No Huge Ships, Please

My DH and I haven't been on a ship since 1995. Are there any smaller ships that are neither slightly larger than yachts nor mega-huge, nor teddibly, teddibly exclusive -- and expensive? Have no interest in fancy dress. We are Seniors, but no physical limitations.

My first 'at sea' was first class on the Ile de France NYC-Southampton, not that I think anything can equal what stunned a young girl. DH and I liked the old Royal Princess. Have cruised Baltic, Caribbean, Canal, Mediterranean.

Looking for transatlantic to England, and possibly British Isles. (Will do land to Edinburgh, so want mid-summer or later trip.) Also interested in a Mediterranean cruise touching Venice and Turkey.

Thanks for your help!

Take a look at Holland America.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

HAL has one transatlantic (on the Veendam), Boston to Amsterdam on July 12, 2014. The Veendam is an older ship but at 57,000 tons sounds like the size you would like. There is not much choice when it comes to crossing in the summer without going on a large ship (QM2).

You will have plenty of choices in the Med.

Princess has some smaller ships that would work for you. The Ocean Princess holds 702 passengers max and 372 crew.

There's a nice 8-day trip on the Emerald Princess - 8/3/14 and 8/11/14 from Dover,England with stops in Dover (London), England | Pembroke, Wales | Dublin, Ireland | Edinburgh, Scotland.

Celebrity Infinity hardly a mega-ship but, three times the amount of passengers of the Ocean Princess, does some lovely voyages through the British Isles. Here's the itinerary for the August 4, 2014 cruise:

Harwich (London), England | Le Havre (Paris), France | St. Peter Port (Guernsey), England | Dublin, Ireland | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Greenock, Scotland | Kirkwall, Scotland.

Have a chat with a local travel agent that specializes in cruises and find the voyage that works for you.

Jonathan

I am not familiar with the ship you mentioned but some smaller ships/lines to check out are Azamara & Oceania as well as the small Princess & HAL ships already mentioned

Some of the luxury lines have smaller ships but not sure where your budget lies

I agree talk to a TA and be specific in what you are looking for ship wise & passenger capacity

We prefer the ships with under 1300 pax

Have to smile when somebody considers the Emerald Princess a "smaller ship." At any rate, when we think of smaller ships we think in terms of less then 1000 passengers. As has been mentioned, you have Azamara and Oceania which both have ships with fewer then 700. HA has one older ship, the Prinsendam, which carries no more then 800. Princess operates 2 smaller ships (the Ocean Princess and Pacific Princess) which are sister ships of the old Renaissance ships operated by both Oceania and Azamara. There were 8 of these "R" ships built and they carry about 680.

If you really want to get to the smaller high-end luxury lines you can go on Seabourn, Silverseas, Seven Seas or Sea Dream (there are some others). These are much higher cost, but also very upscale with nearly all suites and often all-inclusive.

Hank

There are 8 R-class ships floating around these days. They hold about 700 passengers. Princess has two (Ocean and Pacific), P&O has one, Azamara has 2 and Oceana has 3.

Have to smile when somebody considers the Emerald Princess a "smaller ship." At any rate, when we think of smaller ships we think in terms of less then 1000 passengers. As has been mentioned, you have Azamara and Oceania which both have ships with fewer then 700. HA has one older ship, the Prinsendam, which carries no more then 800. Princess operates 2 smaller ships (the Ocean Princess and Pacific Princess) which are sister ships of the old Renaissance ships operated by both Oceania and Azamara. There were 8 of these "R" ships built and they carry about 680.

 

If you really want to get to the smaller high-end luxury lines you can go on Seabourn, Silverseas, Seven Seas or Sea Dream (there are some others). These are much higher cost, but also very upscale with nearly all suites and often all-inclusive.

 

Hank

Yes Hank, that tells me that person has only cruised in the last 10 years or so. Of course my first cruise was in 98 so I am still a novice also but I did get to cruise a few of the smaller ships before they were taken out of service in my early years of cruising. Lol! back then those were the ones that were affordable to cruise and everyone saw them as passe' but I miss them.

I agree with you that the mainstream lines no longer have small ships, although HAL is still using the Statendam and Massdam that takes 1200 PAX. I have heard both good and bad about them so the OP needs to read a lot of reviews of those ships before considering a cruise on them.

