Mega Cruise ships....how big is too big?

[ldlewis45]

I'll admit that my only experience with the larger ships has been with Carnival so far, but I really found their biggest ship (the Breeze) to be less crowded than the smaller ship I sailed on (the Fascination). Yes, there's a lot more people packed onto the ship, but there's more space and more activities and different things to do, so everyone isn't packed into the casino and the lido deck, like they were on the Fascination. I really felt like I had more room to enjoy myself and to get away from other people on the Breeze. After sailing on that ship, I really would have a hard time downgrading to a smaller ship that made me feel more cramped for space and like I was packed in like a sardine.

[NH Cruisers]

As what would be considered a "cheerleader" for US flag ships, I am all for US flag ships and crews, but unfortunately, your ideas are not quite correct.

 

The only large (more than 1000 passenger) US cruise ship was really built in Germany, and required a special act of Congress to allow it to trade in the PVSA trade in Hawaii. If you could find a yard in the US to build a cruise ship (most would run away screaming, as they would lose their shirt on the first couple they built), it would triple the cost, which would affect your ticket prices from before the first cruise.

 

The NCL Hawaiian cruises are nearly the same price for a 7 day cruise as the foreign flag ships charge for a 14 day cruise from the West Coast. Plus, the West Coast cruises have over 3 times the fuel consumption, so the crew cost differential is much more than twice.

 

To have a US crew, even on a US East Coast itinerary would triple the ticket cost, at a minimum, perhaps more, especially for a smaller ship that cannot maintain the efficiency of size.

 

While I don't disagree that the ships are perhaps getting too large, I don't see the trend changing.

The hull of the Pride of America was built in Mississippi. The technology is there. Just no infrastucture and leadership to get the job done at competative rates.

[London-Calling]

I can't say the new class of ships such as 'Breakaway' (4000 or so passengers) appeal to me in the slightest.

 

The important factor is how much space you get on-board rather than the passenger total.

 

Some smaller ships, carrying say 1,500 passengers are more crowded than ships carrying 4,000+. The cruise terminal and organisation in the posts of call also plays an import past for mega-ships.

 

I boarded RCI's 'Oasis' at their new Fort Lauderdale cruise terminal. I was one of 6,000 passengers! I went from Kerb to cabin in 15 minutes. The ports of call were easy too!

 

RCI have certainly got it right.

[London-Calling]

but I really found their biggest ship (the Breeze) to be less crowded than the smaller ship I sailed on (the Fascination).

 

If you divide a ships gross tonnage by the number of passengers that it can carry, you will get a ratio like "40" or "25" which indicates how much space each passenger gets. The bigger that number, the more space you get.

 

It would be interesting to work out the ratios for both ships that you have named.

 

(You may have to use lower berth passenger totals as 'all berths' is sometimes difficult to find.)

[London-Calling]

It seems that the biggest concerns of those who have never been on a mega ship are all the passengers and the possibility of having to wait in long lines for everything.

 

This depends on the ships design of 'passenger flow' and how spacious a ship is.

 

As I said earlier some ships that carry 4,000 - 6,000 passengers can feel less crowded than ones that carry only 1,500.

 

The likes of Epic and Oasis/Allure can be 'busy' at peak times, but do not tend to feel over-crowded.

[London-Calling]

It seems that the biggest concerns of those who have never been on a mega ship are all the passengers and the possibility of having to wait in long lines for everything.

 

This depends on the ships design of 'passenger flow' and how spacious a ship is.

 

As I said earlier some ships that carry 4,000 - 6,000 passengers can feel less crowded than ones that carry only 1,500.

 

The likes of Epic and Oasis/Allure can be 'busy' at peak times, but do not tend to feel over-crowded.

[shelly11]

I have no desire to try any ship bigger than the Jewel class. I hope NCL is paying attention and keeps the 'smaller' ships in service.

[jaja]

It seems that the biggest concerns of those who have never been on a mega ship are all the passengers and the possibility of having to wait in long lines for everything. One of my concerns too. .

