Before you complain about HAL ships getting larger...

[SilvertoGold]

Now this post gives you pause to think. Never thought about that while onboard.

 

Every cruise, we stand out on deck for the Muster Drill and think how it would go if we had to abandon ship. Would pax know what to do, where to go, how the life boats would be lowered, etc.

 

We've heard someone ask where the lifeboat was. One asked how to get up "there" to get into it - ladders?

 

I just wonder how it would work in even a small ship!! Anything really big makes me itch!!

[qsuzi]

every cruise, we stand out on deck for the muster drill and think how it would go if we had to abandon ship. Would pax know what to do, where to go, how the life boats would be lowered, etc.

 

We've heard someone ask where the lifeboat was. One asked how to get up "there" to get into it - ladders?

 

I just wonder how it would work in even a small ship!! Anything really big makes me itch!!

 

Okay :)

Edited March 31, 2015 by qsuzi

[momatibm]

my problem is...it seems to me that the newer bigger ships are only doing shorter itineraries, we really only like longer cruises.

[Lady Chew]

We have sailed on both Oasis & Allure, and loved both cruises. As someone mentioned earlier, once you get past embarkation, you don't really feel crowded. They are truly beautiful ships, and the engineering is incredible. You constantly think to yourself "how do they do this at sea?" You go on these ships to stay on the ship, because the ports are limited.

 

If we were ever taking a multi-generational family cruise, we'd for sure be on one of the Royal C ships.

 

We have many days with HAL as well, but it's like comparing apples to oranges - they're both fruit, but completely different.

[kazu]

We have sailed on both Oasis & Allure, and loved both cruises. As someone mentioned earlier, once you get past embarkation, you don't really feel crowded. They are truly beautiful ships, and the engineering is incredible. You constantly think to yourself "how do they do this at sea?" You go on these ships to stay on the ship, because the ports are limited.

 

If we were ever taking a multi-generational family cruise, we'd for sure be on one of the Royal C ships.

 

We have many days with HAL as well, but it's like comparing apples to oranges - they're both fruit, but completely different.

 

well said :)

[sammiedawg]

I've loved big ships and disliked some small ones, passenger counts are not necessarily reflective of public space or overall quality. More objective measurements are the passenger space ratio and crew to passenger ratio. Oasis/Allure have fairly good space ratios 40.2 but their crew to passenger ratio at 1 to 3 is not optimal. Eurodam is a pretty good ship with a space ratio of 46.5, crew ratio of 1 to 2.3. I dislike Caribbean Princess due to a poor passenger space ratio but love the Island and Coral Princess with high space ratios of 45. We liked Ryndam, space ratio 45.2.

Oceania Marina/Riviera are fabulous ships, space ratio 52.5 and crew to passenger 1.57.

 

I'm looking forward to trying Oasis/Allure and my mind would go crazy trying to figure out the logistics of it all. I would love trying to figure out how they do it. People who sail them often say the cruise ship is the destination. Oasis/Allure are doing a lot right to please the cruising public. They command very, very high per diems for a mass market line.

I don't know where to slot Disney cruise lines, I think they are considered mass market but I know first hand they command an astounding per diem for unique reasons.

Edited March 31, 2015 by sammiedawg

[sevenseasnomad]

Those floating hotels/resorts are not for us. Thank heavens for all types/sizes of ships/cruises.

[lazey1]

We have sailed on both Oasis & Allure, and loved both cruises. As someone mentioned earlier, once you get past embarkation, you don't really feel crowded. They are truly beautiful ships, and the engineering is incredible. You constantly think to yourself "how do they do this at sea?" You go on these ships to stay on the ship, because the ports are limited.

 

That was certainly Not our experience on the Allure. With the exception of Central Park all of the public areas were extremely crowded and extremely noisy. The ship was beatifully decorated but the cabins and verandas were tiny, almost claustraphobic.

 

We couldn't wait to get off the Allure.

[qsuzi]

I've loved big ships and disliked some small ones, passenger counts are not necessarily reflective of public space or overall quality. More objective measurements are the passenger space ratio and crew to passenger ratio. Oasis/Allure have fairly good space ratios 40.2 but their crew to passenger ratio at 1 to 3 is not optimal. Eurodam is a pretty good ship with a space ratio of 46.5, crew ratio of 1 to 2.3. I dislike Caribbean Princess due to a poor passenger space ratio but love the Island and Coral Princess with high space ratios of 45. We liked Ryndam, space ratio 45.2. Oceania Marina/Riviera are fabulous ships, space ratio 52.5 and crew to passenger 1.57.

