Big ships versus small ships

[navybankerteacher]

5 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Where can one find those ratios?  I'm curious if my perceptions line up with the reality.

 

I agree Caribbean Princess felt crowded. 

Same here - the ratios could help confirm general perceptions.  I have always felt that NCL ships’ public areas were always crowded - while Cunard’s and HAL’s (among the mass market lines) seemed least crowded.  The smaller ships (my current interest) have never struck me as either very spacious or crowded.

[cruisemom42]

3 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Same here - the ratios could help confirm general perceptions.  I have always felt that NCL ships’ public areas were always crowded - while Cunard’s and HAL’s (among the mass market lines) seemed least crowded.  The smaller ships (my current interest) have never struck me as either very spacious or crowded.

 

Agreed. And there are so many factors that may appeal to you personally and not to someone else on any given ship. For example, large spaces given over to pool decks, spas, etc. are not space I really utilize or value. Also not sure how the big open (loud, busy) atriums of many bigger ships figure into that space ratio. There is a lot of volume there, but is it usable space?  

 

I am no expert. With ships I tend to "like what I like" and damn the statistics.

 

[AL3XCruise]

2 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

Agreed. And there are so many factors that may appeal to you personally and not to someone else on any given ship. For example, large spaces given over to pool decks, spas, etc. are not space I really utilize or value. Also not sure how the big open (loud, busy) atriums of many bigger ships figure into that space ratio. There is a lot of volume there, but is it usable space?  

 

 

In general if its enclosed, it counts.  So an outdoor pool has no impact, an indoor one does.  And because its based on volume that multi-story atrium increases the ratio without providing much additional square footage.  Hence I agree that design and personal preference will have a bigger impact than ratio, especially when the ratios are relatively close.

[lenquixote66]

On 1/31/2020 at 1:11 PM, Dyncymraeg said:

I have not cruised before and I was thinking of taking a cruise from the UK to Norway and the ship is described as a small ship. I would  like to ask people who have cruised do you prefer large or small ships and what in your view are the advantages and disadvantages of large and small ships.

We prefer small because a small ship can dock where a large ship might have to tender.

[Aquahound]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Where can one find those ratios?  I'm curious if my perceptions line up with the reality.

 

I agree Caribbean Princess felt crowded. 

 

This is a decent site.  The numbers are based on max capacity.  At double capacity, the numbers would be a little higher.  

 

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

 

You can also just Google "(any ship here) space to passenger ratio".  It's usually in the first return.

[Aquahound]

1 hour ago, AL3XCruise said:

 

  Of course, most agree with wide open decks on Oasis beat Escape in terms of design.

 

 

Of course it does.  All that outside deck space, including, Central Park, the Boardwalk, and the 2-story Solarium take up a good chuck of the ship, but are not included in the gross tonnage.  There have been times I've walked around Oasis and not seen another soul.  I can't say that about Escape.  The word I used to described Escape was "chaos" because it was constant crowds everywhere and at all times.  

[AL3XCruise]

19 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

This is a decent site.  The numbers are based on max capacity.  At double capacity, the numbers would be a little higher.  

That would be the site I stopped using do to finding several inaccuracies.  It starts off bad when they try to relate gross tonnage to cubic footage and talk about big and small cabins having something to do with space ratio, and then proceeds to have several errors where they either input the wrong data or just flubbed the math.

Edited February 1, 2020 by AL3XCruise

[swaddy]

We didn't find Fred Olsen to have significantly older passengers. They are Norwegian specialists. The food was fine to our British tastes. Older ship, not many balcony cabins. Set meals instead of wall to wall food. Perfect if you want to see the Aurora Borealis. We usually go with P and O but would use Fred again. 

[getting older slowly]

interesting the gross tannage / pax numbers ratio

 

we have cruised the most the Golden Princess which has a number of ratio of 34

 

I did some rough numbers for deck area, including all public area and cabins came up with about 60k square metres

 

so twin occupancy 2600 so every passenger get about 23 m2  or rough a balcony cabin

 

Cheers Don 

[DarrenM]

havent read all of this thread so might have missed something, but isnt there an in-between?

 

There are some huge ships, and small ships. But there are more what would be considered medium sized?

