Anyone else considering only sailing on smaller cruise ships when we can finally cruise again?

[wwinfl91]

Anyone else considering only sailing on smaller cruise ships when we can finally cruise again? My wife and I love to cruise (see my signature for proof) but will not be cruising again until Corvid19 Pandemic has been gotten under control with both a real vaccine and treatments that work. But in at least planning for possible future cruises we have decided we would feel safer on smaller ships like Seabourn. We have done 2 of them and loved both of them. But we have recently switched to doing Celebrity suite class doing 6 of them because they offered locations we wanted to visit. In many ways with the separate suite dining room and  Michael's Club for free drinks and because Celebrity has made sure the waiters and suite attendants in suites are better trained we found it similar. But it still would mean sailing on ships with 3000 other people. Anyway I'm just interested if anyone else out here is thinking about mainly sailing on the smaller more elite cruise ships like Seabourn and giving up the bigger cruise ship lines for the immediate future. Thanks

[chemmo]

No, we enjoy the suite experience where we have access to the big ship when we want it but then have our ‘Retreat’ when we feel we want something more intimate.

 

We have in recent years looked at several smaller lines but each time we reflect on the choices on Celebrity and decide not for us...

 

On Celebrity S class we find the ‘flow’ to be great even on sea days...just so many bars and places to sit and relax in. Smaller ships can sometimes be more compact...

[C-Dragons]

Keep in mind when cruising resumes ships will not be sailing at full capacity.

And no, we will not be sailing smaller sized ships. We love X and the their larger ships, especially Reflection and Edge. 

[bigbenboys]

We have cruised once on Azamara. While we enjoyed our cruise, there is just more to do on Celebrity cruise ships. We do enjoy the Suite Life on Celebrity. One other factor is dress code. I like wearing my jeans and not having to wear a jacket in the evenings. Luminae, Blu and all Celebrity specially restaurants are smart casual.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We have no plans to sail on another line. We like Celebrity's suites and the suite life. 

[phoenix_dream]

Many of us cannot afford to sail on the much smaller, luxury line ships.  Even if I could, I am prone to seasickness and don't do well on smaller ships.  Used to have a lot of issues in my early sailing days with the Century class ships.

[Life Buoy]

I really enjoy the small ship experience on Crystal. I also like the large ship experience on Celebrity. Have cruises booked on both.

[jelayne]

We did one small ship cruise and we found we preferred the Celebrity ships.

[goofysmom99]

I decided to ease back into cruising on a smaller ship so booked a TA for Nov 2021 on Azamara.  The nice bit of lagniappe was that one of their big suites was same price as a CS on the Constellation Oct 2021 TA (also booked).  AZ offered double points, too, which, as a solo, will equate to 72 pts/night vs CS 24 pts/night.  Again, same price.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Nov 2021 is far enough out so that the cruise actually happens and it's safe by then.  

[Midlo]

We have also enjoyed many cruises in suite class on Celebrity and are considering trying the smaller ships when things get back to "normal". My reasons have more to do with the overall direction Celebrity has been moving towards with the re-decorating of their ships and not the number of people. We have not tried the smaller lines yet though so I am interested in opinions.

[Stumptowngal]

We had our first ever Viking cruise of May 2020 cancelled and a January 2021Celebrity cruise cancelled.  While we have cruised Celebrity a number of times and enjoyed it; it is not our first choice once we feel comfortable booking a future cruise.  

 

I would much rather be on a smaller ship such as Viking should there be a medical crisis.  I also think there might be better adherence and oversight to safety standards. 

[Germancruiser]

Haveing sailed on both Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2- in the midst of the pandemic- both ships are inthe  range of the Solstice Class - I absolutley can say- NO I DO NOT WANT TO SAIL ON A SMALLER SHIP. On the contrary - I would avoid smaller ships.

Also I see no need to do so- ships sail at a max. of 60% - as already mentioned- I never experienced so much space on board a ship- sometimes when walking the corridors or at specific times- one could almost thing onself on board a ghost ship. ( We actually sailed at only 35% capacity. )

I felt totaly safe and protected, with TUI Cruises beeing very very strict that the Hygiene Standards and procedures are followed.

 

[LGW59]

1 hour ago, Germancruiser said:

Haveing sailed on both Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2- in the midst of the pandemic- both ships are inthe  range of the Solstice Class - I absolutley can say- NO I DO NOT WANT TO SAIL ON A SMALLER SHIP. On the contrary - I would avoid smaller ships.

Also I see no need to do so- ships sail at a max. of 60% - as already mentioned- I never experienced so much space on board a ship- sometimes when walking the corridors or at specific times- one could almost thing onself on board a ghost ship. ( We actually sailed at only 35% capacity. )

I felt totaly safe and protected, with TUI Cruises beeing very very strict that the Hygiene Standards and procedures are followed.

 

Europeans handle these types of situations far better and smarter than most, not all, Americans will.  That is what makes me most anxious about cruises resuming here.  I am not sailing again until May 2021, so remains to be seen what happens.  Still have time to make my decision, if/when cruising resumes again before then.

[Germancruiser]

3 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Europeans handle these types of situations far better and smarter than most, not all, Americans will.  That is what makes me most anxious about cruises resuming here.  I am not sailing again until May 2021, so remains to be seen what happens.  Still have time to make my decision, if/when cruising resumes again before then.

