Never cruised a huge ship. Booked on the Sky. Husband not happy.

[Paula_MacFan]

15 minutes ago, cruisintoddler said:

One thing that makes a difference to the crowds is how many people are actually on board - you are travelling in June - most K-12 kids are still in school. So I think that more cabins will have couples rather than families.  In July/ Aug when younger kids are off, more families will travel and the cabins will be full with 3 and 4 in each - thus maxing out the number of passengers on board. 

Where we live in middle America the kids get out of school in late May and go back in early August.  Our schools have been in session for 2+ weeks already.  

[brisalta]

4 hours ago, suzyed said:

As a matter of fact we sailed on one of the small ships (approx 3000 passengers)

 

Those are not small ships!

[PrincessLuver]

The Royal Class ships are our favorite and feel the least crowed of all the Princess ships to us.  Princess does Princess well and I would encourage your husband to give it a try.  You are going to be doing a Baltic cruise so you will be spending more time in ports than on the ship so I do not see it being a problem at all.  I think your husband will be pleasantly surprised if he knows the Princess product...

 

[Wishing on a star]

Like Mini,  we have sailed on the Coral Princess and Regal.

Yes, Coral Princess is a much loved, smaller, ship.   The dining service and food was superb.  And NOT crowded.

(We found the Ruby's dining areas to be horrible and tight)

The rest of the ship, public areas, etc..  on the Coral Princess, were too small and crowded!!!!

 

Yes, the Regal is a larger ship.  

Dining layout and space are better than Ruby.   

When we decided to we wanted to be in the main areas, activities, yes, there were a lot of people.

But, if we didn't come at the last minute, we always had a seat and were not crowded!!!

We found areas where we did not feel crowded.  Not pool-side at the main pool area, of course.  And maybe at main breakfast area at the Buffet.   Those can easily be avoided!

 

On the Regal, there were times we walked thru some public areas, lounges, when they were not in use, where there was barely anyone else around!!!    Had the Sanctuary like all to ourselves on morning, with a continental breakfast, and it was like sailing on an exclusive large yacht.  

 

So, it is not size, alone, that can make the difference.

What can matter more is ship layout, passenger demographics on that particular time and itinerary, etc...

Those are what I would encourage you to take into consideration.

 

As others have said, these princess ships are not floating city-block theme-parks, like some of the other lines.

Surely, if somebody has watched the slick Princess video of the Sky, they will not have this wrong impression.

If this was another passenger blog or something, then I would not base my opinion or concerns on one other passengers travel.

 

You can def. make this Princess ship into the experience that you are looking for.  With lots of options for dining, public areas, activities, etc...   

 

Edited August 28, 2019 by Wishing on a star

[fluffybunny22]

Thanks everyone. I asked him what his exact issue is and it's a concern with feeling crowded. It sounds like this won't be an issue on a port intensive well designed ship.

[donaldsc]

8 hours ago, fluffybunny22 said:

We've always avoided mega ships. We are doing the Baltics on the Sky in June. My husband must have followed Princess on Instagram because he was watching a video last night and realized that it was of the Sky and asked what ship we are on. He grumbled for a while because he thought we had agreed to avoid big ships. Our favorite ship is the Celebrity Summit. It probably didn't help that he had been flipping through an Oceania brochure before watching the video. I told him the trend is toward bigger ships so we have to at least try one. Can someone make me feel better and reassure him that it won't be a bad experience just because there are 4k passengers on the ship. I've asked him to keep an open mind and if he hates it we don't have to do a big ship again.

 

Why do you have to try bigger ships - because they are there?  That is not a good reason.  We cruise mainly on R class ships.  650 passengers and the ability to walk from one end of the ship to the other in 5 minutes is about right for me.   

 

We recently did a cruise to AK on the Golden Princess with our grandkids.  The only reason that we booked that ship was it worked for the kids' schedules.  I will not say that I hated the ship and the kids enjoyed the trip but I can assure you that I would not book on that ship ever again.  

 

DON

Edited August 28, 2019 by donaldsc

[mek]

I'm not sure  anything that someone says will make him happy to sail on a bigger ship.  If he goes into the cruise thinking he won't enjoy it then he probably won't.  Most Baltic cruises are port intensive with a few days at sea - will the ship's size really matter that much?

I'm just the opposite, you would have to give me a free cruise, (or almost free),  to sail on a smaller ship - and that includes the luxury lines.  I don't cruise to sit and do nothing but read a book and stare at the sea.  I like the entertainment options on big ships and have really never been bothered by the number of people.

Everyone is different and there are so many options out there - why drag him into something he doesn't want to do.

[fluffybunny22]

17 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

Why do you have to try bigger ships - because they are there?  That is not a good reason.  We cruise mainly on R class ships.  650 passengers and the ability to walk from one end of the ship to the other in 5 minutes is about right for me.   