 

On Celebrity Constellation next and I consider it a medium sized ship. Is it considered a large ship in the context of this thread?

[Joebucks]

Ratios are very misleading, and cause lots of people to go in with a bad attitude because they are "armed with the facts". No "good or bad ratio" can make up for poorly designed venues not proportionate to the ship. Wide open spaces you or few others visit doesn't necessarily make your cruise experience that much better. Finally, there is all sorts of stuff in that number that makes it more than just saying higher is better.

[flamomo]

So far I have done 49 cruises, all but one with Princess, and on several different sizes of ships within the fleet.

While I'm not opposed to cruising on ships with between 2000 and 3000 passengers when there's an itinerary I want to do, my absolute favorite ship of the entire Princess fleet is the Pacific Princess. She's s lovely little lady that only accommodates about 670 passengers. I have gone so far as to book some cruises on her just because it is that particular ship, and with minimal thought as to the itinerary, and I know I will do it again whenever possible.

All of the pluses of small ships that have been noted here are among the reasons why I love being on her.

Overall, I simply love the vibe of that ship. It's laid back but in some ways a bit more elegant than the bigger ships. The crew's love of the ship shows in their smiling faces and the quality of service they provide and how hard they work to keep her in great condition. I've spent time chatting with quite a few of the crew, and know that lots of them keep coming back to work on her contract after contract. 

[George C]

Only time in my 60 plus cruises I ever got sea sick was a small 20,000 ton Hal ship going to Bermuda, on last trip to Bermuda a few years ago our ship again hal but was about 45000 tons was rocking and rolling we were fine but mdr was less than half full, we talked to someone on a ship twice our size and they sailed they had no issues .

[Dyncymraeg]

It has been said that an advantage of smaller ships is that they can go directly to ports whilst larger ships have to tender boats to get  passengers to a port. Have you been on a ship that was so big it couldn't dock and tender was necessary to get passengers to a destination. Does tendering result in taking longer to get to a stop and reduces the amount of time available at a stop.

[navybankerteacher]

13 minutes ago, Dyncymraeg said:

It has been said that an advantage of smaller ships is that they can go directly to ports whilst larger ships have to tender boats to get  passengers to a port. Have you been on a ship that was so big it couldn't dock and tender was necessary to get passengers to a destination. Does tendering result in taking longer to get to a stop and reduces the amount of time available at a stop.

Of course tendering does- in stead of being able to walk off the ship as soon as it is alongside the pier you generally have to wait until “priority” passengers (those who have booked ships tours) get taken off - frequently up to an hour; then you have the tender boarding process and the boat ride itself - likely 30 minutes or so,  which needs to be repeated getting back on board.  It is likely that you will have two hours less time ashore on a port call if your ship us anchored out than if it is at a pier.

 

On our recent QM 2 cruise we tendered at St. Thomas (Dec. 26) - because of rough weather, no tenders ran at all for the first couple of hours..

Edited February 3, 2020 by navybankerteacher

[Cruzaholic41]

54 minutes ago, Dyncymraeg said:

It has been said that an advantage of smaller ships is that they can go directly to ports whilst larger ships have to tender boats to get  passengers to a port. Have you been on a ship that was so big it couldn't dock and tender was necessary to get passengers to a destination. Does tendering result in taking longer to get to a stop and reduces the amount of time available at a stop.

The world’s largest cruise ships do not tender.

 

I’m hard pressed to recall any scenario where we had to tender because we were too large for port - that is, except ports like Grand Cayman or Santorini where everyone tenders. 

[cruisemom42]

2 minutes ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

 

I’m hard pressed to recall any scenario where we had to tender because we were too large for port - that is, except ports like Grand Cayman or Santorini where everyone tenders. 

 

It may not be a matter of tendering versus not tendering only -- although that does happen (Split, Croatia comes readily to mind) -- but also a case of smaller ships being able to dock at or conveniently near a particular port while larger ships have to dock a substantial distance away. 

