Are the larger ships more crowded?

[taglovestocruise]

11 hours ago, BNBR said:

 

All cruise ships have standing room only at the pools and loaded with sun screen.  I almost never use pools on cruise ships, they are gross.  I've sailed Oasis class in the middle of summer and in the off season.  Little difference.

Try a transatlantic, they sail with 1500  fewer kids.  Our TA on Symphony had 4800 total. Lots of solo's and about 12 kids. 

[BNBR]

3 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

Try a transatlantic, they sail with 1500  fewer kids.  Our TA on Symphony had 4800 total. Lots of solo's and about 12 kids. 

 

I'm sure you are 100% right.  But I would say a transatlantic is the exception more than the rule.

[itsmeagain]

We were on the Harmony recently and it was not crowded at all.  Of course it was the hurricane shortened cruise and on,y had 3100 people onboard.  Loved it.

[Wanderista]

I'd be interested in trying a bigger ship experience. My "cruising buddies" all prefer smaller ships. In my new experience, I like them because I like feeling "connected to the sea". I'd do a bigger ship to try that experience though.

 

People I know are intimidated by the overall number of people on a ship. Me? I'd try it out. I probably wouldn't do it in the Mediterranean personally, but I'd do it on a future cruise.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

On 9/20/2019 at 9:38 AM, BNBR said:

 

Why are you acting so childish? Did I say such things to you when you disagreed? 

 

You can also just get The Key for better seating if that's important.  I've always been able to get seat backs at AquaTheater without waiting in line. Just need to get there when they open up seating. Which again, point remains, it's easy to avoid crowds on Oasis class. Which makes the ship less crowded. 

 

The question was if the Oasis class feels more crowded. It doesn't. And part of that is because it's so easy to avoid crowds due to the ships design. 

 

You are right though, I have to admit, it's shockingly uncrowded on Freedom....

 

 

 

 

I felt less crowded in the pool area on Symphony vs the smaller ships. But in all fairness, those pics are deceiving. Your Freedom pics looks like something is happening around the pool such as the Belly Flop contest. No one is in the pool, everyone is standing, no one is sitting and everyone is staring in one direction. 

[BNBR]

1 minute ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

 

I felt less crowded in the pool area on Symphony vs the smaller ships. But in all fairness, those pics are deceiving. Your Freedom pics looks like something is happening around the pool such as the Belly Flop contest. No one is in the pool, everyone is standing, no one is sitting and everyone is staring in one direction. 

 

The second pic was a bit of a joke. The first pic, however, is clearly just regular pool use.

[The Fun Researcher]

19 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 

The second pic was a bit of a joke. The first pic, however, is clearly just regular pool use.

 

 Looks like a typical sea day.

 

Dan

[The Fun Researcher]

2 hours ago, Wanderista said:

I'd be interested in trying a bigger ship experience. My "cruising buddies" all prefer smaller ships. In my new experience, I like them because I like feeling "connected to the sea".

 

 I did not mention it earlier but the lack of sea views and the lack of feeling connected to the sea was the other significant difference from other ships we have sailed on. That, and the crowds and just the amount of walking to get from point A to point B on the ship.

 

 You can still have a great cruise on oasis class though.   It’s just not our “cup of tea“.     I’m actually considering a cruise on oasis class in early 2021  but only because we have one week open all of the other options stink.

 

Dan

[BNBR]

5 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

 

 Looks like a typical sea day.

 

Dan

 

Exactly the point I was making... 

[livylotte]

Pool areas on sunny days are always crowded -doesn't matter which ship you are.

 

But yes, generally I think the Oasis class ships feel less crowded than the smaller ships. 

