Will it be THAT Crowded?

[taglovestocruise]

1 hour ago, Jasukkie said:

Do you have any idea why the eastbounds are more popular?

Easter break, Spring break, lots of college kids out of school, Parents have no problem taking their kids out of school for two weeks.   End of Sep cruising slows down everywhere making a Oct TA a great cruise. Last TA we took was on Symphony for the inaugural crossing, there were less that a dozen kids under 16 on that cruise. We did a Vancouver to Hawaii last Sep. and I would guess only a dozen or so kids on that cruise.  Long cruises out of season are our go to months. 

[Springermaniac]

We sailed Eastern Caribbean on Oasis Dec 3-10, it was fully booked, we had the deluxe meal package to avoid lines ups for dinning etc. We kinda got the hang of where to go at certain times of the day, the Solarium was great in the morning when it opened and got busier as the day went on. We did have a breakfast in the main dining room which was fine but it had a crowded feel to it as every table was full. Johnny Rockets was our main go to for breakfast, amazing what a few cash tips can do in that place, those guys bent over backwards to serve us it was great.

learned a lesson with the shore excursions paid a lot of coin as there were 4 of us, had to wait for buses that never showed up on time to take us back to the ship, we could have done the same thing by hiring a taxi at a fraction of the cost. Eventually we stayed on board and took advantage of the pools and water slides while everyone was on shore, pretty well had those areas to ourselves. We went to shore after 1:00 pm and had plenty of time to enjoy that till sail time. The shows were great especially the Aqua show, incredible performances that and the ice shows. They do a good job as they are reserved but you can still get in by lining up. Over all the ship was so big we really didn’t feel overcrowded and we really enjoyed this cruise. Wound up booking at the guest services for Dec 2024 on the Symphony to see the difference from the first Oasis to a newer one.
This time we will skip the deluxe meal package as we felt it was not worth the extra cost,   Chops Grill was the best, Izumi’s was fun the rest was OK, disappointed with Portside BBQ, they really should have experienced Pit Guys running that place. I’m sure the dining that comes with the package will be just fine, timing is everything on one of these big ships. Our room was a jr suite on the bump out 1 1/2 times the regular size with a much larger balcony which was a nice escape when we just wanted to relax.

Our last cruise was 24 nights on Cunard Queen Elizabeth from Vancouver to NYC, which was incredible, I never thought we could like an Oasis with 6,000 people. Strange how we wound up loving it so much that we booked another one, looking forward to visiting that runway in St Martin🤣

[PhillyFan33579]

10 hours ago, scubaslayer said:

I guess the big question is how it compares to Freedom class with a full holiday sailing (lots of kids)? I already vetoed anything other than aft if we go with the deck 14. No way I want to be near Adventure Ocean. Kids are teens now and probably will be off doing their own thing together. They know to stay paired up for safety. As for the adults, I just want to forget work exists and relax, read, eat, and have some family time. Definitely looking forward to the shows. Thankfully our schedules are slightly more flexible since the kids attend an online school and college courses.

I love Oasis class ships, but I have always found them to be more crowded than Freedom and Voyager class ships. On Oasis class ships I frequently experience not being able to find a single lounge chair available any where on the ship. On the other hand, I have never had trouble finding lounge chairs available on any Freedom or Voyager class ships. Shows are also far less crowded on Freedom and Voyager class ships. Every show area (theater, aqua, ice skating, etc.) on Oasis class ships are almost always packed for the entire cruise. 

[bucfan2]

6 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I love Oasis class ships, but I have always found them to be more crowded than Freedom and Voyager class ships. On Oasis class ships I frequently experience not being able to find a single lounge chair available any where on the ship. On the other hand, I have never had trouble finding lounge chairs available on any Freedom or Voyager class ships. Shows are also far less crowded on Freedom and Voyager class ships. Every show area (theater, aqua, ice skating, etc.) on Oasis class ships are almost always packed for the entire cruise. 

Different perspectives are so interesting.  We love Freedom and Voyager class ships, yet tend to choose Oasis class ships as they feel so much more open/less crowded.

 

Who knew that food wasn't the only subjective discussion.

Edited January 23 by bucfan2

[rjrpar]

19 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

From what I'm seeing, ships are pretty much sailing full all year round.  But I assume there will be more people/kids filling 3rd/4th berths during holidays and summer.

 Agree 100%.  When school is not in session, count on many hundreds more kids onboard

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, bucfan2 said:

Different perspectives are so interesting.  We love Freedom and Voyager class ships, yet tend to choose Oasis class ships as they feel so much more open/less crowded.

 

Who knew that food wasn't the only subjective discussion.