I would keep the booking in May 2021. If the US   restarts  pretty soon,  you can just book a few short cruises or a 7 nighter in between- just to test the waters - so to speak.

I can soo recommend a cruise on board a ship only filled to half of their usual capacity. Not to be missed!

Thats i what I am going to do - until my only booked voyage for 2021 in September- the crossing from New York to Southampton on board QM2!

Edited October 27, 2020 by Germancruiser

[Cruise a holic]

15 hours ago, wwinfl91 said:

Anyone else considering only sailing on smaller cruise ships when we can finally cruise again? My wife and I love to cruise (see my signature for proof) but will not be cruising again until Corvid19 Pandemic has been gotten under control with both a real vaccine and treatments that work. But in at least planning for possible future cruises we have decided we would feel safer on smaller ships like Seabourn. We have done 2 of them and loved both of them. But we have recently switched to doing Celebrity suite class doing 6 of them because they offered locations we wanted to visit. In many ways with the separate suite dining room and  Michael's Club for free drinks and because Celebrity has made sure the waiters and suite attendants in suites are better trained we found it similar. But it still would mean sailing on ships with 3000 other people. Anyway I'm just interested if anyone else out here is thinking about mainly sailing on the smaller more elite cruise ships like Seabourn and giving up the bigger cruise ship lines for the immediate future. Thanks

Actually I would feel safer on a larger ship in a suite- with more space to move around.

[ChucktownSteve]

8 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Europeans handle these types of situations far better and smarter than most, not all, Americans will.  That is what makes me most anxious about cruises resuming here.  I am not sailing again until May 2021, so remains to be seen what happens.  Still have time to make my decision, if/when cruising resumes again before then.

 

That is your opinion but it is not necessarily based in fact. Right now Europe is undergoing a larger surge in Covid cases and has surpassed the United States in Covid Deaths. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/geographical-distribution-2019-ncov-cases

United States: 225 735, Europe: 255 149 deaths.  It's not your fault. You're probably not getting this information from the scare tactic media you watch. (*United Kingdom: from 3 October 2020, due to a technical issue, COVID-19 cases from 24 September to 1 October will be reported by British authorities in the coming days.) Reported cases United States 8 704 524, Europe: 8 786 209 cases

 

That despite the U.S. counting Covid deaths even if it wasn't a contributing factor but the person who died also happened to have covid.  That's because the medical facilities received more financial aid if Covid was the listed cause of death.

 

But back to topic. I have an S1 suite booked for January on Edge and a P1 aft booked on Azamara December 2021.  I believe the Edge sailing at less than capacity plus being in the resort areas will make the Edge seem like a smaller vessel.  I tend to prefer the smaller ships so our next several bookings will probably be on Azamara...not due to covid but the experience and ports where the larger ships can't dock so close in.

Edited October 27, 2020 by ChucktownSteve

[Mary229]

Covid or no, we decided long ago to only sail on ships 1500 or less.  That is considered mid-sized.  I would love to sail on even smaller ships but I don't see a lot of value in the premium prices many of those offer.  There are a few on my radar though.  

 

[upwarduk]

27 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

I tend to prefer the smaller ships so our next several bookings will probably be on Azamara...not due to covid but the experience and ports where the larger ships can't dock so close in.

Exactly.

[chemmo]

1 hour ago, Cruise a holic said:

Actually I would feel safer on a larger ship in a suite- with more space to move around.

 

We feel the same ourselves...

[phoenix_dream]

10 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Europeans handle these types of situations far better and smarter than most, not all, Americans will.  That is what makes me most anxious about cruises resuming here.  I am not sailing again until May 2021, so remains to be seen what happens.  Still have time to make my decision, if/when cruising resumes again before then.

Even if what you state is accurate, which it is not, what does how Americans handle things have to do with a smaller or larger ship??  None of the Celebrity ships are owned by, or managed by Americans.  

[Gracie115]

We prefer the Celebrity experience.  While I know Seabourn had no issues (that I know of) with Covid last spring I also know that a few of the smaller ships on both Princess (the Coral) and HAL (Zaandam) had major issues, so I don't think smaller is necessarily any better in regards to disease.

[TeeRick]

On 10/26/2020 at 11:36 PM, LGW59 said:

Europeans handle these types of situations far better and smarter than most, not all, Americans will.  That is what makes me most anxious about cruises resuming here.  I am not sailing again until May 2021, so remains to be seen what happens.  Still have time to make my decision, if/when cruising resumes again before then.

LGW59- I know it is your opinion and you have a right to express it.  But you are just asking for negative feedback here.

[mljatsea]

Three of our last four cruises were on Seabourn, the other being Azamara. Our current booking for October 2021 is on Celebrity. While I love the smaller ships I will feel safer with a more spacious environment. No doubt precautions will be taken on all ships to provide a better space ratio than in the past. When we sailed on Azamara in January 2019 there had been a Norovirus-type outbreak on the previous sailing. We were very impressed with the extra precautions that were taken to for our safety and heard of no problems. I realize these are different types of diseases.

 

That said we won't be sailing at all unless things change drastically and there is an effective vaccine.