Are transatlantic cruise ships sailing at or near capacity

[ronheg]

We will be on the Getaway for the cruise from southampton to NYC in October 2023.  How crowded might the ship be?  We make stops in France, Portugal and Spain before we cross the Atlantic.  Will they offer more daytime activities?

[shof515]

hate to be the bearer of bad news, ships been sailing at full capacity and sometimes a little higher for over year and half now

 

they may be additional activities, it depends on the cruise director. all of the typically sea day activities will be there

[www3traveler]

1 minute ago, ronheg said:

We will be on the Getaway for the cruise from southampton to NYC in October 2023.  How crowded might the ship be?  We make stops in France, Portugal and Spain before we cross the Atlantic.  Will they offer more daytime activities?

The ship could be as much as 3/4 full.  The Freestyle Daily will be full of activities from about 8 A.M. until midnight or so, Port days and Sea days.

Enjoy

[mking8288]

Friends just disembarked NCL Sun 16 nights TA segement this morning, Lisbon, Spain to NY (continuing to Miami and + 3 days)  It then will repo to Los Angeles/Long Beach via PC, then sail Pacific Coastal north for the Alaska season. 

 

Pax count was 1,760 or 90% double occupancies (1,932 being the DO bed counts, max lifeboat capacity is higher) from Spain.  600 disembarked this morning and 200 boarded / newly joining the next transit segment (offered as 16/19 nights TA) as B2B, maybe B2B2B if they continue toward Alaska. 

 

This Saturday's Epic TA eastbound is basically the same, nearly sold out except for Insides, everything else not available - solo supplement did drop finally within the past 2 to 3 weeks (for Insides).  

[FLAHAM]

On transatlantic cruises, NCL has a teacher and game director (usually a married couple) that offer duplicate bridge on sea days.  Beginner lessons, intermediate lessons, and a daily game.  This is a great way to learn (or improve) bridge, pass the time, and meet other passengers.  Events are free and usually draw about 50 passengers.  They are typically held in one of the restaurants that is not open during the day.

[spanishguy1970]

We are on the Epic this coming Saturday and is almost sold out, only availability inside stateroom. New York-Barcelona. Last October our ship the Escape was at 65% capacity.

[hawkeyetlse]

TAs will always be a little different, because they are generally longer cruises, not in high season (kids have to be in school), lots of sea days (doesn't appeal to everyone), and they require atypical travel arrangements (one-way airfare). For all of these reasons they can be hard to fill and even with deep price cuts, zero single supplement, etc. they are still often under capacity and I don't see that changing in the future. Even if all staterooms are sold out, compared to your average cruise, the occupancy is lower (more solo travelers, fewer families with 3 or 4 in a cabin). Everyone is on board all the time, for the sea days, so there is always the potential for crowds, but the vibe is usually relaxed and not "fill every minute with activities". I wouldn't say that the daily program is that much different from a sea day on a non-TA sailing.

[schmoopie17]

Our TA last November was about 60% capacity. Most were retirees and/or solo travelers. Hard for kids or working people to miss three weeks of school and/or work. It was great...no lines anywhere.

[itsnotjustme]

On 4/18/2023 at 4:13 PM, mking8288 said:

Friends just disembarked NCL Sun 16 nights TA segment this morning, Lisbon, Spain to NY (continuing to Miami and + 3 days)

I was on this cruise and disembarked in NYC.  As mentioned, we were about 90% of double occupancy.  The breakout was:

 

Heavily older travelers - I would estimate 80% or more of the passengers were 60 or above

Experienced cruisers - over 900 Platinum level members

Few children - only a small number of children from toddlers to teenagers

 

The cruise never felt over-crowded, however we were in a suite and did not need to fight buffet crowds at breakfast or lunch.

 

[Tapi]

According to some recent reports, transatlantic sailings have been sailing at or near capacity. In fact, a record was broken by Royal Caribbean a few weeks ago:

 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/03/royal-caribbean-sets-record-for-transatlantic-crossing-with-most-people-onboard/

[casofilia]

Gem today is at 70%; halfway across the Atlantic.