.

 

Thanks for mentioning this. I wonder how many people actually determine space and crew ratio before taking a cruise? One reason we decided to sail HAL for the first time was their advertized good public space ratio. We don't generally calculate that information prior to selecting the ship/cruise but something to consider for future selections.

[Tarpeian Rock]

Just found this post over on the Royal Caribbean forums:

 

 

This claim is false. Someone needs to read up on the "Wilhelm

Gustloff" -- estimated 10,500 aboard when sunk by Russia in WWII. Of course, this was far above her rated capacity - Germans fleeing at the end of the war. Terrible loss of life - 8-9,000 estimated.

[cl.klink]

my problem is...it seems to me that the newer bigger ships are only doing shorter itineraries, we really only like longer cruises.

 

Interesting point.

 

The thing I would add is that the bigger ships feel more like buildings than ships. They are increasingly ships just in a semantic sense, but when you're not looking out, could fool yourself that your at land. Even sitting on veranda, feels a bit like a hotel with a. Jew of the ocean rather than "at" sea per see. I like a ship to feel ship-y a little.

 

- Joel

[cl.klink]

Interesting point.

 

The thing I would add is that the bigger ships feel more like buildings than ships. They are increasingly ships just in a semantic sense, but when you're not looking out, could fool yourself that your at land. Even sitting on veranda, feels a bit like a hotel with a. Jew of the ocean rather than "at" sea per see. I like a ship to feel ship-y a little.

 

- Joel

 

That's supposed to be "a view" of the ocean. I guess I have something to atone for on Yom Kippur this year. I'll bring this up at my Passover Seder this week!

 

My goodness.

 

- Joel

[InTheWASide]

This claim is false. Someone needs to read up on the "Wilhelm

Gustloff" -- estimated 10,500 aboard when sunk by Russia in WWII. Of course, this was far above her rated capacity - Germans fleeing at the end of the war. Terrible loss of life - 8-9,000 estimated.

 

That figure includes crew. The ship I believe holds around 6300-6400 max capacity for paying guests. Crew would be additional. This is absolutely possible for this ship, just a crazy figure to think of all being on one cruise ship, regardless of the size.

 

As it's right at typical spring break time I would think this very possible and believable

[InTheWASide]

my problem is...it seems to me that the newer bigger ships are only doing shorter itineraries, we really only like longer cruises.

 

 

Koningsdam seems to be offering a nice variety of cruises in Europe and there's been limited talk of 10-11 day cruises when she comes across to the Caribbean.

 

It's not getting the same itinerary treatment that Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam both got.

 

Unless by longer you mean more than a few weeks in which case the older smaller ships are more likely to fill up so they would be the ones selected for that

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I'm ok with HAL being an older crowd, with cooking demonstrations & classes, Dancing with the Stars, and DVD players in the cabins. All other things similar, I would be ok if the ship were full of Millennials, and a giant obstacle course on deck. We're in our mid 30's, don't mind a generation gap, and are pretty easy going with entertainment. What we do care about is good food, comfy beds, and a nice itinerary.

 

I'm seeing mixed reviews on Oasis food and staff moral, and even worse reviews on Quantum (46% positive). Oasis can only go to half a dozen or so ports in the Caribbean, so why do they need 3 of them in Port Canaveral? I almost wonder if they're saturating the market. At the end of the day, I have no interest in this, and HAL would be the last major cruise line I would expect to compete.

[rafinmd]

Welcome home. We were on the Grandeur in 2002. How recently has she been refurbished? She has the retractable roof over the pool, right? What did you find to like about her?

 

There is no retractable roof. There are 2 pools, one totally outdoors, and the second in a permanent solarium. Refurbished is a bit of a sore subject. The ship had a major "revitalization" in late 2012, and is due for another drydock in 2017. The last drydock was in May-July 2013 after a fire in the aft of the ship.

 

What I really like most about the Grandeur is the convenience. My disembarkation group was called at 9:30 today and I walked in my door at 10:30, after visiting 8 ports as far from Baltimore as Cozumel. I came home on the Airport Shuttle shared van service and was with another cruiser who also would have preferred HAL. When they mentioned that they got to Baltimore later than planned because of a major snowstorm I pointed out that if they were on HAL they would have had to fly out to Ft. Lauderdale in that weather. Can't beat an easy trip to the port.

 

Other things I like are the massive glass windows around the Centrum and the forward facing buffet restaurant. The crew was great but of course I'd have gotten that with HAL as well.

