Are the smaller cruise ship companies more intimate/better than the huge ones?

I am researching so I thought I would look into the smaller cruise ships. Any pro's or con's you can think of?

Can you be more specific? Many of the "smaller ship" cruise lines are considered either premium or luxury lines. They are considerably more expensive, but also they range from somewhat to all-inclusive, which is not true any longer on the larger, mass-market lines.

Pros: Better itineraries, better food, more personalized service, fewer lines (embarking, disembarking, etc.), cabins may be better appointed and/or larger.

Cons: Usually fewer onboard entertainment options, usually not geared toward families, and of course cost

I am researching so I thought I would look into the smaller cruise ships. Any pro's or con's you can think of?

While the "smaller" and "medium" sized ships of premium and luxury lines are generally better appointed than mass market lines' ships (who may also have a variety of ship sizes) and have a broader selection of exotic itineraries, there are other factors to consider beyond avoiding masses of humanity and not being subject to an atmosphere that is often a humongous hotel on a floating amusement park.

For premium/luxury ships: The space per passenger and crew to passenger ratios are much higher. The food budget per passenger may be up to four times higher (that's quality and variety rather than quantity). Some (if not all) associated costs (e.g., airfare or air credit) and onboard options (e.g., beverages, internet, specialty restaurants, alcohol, excursions, and/or SBC) may be included in the cabin cost.

Then there's what you don't get: cheap art shows, incessant announcements, prom nights, minimally restrictive smoking policies, pesky photographers, blaring recorded music, wannabe entertainment, port lectures that sell rather than educate and, of course, nickel-diming you for everything - even bottled water!

Cruising is definitely an arena where "you get what you pay for." However, if you remember to not just compare cabin costs but, instead, do compare bottom line "net daily rate" (sum of ALL "door-to-door" trip expenses [required and optionally chosen] divided by days of the trip), you may be pleasantly surprised at how close the cost of, particularly, the premium lines (like Oceania and Azamara) are to the upper end of the mass market (like HAL, Celebrity, Princess or Disney).

Some CC posters will sing the praises of special "exclusive" areas on mass market lines (e.g., the Haven on NCL or the Yacht Club on some other line). That "exclusivity" may get you some better things (and a "class system"). But the price may be as high or higher than the Premium ships AND, once you walk through those locked doors, you're still stuck with the mass market "negatives."

While the "smaller" and "medium" sized ships of premium and luxury lines are generally better appointed than mass market lines' ships (who may also have a variety of ship sizes) and have a broader selection of exotic itineraries, there are other factors to consider beyond avoiding masses of humanity and not being subject to an atmosphere that is often a humongous hotel on a floating amusement park.

For premium/luxury ships: The space per passenger and crew to passenger ratios are much higher. The food budget per passenger may be up to four times higher (that's quality and variety rather than quantity). Some (if not all) associated costs (e.g., airfare or air credit) and onboard options (e.g., beverages, internet, specialty restaurants, alcohol, excursions, and/or SBC) may be included in the cabin cost.

Then there's what you don't get: cheap art shows, incessant announcements, prom nights, minimally restrictive smoking policies, pesky photographers, blaring recorded music, wannabe entertainment, port lectures that sell rather than educate and, of course, nickel-diming you for everything - even bottled water!

Cruising is definitely an arena where "you get what you pay for." However, if you remember to not just compare cabin costs but, instead, do compare bottom line "net daily rate" (sum of ALL "door-to-door" trip expenses [required and optionally chosen] divided by days of the trip), you may be pleasantly surprised at how close the cost of, particularly, the premium lines (like Oceania and Azamara) are to the upper end of the mass market (like HAL, Celebrity, Princess or Disney).

Some CC posters will sing the praises of special "exclusive" areas on mass market lines (e.g., the Haven on NCL or the Yacht Club on some other line). That "exclusivity" may get you some better things (and a "class system"). But the price may be as high or higher than the Premium ships AND, once you walk through those locked doors, you're still stuck with the mass market "negatives."

Wow! Thank you, Flatbush Flyer. That is very well said. And in our experience, right onI I intent to share this with several cruising friends.

On mass market lines, the smaller ships tend to be older and offer less "attractions" than the larger ships.