 

The only exception is the Windjammer - which I feel is far too small for the size of ship. I can see why RC have done this - not wanting to miss an opportunity to make money they are hoping that people don't like being squished and will head off to the speciality restaurants instead.  This strategy definitely didn't work on Oasis in the Med this summer.  I don't know if this is the case in the Caribbean but certainly on our Med sailing the mainly European and lots of Chinese cruisers are not too keen on spending money when they don't have to.  Me included 😁

[Wanderista]

8 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

 

 I did not mention it earlier but the lack of sea views and the lack of feeling connected to the sea was the other significant difference from other ships we have sailed on. That, and the crowds and just the amount of walking to get from point A to point B on the ship.

 

 You can still have a great cruise on oasis class though.   It’s just not our “cup of tea“.     I’m actually considering a cruise on oasis class in early 2021  but only because we have one week open all of the other options stink.

 

Dan

 

The ocean is like its own destination. I tried explaining this to some friends who just aren't familiar with cruises and got told, "If you say so."

[The Fun Researcher]

15 minutes ago, Wanderista said:

 

The ocean is like its own destination. I tried explaining this to some friends who just aren't familiar with cruises and got told, "If you say so."

 

Yeah something you have to experience to understand. For us it’s the ship cutting through the seas while looking over the railing of deck 4 on freedom and voyager classes.  Plus the helipad, especially at night, looking  at the stars while a stiff (warm) Caribbean breeze blows in your face... your ears buffeting the wind.  ...or on the pool deck looking out the open sliding windows...

 

Dan

[soremekun]

Perhaps because I'm a novice, but I don't see the importance of needing to feel connected to the sea.  There are plenty of places to see the ocean on an Oasis class.  Pool deck, jogging track, your ocean view balcony, etc.  Then, at a port, there are beach options.

[shofer]

15 hours ago, Wanderista said:

 

The ocean is like its own destination. I tried explaining this to some friends who just aren't familiar with cruises and got told, "If you say so."

Actually, we say the ship is our destination, especially in the Caribbean.  But we always get an ocean view balcony.  This will be our first time on an Oasis-class ship, Symphony.   DH saw a video and fell in love with this ship so we are giving it a whirl.  We did 2 European cruises on Vision and liked the ship very much.  

Mostly try to cruise Celebrity for the more adult passenger mix.  Going next February so hoping their will be fewer kids before East Coast winter break.

[mac66]

The cruise you get, good or bad, depends on the time of year (season) you go and the itinerary. Those two factors determine how crowded your cruise will be. If you sail during the peak seasons and a popular itinerary it's going to be crowded no matter what ship you're on. Off season?  Not so much.

Edited September 22, 2019 by mac66

[The Fun Researcher]

19 hours ago, soremekun said:

Perhaps because I'm a novice, but I don't see the importance of needing to feel connected to the sea.  There are plenty of places to see the ocean on an Oasis class.  Pool deck, jogging track, your ocean view balcony, etc.  Then, at a port, there are beach options.

 

I can't disagree that you can see the ocean from those locations.  Some ships have more options that just make you have a better feel of sailing the ocean.   The experience of being out in the middle of the ocean is something that is so unique to cruising versus other vacation options, so we want to maximize that aspect.  Some value it more than others.  We're one of those that value that feeling highly, and love it when a ship has more ways to feel "connected".  I agree that the ship is the destination as well, but there are characteristics and venues that we look for in a cruise ship.  No right or wrong answer, just personal preferences.

Dan

[DivaMI]

On 9/19/2019 at 2:58 PM, kruzerci said:

Honestly Oasis class has always seemed the least crowded to us. There are three exceptions to that- the Windjammer (avoid at all costs on Oasis class), public spaces on boarding day, and after muster. 

 

We have been on several Oasis cruises that left us wondering where everybody was...

We just got off of the Navigator of the Seas in July and it was terribly crowded. There wee no pool chairs available. The line for El Loco Fresh was at least 25 people deep.. My time dining was ridiculous. The wait was at least 30 minutes. I Have been on the Allure also and it never felt crowded.

 

[The Fun Researcher]

24 minutes ago, DivaMI said:

We just got off of the Navigator of the Seas in July and it was terribly crowded. There wee no pool chairs available. The line for El Loco Fresh was at least 25 people deep.. My time dining was ridiculous. The wait was at least 30 minutes. I Have been on the Allure also and it never felt crowded.

