Looking for a new (less crowded) cruise experience

[SRQbeachgirl]

We returned a couple of weeks ago from a 7-day cruise aboard Carnival Breeze and it was the most crowded ship we have ever cruised. Surprisingly, we did not have the same feeling about her sister ship, Magic, last year. Mid-way through our Breeze cruise, though, I was tired of standing in lines, searching for an empty table/chair, waiting forever for elevators, dodging kids, kids, and more kids......and was definitely feeling rather anti-social. This was our 7th cruise, having previously cruised Carnival and RCI, on ships ranging from 1,400 to 3,700 passengers.

 

We are about to be empty-nesters (son graduates from college this year!) and my DH and I will be cruising on our own, so we are ready to move up to a different cruise experience. We don't need or want ropes courses, ziplines, rock walls, water slides, or other features that make up the new goliath amusement parks at sea. Give us a small to mid-sized ship with a balcony cabin, a good thermal spa, uncrowded deck space where we can watch the sea slip by, good food options, and we're happy.

 

Budget is still an issue - looking to keep it to around $250/day per person (not including excursions, drinks, airfare, etc.). We'll also be looking to cruise more in non-summer months (unless it's to a cold climate region).  So, any suggestions on cruise lines and ships we should be looking into?

[Aquahound]

Based on your criteria and costs, I recommend Celebrity and Holland America.  Both are much more laid back and feel far less crowded.  

 

 

[mom says]

Sailing outside if school holidays and on cruises more than 7 days will help reduce the ankle biters and partiers. But I agree that Celebrity and HAL, as well as Princess may work for you. Some may say to move up the Premium or Luxury ladder, but I doubt they will fall within your budget unless you stumble across a sale or last minute deal

[clo]

Oceania's Marina or Riviera.

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/

[Flatbush Flyer]

31 minutes ago, mom says said:

Sailing outside if school holidays and on cruises more than 7 days will help reduce the ankle biters and partiers. But I agree that Celebrity and HAL, as well as Princess may work for you. Some may say to move up the Premium or Luxury ladder, but I doubt they will fall within your budget unless you stumble across a sale or last minute deal

A "sale" or "deal" is not always needed to enjoy a far better cruising experience. Premium/luxury price/value really depends on itinerary and OP's cruise expectations/preferences/etc.

 

OP mentioned airfare, excursions, drinks....

If they will be flying intercontinental, remember that even economy airfare could easily cost them at least $1k+/person. Some premium/luxury lines' cabin cost includes that airfare (or an air credit), unlimited internet, choice of booze or excursions (or both in some cases) and all food and beverages (incl unlimited specialty restaurants). On a premium line such as Oceania, add to all that stellar quality of food and service, very restrictive smoking policy, great crew and space ratio for the <700 passengers on the R ships and <1200 on the O ships, few kids or chair hogs, no pesky photogs/art shows or nickel-diming and it's easy to understand why so many Celebrity and HAL cruisers have moved up to premium cruising (without taxing their total cruise budget).

 

OP: Do the bottom line math for net daily rate of ALL required/optionally chosen expenses door-to-door and you may be pleasantly surprised!

 

Still want a bigger "deal" in the not-too-distant future? Check out Oceania's current pricing on short Caribbean cruises with itineraries where other ports have had to be substituted for Cuba. And don't forget to use a TA member of O's Connoisseurs Club for added savings/perks (e.g., gratuities, commission sharing, etc.)

 

Edited August 17, 2019 by Flatbush Flyer

[SRQbeachgirl]

Thank you for the suggestions! Azamara and Oceania look really intriguing and seem to match up with what we're looking for. Will also check out Celebrity and the others mentioned. I knew my fellow Cruise Critters would have some good suggestions! 😉

[LHT28]

40 minutes ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

Thank you for the suggestions! Azamara and Oceania look really intriguing and seem to match up with what we're looking for. Will also check out Celebrity and the others mentioned. I knew my fellow Cruise Critters would have some good suggestions! 😉

You may have to up your budget

 but check what is included  in the pricing   also

 

The cabins will probably  be smaller  than on main stream lines   but then the ships are smaller & less  lines 😉

It is  a trade off

 

[MBP&O2/O]

We were looking for a similar experience as the OP.

We rejected Regent and Oceania, seriously considered Viking, and ended up with one from Silversea ... budget was an issue but when you add up the extras on other lines, and compare the end product, it was a competitive price.

We were shocked at the pricing of the add ons on Oceania.

[LHT28]

7 minutes ago, MBP&O2/O said:

We were shocked at the pricing of the add ons on Oceania.

what add ons?