 

 

I agree...and to me... I think (as I have not been on a mega ship) it is more the problem with embarking and disembarking and same for ports of call.(esp. tender ports)....I do see the definite possiblilty of long lines...and delays...

[terrydtx]

I agree...and to me... I think (as I have not been on a mega ship) it is more the problem with embarking and disembarking and same for ports of call.(esp. tender ports)....I do see the definite possibility of long lines...and delays...

 

My last cruise on HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam with 2000 passengers took us over and hour and half to to check in on embarkation in FLL which I thought was ridiculous I heard from passengers on the Allure of the Seas docked across from us, that it took them 30 minutes or less to get on their ship. I think if a cruise company is prepared for the heavy traffic of getting on and off a mega ship your concerns will be a non issue. Again from reading many Epic reviews from CC people coming back from cruises, over crowding and long lines have not been any worse than other smaller NCL ships and in most cases a non issue.

[time2cruise1]

I agree...and to me... I think (as I have not been on a mega ship) it is more the problem with embarking and disembarking and same for ports of call.(esp. tender ports)....I do see the definite possiblilty of long lines...and delays...

 

Not sure where you expect more lines then a 2000 passenger ship.

A couple of things to consider first for the most part the mega ships do not tender. As far as embarkation the Epic for example uses 2 terminals. 1/2 the passengers in each so the same as 2000 passenger ship. I love smaller ships but having had the same fears as you before sailing on te Epic twice I found they are not justified.

 

 

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[chengkp75]

The hull of the Pride of America was built in Mississippi. The technology is there. Just no infrastucture and leadership to get the job done at competative rates.

 

Yes, the hull was built in Miss. I'm not saying that US yards cannot build commercial ships, but they don't want to. A commercial ship requires a much tighter timeline than a navy ship, and overruns and delays are on the yards nickle instead of the governments. That's the same reason that repair yards do not want commercial ship repair. We no longer have the expertise to estimate a job on the fly and get it going during the next day, as opposed to just getting the estimator to visit the ship to scope out the job the next day at the earliest.

 

Further, most of the cabins are fabricated off site, and there is no infrastructure to do this, which could be built, but would require a huge initial investment, and the companies that tooled up for it would not necessarily get a return on their investment unless many ships were built.

 

No shipyard in the US can build ships at "competitive rates" to even the northern European yards. Our wage structure, and workplace regulations drive the price well above foreign yards. Unfortunately, this has been true for decades. The great heyday of US shipbuilding was based on government subsidies to the amount of the difference between a foreign yard and a US yard. These subsidies went away years ago.

[mrdrdoso]

each has it pros and cons what i didn't like about the epic is that on the 7th deck you couldn't go outside, you had to go to the top of the ship, i did the headliner shows but there was nothing besides that, i personally love the shows every night. i enjoyed the epic but i liked the smaller boats much better. each to there own, and i did not like the bathrooms on the epic, i don't need to see my dh shadow on the toilet. so looking forward to my gem sailing in 31 days :D

[time2cruise1]

each has it pros and cons what i didn't like about the epic is that on the 7th deck you couldn't go outside, you had to go to the top of the ship, i did the headliner shows but there was nothing besides that, i personally love the shows every night. i enjoyed the epic but i liked the smaller boats much better. each to there own, and i did not like the bathrooms on the epic, i don't need to see my dh shadow on the toilet. so looking forward to my gem sailing in 31 days :D

 

Not disagreeing with any of your comments except I had no problem going outside on 7. Not the best views but you are out in the sea air

 

 

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[jaja]

Not sure where you expect more lines then a 2000 passenger ship.

A couple of things to consider first for the most part the mega ships do not tender. As far as embarkation the Epic for example uses 2 terminals. 1/2 the passengers in each so the same as 2000 passenger ship. I love smaller ships but having had the same fears as you before sailing on te Epic twice I found they are not justified.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - Jim

Thanks..for the info..and making me feel better...! I guess..since I use the NYC port...and have seen how hard it is sometimes to disembark..(esp.to find a porter if needed)-and esp when more than one ship docked...-I had my concerns...

