Crowds - any ship options for less crowds?

[asctony]

29 minutes ago, Escruiser1962 said:

Read the whole thread. 

Why? What's your point?

[Escruiser1962]

37 minutes ago, asctony said:

Why? What's your point?

Nevermind, this is not my problem to solve. Lol

[LouChamp]

12 hours ago, the penguins said:

HAL has also sold off its smaller ships, Fred Olsen snapped up 1, possibly 2. 

Aloha. I know. Have been blessed to sail HAL since 1976 and the smaller ships and the larger ones too.  Cunard and Celebrity are also wonderful and I never say never as far as mainstream lines but have enjoyed the smaller ships of the upscale lines recently.  Sailed the Tahitian Princess a few years ago on a several weeks trip. Oceania and Azamara gobbled up that class of ship. Thoroughly enjoyable 

[the penguins]

On 5/28/2024 at 9:27 PM, phoenix_dream said:

And this is also causing more and more ports to eliminate cruise stops altogether, or limit them to only the smallest ships or one per day.  And yet the various lines keep building them bigger and bigger and bigger.  It's very frustrating - ports we used to enjoy very much are now wall to wall people.  And there is no real market for the older ships these days - they are not big or modern enough.  So what happens with them?  More port crowding?

One wonders given the size of the ships and the size of the credit card debt if the day will come soon when the bookings start dropping considerably.  CEO's in general tend to do what is best for them right now to earn their bonus, figuring they won't still be around later when these decisions turn out to be disasters and the stocks start falling.  

Port crowding isn't a real issue - just don't follow the crowds and you will be amazed at what you can do - just a few examples:

1) The Bahamas on our last visit there were 3 ships in port each with 2000 plus passengers each. We went with with 4 other passengers for a guided tour of the Primeval Forest (what Bahamas was like before tourism). The total number of visitors booked for the whole day was 20.

2) Akoroa New Zealand we spent a day travelling with the Mail Man visiting farms way up in the hills. Our day included a picnic by a lake, walk along a deserted beach and stunning scenery. Apart from our 4 travelling companions we never saw another passenger from the ship all day. Also stopped for a cream tea at the Giants Garden again not a single passenger from the ship even though the garden was only 15 minutes walk from the pier. 

3) Bora Bora we ignored the beaches and spent time with a guide exploring the WW2 gun emplacements and going up into the hills to see the amazing flowers and scenery.

4) Lisbon the Museum of Death is a must see. Not as morbid as it sounds in fact we intended to visit for 10 minutes to get out of the rain and ended up being there for a lot longer.

Planning these trips is part of the cruise. Look at private guides and share the costs with another couple on the Roll Call - we look for guides with a vehicle that holds 6 and share with one other couple as we like the space. Try putting "unusual things for tourists to do" into Google for every port and you will be surprised at what you will find.

If you really can't find anything at a particular port stay on the ship and enjoy the space.

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

22 minutes ago, the penguins said:

 

4) Lisbon the Museum of Death is a must see. Not as morbid as it sounds in fact we intended to visit for 10 minutes to get out of the rain and ended up being there for a lot longer.

 

Do you have a link , I googled it and nothing really came up 

We will be in Lisbon for 4 days before a TA 

[phoenix_dream]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

Port crowding isn't a real issue - just don't follow the crowds and you will be amazed at what you can do - just a few examples:

1) The Bahamas on our last visit there were 3 ships in port each with 2000 plus passengers each. We went with with 4 other passengers for a guided tour of the Primeval Forest (what Bahamas was like before tourism). The total number of visitors booked for the whole day was 20.

2) Akoroa New Zealand we spent a day travelling with the Mail Man visiting farms way up in the hills. Our day included a picnic by a lake, walk along a deserted beach and stunning scenery. Apart from our 4 travelling companions we never saw another passenger from the ship all day. Also stopped for a cream tea at the Giants Garden again not a single passenger from the ship even though the garden was only 15 minutes walk from the pier. 

3) Bora Bora we ignored the beaches and spent time with a guide exploring the WW2 gun emplacements and going up into the hills to see the amazing flowers and scenery.

4) Lisbon the Museum of Death is a must see. Not as morbid as it sounds in fact we intended to visit for 10 minutes to get out of the rain and ended up being there for a lot longer.

Planning these trips is part of the cruise. Look at private guides and share the costs with another couple on the Roll Call - we look for guides with a vehicle that holds 6 and share with one other couple as we like the space. Try putting "unusual things for tourists to do" into Google for every port and you will be surprised at what you will find.

If you really can't find anything at a particular port stay on the ship and enjoy the space.

 

Port crowding can definitely be an issue, depending where you go.  I sail primarily out of US ports - Caribbean, west coast when they have them, and Alaska.  I have sailed for more than 30 years and over 90 cruises, probably at least 20 in the last couple of years alone, most on Celebrity.  I've already done a lot of exploring in all these places.  Many ports are extremely crowded.  Several ports I have been to no longer accept ships at all or limit them severely in number and size (Monterrey, Bar Harbor, Key West).  I'm not saying there are not options in some ports, but overall the crowds have significantly increased.  We often do in fact stay on the ship and enjoy the relaxation, but I feel for some of the islands and small ports like Alaska where they are inundated.

[hcat]

add to list of crowded ports at times..

santorini, mykonos,  nassau, st maarten

Edited May 29 by hcat

[BazingAu]

If you have the luxury of time, many of the 10+ day sailings not around holidays tend to be less busy. There’s been some repositioning cruises that I would love to take, but would require the kids to be out of school too long. I think these will be your sweet spot.

