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The Right Sized Ship For You

One of the most often over-looked questions that you are faced with when choosing a cruise is the one that asks, “What size cruise ship is right for me”. We usually look at itinerary, cost and the cruise line itself but we never consider whether the newest ship in the fleet is too big for our tastes. Well if no one has ever told you this before let me be the first to say in the world of cruise ships size does matter.

These days cruise lines are churning out bigger and bigger vessels with more bells and whistles than I could list in 10 blog posts. There are also some older smaller ships that (while short on amenities) offer charm not found on newer ships. There are also many ships in between these two extremes. Here we will examine the different classes of ships available.

Small cruise ships

The babies of the cruise world, small ships can usually be classified as those carrying fewer than 1,000 passengers. They are usually older ships and it isn’t unusual to find out these ships started their lives with a different cruise line.

Pros

Cons

Medium Cruise Ships

Usually carrying between 1,000 and 2,000 passengers medium sized ships tend to be newer than small ships, but definitely won’t be confused as new. These days cruise lines are only building large ships, so medium sized ships are usually older and a bit outdated.

Pros

Cons

Large Cruise Ships

Any ship carrying over 2000 passengers can be classified as a large ship. These ships tend to be more like floating resorts than sea going vessels. Cruise lines are building more of these ships than ever and it doesn’t seem like they plan to stop any time soon.

Pros

Cons

Mega ships

This is the newest trend in cruise ship design. These massive structures can be over a quarter of a mile long and accommodate nearly 6,000 passengers. The first true mega cruiser (the Oasis of the Seas) will debut in 2009 and will have a zip line running through the middle of the ship.

If you don’t like crowds, don’t book a mega ship. You will likely encounter crowds everywhere from embarkation to disembarkation and everywhere in between. There will be many announcements alerting to you to the ships activities and service will be impersonal.

As you can see all of these categories have pros but also cons. Someone who prefers a quiet relaxing cruise should avoid the Carnival Valor and those looking for a party scene probably won’t enjoy the Azamara Journey.

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