the mega ships, as they have many more amenities on board. Personally, you would never catch me on one of those behemoths, but we know people who love them.

As for swimming. It is really a non-issue. I know it will sound silly, but I presume that DH gets on airplanes yet does not fly. Ships have lifeboats for really serious problems, and bear in mind that the ship itself is the primary lifeboat. In the extraordinarily unlikely chance that the ship would sink, the need to swim is relatively moot. How long do you think a person can tread water? If a ship were to sink, and there were no lifeboats, and no lifejackets, the swimmers would simply take longer to drown. The Navy accepts non-swimmers and always has. Other than coming into and leaving port, most ships are too far from shore to make swimming a need, a viable option, or anything else. Swimming is for swimming pools.

Decide which type of ship you want to try first, try it, and enjoy.

You can have fun on any ship, they are all a unique experience.

Brand new ships to 15 years old.

I have never noticed any being worn or dated.

Cruises are more alike than different.

We LOVED the Allure--mostly because compared to our other RCL cruise there was LOTS to do (guessing due to 6K passengers).

That being said we cruised Celebrity with only 2K passengers last year--loved it too!!

For us, any cruise is a great cruise. Our least fav was RCL Adventure of the Seas to MX Riviera--we weren't crazy about the ports & didn't feel there were enough activity choices on board. Obviously we cruised RCL again...and so glad we did!!

Still trying to pick out our cruise. When I see the nice big shiny Allure and Oasis, I'm naturally drawn to them thinking "ooh. New. Must be best". But what about the other boats? Are there lots of things to keep you busy? Are the older ships getting upgraded or do they dated?

Just looking for some opinions.

Again, thanks for everyone's help.

OK.....been on Many different sized ships, all have been GREAT! Except....the Oasis - Too big, confusing, lack of "cruise" entertainment, and no crowd control, It was the ONLY chaotic ship we have been on.....it is like a Hilton Hotel on the sea, with limited sea views etc. To me Oasis and Allure are not cruise ships, with cruise fun.....

Opinions vary -

Post your ages, likes, etc. and I am sure the great people on CC will help

As someone posted above, NCL mega and smaller ships have all the "bells & whistles" that make you want to sail again, and again

Addressing OP's title: it is true that all boats are not created equal. There are two sorts: the kind which meet the standard definition of a smaller vessel which can be carried aboard a larger one (generally a ship) although some boats do themselves carry boats; and the other: submarines which, for some reason lost in time, have always been referred to as boats

You can see by the comments that some people prefer the smaller cruise ships and some prefer the large behemoth of the seas type. Personally I prefer the ones that are around 100,000 to 114,000 gross tons (the Princess ships we've been on fit that size range). I'm not interested in malls on the sea. Just give me plenty of trivia contests, some production shows and other live entertainment, movies I can watch (that's relaxing for me), a lack of stupid pool games for when I just want to relax with a chick lit book on the deck.

BTW, I'm not a swimmer. It took a while for me to take a cruise (even though I even had a chance to go for free as one of the lines was a client of the ad agency I was working for some years back). It was meeting a guy who had already been on his first one and wanted to go on more.