IMO, the larger ships handle rough seas better than the smaller ships.

Some smaller ships can navigate to ports that the larger ships cannot get to.

Did you have a particular cruise line in mind?

While the "smaller" and "medium" sized ships of premium and luxury lines are generally better appointed than mass market lines' ships (who may also have a variety of ship sizes) and have a broader selection of exotic itineraries, there are other factors to consider beyond avoiding masses of humanity and not being subject to an atmosphere that is often a humongous hotel on a floating amusement park.

For premium/luxury ships: The space per passenger and crew to passenger ratios are much higher. The food budget per passenger may be up to four times higher (that's quality and variety rather than quantity). Some (if not all) associated costs (e.g., airfare or air credit) and onboard options (e.g., beverages, internet, specialty restaurants, alcohol, excursions, and/or SBC) may be included in the cabin cost.

Then there's what you don't get: cheap art shows, incessant announcements, prom nights, minimally restrictive smoking policies, pesky photographers, blaring recorded music, wannabe entertainment, port lectures that sell rather than educate and, of course, nickel-diming you for everything - even bottled water!

Cruising is definitely an arena where "you get what you pay for." However, if you remember to not just compare cabin costs but, instead, do compare bottom line "net daily rate" (sum of ALL "door-to-door" trip expenses [required and optionally chosen] divided by days of the trip), you may be pleasantly surprised at how close the cost of, particularly, the premium lines (like Oceania and Azamara) are to the upper end of the mass market (like HAL, Celebrity, Princess or Disney).

Some CC posters will sing the praises of special "exclusive" areas on mass market lines (e.g., the Haven on NCL or the Yacht Club on some other line). That "exclusivity" may get you some better things (and a "class system"). But the price may be as high or higher than the Premium ships AND, once you walk through those locked doors, you're still stuck with the mass market "negatives."

Your evaluation is good for you, but not everyone starts at the same point or values equally what larger lines offer versus smaller ones. Everyone needs to do their own analysis and at the end, their conclusion may not be the same as yours...

I only say this as you are so extremely aggressive in pushing your own viewpoint at every opportunity!

We have cruised DCL, RCCL, Princess & Celebrity.

We have cruised ships from 2K-5K passengers.

We did find that 2K is a bit small...with fewer passengers, that can mean fewer activities at times--important to us.

But generally speaking, ships 3K-5K offer a multitude of activities.

We find mass market lines to be more alike than different.

One advantage to the Allure was that there were SO many places to be & SO many things to do--we loved that. Only felt crowded during muster.

Our budget & our cruising style will probably never lead us to smaller luxury lines.

We have cruised DCL, RCCL, Princess & Celebrity.

We have cruised ships from 2K-5K passengers.

We did find that 2K is a bit small...with fewer passengers, that can mean fewer activities at times--important to us.

But generally speaking, ships 3K-5K offer a multitude of activities.

We find mass market lines to be more alike than different.

One advantage to the Allure was that there were SO many places to be & SO many things to do--we loved that. Only felt crowded during muster.

Our budget & our cruising style will probably never lead us to smaller luxury lines.

That has been our experience on ships of all sizes we have been on. Smaller ships will have fewer passengers, but since the ship is smaller, they have fewer places to be in, so people are more concentrated in fewer areas. Larger ships have more passengers, but larger ships have more places to be in, so people are more spread out. In many cases, the passenger to space ratios are not that different between smaller and larger ships.

For example, the often touted Oceania ships have a ratio of 38 on four of it's ships and 46 on two of them.

In contrast, Royal Caribbean largest ships, the Oasis class, has a ratio of 36. That is not much different than on most of Oceania's ships.

If someone wants the maximum space ratios, they need to move up to the ultra luxury lines like Regent, Seabourn and Crystal, with ratios ranging from 47 to 125, but at much higher cost per passenger.

Source: http://www.cruisemapper.com/wiki/761-cruise-ship-passenger-capacity-ratings

It's always space per passenger not the absolute size of the ship.

We have cruised on ships 12 (twelve) to 3000 passengers.