[the penguins]

8 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Do you have a link , I googled it and nothing really came up 

We will be in Lisbon for 4 days before a TA 

Hi Mark, If it's OK with you I will email you later today with information to the address at the bottom of your Post. Geoff.

[the penguins]

11 hours ago, hcat said:

add to list of crowded ports at times..

santorini, mykonos,  nassau, st maarten

for the Greek islands try Celestyal Cruises which stay later or even overnight enabling you to explore after the big ships have left.

[the penguins]

13 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Do you have a link , I googled it and nothing really came up 

We will be in Lisbon for 4 days before a TA 

I have tried to email you but the message was rejected.

Please email me: geoffanita at hotmail dot com (just replace the words with the usual symbols - it stops the robots) and I will send the information. Thanks Geoff

[Ex-Airbalancer]

26 minutes ago, the penguins said:

I have tried to email you but the message was rejected.

Please email me: geoffanita at hotmail dot com (just replace the words with the usual symbols - it stops the robots) and I will send the information. Thanks Geoff

Done 😁

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Done 😁

sorry nothing received.

geoffanita at hotmail dot com

Geoff

[Ex-Airbalancer]

10 minutes ago, the penguins said:

sorry nothing received.

geoffanita at hotmail dot com

Geoff

Resent 

 

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Resent 

 

I think it might be me - typed your address starting as mi whereas I now think it might be ml. Will try that now.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

I think it might be me - typed your address starting as mi whereas I now think it might be ml. Will try that now.

Got it 

[zitsky]

I'm always amused when people complain about crowds.  You want to travel, so do 1,000 other people.  We just came from London where we visited the National Gallery and British Museum.  It was packed to the rafters.  My goodness, didn't the staff know that we were the only ones allowed in?

 

And where do people get the money to cruise?  Maybe credit cards, maybe it's their one vacation a year or maybe once in 5 years.  Maybe they worked overtime for a year so they could take their spouse on a nice vacation.  I can afford to do what I want now, but there was a time I thought being on an airplane was adventure enough.

[Escruiser1962]

59 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I'm always amused when people complain about crowds.  You want to travel, so do 1,000 other people.  We just came from London where we visited the National Gallery and British Museum.  It was packed to the rafters.  My goodness, didn't the staff know that we were the only ones allowed in?

 

And where do people get the money to cruise?  Maybe credit cards, maybe it's their one vacation a year or maybe once in 5 years.  Maybe they worked overtime for a year so they could take their spouse on a nice vacation.  I can afford to do what I want now, but there was a time I thought being on an airplane was adventure enough.

I’m always amused when people think not finding a table when you’re holding a plate of food for lunch is mere crowding. I guess a current cruise means taking your oceanview cafe plate to your cabin to eat. 🙄 

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Got it 

great. have a wonderful time in Lisbon and on Transatlantic cruise. We usually do the Autumn TA but this year will be flying to and from Dallas to see our Grandson rather than taking the ship one way and returning by air.

[D. B.]

I’m on a Silversea ship right now and believe me it is not crowded.

I cruise mostly with Celebrity and this is a One and Done with Silversea.

  I am more comfortable with the vibe on Celebries M class ships but I do see the appeal to Silversea with 600 guests but I’m OK with the 2100 on Millie or Summit.

My preferred dining time is 5:45 and shows at 7pm.

  Here an Early seating for dinner is 7pm and only one theatre show at 9:30 or 9:45 every night is too late for me.

  But. It is Quiet and uncrowned if that’s high on your list of cruise line comforts.

[phoenix_dream]

6 hours ago, zitsky said:

I'm always amused when people complain about crowds.  You want to travel, so do 1,000 other people.  We just came from London where we visited the National Gallery and British Museum.  It was packed to the rafters.  My goodness, didn't the staff know that we were the only ones allowed in?

 

And where do people get the money to cruise?  Maybe credit cards, maybe it's their one vacation a year or maybe once in 5 years.  Maybe they worked overtime for a year so they could take their spouse on a nice vacation.  I can afford to do what I want now, but there was a time I thought being on an airplane was adventure enough.

I'm so glad you're amused.  Many of us are not.  I am a senior with who knows how many years left that I will be able to travel.  The big surge in crowds makes my remaining vacation time much less enjoyable.  It also is causing ports to completely eliminate cruise ship stops.  Some of said ports are some of my favorites.  I'm much less amused.

[zitsky]

5 hours ago, Escruiser1962 said:

I’m always amused when people think not finding a table when you’re holding a plate of food for lunch is mere crowding. I guess a current cruise means taking your oceanview cafe plate to your cabin to eat. 🙄 

 

Others have suggested asking a staff member for help or eating at different times.  What do people say when you ask to share their table, assuming you are alone?

[Escruiser1962]

16 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

Others have suggested asking a staff member for help or eating at different times.  What do people say when you ask to share their table, assuming you are alone?

I’m sure you can do that if available. On our cruise there was already tables of 6 with two separate parties. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

43 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

Others have suggested asking a staff member for help or eating at different times.  What do people say when you ask to share their table, assuming you are alone?

What would people say besides Yes 😁

[NMTraveller]

5 hours ago, Escruiser1962 said:

I’m always amused when people think not finding a table when you’re holding a plate of food for lunch is mere crowding. I guess a current cruise means taking your oceanview cafe plate to your cabin to eat. 🙄 

No one should have to eat in the OVC.  Order room service.