Yep, many things are subjective…

 

Many people say WJ is a madhouse on embarkation day… I don’t find it crowded at all when it first opens (yes it gets crazy later). Same goes for breakfast.

 

Many people talk about how loud CocoCay is. Our go-to spot is by the pool, close enough to hear the DJ music, walking distance from the Oasis Bar… and I don’t find it loud there at all. I also don’t find the beaches loud although I’ve never really spent time at South Beach.

 

Doesn’t make me right or anyone else wrong… just more subjectivity which is why I urge all new cruisers or those going somewhere or doing something for the first time to go in with an open mind.

[Mum2Mercury]

20 hours ago, scubaslayer said:

Currently looking at dates for Harmony of the seas. This will be the biggest ship we have traveled on. Past family cruises have been on Liberty in October and one Christmas cruise. How bad is it for crowds in the first couple of weeks in June? Is Memorial day departure worse (probably not possible due to work but still looking)? If the crowds are too bad at these times, is Harmony less crowded feeling in late September or October? We will be traveling with 2 teens, so Adventure Ocean is not a concern but I know they are planning to hit all of the slides, pools, and available food.

We sailed a holiday once.  Once.  We said, 'Never again."  It was an expensive cruise, and it was the most crowded cruise we've ever experience.  

We really like September and October for the lower prices and mild weather (we sailed once on our July anniversary and decided we're not summer cruisers ... just so stinkin' hot) ... November too, and although the weather'll be a little cooler good prices can almost always be found the first week of December.  

19 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

I've been on ships at 110% of capacity, and never has it felt "that crowded"

Disagree, but every sailing is a little different.  When we sailed at over-capacity, we were assigned to a side-room (not the MDR, and this was back when fewer eating options were available), and the pools were always crowded.  We now choose to sail in fall, when it's less crowded.  

10 hours ago, Springermaniac said:

Johnny Rockets was our main go to for breakfast, amazing what a few cash tips can do in that place, those guys bent over backwards to serve us it was great.

In your experience, was Johnny Rockets busy for breakfast? 

10 hours ago, Springermaniac said:

learned a lesson with the shore excursions paid a lot of coin as there were 4 of us, had to wait for buses that never showed up on time to take us back to the ship, we could have done the same thing by hiring a taxi at a fraction of the cost.

Ship's shore excursions are rarely the right choice.  You can do so much better on your own.  

52 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Many people say WJ is a madhouse on embarkation day… I don’t find it crowded at all when it first opens (yes it gets crazy later). Same goes for breakfast.

I've found WJ to be busy-but-not-crowded on Embarkation Day.  We don't always get a prime seat by the window, but we've never failed to find a seat. 

Yet I've read so many people whining about not being able to find a seat that I've questioned myself!  

52 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Many people talk about how loud CocoCay is.

Coco Cay definitely has loud areas (I'm not interested in the Coco Cay pool at all), but quiet areas do exist.  To have a good day at Coco Cay, I think it's important to choose your beach ahead of time ... not just grab the first seats or wander around until you're exhausted. 

[ocean sounds]

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

Many people talk about how loud CocoCay is. Our go-to spot is by the pool, close enough to hear the DJ music, walking distance from the Oasis Bar… and I don’t find it loud there at all. I also don’t find the beaches loud although I’ve never really spent time at South Beach.

I don’t mind loud music outside, but inside is a different story.  I was on Harmony 2 months ago, and the music in the production shows in the theater was  LOUD. I finally walked out of 2 different shows.  Tried lower level for one, and upper level for other.

 

 Is there a good section of the theater to sit where the volume isn’t outrageous ?  Anyone else find the sound crAzy loud?

 

Edited January 23 by ocean sounds
Typo

[sunlover12]

I’m on Harmony now. It has felt very crowded but it’s because the weather has not been good. Cool, very rainy and windy. It’s sunny and warm today, finally, so people will start spreading out.  We haven’t been to WJ. The line was so long just to get in. MTD (with reservations) line was long the first night. It was crazy. We like Park Cafe for lunch and it was fairly quiet fortunately. 

[budmeister]

I would not go when school is out. We have always gone when school is on session with no issues.  This last one 2 weeks ago school calendars were odd and school was out. The ship was noisy crowded and loaded with kids. I would not choose to do that again.

[SUgwoz]

If you have a choice, travelling around holidays anywhere that is a tourist spot is a bad idea.  For example, skiing is very expensive.  Skiing during winter break or other winter holiday weekends, even more expensive and the mountain, lodging, restaurants are packed so the overall experience is worse and more expensive.

[elcuchio24]

Was on Wonder at full capacity last spring on spring break. Felt less crowded than Carnival Horizon a couple of weeks ago. We've found, the bigger, the less crowded