Mega Cruise Ships ?

[Jimjam]

What is your opinion of the new mega cruise ships 3000 + passengers? After 20 cruises, the largest was Exployer Of The Sea for me and it was not as enjoyable as others like Zaandam 1400 and all other of the 1900 passenger ships i.e. Coral, Dawn, Sea, etc. etc.

 

I have been reading about the negative reports on the Caribbean Princess and we will be on her in 2009..Has it been really that bad as to number of passengers, crowding, service, food etc. I know many services have declined in the cruise industry over the last 20 years but everythiong does change with time. Thanks for your input ..

[MichTraveler]

I prefer the ones about 2000. The Tahitian, with under 700, was too small. But the Grand and Caribbean are just too big for me. We are scheduled on the Diamond in May, but mostly due to timing -- that is the best ship for our schedule.

[derf5585]

How about this one

 

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[IWanttocruisenow]

How about this one

 

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I guess that is THE solutions for chair hogs:cool:

[chasetf]

How about this one

 

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Looks like only about a quarter of the cabins have ocean views. :( ;)

[Pam in CA]

I have a hard enough time with 2,600 passengers on a ship. One thing is that these "mega" ships will be very limited as to where they'll be able to sail and/or dock so you will have few itinerary choices.

[LARGIN]

Any ship over 2000 passengers is too big.. :eek:

[Coral]

What is your opinion of the new mega cruise ships 3000 + passengers? After 20 cruises, the largest was Exployer Of The Sea for me and it was not as enjoyable as others like Zaandam 1400 and all other of the 1900 passenger ships i.e. Coral, Dawn, Sea, etc. etc.

 

I share your views! Bring back the small ships!

[mii]

I share your views! Bring back the small ships!

 

Right on Coral. Princess are you reading and listening???

 

Marilyn

[Cruisin' Chick]

My family really enjoyed our cruise on the Sapphire. It never seemed crowded to us. I just don't know about the ships that are 150,00gt or so. Those may be too big.

[caribill]

Main problem with mega ships is that many ports cannot handle the number of passengers who want tours.

 

Even the 2600 passenger ships can overwhelm the facilities at some ports they go to.

[Go-Bucks!]

How about this one

 

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Darn . . . they did away with the aft cabins!! ;)

[Atomica]

I have to say I really enjoyed the Crown Princess despite the fact it carries just over 3,000 pax. The additional public areas like Adagio and the Cafe Caribe really made a difference in ensuring there was always a quiet place to sit. I enjoyed myself on the Golden Princess, which holds 2,600, but I honestly thought it felt more crowded!

 

I think my favorite size ship so far is the 80 to 90,000 GRT range. I loved the Zuiderdam/Oosterdam - that size is just perfect to me. I think I'd really like the Coral & Island Princess :)

[JLC@SD]

How about this one

 

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It looks like it will take 2 days to embark passengers........:rolleyes:

 

[B40 Tha Cruisa]

This is what scares me about RCCL's Genesis class... 5,000 plus passengers will completely overwhelm any port. How are the rest of us supposed to enjoy ourselves?

[Copper Lanterns]

Great picture! Where did it come from?

 

Went on the Emerald-HATED IT Had lots of problems and got off the ship

vowing NEVER TO CRUISE AGAIN- (Half way thru the cruise we asked if they would help us get a flight home) Have softened my views since then. But will NEVER cruise a ship that has 3000 passengers or more! I don't blame Princess, they tried, but I do feel that it is more than they can handle and do a good job.

 

I know there are people that like it and I am glad for the cruise industry, but as for me,they can have it. :mad:

 

End of Rant

 

Thanks for listening:D

 

Connie

[kaisatsu]

I actually really enjoy big ships for the sea days. Admittedly it is difficult to track people down, but we loved all the variety in venues and activities.

 

We've actually never had real embarkation delays, although we showed up really early to embark on the Sapphire Princess in Beijing and were subsequently the 3rd and 4th passengers on board! But the legendary delays for those behind us were more because of the Chinese port authorities than the size of the ship. Disembarkation was a nightmare because they had to bus everyone and their luggage from the container port to the Singapore cruise terminal.

 

And so I agree with the above that the biggest disadvantage is that the mega-ships just don't fit into existing port facilities. As for the ports themselves, if I'm in it for the ports, then I'll probably sail on a smaller ship. But there's a time and a place for both. Unfortunately, the day a Genesis class ship sails into a port like Flåm, the cruiselines will have clearly forgotten this.

[Spikesgirl]

After ten cruises, the biggest we've been on has been the Grand and it was too big for us. Perhaps it's because we started on the Sky, but we just enjoy the feel of the smaller ships, plus we enjoy being just moments from wherever we want to be.

 

This is one of the things that is so great about Princess - the ability to chose the size ship you want. I doubt we will ever sail on the Ruby, Emerald or even the Caribbean, but it's nice to know that they are there if we want to.

 

Charlie

[cyberfilly]

Is it a true rule of thumb, across all cruise lines, that the bigger the ship the more stable it is and the less you feel the motion? Doesn't Disney claim it has some sort of special stabilizing "wings" to help stablize their ships when moving?

[A Sixth?]

