Cruise ship space ratio

I found a reference comparing ship space to passenger ratios, calculated as gross tonnage divided by passenger capacity. Gross tonnage is an indication of total enclosed spaced rather than the total weight of the ship. A higher number indicates a ship that will feel less crowded regardless of the number of passengers.

http://travel.travelocity.com/ecruise/ShipFinder.do

It was interesting to confirm my suspicion that the older HAL ships have higher space ratios (with some exceptions) and that the new larger Signature class ships have lower space ratios. It was also interesting to compare HAL to other cruise lines. Carnival did not fare well with regard to space ratios. Disney ships, on the other hand, were better than the other large ships.

The small premium ships were hit and miss. Most were very good, but a few were no better than the large ships. The riverboats were very tight, but those are generally port intensive journeys.

igraf

Thanks for posting. Interesting numbers.

It is all about the suites on HAL. One traveling on a standard balcony on a Hal vista or a Carnival Spirit isn't gonna notice a difference if you are an off peak (non kid loaded) ship.

Hugh in Dallas

I think that ship design and passenger traffic flow are equally important. Some ships may have a higher space ratio but poor design can make them feel more crowded.

I found a reference comparing ship space to passenger ratios, calculated as gross tonnage divided by passenger capacity. Gross tonnage is an indication of total enclosed spaced rather than the total weight of the ship. A higher number indicates a ship that will feel less crowded regardless of the number of passengers.

 

http://travel.travelocity.com/ecruise/ShipFinder.do

 

It was interesting to confirm my suspicion that the older HAL ships have higher space ratios (with some exceptions) and that the new larger Signature class ships have lower space ratios. It was also interesting to compare HAL to other cruise lines. Carnival did not fare well with regard to space ratios. Disney ships, on the other hand, were better than the other large ships.

 

The small premium ships were hit and miss. Most were very good, but a few were no better than the large ships. The riverboats were very tight, but those are generally port intensive journeys.

 

igraf

Thanks for posting this.

I sailed last year on a ship that rated 42. This year, same class ship with extra staterooms has brought that number down to 40. Will be interested to see if I can "feel" the difference.

True. People often say that the newer Celebrity Equinox class ships do not feel crowded due to good design.

I would add that the gross tonnage figures may not include Holland America's excellent promenade decks as they are not fully enclosed spaces. If so, this would significantly understate HAL's space ratios.

I also suspect the Disney is more likely to have 3rd and 4th passengers in the staterooms, which would cause their ratios to be overstated.

igraf

I think that ship design and passenger traffic flow are equally important. Some ships may have a higher space ratio but poor design can make them feel more crowded.

Thanks for the info. It's interesting.

Great chart. USA Today did a writeup on this topic when the Coral/ Island Princess rolled out. These 2 ships have the best space ration for mass market cruise lines and better than some luxury lines. Contrast that with the newest Princess ships with poor ratios.

I believe these ratios are based on standard double occupancy. Ships with poor ratios really get crowded when there are lots of 3rd and 4th passengers on board.

Holland America ships handles the crowd pretty well. I've never felt crowded on board.

Interesting that Oasis/Allure only score 40.0 despite their huge size, and #3 in the world, NCL Epic, is only 36.0.

Thanks so much for posting this. I know I felt crowded on Princess last time - never have on HAL. Good point on the promenade deck as a lot of people do spend time there and it probably does not count as a public space. No question in my mind that the 'old' ships offer a lot more space than the new ones.:D

Thanks for posting.

That the space ratio per passenger is not the whole story. It is the sum of the gross square footage.

Alot of the space may be enclosed or below decks. In comparing Celeb and other ships this is true. I checked actual deck plans and found that while people tout the solstice space, it has a much smaller open deck plan, No real aft deck like Holland, no Prominade, limited expansive open decks you can get out and walk around.

On the New Amsterdam, We were next to a Solstice ship and it , compared to ours to pretty much all enclosed passenger space. No aft pool deck all cabins

So space ratio is only part of the story.. Look at the deck plans if you want to get outside and enjoy the sea and not through a glass wall.:cool:

I agree the open space out on deck has a lot to do with how a ship feels. We hate those ships without an open aft deck and avoid them like the plague.

Eurodam has a decent rating, but because of what I consider poor design, the Lido feels very crowded during peak-use hours.

Interesting chart and interesting thread.

I found a reference comparing ship space to passenger ratios, calculated as gross tonnage divided by passenger capacity. Gross tonnage is an indication of total enclosed spaced rather than the total weight of the ship. A higher number indicates a ship that will feel less crowded regardless of the number of passengers.

 

http://travel.travelocity.com/ecruise/ShipFinder.do

 

It was interesting to confirm my suspicion that the older HAL ships have higher space ratios (with some exceptions) and that the new larger Signature class ships have lower space ratios. It was also interesting to compare HAL to other cruise lines. Carnival did not fare well with regard to space ratios. Disney ships, on the other hand, were better than the other large ships.

 

The small premium ships were hit and miss. Most were very good, but a few were no better than the large ships. The riverboats were very tight, but those are generally port intensive journeys.

 

igraf

Very interesting. From my own experience, if you get bumped you fell like it is crowded - even if it technically isn't full or crowded by industry norms.

(Ditto kids - if you see 1 child behaving badly you assume the ship is full of kids even if there are only 20 conversely if you don't see any children behaving badly, you may not realize that there are 1,000 kids on board.)