Ship size

With all the big or should I say Mega ships coming on..I just wondering how everyone felt about these. I have only been on the medium large(2300)ships and it takes me a couple of days to figure out how to get around on those, I think if you would venture out you would never find your room again on the Mega ships in a week.

We prefer the smaller ships less than 700
It is a more cozy feel ....doesn't take me all day to find food

You can usually go from end to end in 10- 15 minutes.
getting off at port is quicker the lines are small, no major line-ups for food
If you have to tender you are off the ship in a short period of time to enjoy the city/town instead of waiting in line to get off

Before kids, I always enjoyed the big ships because of the variety they had to offer. Our first cruise was on Grand Princess, so I guess that might also be why... I started out with big ships! It doesn't seem to be a problem to find my way around. Most cruise ships seem to have the same general layout (workout room in the top front next to spa, buffet in the top back, theatre in the bottom front, atrium/shops/purser in bottom middle, pools on top middle, etc.) so we can usually find our way around pretty quickly.

Now that we are cruising with kids, I like larger ships because there is generally more for the kdis to do (rock climbing, mini golf, larger kids club, kids' swimming area, etc.).

That being said, BEFORE kids we sailed on Pacific Princess (750 passengers) and we were surprised at how hard they worked to have many of the same activities that a larger ship would. However the showroom was terrible and there was only one tiny pool, plus no kids facilities at all. I'm not sure I'd want to do a ship that size again.

We love the big ships! Oh sure, sometimes it's a bit crowded at the pool or buffet during sea days but, they offer so many more choices of activities. I think we might draw the line at the Genesis class, we'll sail it to have the experience but, I have a feeling once is going to be more than enough!

Don't have much experience, but am willing to try other sizes. So far we have only been on the Fantasy class with Carnival. We will be on the Triumph in August, so that will be new for us. It will be the first experience for our kids.

I think it would be hard to go down in size if you like all of the amenities that the larger ships offer.

Towanda

We like the small ships. It seems that we can get more personal with the crew and other passengers.

Bibb

So far, I prefer the ships that carry about 2000 passengers or about 70000 tons. I like being able to recognize other passengers on the ship. In all fairness though, I haven't been on a small ship yet or the biggest, so that's why I said "so far"!! I look forward to many ships & sizes!!

Cathy

We love the big ships. I usually print out the deck plans and learn where all the things are that we are interested in (dining room, pools, our room, etc).
By the time we get on the ship, we know what deck (and forward or aft) that we need to go to. It's much easier that way.

We have been on the mega ships and been on the small ones. We both deffinately prefer the larger ones.

Large to Mega ship fan here. The only small ship I've sailed was Empress of the Seas back in the days when it was Nordic Empress - just too small and had a bad CD it turned me off to small ships.

We love the larger ships. Our 10 year old son likes all the activities offered , and always has made friends on the cruises. when we took him on a smaller ship, he had a good time, but there were not enough children around for his liking.
candaceb

We prefer the smaller ships. They have neat ports they are able to get into and after a few days you know just about everyone.

We just took our first cruise on a Voyager Class ship. Here's a link to my review so you can see why we prefer the smaller ships.

https://cruisefreekforums.forumotion.com/cruise-reviews-f2/mariner-of-the-seas-1-23-08-11-30-08-thanksgiving-t1943.htm

I've loved every ship I've been on.

I have only been on approx 1800-2000 passenger sized ships. I have enjoyed all three. What I look for is a good sized dance floor. And lots of oportunities to dance, good music etc. I have looked at deck plans of the large ships and haven't seen large dance floors so I am a bit dubious of the large and mega ships in this regard. I will have to experience them to find out for sure unless any of you guys care to express dancefloor size observations ?

I've been on the Carnival Glory and Imagination which were large and medium scale ships. I like the larger (Glory) and could deal with a mega ship as long as it's not packed. Long lines are no fun! I'm looking forward to the Caribbean Princess in October and Solstice in February 09.

We prefer smaller ship because you get better service and less people for the buffet line:)

We've done small (Pacific & Royal Princess) medium (Sea, Dawn Princess) and big (Grand, Golden, Star, Sapphire, Ruby) and they all have their good and bad features. For exotic itineraries, like Asia, I like the little former "R" ships because they can get into the downtown ports and you aren't out in container-land. For longer transatlantic or transpacific with lots of sea days, though, the wider variety of options on the larger ships is really nice. And, the 'mid-size' ships are nice for the port intensive itineraries like the Med and Northern Europe - you can still get into the downtown ports for the most part, you don't have such big crowds, but you still have the range of choices - so, all depends on where I'm going as to which size ship I'd rather take. But - any day cruising beats any day on land...

kohaladonah