large ship vs smaller ship

We are looking into going on a cruise on Princess to the Norwegian Fjords. Princess has two itineraries and one is on the Sapphire Princess with 2700+ passengers and one is on the Pacific Princess with approx 750 passengers. I am aware that smaller ships can get into some ports that a larger ship cannot but in terms of number of passengers, is a lesser number preferable to a lot of passengers?

Barb

I would think it is strictly a personal preference.:)

It does come down to personal preference.

You may want to post this on the dedicated Princess Cruise Line Board to get as much input as you can from frequent Princess Cruisers at:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=197

Keith

We will be on the Pacific Princess in June as she sails the fjords of western Norway. We love the little ships, so I admit to being prejudiced.

The smaller have advantages and disadvantages. Fewer people means less crowding. We quickly get off the ship upon arrival in port. Even tendering is quicker. We can get into smaller ports where the larger ships are either skipping the port or docking an hour or more from the city.

However, the smaller ship will also have less to offer. There will be fewer activities. No Anytime Dining. Fewer shore excursions.

I see you have also posted on the Princess Board which I think is great.

Keith

It is a personal preference. When you say a small cruise ship, that can have multiple meanings. A small cruise ship for one of the big companies is actually big by other standards.

Overall, I think the topic gets overblown by a lot of people. I honestly don't think most people care about the size in itself. I believe most people care more about crowding and availability of activities. Although some do like the cozy or busy feels.

For the Norwegian coast, smaller ships are better. Almost all port towns are small and easily overwhelmed with the huge number of visitors from a large ship.

We've done both- on the large Independence OTS, and the small Balmoral.

Indy OTS had umpteen activities, but the problem was that, like any ship built for the Caribbean, many of them should have taken place on the open decks- the swimming facilities were superb, but the weather wasn't, so we found that the majority of people were inside much of the time, and the ship wasn't planned for that. The ports were fine, but the very small villages, such as Sonjafjord were overwhelmed by all these people.

The smaller ship didn't have all the attractions of the large one, but we visited smaller fjords and villages without problems.

We will be on the Pacific Princess in June as she sails the fjords of western Norway. We love the little ships, so I admit to being prejudiced.

 

 

The smaller have advantages and disadvantages. Fewer people means less crowding. We quickly get off the ship upon arrival in port. Even tendering is quicker. We can get into smaller ports where the larger ships are either skipping the port or docking an hour or more from the city.

 

However, the smaller ship will also have less to offer. There will be fewer activities. No Anytime Dining. Fewer shore excursions.

Were you able to find private tour companies and people from the ship to share excursions with?

Barb

Thanks to all of you who took the time to answer with some great responses. I also posted on the Princess site and got the impression that most of you prefer the smaller ship with fewer passengers. I think we are now leaning towards trying the Pacific Princess based on all the recommendations.

Happy Cruising!

Barb

I only do small ships unless the large (>1000 passenger) ships have a unique itinerary. Very few ships have unique itineraries. All of my recent cruises have been on the R8 class ships.

DON

We are looking into going on a cruise on Princess to the Norwegian Fjords. Princess has two itineraries and one is on the Sapphire Princess with 2700+ passengers and one is on the Pacific Princess with approx 750 passengers. I am aware that smaller ships can get into some ports that a larger ship cannot but in terms of number of passengers, is a lesser number preferable to a lot of passengers?

 

 

 

Barb

There are entire cruise lines built on that premise of "smaller is better." But, they are primarily the premium/luxury cruise industry segment where the smaller size is accompanied by far superior food, service and amenities (though you might be surprised by a bottom line comparison of all anticipated expenses that are included on the higher end lines but optional costs at the lower end.

BTW, a few years ago, Princess sold a different "R ship," Ocean Princess, to Oceania who then turned around and did a $40 million USD rehab to bring it up to its current grandeur- sailing as Sirena.

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Were you able to find private tour companies and people from the ship to share excursions with?

 

Barb

Yes, we have several private tours booked.

I would go with the smaller ship.

My preference is always for a smaller ship.

From my perspective, having cruised on most of the ships in the Princess fleet, and the Pacific Princess 3 times so far, the Pacific Princess is a one of a kind, in more ways than one, and would be my choice for ANY cruise.

Smaller IS definitely better, but that's JMO. Virtually everything that is available on the larger Princess ships is also available on the Pacific, just on a smaller scale. The ambiance is different. Everything onboard is just a few minutes away. It amazes me that most times when I push the button for an elevator, it arrives quickly, with no one in it!! The cabins have small sofas in them! Even the porthole cabins down on the lowest passenger deck have one! The production shows and guest performances are done on the Cabaret Lounge, and they are right there in front of you. The dancers perform right on the dance floor, not up on the stage. The crew and staff are very personable and seem to show interest in the passengers as individuals. Because you see the same passengers day after day, it seems easier to make more new cruise friends. Getting off and on the ship in ports is generally much quicker, which is a big plus.

Yeah, I love cruising on the Pacific! And I hope to be able to do some more cruises on her soon.

As a solo traveler, it has been my experience that it's easier to make connections with fellow travelers on a smaller ship. Whether that is because you tend to run into the same people over and over again or whether smaller ships attract a different crowd, I couldn't say. Perhaps it is due to these ships often having fewer entertainment options -- who knows!

I also think people behave better. On a large ship you are more anonymous. On a small ship, if you cut in front of someone in the buffet line, you're all too likely to find that same person is in the seat in front of you on the excursion bus. :eek:

Finally, I agree that small ships have a lot of pluses when it comes to pain points like getting on and off the ship, waiting in line for anything, and especially in regard to ports. Smaller ships are sometimes able to dock much closer to city centers than large ones, which can save a lot of time -- this is especially true in Asia (for example, in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City) and in some places in Europe.

There are cruise lines which only have small ships, and are not at the luxury end of the market. Both Fred Olsen and Cruise & Maritime use only smaller, older ships, and have very reasonable prices. Their itineraries are often unusual, and both lines have a successful world cruise each winter.