For me it's also the noise level. Nowadays large ships have a large video screen with music blaring on the pool deck. If I can understand the words coming from a music video on a large ship while mine is anchored at some distance, I am too old for the large ship. ;p

Your evaluation is good for you, but not everyone starts at the same point or values equally what larger lines offer versus smaller ones. Everyone needs to do their own analysis and at the end, their conclusion may not be the same as yours...

 

 

 

I only say this as you are so extremely aggressive in pushing your own viewpoint at every opportunity!

See post #4 for a different point of view.

In any case, OP asked for the differences and got them.

BTW: It's true that some folks prefer the amusement park atmosphere and blaring canned rock music. Of course, they may also like Las Vegas.

That has been our experience on ships of all sizes we have been on. Smaller ships will have fewer passengers, but since the ship is smaller, they have fewer places to be in, so people are more concentrated in fewer areas. Larger ships have more passengers, but larger ships have more places to be in, so people are more spread out. In many cases, the passenger to space ratios are not that different between smaller and larger ships.

 

For example, the often touted Oceania ships have a ratio of 38 on four of it's ships and 46 on two of them.

 

In contrast, Royal Caribbean largest ships, the Oasis class, has a ratio of 36. That is not much different than on most of Oceania's ships.

 

If someone wants the maximum space ratios, they need to move up to the ultra luxury lines like Regent, Seabourn and Crystal, with ratios ranging from 47 to 125, but at much higher cost per passenger.

 

Source: http://www.cruisemapper.com/wiki/761-cruise-ship-passenger-capacity-ratings

As aforementioned, space ratios are but a single factor in a very big picture. But the quality difference in the premium/luxury segment is even evident between what could be considered to be exactly the same ship (albeit upgraded). Look at the "before/after" situation of the $40 million that turned the Ocean Princess "R" ship into the Sirena "R" ship.

I am researching so I thought I would look into the smaller cruise ships. Any pro's or con's you can think of?

There are major difference. I have cruise on ships with fewer than 100 passengers and ships with over 4000 passengers. The pros of the smaller ships include: Much better quality of food. No tickets to sign, (they tend to be truly AI), no lines, high quality amenities in the cabins, they don't know how to say no to any reasonable request. Often have free water toys.No shows to have to deal with. The cons include no real entertainment, if kids are on board or large groups they can disrupt the dynamics. They usually tender instead of docking, but that can be a plus instead of a minus.

The large ships have the following pros: the cost, they have more on board entertainment. The cons include: the size of the ship, the quality of the food, too many out of control children, small cabins, lack of amenities, and they are too crowded.

There are budget lines which use small ships, but I think they're all in Europe, and many of them are adult only...yes, they are more intimate, and they often choose unusual itineraries because they can use small ports.

There are major difference. I have cruise on ships with fewer than 100 passengers and ships with over 4000 passengers. The pros of the smaller ships include: Much better quality of food. No tickets to sign, (they tend to be truly AI), no lines, high quality amenities in the cabins, they don't know how to say no to any reasonable request. Often have free water toys.No shows to have to deal with. The cons include no real entertainment, if kids are on board or large groups they can disrupt the dynamics. They usually tender instead of docking, but that can be a plus instead of a minus.

 

The large ships have the following pros: the cost, they have more on board entertainment. The cons include: the size of the ship, the quality of the food, too many out of control children, small cabins, lack of amenities, and they are too crowded.

Would you elaborate on this some please? We have cruised mainstream lines but are considering moving up in a few years. What does entertainment look like on luxury cruises? Do people just retire to their cabins after dinner? Is there dancing, or areas for conversation - maybe card games or puzzles?

We do not use the casinos and can take or leave the large stage productions, but we do enjoy having a few drinks and listening to music after dinner (preferably 70's-80's rock/light party vibe, but amenable to many genres). During sea days we enjoy some trivia shows, but not a deal breaker if we can't. We also enjoy using the gym and running track, as well as just enjoying views of the sea or reading on our balcony.

Depends on whether you are comparing different lines or just different ship within a line. Some differences are coincidentally different because some lines with small(er) ships are considered more "upscale"and "premium". And the differences are not necessarily because of the size of the ship. . However, within the same line.......We have sailed years back on HAL's "Princendam"...a quiet smaller vessel and we've sailed on the "Noordam" a much larger vessel . As far as "intimate" (not exactly sure what you mean by that)....not really much different.