Crowds - any ship options for less crowds?

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

No one should have to eat in the OVC.  Order room service.

Have my upvote, err I mean like button.

 

I avoid the buffet like the plague while traveling.  It makes me feel like I’m back in the school cafeteria.  I want to read a menu.

[the penguins]

6 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

I'm so glad you're amused.  Many of us are not.  I am a senior with who knows how many years left that I will be able to travel.  The big surge in crowds makes my remaining vacation time much less enjoyable.  It also is causing ports to completely eliminate cruise ship stops.  Some of said ports are some of my favorites.  I'm much less amused.

latest quarterly figures from Royal which covered the whole group showed average occupancy at 107% i.e. back to pre covid levels. It's not the "crowds" that are having the biggest affect on our cruises it's the post covid price rises. 

[zitsky]

4 hours ago, the penguins said:

latest quarterly figures from Royal which covered the whole group showed average occupancy at 107% i.e. back to pre covid levels. It's not the "crowds" that are having the biggest affect on our cruises it's the post covid price rises. 

What effect do post covid price rises have?  It isn’t keeping people away from “my” cruise.

[Jeremiah1212]

13 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

I'm so glad you're amused.  Many of us are not.  I am a senior with who knows how many years left that I will be able to travel.  The big surge in crowds makes my remaining vacation time much less enjoyable.  It also is causing ports to completely eliminate cruise ship stops.  Some of said ports are some of my favorites.  I'm much less amused.

 

There is no big surge on a per ship basis. The RCG average even a decade ago in 2014 was 105.6% and that's with Azamara included in the mix. 20 years ago in 2004...still at 105.7% It never went over 105% until 2019 which hit 108% and still hasn't surpassed 2019 levels. On an S class ship that's 60-70 'extra' passengers at worst and probably lower than that since Royal Caribbean would carry significantly more 3's and 4's in a cabin than Celebrity. Overall fleet capacity is a different thing with the sheer number of ships out there along with the increasing number of ports that don't welcome them. 

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

What effect do post covid price rises have?  It isn’t keeping people away from “my” cruise.

As I made clear the prices rises are keeping us away - everyone has to decide how to spend their money and for us that has resulted in us doing less cruises.

[the penguins]

11 hours ago, zitsky said:

Have my upvote, err I mean like button.

 

I avoid the buffet like the plague while traveling.  It makes me feel like I’m back in the school cafeteria.  I want to read a menu.

we eat:

breakfast in Tuscan (Elite coffee house style is perfect for us)

lunch on our balcony (usually hot soup in a take away cup, side of fries/mixed veg again in a take away cup - both with lids, bread, fruit in jelly/jello with a scoop of ice cream and fresh fruit. The whole lot washed down with lattes from AL Bacio which I collect after we have eaten.

Dinner in the MDR at 6.30 - pre booked to avoid any waiting - which gives a leisurely meal finished in ample time for the 9.0 pm show in the theatre.

[Escruiser1962]

29 minutes ago, the penguins said:

we eat:

breakfast in Tuscan (Elite coffee house style is perfect for us)

lunch on our balcony (usually hot soup in a take away cup, side of fries/mixed veg again in a take away cup - both with lids, bread, fruit in jelly/jello with a scoop of ice cream and fresh fruit. The whole lot washed down with lattes from AL Bacio which I collect after we have eaten.

Dinner in the MDR at 6.30 - pre booked to avoid any waiting - which gives a leisurely meal finished in ample time for the 9.0 pm show in the theatre.

Sounds like a good schedule!