Which is better, a smaller cruise or a larger one?

Question

i was planning to go on a cruise, but relised the guest capacity was only 820 guests... all the other cruises i have been on were around 2000 capacity..... i have heard on a smaller ship you get better service..... is this true? do you miss out on anything on a smaller cruise? what are peoples expriences? what would you recommed?

Answer 1

bigger cruise.

Answer 2

i like a smaller one on a pontoon

Answer 3

I've only been on one cruise and it was a smaller ship to the Bahamas...  but I can tell you this much..   if you're going on a deep ocean cruise...  go with the bigger boat...  cause the boat I was on..   once we hit open water...  you could barely stand up on that thing it rocked so much.  Here's another handy tip too..  always try to book a room as near as possible to the center of the boat cause you're closer to the center of gravity and less likely to get motion sickness.  The food and service were excellent though, so I can't complain about either of those.

Answer 4

gO ON A LARGER ONE IT'S MORE FUN~~!

Answer 5

Larger. Definitely. I got on a small ship once, and sea sickness. Ugh...On a large cruise you usually have more options because they have more people to please, and the ship is a lot easier to handle sea sickness wise. On a larger ship you also get to meet more people which can be really fun. Definitely a bigger ship.

Answer 6

A larger ship is better.

Answer 7

Larger ships have more.  That includes both facilities and lines of people waiting to use those facilities.  The Freedom of the Seas has three pools, a miniature water park, an ice skating rink and a Flowrider (a surfing simulator).

It can also carry over 4000 passengers and as a result, there can be long lines when everyone is trying to do the same thing at the same time,  such as when trying to get on or off the ship in a tender port or eat breakfast or lunch in the Windjammer.  

It is also possible to see someone on day one, and then never see that person again for the rest of the cruise.

I was on the Freedom of the Seas.  I was also on the Universe Explorer that only carried about 740 passengers.  On a smaller ship you see everyone all the time.  It was easy to get to know the other passengers.  There were no lines.  

But, there are also less facilities.  There was one pool and none of the other facilities that I listed for the Freedom of the Seas.  

The two experiences were both enjoyable, but for different reasons.  Personally I prefer the ships that carry about 2000 people.  The Freedom of the Seas is just too big.  It is like going on a vacation with a small town.  I also felt the smaller ship was too small.  On some days it did feel like there was not enough to do.

I have been on several ships that carry around 2000 passengers, and those ships have enough facilities so that it never feels like there is nothing to do, yet the lines of people are reasonable.

Because both ships (Freedom of the Seas and the Universe Explorer) assign the same cabin and wait staff to the passenger for the entire cruise, the service does get personalized.  On both ships I soon found that the ice tea was being delivered to me before I asked for it, because the waiter or waitress knew that I would order it.

Service however is more of a function of the ratio of service staff to passengers (as well as how well trained the staff is and how happy the staff is).  The luxury lines tend to have smaller ships, but the reason service is better is because of the better staff ratio and training.  On a luxury line carrying 600 passengers there might be 400 staff.  On a mass market ship carrying 600 passengers (if there was one) there might be 300 staff.  The extra staff cost more, but also provides better service.  

Nonetheless, a ship with 2000 staff for 3000 passengers will offer better service than a ship with 300 staff for 750 passengers.  It is not the size of the ship that is important, but rather the staff to passenger ratio, how well trained the staff is and how happy the staff is.

Answer 8

Go with the bigger one always! Especially if your lookin to hook up with women DUH! More passengers equals more to choose from.

Answer 9

If you are into lots of on board activities I think that the larger ship would be better.  If you are into relaxing the smaller ship would be better.  A lot depends on who you are cruising with - if you enjoy the company of the person you are travelling with any cruise is a great one!

Answer 10

I have been on large ships and small ones.  They both have their appeals.  I personally prefer the large 300o+ capacity ships.  They are newer and have all of the amenities built in.  On the small, older ships, they offer the same, but most of it looks like afterthoughts.  I prefer the ease use on the large ships..