 

We recently did a cruise to AK on the Golden Princess with our grandkids.  The only reason that we booked that ship was it worked for the kids' schedules.  I will not say that I hated the ship and the kids enjoyed the trip but I can assure you that I would not book on that ship ever again.  

 

DON

There weren't many choices of ships that had the itinerary we wanted in the timeframe that works for us. We have to account for our son's graduation, his busy season and our son leaving for college which left us a 3 week window. The Sky's 6/8 sailing fits our schedule the best because it leaves on a Monday so we can fly to Copenhagen and arrive on Sunday and see the city. It also returns on a Friday so he'll have the weekend to recover from jet lag. My in laws are also joining us so we have to make sure the price point suits them. The weekend we decided what we wanted to do we booked around 5 different cruises and slowly eliminated them one by one. I'm pretty sure he won't like a small ship unless it's an unique itinerary. He needs a casino and art auctions.

[modes]

8 hours ago, fluffybunny22 said:

We've always avoided mega ships. We are doing the Baltics on the Sky in June. My husband must have followed Princess on Instagram because he was watching a video last night and realized that it was of the Sky and asked what ship we are on. He grumbled for a while because he thought we had agreed to avoid big ships. Our favorite ship is the Celebrity Summit. It probably didn't help that he had been flipping through an Oceania brochure before watching the video. I told him the trend is toward bigger ships so we have to at least try one. Can someone make me feel better and reassure him that it won't be a bad experience just because there are 4k passengers on the ship. I've asked him to keep an open mind and if he hates it we don't have to do a big ship again.

Leave him home.lol

[Mary loves to travel]

We went on RCCL Oasis when it first came out.   We were shocked how uncrowded it felt.   Seems newer  designs of the very large ships take into account how to manage large numbers of people.  

[phred119s]

38 minutes ago, fluffybunny22 said:

There weren't many choices of ships that had the itinerary we wanted in the timeframe that works for us. We have to account for our son's graduation, his busy season and our son leaving for college which left us a 3 week window. The Sky's 6/8 sailing fits our schedule the best because it leaves on a Monday so we can fly to Copenhagen and arrive on Sunday and see the city. It also returns on a Friday so he'll have the weekend to recover from jet lag. My in laws are also joining us so we have to make sure the price point suits them. The weekend we decided what we wanted to do we booked around 5 different cruises and slowly eliminated them one by one. I'm pretty sure he won't like a small ship unless it's an unique itinerary. He needs a casino and art auctions.

We are sailing with you! And I’m also glad for the Friday return to have the weekend to recover!

[Colo Cruiser]

4 hours ago, nini said:

Personally, we felt the Coral was crowded    We did not care for the design of the Coral.

Seriously?  😳

[sunsetbeachgal]

3 hours ago, fluffybunny22 said:

Thanks everyone. I asked him what his exact issue is and it's a concern with feeling crowded. It sounds like this won't be an issue on a port intensive well designed ship.

 

For a port intensive cruise such as Baltic, the area that will most likely feel and be crowded is the buffet in the morning as everyone will be trying to get breakfast and then off for their tours.  I would suggest room service or International Cafe.  I love the Royal class ships for many reasons but I hate a hectic start to the day! 

[Wishing on a star]

Colo Cruiser,  yes....  while the dining venues were great, we did feel like all other public areas were very very tight.

CORAL is a great ship!!!   But, on a sold out cruise, the public areas were often shoulder to shoulder.

[nini]

Seriously? Yes Colo Cruiser. As Wishing on a Star also said.

And as my Mom used to say; "That is what makes horse racing!"

 

Something for everyone. Choices are good. Perspectives and experiences  are individual and personal.

[Colo Cruiser]

56 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

Colo Cruiser,  yes....  while the dining venues were great, we did feel like all other public areas were very very tight.

CORAL is a great ship!!!   But, on a sold out cruise, the public areas were often shoulder to shoulder.

 

26 minutes ago, nini said:

Seriously? Yes Colo Cruiser. As Wishing on a Star also said.

And as my Mom used to say; "That is what makes horse racing!"

 

Something for everyone. Choices are good. Perspectives and experiences  are individual and personal.

I have never heard that before.

To each his/her own I guess.  🤔

[suzyed]

6 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

Those are not small ships!

I meant "smaller" rather than the mega ships.

[suzyed]

7 hours ago, Petoonya said:

I am an Oceania and Windstar only person. The max passengers on a ship we will cruise is 650. The last big ship we did was several years back on Celebrity Silhouette Mediterranean. It was a nightmare. The sheer numbers of passengers gave us claustrophobia and the interior felt like a massive Nordstrom. Why cruise when you are so far from the water? When I cruise I want to be as one with the water as possible.

 

I'm terribly sorry but I'd rather not cruise if it was on a big ship even it was free. Too much congestion, not enough of a real cruising feeling. I'd switch.