[jaja]

My last cruise on HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam with 2000 passengers took us over and hour and half to to check in on embarkation in FLL which I thought was ridiculous I heard from passengers on the Allure of the Seas docked across from us, that it took them 30 minutes or less to get on their ship. I think if a cruise company is prepared for the heavy traffic of getting on and off a mega ship your concerns will be a non issue. Again from reading many Epic reviews from CC people coming back from cruises, over crowding and long lines have not been any worse than other smaller NCL ships and in most cases a non issue.

 

Thanks...appreciate the info...(see my last post )

[KeithJenner]

[quote name='jaja']I agree...and to me... I [B]think [/B](as I have not been on a mega ship) it is more the problem with embarking and disembarking and same for ports of call.(esp. tender ports)....I do see the definite possiblilty of long lines...and delays...[/QUOTE]

Adding together the total queuing time I had at all ports of call and disembarkation on the Epic last year for us comes to a grand total of absolutely nothing.

Embarkation was a different matter of course. We queued up for a whole minute.

[KeithJenner]

[quote name='shelly11']I have no desire to try any ship bigger than the Jewel class. I hope NCL is paying attention and keeps the 'smaller' ships in service.[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately, companies tend not to spend too much time worrying about the wishes of people who aren't even going to try their product.

[KeithJenner]

[quote name='KeithJenner']Unfortunately, companies tend not to spend too much time worrying about the wishes of people who aren't even going to try their product.[/QUOTE]

Actually, that's quite a flippant comment, and obviously they will keep the smaller ships in service for some time, even if only because it takes a while to build new ones.

They will still build bigger ones and eventually replace the Jewel class over time, just as the Epic and Breakaway will one day be replaced. Economics means that they will be replaced with big ships though. Customers will have the choice of trying the new ones, paying extra for the lines who have smaller ships, or stopping cruising.

[thescot123]

Totally agree with you. i like the intimate feel of a ship that is 2,000 and below. I travel solo on some cruises and would feel lost on a huge boat with 4,000 plus people. Have been on Sun,Sky,Spirit and Star and they are big enough for me.

[NLH Arizona]

[quote name='terrydtx']It seems that the biggest concerns of those who have never been on a mega ship are all the passengers and the possibility of having to wait in long lines for everything. One of my concerns too. I have been reading a lot of reviews and comments on CC from recent passengers on the Epic and that does not seem to be the reality. You do not see any horrific stories about long waits or over crowding from people coming back from the Epic that are out of the norm for any NCL ship. I have seen more than one comment that they booked on the Epic thinking they wouldn't like the size and after doing the cruise wouldn't go back to smaller ships in the future.

This is why we are rethinking our smaller ship only mentality.[/quote]
I don't have a problem standing in line or space limitations, but I do have a problem with that many passengers. I'll stick to the smaller ships.

[NormanW]

Any pax vessel too large to fit through the (current) Panama canal (panamax) is too big for me. ;)

My word is based on ship maintenance and operating procedure vs. being a passenger.

Maneuover req's at time of delivery is relaxed. Believe what you want about weather changing but these ships will beat the heck out of their occupants in a serious storm. Not everyone is Harrison Ford when it comes to surviving the tides. ;)

Cheers,

Norman

[Jolimont]

This may be unfair but I'll be blunt: I think mega ships are a problem for older people (or people of any age who have a problem getting around) because they make it necessary to walk more. But for healthy people the mega ships are a lot of fun.

[frediver]

Our "best" cruises have been on the smaller ships, Marco Polo and Sea Princess.
The mega ships passenger capacities could overwhelm smaller ports, islands or even Countries.
IMO 2000-2400 passengers is mega enough.

[London-Calling]

[quote name='jaja']I agree...and to me... I [B]think [/B](as I have not been on a mega ship) it is more the problem with embarking and disembarking and same for ports of call.(esp. tender ports)...[/quote]

Oasis and Allure will NEVER tender!

Does Epic not avoid tender ports?

[time2cruise1]

[quote name='London-Calling']Oasis and Allure will NEVER tender!

Does Epic not avoid tender ports?[/QUOTE]

Yes for the most part. None of the ports in winter are tender. I believe the Epic has tendered in one port in the Med.


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