[sarahwalker2007]

We have sailed  with HAL for 2 TA's, one pre covid (november 2019) and one post (spring 2022) both were at about 70% capacity. 2019 cruise there were 13 kids including my 3. In 2022 there were 4 kids including my 3. My kids LOVED it! they had the pool to themselves most of the time and they felt like little celebrities because everyone knew them! The crew knew them by name all over the ship by day 2. Most of the passengers during the first trip were retired even my husband and I felt young on that trip! in 2022 there were lots more that were "working remotely" but still was heavily on the retired age side. We are doing our first NCL cruise in the fall and have chosen another TA. hoping for a under capacity cruise but know that it is likely going to be full as more people return to travelling!

[CptBoatface]

4 hours ago, casofilia said:

Gem today is at 70%; halfway across the Atlantic.

Hoping it will still be near 70% when it gets to the other side...

[casofilia]

@CptBoatface

 

You forgot the VBG!!!  Sure it will.

[IsanTom]

13 hours ago, Tapi said:

According to some recent reports, transatlantic sailings have been sailing at or near capacity. In fact, a record was broken by Royal Caribbean a few weeks ago:

 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/03/royal-caribbean-sets-record-for-transatlantic-crossing-with-most-people-onboard/

My wife and I take two TA's each year. Normally they sail about 60-70% capacity with very few children. Less capacity during the Covid years. TA's are very enjoyable, lots of sea days and the crews seem to enjoy them, too!

 

[mking8288]

14 hours ago, itsnotjustme said:

... I would estimate 80% or more of the passengers were 60 or above

Experienced cruisers - over 900 Platinum level members ... 

They skipped the welcome back CruiseNext "marketing" session - just can't imagine 1/2 of them showing up for cocktails - I recalled pre-Covid, they had separate "receptions" VIP's for the upper tiers ...  Does it seemed like 1/3 or 1/4 of the passengers have apparent mobility issues getting around, per our friends ??  The age cohort breakdown as expected.  

[IsanTom]

19 hours ago, Tapi said:

According to some recent reports, transatlantic sailings have been sailing at or near capacity. In fact, a record was broken by Royal Caribbean a few weeks ago:

 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/03/royal-caribbean-sets-record-for-transatlantic-crossing-with-most-people-onboard/

I agree, recently they have been more occupied because many folks were using their FCC's before they expired. I noticed many Brits were taking the TA's, but this will return to normal after the backlog of FCC's are used or expire. TA's are very relaxing and very few children. For us, it saves many hours of flying in crowded seats and bad food.

[RalphWiggum]

I also try to take two TAs (out of and returning to NYC) each year and prior to Covid, the TAs that I was looking at, as well as the ones I ultimately picked, did not sail full at all.  Which was wonderful.   It also allowed me the flexibility to book last minute, which I prefer to do.  Last year, I took two post-covid TAs and not only were TAs not sailing full, the prices were ridiculously low.  
 

Earlier this year, when I started looking seriously into booking for this year, I was surprised by the unusually high number of TAs this year from the NY area in April and May and thought I would be able score another deal.  I was wrong. My first choice TA out of Manhattan was fully booked six weeks before sailing, my second choice (out of Miami) also was completely booked by that time, and then my third and fourth choices (out of Bayonne) charged a single penalty (that is, it was cheaper to book two people in the same cabin then to book it as a single).  Strangely, NCLs four TAs out of NY had rock bottom single prices but they all left too early for me.  So it’s MSC out of Miami for me this year.  Fortunately, at a good price.  My WB TA is also pretty full already, but it’s still open to book.  
 

So IMO I do think the TAs are sailing full or pretty close to full this summer.   I hope this is due to a backlog of FCCs because it’s so much nicer when the ships aren’t full.  

 

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by RalphWiggum

[itsnotjustme]

9 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Does it seemed like 1/3 or 1/4 of the passengers have apparent mobility issues

There were certainly a share of scooters and walkers, but no where near 1/3 or 1/4 of the passengers.   

[itsnotjustme]

9 hours ago, mking8288 said:

I recalled pre-Covid, they had separate "receptions" VIP's for the upper tiers

We had a VIP reception with many of the officers, but it was for suite guests, vice latitudes tier.