do you think one day the mega ships will go out of style and the smaller ships will be "in" again. I hate to see the smaller ships leaving the industry. But I understand why they are. MONEY
I personally loved the smaller ships. I think the mega ships seem to lose a bit of the cruising experience.
do you think one day the mega ships will go out of style and the smaller ships will be "in" again. I hate to see the smaller ships leaving the industry. But I understand why they are. MONEY
I personally loved the smaller ships. I think the mega ships seem to lose a bit of the cruising experience.
I agree with you about smaller ships; I much prefer them to the floating resorts. But the mega-ships are here to stay. They keep building them and they keep filling them--even in the present economy!
But I also think there are enough of us that love the smaller ships that they will never leave the industry. In fact I would say they are having a bit of a resurgence right now!.
You know, I do hope that is not the case. Even after going on Celebrity Solstice (which is so very awesome) I did love the Celebrity Century so much more because it was smaller. I can't wait to go on the Mercury this Feb 2010, it will be as awesome as I know ! What can I say, less people it BETTER !
There should always be a market for the smaller cruiseships. There are many destinations which can only accomodate the smaller vessels due to their harbors and facilities. Unless vast sums are spent to reengineer Mother Nature's designs there will remain a need for our beloved"smaller" ships!
I consider ship with less than 700 passenger smaller ships but seems others like the bigger ships
The old R ships are perfect size for us.
Well appointed ..the cabins may be smaller than on some of the mid size ships but the size is great for getting around.
Lyn
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Lyn
FORMER CRUISES:
Alexandr Pushkin, Carnival-Holiday, HAL-(old)Westerdam, Orient lines-Marco Polo, Royal Olympic-Olympic, NCL-Dream, Dawn-Princess, ACCL-Grande Caribe, Oceania-Insignia (3), Regatta(4) Marina (1) St Lawrence Cruise Lines-Canadian Empress
I'm with all of you. We are just back from a cruise on HAL's Prinsendam (38K gross tons, 800 pax) and it was wonderful to be on a smaller ship. It was easy to find our way around -- most public rooms were on two decks between the two elevator banks. By the second morning of the cruise, staff and crew were referring to us by name, something that continued throughout. Lines were minimal, and we were able to visit (and dock at) more remote ports, as billybuzzy mentioned.
Look what happened in Bermuda. While the West End has been built up, cruise lines had to nearly abandon the long-time port in the more interesting and picturesque St. George. The large ships simply can't fit there. Fortunately, HAL reassigned one of its S-class ships. Still, I don't see many (or any) mainstream cruise lines building new ships for us.
Smaller ships will remain, in my nonqualified opinion, yet will likely serve more as destination ships than as Caribbean cruisers.
The smaller ships have a LOT of great things going for them. I honestly feel the Sea, Sun, and Dawn were perfect size. 1950 passengers, large enough to offer plenty of places for getting away from the crowds, plenty of activities, large enough to be smooth in the water yet small enough to be easy to navigate. Now they want to cram 5000 people on board or more, and of course, the lines grow. I understand the money, more passengers=more revenue, but it isn't offering the passengers the experience the old time cruisers enjoyed. LisaP, I hope you're right, I hope the smaller ships will still be part of the offering.
My wife is a little disappointed because we're on a Radiance class ship for our next cruise - she'd rather be on a Voyager class. I'm not to keen on booking the Oasis - I think it's overkill.
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