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[crusingrightnow]

Is a bigger cruise ship always better ?

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

Beware of statements that include "always" and "never".

 

Wouldn't this be just about the most subjective concept ever posted on Cruise Critic?

[navybankerteacher]

9 minutes ago, crusingrightnow said:

Is a bigger cruise ship always better ?

 

 

Very rarely.  Unless you feel that a crowded cafeteria is “always better” than a local coffee shop, or a bus is “always better” than a taxi, or Walmart is “always better” than a corner store.

[crusingrightnow]

2 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Very rarely.  Unless you feel that a crowded cafeteria is “always better” than a local coffee shop, or a bus is “always better” than a taxi, or Walmart is “always better” than a corner store.

 

What would you consider the best or some of the best cruise ships ?

[navybankerteacher]

Just now, crusingrightnow said:

 

What would you consider the best or some of the best cruise ships ?

Cruise ships sailing for Oceania and Azamera come to mind - both lines sail ships a fraction of the size of what is offered by the likes of NCL, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, etc. etc., and in my mind offer far better value for the money.

 

Yes, they cost more than the others, but who can seriously expect the best for the cheapest price?

[CruiserBruce]

8 minutes ago, crusingrightnow said:

 

What would you consider the best or some of the best cruise ships ?

"Best" is a very vague term, and means dozens of different things to different people. If you like amusement parks, maybe a big ship meets your needs. But there are many shortcomings of large ships, most notably they can't get into a number of interesting, smaller ports. Some people like longer, very diverse routes. Another short coming of the large ships. 

[leaveitallbehind]

What one person thinks is the best cruise ship, or cruise line, or cruise itinerary, is completely subjective and may be completely the opposite of what someone else thinks. And both, for their own reasons and tastes, are correct for them and not any better of an idea or worse than another person's.  And how it would relate to you and what your expectations are in a cruise experience may be totally irrelevant not knowing anything about you or what you would enjoy, or dislike, in a cruise. 

 

In other words, IMO, your questions without any context quite frankly is of little value as there is no right or wrong answer.

 

If you are seriously trying to decide on a cruise line, or ship, or itinerary that may be of interest to you, I would suggest talking with a travel agent who specializes in cruises and review with them what your expectations and interests would be in a cruise experience and let them help guide you to choices that would be a good fit.

Edited June 10 by leaveitallbehind

[Essiesmom]

 Best, or better depends on what your wants/needs for a cruise are.  If you are traveling with children, the newer, larger ships with lots of kid friendly attractions might be what you want.  But if you are a little old lady like me, you might not want a huge ship where you need a Segway to get from your cabin to the MDR.  My Fitbit likes all those steps, though.  You need to think about what your vacation style is and choose accordingly.

  Another feature to keep in mind…technology.  The newer ships have a lot of features that depend on a cellphone for best utilization.  An intranet app that opens your cabin door, shows you menus and activities.  If you are not comfortable with this, maybe an older ship would suit you better.  EM

[clo]

We did an "expedition" cruise to Antarctica. In order to go ashore the max number of pax on the ship can't exceed 500 (or is it 400?

 

 And for us a smaller ship is the way to go. Maybe 1200. We've done 1200, 400 and 100.

[navybankerteacher]

30 minutes ago, clo said:

We did an "expedition" cruise to Antarctica. In order to go ashore the max number of pax on the ship can't exceed 500 (or is it 400?

 

 And for us a smaller ship is the way to go. Maybe 1200. We've done 1200, 400 and 100.

Aside from the better general experience on board smaller ships, there are a number of the better ports which can only be visited by smaller ships.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, crusingrightnow said:

Is a bigger cruise ship always better ?

 

 

Better?
Better for…..??? Based on……???

[jollyjones]

5 hours ago, crusingrightnow said:

Is a bigger cruise ship always better ?

 

 

 

No.

 

[DarrenM]

8 hours ago, crusingrightnow said:

Is a bigger cruise ship always better ?

 

 

definitely not.

 

I dont want to be on a cruise ship that is a floating theme park, invaded by thousands of children.

 

On saying that, I have just been on my smallest ship to date, and I found it quite dull. A bit like an Old peoples home for cruisers. If the most exciting thing is an unused ballroom then its potentially very dull.