As you said, either Princess's small ships ( Not Emerald Princess, a grand class ship-lol!), or Azamara, or Oceania, all of which are a step above mainstream but not quite luxury like Seabourn. I would love to cruise any of them and hope to get to one day. I doubt I will ever have the disposable income to do a true luxury line like Seabourn.

You will not find a Transatlantic eastbound in mid-summer, other than on the Queen Mary 2. The latest eastbound repo cruise I am aware of is on Disney Magic, leaving Port Canaveral May 19, arriving Barcelona May 31. I just found Oceania Marina going NYC to Dover on May 22, and Crystal Symphony going as far as Reykjavik on June 1. Otherwise, it is QM2. EM

You will not find a Transatlantic eastbound in mid-summer, other than on the Queen Mary 2. The latest eastbound repo cruise I am aware of is on Disney Magic, leaving Port Canaveral May 19, arriving Barcelona May 31. I just found Oceania Marina going NYC to Dover on May 22, and Crystal Symphony going as far as Reykjavik on June 1. Otherwise, it is QM2. EM

Holland America Veendam is doing one July 12, 2014 from Boston. It can be a 35 day round trip Boston or a 17 day Boston to Amsterdam. of course the Veendam is one of HAL's older 1200 PAX ships, people either love them or hate them.

Hi ChiSue!

Do at least consider Holland America Veendam! :)

LuLu

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Oceania has lotsof European itineraries. They are more expensive than Princess and Hal but the don't have all the extra charges for retaurants, special coffee , soft drinks and bottled water. i haven't been on Azamar lately but they operate similar to Oceania. Oceania also has 2 larger ships with about 1200 passengers.

Wow! I'm impressed with all the quick -- and useful -- replies.

I wasn't as clear as I might have been about what I consider 'small', or that we *would* be looking at the QM2 for the transatlantic. We just don't want mega-cruisers where it takes an hour to get around the promenade deck and longer to board, along with two thousand of your new best friends.

Both "Isles" trips sound good.

Maybe someone would 'splain me more about booking Cunard's Queens. Is any line NOT now owned by Carnival Corp.?

Wow! I'm impressed with all the quick -- and useful -- replies.

 

I wasn't as clear as I might have been about what I consider 'small', or that we *would* be looking at the QM2 for the transatlantic. We just don't want mega-cruisers where it takes an hour to get around the promenade deck and longer to board, along with two thousand of your new best friends.

All the "Queens" are 2000+ passengers plus they have a class system

Lots of lines are not part of Carnival Corp ...shop around

Two cheaper-end lines not owned by Carnival, sailing out of Britain mostly but they do Caribbean and worldwide too, are Fred Olsen and Cruises and Maritime. Voyages of Discovery are another, they cruise anywhere and everywhere. They all have ships about 500-800 capacity, but they do tend to be older ships without or with fewer balconies.

Two cheaper-end lines not owned by Carnival, sailing out of Britain mostly but they do Caribbean and worldwide too, are Fred Olsen and Cruises and Maritime. Voyages of Discovery are another, they cruise anywhere and everywhere. They all have ships about 500-800 capacity, but they do tend to be older ships without or with fewer balconies.

I found some on the Marco Polo sailing out of Tillbury. It is a small ship with small staterooms, no balconies, no pay extra restaurants, only traditional dinner seatings,no frills; but I would sail on her for the right itinerary.

Keep in mind that while the "high end" lines such as Seabourne cost more upfront, often that is pretty much what you'll spend since they are more-or-less inclusive. On others, while the starting cost may be low, you will have spent a lot more by the time you finish your cruise since they charge extra for everything they can get away with. So in the end the gap is not so large as it seems. And the ships do meet your "small ship" criterion.

It would be interesting to hear from experienced cruisers about what they typically end up spending relative to the basic rate. Anyone? (And yes I understand it varies all over the map)

It would be interesting to hear from experienced cruisers about what they typically end up spending relative to the basic rate. Anyone? (And yes I understand it varies all over the map)

We do not drink much so our bill may be a lot less than the norm

We cruise on a line that does not charge extra for the specialty restaurants, real coffee, sodas or bottled water

We usually get pre paid Gratuities from our TA but do give a bit extra to the staff at the end of the cruise

The most we have had on our account at the end is about $50

We get an OBC now so that usually covers what we spend

We do pay a bit more for the cruise upfront... it is not all inclusive & do our own excursions

I agree some people want the cheaper price for the cruise but do not consider all the extras they pay in the end

It is a matter of personal choice

Check out HAL's Prinsendam, Ryndam, Maasdam, Statendam and Veendam.

