New/Old-Good/Bad?

[DaCruzNut]

There have been many posts, several by myself, about the "good old days" of cruising, or the "traditional" cruise versus today's "modern" cruise experience.

I've gone back and re-read a number of these posts and done some thinking, and have come up with an extraordinary conclusion. There are two different, separate and distinct, types of cruise vacations and both have their advantages and failures.

The Regal Empress is one of the few ships which still sails “traditional†cruises.

TRADITIONAL/SMALL SHIP CRUISING

When I began cruising, the Holiday, at 46,000 grt, was a behemoth!

Most cruise ships were in the 30,000 grt range.

The smaller ship provided a sociable atmosphere, with the passengers and crew all getting to know one another. After all, you only had 600-800 fellow passenegers.aboard.

The entire tone of the cruise was gracious and sociable. There was just a “certain†mood†aboard.

On the other hand, a small ship does not offer the diversity of venues that today’s larger ships have. They had a main show lounge, a “cabaret†and a piano bar. Some used the cabaret as a disco.

Food preparation for fewer than 1,000 people is far easier than for 3,000, so the quality of the food tended to be better. Corners were not cut, and there was one busboy for each waiter. The waiters had less guests to serve, and the service excelled. The busboy served your side dishes from a large serving tray, or cart, and you could request as much, or little, as you wanted. There was a midnight buffet every night of the cruise.

However, meals were served at set times and there were little, or no, alternative dining areas, with the exception of a meager buffet. You were offered your three meals, a mid-morning and afternoon snack and a midnight buffet.

The Lido Deck pool was always located at the stern, with three sides open to the sea. Nowadays, the pool is mid-deck, surrounded by windows and a Sun Deck above it.

There was plenty of open deck space where you could walk, or sit, and look at the sea.

Your cruise was a complete get-away. No TV, no phones, no newspapers…. You were totally absorbed in the cruise, and nothing else mattered.

The Majesty of the Seas was a breakthrough ship….

TODAY’S CRUISE EXPERIENCE

Over the years, ships have gotten bigger, and bigger, and a ship of 100,000 +/- grt is common.

Why? Well, the cruise lines will tell you that it is because they needed to build larger ships in order to cater to the wishes of their passengers. The larger the ship, the more they can offer. Well, that’s only a small part of the story…

The cruise lines build bigger ships in order to make more money! Period!

The single most important cost for the cruise line, on any cruise, is the fuel. Those ships really gulp it down! The amount of fuel needed to propel a 100,000 grt ship is not three times the cost of a 30,000 vessel. In fact, it’s not even double! Therefore, the more passengers you can squeeze onto a ship, the less fuel cost-per-passenger. The main reason that the smaller lines (Dolphin, Commodore, Premier, etc;), and ships, are no longer in operation is that they could not make a profit when fuel costs rose.

As a bonus, the passenger gets a large number of entertainment settings that offer multiple activities.

While cruise lines have cut down on food preparation and service, they have increased the availability and variety. Twenty-four hour pizza, and on one line a 24-hour buffet; hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches, and hot dishes available all day, and into the evening.

Balconies abound! All around the exterior of the ship, wall-to-wall balconies. Great, if that’s what you want. Admittedly, the times I have had a balcony, I have made very good use of it.

However, the abundance of balconies has reduced the open deck space to miniscule, and passengers do not congregate on deck, as much, to be sociable.

OK, so which is better? Well, I don’t think either is! It’s similar to having two children; you don’t love one more than the other. You love them both equally, but in a different way.

Apparently, many of you tend to agree…. From some recent posts, a majority of our members tend to like the “assigned seating†and “traditional†cruise experience, but love the balconies and variety that today’s ships offer. Of course, there are many who have never had the good fortune to sail on a “traditional†cruise, and have no opportunity to make the comparison. I would urge them to try a short “traditional†cruise, while they survive.

[Dan]

While I can see how balconies have contributed to some people not spending as much time up on deck, and possibly socializing, I still can't see how balconies have taken away from open deck space. Most of these new ships, simply by their size, have acres of open deck space on the top decks. The fact they have 4 or 5 decks of balcony cabins doesn't take away from open space. It could be that there isn't as much square footage per passenger up on those decks, which makes it more crowded, but I don't think the presence of balconies has anything to do with that.

[jbond]

I have to agree with Dan.

There is much more room on the newer ships than the older ones. There is for more open deck space on the newer ships and far more enclosed deck space.