I have to say I really enjoyed the Crown Princess despite the fact it carries just over 3,000 pax. The additional public areas like Adagio and the Cafe Caribe really made a difference in ensuring there was always a quiet place to sit. I enjoyed myself on the Golden Princess, which holds 2,600, but I honestly thought it felt more crowded!

 

I think my favorite size ship so far is the 80 to 90,000 GRT range. I loved the Zuiderdam/Oosterdam - that size is just perfect to me. I think I'd really like the Coral & Island Princess :)

 

We too have felt far more "crowded" on much smaller ships than the Crown. Biggest we've been on was the Mariner of the Seas. 140,000 tons, and a whack of people. With it's HUGE atrium and mall, the actual floor space is maybe even less than the Crown. (Just a guess but the feeling of "crowd" was far greater on that ship)

 

I think it comes down to design.

 

When the Sun was the largest ship ever filled with passengers this exact discussion was waged and now the Sun class is considered mid sized.

 

Design and function can not be limited by size IMHO.

 

The Crown is still (after 20+ cruises) our favorite design. At first a bit confusing, but it never feels 'crowded'.

[heartofamerica]

I was on the Crown 3/15, and it was fully booked - over 3,000 passengers. I honestly did not feel any more crowded than I have on smaller ships.

[Pam in CA]

Is it a true rule of thumb, across all cruise lines, that the bigger the ship the more stable it is and the less you feel the motion?

Absolutely not. The design of the ship has far more to do with how a ship goes through seas than the sheer size. All cruise ships now have "stabilizers" which are like short wings that can be deployed from the sides of the ship that help with side-to-side motion but they don't help too much if the seas are coming forward to aft (so that the bow is going up and down) or from an angle (across the bow.) Also, when they are in use, there is quite a bit of vibration and noise, causing some people to complain. (You can't please everyone.) Stabilizers help but don't eliminate the side-to-side motion. Ships that are narrower with a pointed bow and deeper hull designed to cut through waves are better in heavy seas than many of the newer large ships, which are designed to be very wide, have a shallow draft and are designed to ride over waves. You'll find that in general, the smaller ships handle waves and seas better than the newer, larger ships and that's due to design rather than size.

[A Sixth?]

Absolutely not. The design of the ship has far more to do with how a ship goes through seas than the sheer size. All cruise ships now have "stabilizers" which are like short wings that can be deployed from the sides of the ship that help with side-to-side motion but they don't help too much if the seas are coming forward to aft (so that the bow is going up and down) or from an angle (across the bow.) Also, when they are in use, there is quite a bit of vibration and noise, causing some people to complain. (You can't please everyone.) Stabilizers help but don't eliminate the side-to-side motion. Ships that are narrower with a pointed bow and deeper hull designed to cut through waves are better in heavy seas than many of the newer large ships, which are designed to be very wide, have a shallow draft and are designed to ride over waves. You'll find that in general, the smaller ships handle waves and seas better than the newer, larger ships and that's due to design rather than size.

 

Depends on the age and design of the ship.

 

For example you will not find a more stable ship in heavy seas than the Queen Mary.

 

Which cruise ship would you rather be in these?

 

This ship:

 

 

 

Or a small one like this? :rolleyes:

 

[FLACRUISER99]

Absolutely not. The design of the ship has far more to do with how a ship goes through seas than the sheer size. All cruise ships now have "stabilizers" which are like short wings that can be deployed from the sides of the ship that help with side-to-side motion but they don't help too much if the seas are coming forward to aft (so that the bow is going up and down) or from an angle (across the bow.) Also, when they are in use, there is quite a bit of vibration and noise, causing some people to complain. (You can't please everyone.) Stabilizers help but don't eliminate the side-to-side motion. Ships that are narrower with a pointed bow and deeper hull designed to cut through waves are better in heavy seas than many of the newer large ships, which are designed to be very wide, have a shallow draft and are designed to ride over waves. You'll find that in general, the smaller ships handle waves and seas better than the newer, larger ships and that's due to design rather than size.

Yes design does matter, but so does size. A good example of this was the 3 Queens making the Atlantic crossing before the celebration in NYC. The Queen Victoria (90,000 T)could not keep up with the QE2 (70,327 T)the smallest but designed for ocean crossing or the Queen Mary(151,400 T) much larger then the Victoria but still designed for ocean crossing. To sum it up size does also matter and if I had to head into extremely high waves the Queen Mary 2 3rd largest cruise ship in the world would be my choice.

[Pam in CA]

Yes design does matter, but so does size. A good example of this was the 3 Queens making the Atlantic crossing before the celebration in NYC. The Queen Victoria (90,000 T)could not keep up with the QE2 (70,327 T)the smallest but designed for ocean crossing or the Queen Mary(151,400 T) much larger then the Victoria but still designed for ocean crossing. To sum it up size does also matter and if I had to head into extremely high waves the Queen Mary 2 3rd largest cruise ship in the world would be my choice.

The key here is "designed for ocean crossing." Both sized ships are designed for that. The newer Princess ships aren't designed for ocean crossing (they have very wide hulls and shallow draft) so that if you were to compare the QM2 with the Emerald, for instance, I'm sure you'd pick the QM2 even though it's larger.