 

 

Sorry to hear about your experience.

 

Funny how people can have such opposite experiences on the same ship.  We were on the Navigator for spring break this year on a 9 night cruise and the line for El Loco fresh was never more than a handful of people, and the vast majority of the time no line at all.  Just grab and go.  We never waited like that for my time dining either, other than maybe 4 groups ahead of us in line to get their table assignment.  Typical wait of about 2 minutes.  However, we had reservations each night.  We didn't just walk up.  The line for walk ups is long on every ship we've ever been on.

 

LOVE the amped Navigator.

Dan

 

 

[the_dylaness]

On 9/20/2019 at 8:46 PM, taglovestocruise said:

Try a transatlantic, they sail with 1500  fewer kids.  Our TA on Symphony had 4800 total. Lots of solo's and about 12 kids. 

 

I’m glad to hear this. This is my first super big ship experience, sailing on the trans Atlantic allure of the seas November of next year. With my two kids 🙂

[Misplaced Texan]

Globally, the bigger ships aren't more crowded than the smaller ships. On just a space-per-person basis, they should be less crowded. But I think that locally, in specific venues, they can become more crowded.

 

On smaller ships, there are relatively few public spaces and you don't necessarily ever feel crowded, but you also don't ever feel like you have a space more-or-less to yourself.

 

On the Oasis ships, in my experience, things can get really crowded in a popular venue at a popular time--more than on a smaller ship  But, you can also find yourself feeling like you're on the ship with few other passengers if you're in a less popular area at a given time.

[luckyinpa]

new to royal and considering oasis out of NYC end of may/start june in CLS. when i read the hostess seating at the buffet i thought thats a great idea! never heard of it. but doesnt it then take more time to eat because one person has to save the table while others get their food?

 

ncl bliss (4000 pax) is the biggest i've been on , just past christmas, and it was in the haven so i had respite from the masses when needed. just looking at the video of oasis impresses me as far as physical space. if you ever have been down the narrow central corridor in the breakaway class or atriums, you know what i mean. it's a terrible cattle chute design. . seeing central park and the boardwalk and upper deck on this ship just amazes me. even with 2000 more pax it seems so much better. but maybe i have rose colored glasses.  

 

possibly going just before the summer rush hopefully would mean maybe a bit less crowds. we arent pool people and its not the novelty that 99% of the world has about it vs our needs. hearing stories about fighting for chairs and being shoulder to shoulder on a deck and a pool full of people just doesnt scream relaxing vacation to me.  but the number of pools and seating options on the ship has me almost inclined to try the pool/s. 

 

has anyone been on NCL to compare the density /crowds vs oasis? at least royal has more elevators, ncl fails miserably at the positioning of them. 

[WeLuvVacation]

The below link shows the Passengers-to-Space-Ratio of all the ships in service. The Royal ships are about 2/3rds the way down the list. A rather "old" list however, from 2015.

 

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

Edited January 13, 2020 by WeLuvVacation

[Tulsacoker]

2 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

new to royal and considering oasis out of NYC end of may/start june in CLS. when i read the hostess seating at the buffet i thought thats a great idea! never heard of it. but doesnt it then take more time to eat because one person has to save the table while others get their food?

If you stay in the CLS on Oasis you will be on Deck 17 where the only other things on that deck are the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen. Very convenient 

[jalves]

I know this is an older thread, but just wanted to jump in my my opinion.  We are currently on an Oasis class ship (our 5th on one of those) and have sailed before on Radiance, Brilliance and another of one of those classes.  IMHO, the size of the ship doesn't matter as far as crowding goes.  You need to compare # of guests to the size of the ship to get a feel for how "crowded" it is.

[Midwestgal]

Might depend on time of year.

On Allure I was very surprised at how not crowded the ship felt. The disco party felt crowded but that was the only time. 
I think the passengers to ship public space is very well done