 

A few examples:

• Seville -- small ships can go up the river and dock IN Seville; larger ones have to dock in Cadiz, which is about a 2-hour drive to Seville.
• Bangkok -- small ships can dock right in Bangkok, whereas larger ones dock in Laem Chabang, about a 2 hour ride away from Bangkok.
• Ho Chi Minh City -- similar situation to the two mentioned above.
• St. Petersburg -- while not as far as the first three examples, the smaller ships can dock in the city center, medium-sized slightly further away and larger ones several miles outside of the city.
• Shanghai -- Smaller ships can dock at the Bund in Shanghai proper; larger ships dock about 12 miles away.
• Bermuda -- Smaller ships can dock in Hamilton or St. George, not just the Royal Dockyards.

 

 

[ducklite]

1 hour ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

The world’s largest cruise ships do not tender.

 

I’m hard pressed to recall any scenario where we had to tender because we were too large for port - that is, except ports like Grand Cayman or Santorini where everyone tenders. 

If you are on a small ship (<350) the wait is never more than a few minutes.  None of this "hour or more with priority tickets first" nonsense.

[navybankerteacher]

6 minutes ago, ducklite said:

If you are on a small ship (<350) the wait is never more than a few minutes.  None of this "hour or more with priority tickets first" nonsense.

If that small ship has sold tours - and, yes, even small ships sell tours - it might not take an hour - but those with priority because of participation in ship sponsored tours will get on tenders before those without.

[Dyncymraeg]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

It may not be a matter of tendering versus not tendering only -- although that does happen (Split, Croatia comes readily to mind) -- but also a case of smaller ships being able to dock at or conveniently near a particular port while larger ships have to dock a substantial distance away. 

 

A few examples:

• Seville -- small ships can go up the river and dock IN Seville; larger ones have to dock in Cadiz, which is about a 2-hour drive to Seville.
• Bangkok -- small ships can dock right in Bangkok, whereas larger ones dock in Laem Chabang, about a 2 hour ride away from Bangkok.
• Ho Chi Minh City -- similar situation to the two mentioned above.
• St. Petersburg -- while not as far as the first three examples, the smaller ships can dock in the city center, medium-sized slightly further away and larger ones several miles outside of the city.
• Shanghai -- Smaller ships can dock at the Bund in Shanghai proper; larger ships dock about 12 miles away.
• Bermuda -- Smaller ships can dock in Hamilton or St. George, not just the Royal Dockyards.

 

 

 

When I was in Helsinki and Oslo I saw cruise ships docked in ports right next to these cities which would give passengers direct access to these cities. If large cruise ships stop a fair distance from a destination , do cruise ships make provision eg do they provide transport, stop longer than ships which can dock closer to a destination.

[ducklite]

3 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

If that small ship has sold tours - and, yes, even small ships sell tours - it might not take an hour - but those with priority because of participation in ship sponsored tours will get on tenders before those without.

This has not been our experience.  The ship tours are staggered and there is usually plenty of room for a dozen or more people to hop onto a tender when they aren't on a ship tour alongside those who are.

[George C]

I have seen a couple hour wait for tenders, pays to book suites

[cruisemom42]

13 minutes ago, Dyncymraeg said:

 

When I was in Helsinki and Oslo I saw cruise ships docked in ports right next to these cities which would give passengers direct access to these cities. If large cruise ships stop a fair distance from a destination , do cruise ships make provision eg do they provide transport, stop longer than ships which can dock closer to a destination.

 

I would say that no, most ships do not make allowance for being a greater distance away by increasing your time ashore. And in general, no, most larger ships do not lay on free shuttles because they are primarily mass-market lines. They may (and often do) have shuttles, but for an extra cost depending on the distance.

 

That said, some luxury and premium lines do provide free shuttles -- but then, they are the ones more likely to dock close in where it's possible.

 

 

 

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, ducklite said:

This has not been our experience.  The ship tours are staggered and there is usually plenty of room for a dozen or more people to hop onto a tender when they aren't on a ship tour alongside those who are.

“Usually” is not always — and it has been our experience where priority granted to tour-bookers has kep non-bookers off earliest tenders.

[Bizmark'sMom]

47 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

“Usually” is not always — and it has been our experience where priority granted to tour-bookers has kep non-bookers off earliest tenders.

That was not my recent experience. I never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a tender. The seamen just had people squish in a bit tighter so whoever wanted to could come.