We do not drink much so our bill may be a lot less than the norm

We cruise on a line that does not charge extra for the specialty restaurants, real coffee, sodas or bottled water

We usually get pre paid Gratuities from our TA but do give a bit extra to the staff at the end of the cruise

 

The most we have had on our account at the end is about $50

We get an OBC now so that usually covers what we spend

 

 

We do pay a bit more for the cruise upfront... it is not all inclusive & do our own excursions

 

I agree some people want the cheaper price for the cruise but do not consider all the extras they pay in the end

 

It is a matter of personal choice

It adds up to "You get what you pay for" and "You pay for what you get". On the luxury cruises if you are a non drinker and do private tours you pay for more than you use.So, yes. it is a matter of choice and the savy cruiser cheks it all out before booking.

As Paul has mentioned, one of the R Class ships is with P&O, as Adonia....she does do long sailings in winter, where you can pick up segments of the cruise.

However, she is adult only.

Another line, Saga, is for over 50yrs, although partners/companions can be younger. These ships have interesting itineraries, some of them split into segments.

Thought it might interest some folks to talk about what a "small" ship means to some of us ole cruisers. My first cruise was on NCLs Sunward II back in 1977. At the time this was considered a nice cruise ship and she did 3/4 day cruises out of Miami. That ship was about 14.194 tons and carried over 700 passengers! That would make the Oasis of the seas nearly 20 times larger! In 1993 we spent 14 days on the Regent Spirit which was a 10,000 ton (about 300 passenger) ship of Regency Cruise Lines. On that ship we had a cabin on the lowest passenger deck which we could only access by going down a tiny ladder-like stairway. The floor of our cabin was right on the water line. Times do change.

Hank

P.S. A single life boat on the Oasis or Allure of the Seas holds more passengers then our entire Regent Spirit cruise ship.

..... they have a class system

 

....

False. Cunard ships do not have a class system. They haven't since sometime in the 90s. Even if they did, how would it relevant to the poster's question about ship size?

Thought it might interest some folks to talk about what a "small" ship means to some of us ole cruisers. My first cruise was on NCLs Sunward II back in 1977. At the time this was considered a nice cruise ship and she did 3/4 day cruises out of Miami. That ship was about 14.194 tons and carried over 700 passengers! That would make the Oasis of the seas nearly 20 times larger! In 1993 we spent 14 days on the Regent Spirit which was a 10,000 ton (about 300 passenger) ship of Regency Cruise Lines. On that ship we had a cabin on the lowest passenger deck which we could only access by going down a tiny ladder-like stairway. The floor of our cabin was right on the water line. Times do change.

 

Hank

P.S. A single life boat on the Oasis or Allure of the Seas holds more passengers then our entire Regent Spirit cruise ship.

My two most recent cruises have been on the "Voyages to Antiquity" ship Aegean Odyssey (about 11,300 tons, 370 passengers) and Swan Hellenic's Minerva (about 12,500 tons, 350 passengers).

Times may change, but small ships are still available for those of us who really enjoy them. :) I'll be aboard Aegean Odyssey again in 2014 for the 4th time. Shipboard amenities are relatively few compared with the large ships, but in areas that count to me -- service, itinerary, food, lecturers, and pleasant fellow passengers -- the smaller ships tick the right boxes.

My first 'at sea' was first class on the Ile de France NYC-Southampton, not that I think anything can equal what stunned a young girl. DH and I liked the old Royal Princess. Have cruised Baltic, Caribbean, Canal, Mediterranean.

While I'm certainly no historian or expert, I have an interest in the older ships. Have seen lots of photos of the Ile de France - looked like she was a beautiful ship. My first cruise was on an older ship - the old Carnivale TSS Carnivale - originally built in Scotland as the Empress of Britain in 1956 I believe. Sailed on her in 1983. She was definitely designed as an ocean liner - deep draught ship and sailed like she was! Had a great time - such a shame that most ships from that era are either scrapped already or heading that way soon - simply too expensive to keep updating as SOLAS requirements change.