They are a premium line  so no free alcohol   but people can choose to buy the package or not

Unlike some lines where you are paying  for alcohol even if you do not drink

[thinfool]

   For us, timing is everything.  November, December and January are the best times for a cruise....(exclude the holidays in December and January).

   On our full transit Panama Canal cruise in November a few years ago (Princess) there were 9 children on board.  And, because they were involved with the ship's youth programs, we never saw any of them except at meal time with their family or on a special program that the ship presented.

   I cannot remember seeing even one child (and no crowds) when we sailed around South America on HAL in early December '16.  There were, however, a few crabby seniors.  LOL

[flamomo]

Take a look at the Pacific Princess …… lovely little ship with only 670 passengers. I've cruised on her several times before and have a 29 day Venice to Ft Lauderdale booked for later this year. The main reason for booking that one, besides the great itinerary, was the fact that it is on THAT particular ship.

About the only time there's a line is the short one waiting to go to our tables at dinnertime. And many of the people in that line are chit-chatting with fellow passengers and having a great time. No major lines when getting on and off the ship in ports, even when there is tendering. Elevators are usually empty when the door opens at the floor where you are waiting for it. Usually if there are any kids on the ship, it's one or two …. not herds!

To me, pricing seems to be moderate, pretty much in line with the other ships in the Princess fleet.

[Hlitner]

In the cruise world space is about space ratios and price.  The luxury lines such as Seabourn, Silverseas, Regent, Crystal, Sea Dream, etc. will give you a cruise experience with plenty of personal space, few queues, less regimentation, etc.  Many of these higher cost lines have few or no photographers chasing you around for a photo op, very few PA announcements to add annoyance to your day, no cheap tables crammed with junk (like inches of gold) blocking public corridors, etc.  Like many things in life, with the cruise industry you do often get what you pay for.

 

So here is a tip for the OP about something called "space ratios."  Take the posted gross tonnage of a ship and divide it by the passenger capacity.  So, for example, the Oasis of the Seas is 225,000 tons and has a capacity of 5492 which equals a space capacity of about 41 tons per passenger.  Now compare that to a ship such as the Crystal Serenity which is about 69,000 tons and carries 980 passengers equaling a space ratio of about 70 tons per person.  In a general way you will find those ships with higher space ratios feel less crowded (because that is the reality).

 

There are variations on this theme.  For example, the MSC ships do not have a very good space ratio.  But those ships have a ship within a ship called the Yacht Club which is closed off from the main part of the ship and is only used by those who pay for that "experience."  Go outside the Yacht Club and the ship will feel crowded, deck chairs are crammed against each other (like on Carnival and RCI) and it can be very crowded.  But escape back inside the Yacht Club area and it is very uncrowded, there are plenty of deck chairs, no queues for service at the bar, etc.    NCL has a similar set-up with their Haven Suite area as does Cunard with their so-called "grill" suites.  But like the more spacious luxury vessels these ships within a ship are about paying more money for more space.

 

Hank

[LHT28]

There  are some websites that give the Ratios  measured in ft  not tons

here is one

https://www.cruisemapper.com/wiki/761-cruise-ship-passenger-capacity-ratings

[navybankerteacher]

Obviously Crystal, Oceania, Regent and their ilk will give you more of what you want . But if cost remains a consideration, HAL’s and Celebrity’s smaller, older ships may work for you as well - particularly on longer itineraries.

 

The fact is, mass market cruising is a new phenomenon - until about the end of the twentieth century  cruising was a high end, relatively high priced, high quality, sort of leisurely introspective experience.   What is offered on NCL, Carnival, and Royal’s subsidiaries is really a new product - which many want - but which needs to be compared, at least once, with an alternative.

[clo]

8 hours ago, LHT28 said:

what add ons?

They are a premium line  so no free alcohol   but people can choose to buy the package or not

Unlike some lines where you are paying  for alcohol even if you do not drink

And you can carry it on and, with wine, pay a reasonable corkage fee.

[Heidi13]

21 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

We returned a couple of weeks ago from a 7-day cruise aboard Carnival Breeze and it was the most crowded ship we have ever cruised. Surprisingly, we did not have the same feeling about her sister ship, Magic, last year. Mid-way through our Breeze cruise, though, I was tired of standing in lines, searching for an empty table/chair, waiting forever for elevators, dodging kids, kids, and more kids......and was definitely feeling rather anti-social. This was our 7th cruise, having previously cruised Carnival and RCI, on ships ranging from 1,400 to 3,700 passengers.