 

Roy

[Himself]

give me the HAL ships any day of the week.

[0bnxshs]

This claim is false. Someone needs to read up on the "Wilhelm

Gustloff" -- estimated 10,500 aboard when sunk by Russia in WWII. Of course, this was far above her rated capacity - Germans fleeing at the end of the war. Terrible loss of life - 8-9,000 estimated.

 

That figure includes crew. The ship I believe holds around 6300-6400 max capacity for paying guests. Crew would be additional. This is absolutely possible for this ship, just a crazy figure to think of all being on one cruise ship, regardless of the size.

 

As it's right at typical spring break time I would think this very possible and believable

 

I took his statement of the claim of "largest amount of people on board" as what was false, not the actual number of people.

[qsuzi]

This claim is false. Someone needs to read up on the "Wilhelm

Gustloff" -- estimated 10,500 aboard when sunk by Russia in WWII. Of course, this was far above her rated capacity - Germans fleeing at the end of the war. Terrible loss of life - 8-9,000 estimated.

 

The MV Wilhelm Gustloff was a floating barracks for naval personnel before being put into service to transport evacuees in 1945. Technically that is passengers but IMHO stretching the general cruise ship definition. But back to the intent/subject of the thread - thinking about (putting into perspective) HAL's new larger passenger ships compared with other cruise lines, e.g., RCI.

Edited April 1, 2015 by qsuzi

[Orsino]

I've loved big ships and disliked some small ones, passenger counts are not necessarily reflective of public space or overall quality. More objective measurements are the passenger space ratio and crew to passenger ratio. Oasis/Allure have fairly good space ratios 40.2 but their crew to passenger ratio at 1 to 3 is not optimal. Eurodam is a pretty good ship with a space ratio of 46.5, crew ratio of 1 to 2.3. I dislike Caribbean Princess due to a poor passenger space ratio but love the Island and Coral Princess with high space ratios of 45. We liked Ryndam, space ratio 45.2.

Oceania Marina/Riviera are fabulous ships, space ratio 52.5 and crew to passenger 1.57.

 

I'm looking forward to trying Oasis/Allure and my mind would go crazy trying to figure out the logistics of it all. I would love trying to figure out how they do it. People who sail them often say the cruise ship is the destination. Oasis/Allure are doing a lot right to please the cruising public. They command very, very high per diems for a mass market line.

I don't know where to slot Disney cruise lines, I think they are considered mass market but I know first hand they command an astounding per diem for unique reasons.

 

I love this post.

Where do you get your data?

[qsuzi]

I love this post.

Where do you get your data?

 

Me too. I also would like to know where to get this data (hopefully one source).

[Topsham]

The record of 'passengers' (troops) on a ship was the Cunarder QUEEN MARY in 1943.

 

She carried 15,740 on a record crossing from NY to Greenock. In addition with the crew.... the number was way over 17,000.

 

 

 

Before the RCI passenger ships the record of real paying passengers... was the British India Steam Ship Co. s.s. RAJULA. 8,500 grt. Her greatest peacetime passenger records for FIVE THOUSAND per sailing. Built 1926 and scrapped in 1973. Her run was from Indian east coast, Madras to Penang and Singapore.

Edited April 1, 2015 by Topsham

[jtl513]

That figure includes crew. The ship I believe holds around 6300-6400 max capacity for paying guests. Crew would be additional.

Wikipedia says 6,296 max passengers and 2,394 crew for a total of 8,690, so theoretically the Oasis (or Allure) could break their current 8,490 record.

 

We were on the Disney Dream with about 3,500 pax and that was too many for us!

 

Edited April 1, 2015 by jtl513

[qsuzi]

The record of 'passengers' (troops) on a ship was the Cunarder QUEEN MARY in 1943.

 

She carried 15,740 on a record crossing from NY to Greenock. In addition with the crew.... the number was way over 17,000.

 

 

 

Before the RCI passenger ships the record of real paying passengers... was the British India Steam Ship Co. s.s. RAJULA. 8,500 grt. Her greatest peacetime passenger records for FIVE THOUSAND per sailing. Built 1926 and scrapped in 1973. Her run was from Indian east coast, Madras to Penang and Singapore.

 

I'm sure your mind has an amazing amount of ship type information. :)

[Jim Avery]

Me too. I also would like to know where to get this data (hopefully one source).

 

Wikipedia is one source. easy enough to divide the registered tonnage by the posted passenger capacity.:D