Well when you get one of those free cruises give me a call....I will go and I don't care how big it is or where it's going!
Would you like my phone #?

LOL

[Petoonya]

17 minutes ago, suzyed said:

Well when you get one of those free cruises give me a call....I will go and I don't care how big it is or where it's going!
Would you like my phone #?

LOL

 

We won a Royal Caribbean cruise in a raffle five years ago and it was non-transferrable. Didn't go- didn't want to be in hell for a week.

Everybody likes what they like. We can't stand crowds. Live on a beach where our closest neighbor is an acre away. We enjoy people, but cruising we like our space and the ability to visit with others when we want to. I felt like it was Christmas at the mall on our last big ship. Different strokes for different folks is what makes the world go round.

[geoherb]

When the Caribbean Princess first came out, I didn't think I'd ever want to sail on a ship that size. We finally did and had a great time. Same thing when the Royal first came out. We were lucky enough to be able to do the Bon Voyage Experience on the Regal and saw the beauty of the ship. We soon booked a cruise on the Regal (and took an upsell to a suite, which made it especially great). There are some drawbacks to the large ships, but they have their advantages as well.

[john_galt]

I love the Grand class ships and the Grand specifically. I wasn't ready to cruise on a Royal class ship for the sole reason of the 4 ft by 9 ft standard balconies. I've been to all these ports and tend to stay in the cabin and relax. Gotta have a nice balcony so I booked the starboard side Penthouse on Dolphin on the Sky. The bump-outs on Dolphin and Emerald produced Monster balconies. The only larger balconies are the Sky Suites. 

[nini]

Dear john_galt:

 

Love your screen name!!! We have a license plate holder

on the front of our truck that says "What Would John Galt Do?"   😉

[caribill]

There are two experiences to consider:

 

a) The ship experience. As many posts above say, you and DH will probably enjoy the ship itself with its features and amenities.

 

b) The shore experience.

o More passengers can mean that popular Princess shore excursions may sell out faster, so if you want to take Princess excursions, book them early.

o More passengers means it can take more time to disembark the ship in a port and long lines for port security when returning to the ship. In St. Petersburg, it can mean longer lines at Russual immigration.

o A ship this size usually cannot sail the very scenic waterway into Stockholm. It will dock further from town and require transportation to/from the city if you are not on a Princess tour.

o With more passengers, ports and their attractions will be more crowded.

[fluffybunny22]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

There are two experiences to consider:

 

a) The ship experience. As many posts above say, you and DH will probably enjoy the ship itself with its features and amenities.

 

b) The shore experience.

o More passengers can mean that popular Princess shore excursions may sell out faster, so if you want to take Princess excursions, book them early.

o More passengers means it can take more time to disembark the ship in a port and long lines for port security when returning to the ship. In St. Petersburg, it can mean longer lines at Russual immigration.

o A ship this size usually cannot sail the very scenic waterway into Stockholm. It will dock further from town and require transportation to/from the city if you are not on a Princess tour.

o With more passengers, ports and their attractions will be more crowded.

Our cruise actually docks in Stockholm. It seems like half the season they do Stockholm and half they do outside of Stockholm.

[mevs904]

We just completed the Baltic cruise on the Regal.  Fantastic cruise and wonderful itinerary!  I hope that you keep your plans to experience these interesting countries.

For the record, we are not fans of the Royal class ships, mainly due to the lack of a complete promenade deck, however, we have to admit that we thoroughly enjoyed this cruise.

     As one poster mentioned, breakfast on port days can be crowded.  We avoided the Horizon Buffet and had breakfast at the IC or ordered room service.  We never had a problem leaving or getting on the ship in any port.  One time there was a long line, but it moved very smoothly.  Getting a seat in the Princess Theater could be problematic if you arrived late.  We adjusted and were happy to enjoy the excellent productions and entertainers that they featured.

     Now, concerning excursions.  One poster advised booking Princess excursions early. My strongest piece of advice is Do Not Book Princess Excursions.  We booked 4 of our 5 excursions with an independent company and they were outstanding!  These excursions had 16-20 people vs. the 40+ on a Princess excursion and were in many cases half the cost.  The guides were excellent and they were extremely conscientious about getting us back to the ship on time.  Another bonus is that if you booked a 2 day St. Petersburg excursion with them you received a discount on all of the excursions in other countries that you booked with them.  In addition we received a discount for being a Cruise Critic member.  Also, we did not have to pay for these excursions in advance.  We paid at the end of our first day in St. Petersburg.

     I urge you to do some research on these independent excursion companies.  They have exemplary reviews online.  We are still talking about how good they were and wishing that they operated in other parts of Europe.

     In the meanwhile I hope that you keep your booking and that you have a great adventure!

 

 

P.S.  We will never sail on the huge “floating milk carton” RCCL ships.

Edited August 29, 2019 by mevs904