You mentioned kids more than once, so the only cruise line operating in the N/American market with zero kids is Viking. As per all Premium/Luxury Lines, you need to compare the total cost of a cruise and not just the base fare.

 

In our experience, the total cost is almost consistent with mainstream mega ships.

[lynncarol]

Try one of the repositioning or transatlantic cruises. They are longer and on the one we took there were no children at all and the ship was probably only 2/3 filled despite some really bargain prices at the end.

[new_cruiser]

Other lines to consider are Windstar and Star Clippers. These are small ship lines - the ships carry between 140 and 310 passengers). Windstar is premium, Star Clippers is a bit harder to characterize but close in quality. 

 

On all the Star Clippers ships and 2 of the Windstar ships, there will never be a wait for an elevator.  (Okay, that's because there are no elevators 🙂 - you need to be fit enough to handle stairs on these ships. There are only 4-5 passenger decks so I find it fine.) The 4 larger Windstar ships have elevators - a lot of the passengers still use the stairs so there usually isn't much of a wait for them. 

 

These ships have plenty of uncrowded deck space, excellent food, well-traveled fellow passengers. They are missing a couple of things you mentioned. 3 of the Windstar ships have balconies, but other than a couple of very expensive suites, they are French Balconies (sliding door to an approximately 1-foot deep balcony). The other ships have no balconies, but with the deck so close by and uncrowded, I don't miss having a balcony. And they don't have a thermal spa. IIRC the Windstar "Star" ships have a sauna. 

 

For these lines as with some of the others mentioned, you might have to up your budget or shop for a sale.

 

Windstar posts a 7-for-7 special almost every Thursday - 7 cruises on sale for 7 days. This week, there is one 7-night that is well under your budget figure and one that is slightly over. There is a 14-night Star Collector that is $2199; with port taxes $2729 so just over $200 per person per night (Costa Rica, Panama Canal and Caribbean). I'd be tempted by that one except we just did the Panama Canal on one of their other ships - it's wonderful going through the canal on a small ship. About once per quarter, they run a bigger sale. Star Collector is their term for when they package 2 (or occasionally more) b2b cruises into a single fare. Those usually have a discount from the individual cruise fares and they include free laundry. 

 

Star Clipper often has specials. Sometimes these are free air, free pre-cruise hotel or both. Sometimes it's a price discount.

[Joebucks]

Never ever cruise outside of the school year if you don't like kids.

 

But there are also premium lines to further limit it

[SRQbeachgirl]

4 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

Never ever cruise outside of the school year if you don't like kids.

 

But there are also premium lines to further limit it

 

Having a kid ourselves, we didn't really have a choice but to cruise during the summer. We're looking forward to trying other times of the year and ships with fewer kids (not necessarily none).

[sanger727]

I really think celebrity will be a good fit. The pricing is competitive when you consider the perks that they are constantly throwing in. By cruising outside of school holidays and longer than 7 days you’ll find much less crowded ships and very few kids (honestly we often don’t realize there are any kids until we see a group taking a trip out from the kids club). 

[bbwex]

Now that you are empty nesters, you can cruise during school times, and that automatically limits the number of children.  We have used Oceania several times, and their ships are smaller, tend to have a more affluent clientele (so less drinking and general partying), and are less expensive than the full luxury lines.  Azamara and Oceania both try to hit the space between upper-scale mass market lines and the luxury lines.  As has been noted, there are some small ships among the mass market lines as well.

[donaldsc]

On 8/17/2019 at 3:34 PM, fyree39 said:

You could probably swing an Azamara or Oceania cruise. I'd look there. You'd probably want to stay away from all the mass market lines.

 

+1 on one of the R class ships.  Oceania, Azamara and Princess has one.

 

DON

[navybankerteacher]

On 8/17/2019 at 5:51 PM, Aquahound said:

Based on your criteria and costs, I recommend Celebrity and Holland America.  Both are much more laid back and feel far less crowded.  

 

 

And they do not attract too many families travelling with children, while offering better food and service, offset in part by less exciting entertainment ( especially HAL).

[spookwife]

On 8/18/2019 at 3:56 PM, Joebucks said:

Never ever cruise outside of the school year if you don't like kids.

 

But there are also premium lines to further limit it

 no such thing as 'outside the school year ' any longer.  between  homeschooling and  these new fangled year round schools and different areas/countries having different  school break schedules , the potential for kids is always there.

 

the best way to minimize exposure is to sail lines that do not have a well regarded kids club program( or any), to sail  longer itineraries(8+ nights)  and choose ships without all the on board bells and whistles.