 

So the medium sized ships are my go to. 2500-3500 customers.

 

 

[CDNPolar]

It is personal taste.

 

We like smaller (1000 guests) and more intimate surroundings.

 

We are not on a cruise for waterslides, casinos, and parties.

[Greg4502]

No, I say to the large ships. My favorite ship so far was the Pacific Princess. I think about 600 passengers. My son, and a group of his friends just did a cruise on one those big ships. They said never again. Too many people, long wait times. 

[CDNPolar]

I have been on the big or bigger ships and my complaint is that it is hard to find peace and quiet anywhere.  We cruise on adult only lines and that does not always mean quiet, but there are always quiet places.  The ships we cruise on hold 930 guests but look as though there are built for 1200+ because there are always seats at the pool, the spa, the restaurants...  Very calm atmosphere.  I know that this not what everyone is looking for however.

[Zach1213]

13 hours ago, crusingrightnow said:

Is a bigger cruise ship always better ?

Possibly yes, but definitely maybe 

[George C]

I am a fan of bigger ships my last 3 RCCL cruises were all oasis class. I like different options for entertainment and restaurants, also the bigger newer ships have a suite restaurant older ships don’t .

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, CDNPolar said:

I have been on the big or bigger ships and my complaint is that it is hard to find peace and quiet anywhere.  We cruise on adult only lines and that does not always mean quiet, but there are always quiet places.  The ships we cruise on hold 930 guests but look as though there are built for 1200+ because there are always seats at the pool, the spa, the restaurants...  Very calm atmosphere.  I know that this not what everyone is looking for however.

The smaller ships (now largely operated by more up-scale lines) generally have seats at the pool and restaurants (which generally serve GOOD food without your having to pay extra for the alternate restaurants now on all mass-market lines), because they allow more public area space per passenger - as opposed to the mass market lines which squeeze as many passengers on as possible.

[ldubs]

6 hours ago, DarrenM said:

definitely not.

 

I dont want to be on a cruise ship that is a floating theme park, invaded by thousands of children.

 

On saying that, I have just been on my smallest ship to date, and I found it quite dull. A bit like an Old peoples home for cruisers. If the most exciting thing is an unused ballroom then its potentially very dull.

 

So the medium sized ships are my go to. 2500-3500 customers.

 

 

 

2,500 - 3,500 is our sweet spot too.  Large enough to have a lively atmosphere with things happening throughout the day as well as places to chill when that is needed.  

 

I'm not bothered by families & children.  Just the opposite really.  In reality there will be much fewer on this size than the 5,000 - 6,000 passenger ships.  

[donaldsc]

Not sure why any of us our wasting our time answering this question but no - bigger is never better and the bigger the the ship the worser it is.  My sweet spot is less than 500 people but I will go up to 1000 if the itinerary is great and there is no alternative.  I did a cruise once on a ship that held 22 people.

 

DON

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, donaldsc said:

Not sure why any of us our wasting our time answering this question but no - bigger is never better and the bigger the the ship the worser it is.  My sweet spot is less than 500 people but I will go up to 1000 if the itinerary is great and there is no alternative.  I did a cruise once on a ship that held 22 people.

 

DON

Agreed - but you should realize that a lot of posters here have only sailed on 3,000 plus passenger ships of mass market lines.  Once you are over 3,000 you have big ship mentality/attitude - it would be interesting (though probably impossible) to get a head count of regular CC posters who have ever experienced a smaller (less than 1,000 passengers) ship.

[CDNPolar]

We know people that are waiting for ships bigger than they are now.  They love these massive ships and don't even leave the ship at ports.  They are there only for the ship and the waterslides and other activities.

[donaldsc]

I have a suggestion for the bigger is better people. They should go 100 miles off shore so that they are in international waters and then go around in little circles without docking anywhere.  This would make the people who have the "ship is the destination" mentality.  There might be a requirement and the ship dock somewhere for a few hours but other than that the ship would spend the entire week at sea.  Since the ship would be barely moving it wouldn't even burn much fuel so the running costs would be low.

 

I will bet that they would sell out all of the cruises.

 

DON

[Aquahound]

18 hours ago, crusingrightnow said:

Is a bigger cruise ship always better?

 

 

Yup.  I think so.  I love the mega ships, and I don't care who gets offended by my saying that.