The Regal Empress is a 23,000 GRT ship with 1160 passengers. That's about 2000 cu ft of space per passenger. Voyager of the Seas is 142,000 GRT with 3114 passengers, that's about 4500 cu ft per passenger. While a lot of that is used for Atriums, theatres etc, the amount of deck space is huge. Balconies are a mere drop in the ocean.

One of the reasons that the newer ships are so much more economical is because of the big advances in propusion systems and in ship design.

We have sailed on ships from the 20,000+ to the 142,000 GRT size. I like the big ones. If you have ever sat outside the Pig and Whistle on the Royal Promenade on Voyager, you'll never complain about lack of space again.

[JohnG]

We loved the Imperial Majesty Line's OceanBreeze. She was replaced by Regal Empress. She sails the two day FLL to Nassau run. We loved NCL Dream, RCCL Grandeur and Majesty, CCL Sensation and Tropicale. The Carnival Spirit class and Celebrity Galaxy were fine. The Golden Princess was okay. I obviously prefer the small to medium/transition sized. My absolute favorite was Star Clipper Line's Royal Clipper.....284 passengers.

[DaCruzNut]

I feel that trying to compare the cruise experience on a Traditional/Small ship, and a New/Mega-ship, is akin to trying to make a comparison between a nice, friendly Bed & Breakfast to a huge Resort. They are totally different, and any comparison will be made, basically, based on what you’re looking for.

If you are a big B & B fan, you will expound all the reasons why it is far better than a resort, and vice versa. How can you compare the Norway to the Sovereign of the Seas? The Dolphin to the Maasdam?

Having been on 58 cruises, I still don’t believe that either the “Traditional†or “New†is better than the other, only very different. I’ve been on tiny ships and 100,000 grt +, and LOVE both types. It just depends what I’m in the mood for when I book the cruise.

(List of ships I’ve been on. The list does not add up to 58 because I’ve been on several ships more than once….)

HOLIDAY

BRITANIS

FANTASY

CARIBE I

DISCOVERY I

DOLPHIN

MARDI GRAS

SUNWARD II

NORDIC EMPRESS

TROPIC STAR

FANTASY

COSTA ALLEGRA

ROYAL MAJESTY

STARSHIP MAJESTIC

ZENITH

SEAWARD

TROPICANA

SENSATION

NORWEGIAN CROWN

SOVEREIGN of the SEAS

NORWAY

NORWEGIAN WIND

LEEWARD

TRIUMPH

IMAGINATION

MAASDAM

GRAND PRINCESS

NORWEGIAN STAR

HORIZON

CENTURY

MAJESTY of the SEAS

FASCINATION

VICTORY

FASCINATION

REGAL EMPRESS

I guess trying to compare the two types of cruises, for me, is similar to talking about my children. I love them all equally, but differently....

[BROWIE]

I definately prefer the smaller ships to the big ones. My tiny, little, stuffed feet get very tired running around those mega-ships!

[Lisa63]

Regarding balconies and deck space:

Older ships (even ships as young as ten years) have a lot of deck space on several decks... particularly aft. Promenade decks are generally closer to the waterline. There are tiered aft decks, affording wonderful sea views from different levels. Many of today's ships have given up that wonderful aft space to private balconies. Grand Princess is the best example.

So, to me at least, it's not the total square footage of public deck space, it's the variety. And that's what has been disappearing.

[Dan]

But then, I think that's also a misperception based on the size of the ships. For instance, how many tiered aft decks did most of those smaller ships have? 3 or 4 at the most, and sometimes just 2. The Grand has 4. There's the Terrace Pool on Aloha deck, with the Lido, Sun and Sports decks all tiered above that. But, it also has a few decks of aft balconies below that. I imagine the Diamond and Sapphire are a little more pronounced with this, since they don't have the Skywalker's Lounge suspended over the stern like the Grand. Sounds like the best of the old and new to me.

[Lisa63]

Perhaps I wasn't clear in my earlier post.

On newer ships, the open deck space is generally in the same area -- up on top of the ship way above the water line. The space was more varied on older ships, and didn't always center around a pool.

Norwegian Dream, for instance, has 4 or 5 tiered decks, plus a full promenade deck around the midpoint of the ship.

I prefer to have some variety in the open decks. That just isn't there on most newer ships. At least HAL has retained the open-to-three-sides pool, but on most ships these are way too far from the ocean. I might as well be in a high-rise hotel. :smiley:

Of course, not all older ships are this way. SS Norway had terrible outdoor space, IMO. The promenade was far too high, and there was inadequate outdoor space for the number of passengers she carried. Then again, she was built as a year-round north Atlantic liner, not a cruise ship.