BIG vs. SMALL SHIPS - IS CHOOSING BETWEEN THEM A REAL DILEMMA?

Not so in this writers view. The mega liners of today, defined as ships over 100,000-tons, do more than just outweigh their smaller counterparts. As they grow bigger so do the onboard activities and entertainment making them a more likely competitor of land based resorts than smaller ships. Between 1996 and 2010, 43 mega-liners with a combined passenger capacity of just over 142,000 guests have been added to the cruise market. Eleven more will enter service between 2011 and 2014 adding another 48,000 berths. All were scheduled for construction before the current economic downturn. If anything, I predict we will experience a decline in small ships which already appears to have begun. Earlier this year the only remaining U.S. cruise line, Cruise West, sold its flagship, “The Spirit of Oceanus”, to a Danish company. Their remaining seven ships were either sold or surrendered to their lenders. Cruise West had been in business for 64 years. Three years earlier the once popular “Windjammer Barefoot Cruises” closed its doors.

It takes three years from concept to completion to bring a new mega-liner on line. None are envisioned at this time other than those currently under construction indicating that we may be seeing an end to their growth with more than enough in use or soon to be added to the worldwide fleet to cover current and future demand. It is difficult to imagine anything larger than Royal Caribbean’s two 225,282-ton Oasis Class Ships being built in the future. My guess is that they will continue their reign as the world’s largest.

In an earlier review, recorded in this blog, I described in detail the innovations and accommodations my wife and I experienced aboard the Oasis of the Seas. I thought it might be appropriate in this review to show some photos taken on our very first cruise aboard the 20,000-ton Sea Venture in 1972 and contrast them with our 2009 Oasis cruise. Though limited in number and prospective I believe they dramatically reveal the stark differences:












Eleven Sea Ventures would fit nicely inside
the Oasis of the Seas. 720 vs. 5400 guests























Two portholes and very limited space vs.
roomy cabins - many with balconies.























Small single level showroom vs. stadium
theater seating for 1,380 guests.























A single small pool vs. 4 pools, 10 whirlpools
and 2 flow-riders for onboard surfing.












Having established by tonnage alone big ships have so much more space to enable new activities doesn’t mean that there aren’t significant differences among mega-liners themselves. My wife and I have sailed on one out of four that have been built to date and four of the nine cruise lines that operate them including Carnival, Cunard, Princess and Royal Caribbean. The Carnival Destiny was the first on the scene in 1996 at 101,353-tons but was eclipsed by the Grand Princess just two years later. The race to build the biggest and best had begun. In 1999 the RCCL’s Voyager of the Seas claimed the title of the world’s largest cruise liner and began an unsurpassed record of building the industry’s most innovative ships. The Voyager introduced us to Rock Wall Climbing, Ice Skating, Professional Ice Shows and their now signature Royal Promenades. In 2003, Canard’s Queen Mary 2 took over the title and introduced the first shipboard Planetarium. In 2006, however, RCCL once again recaptured the title with the first of its Freedom Class ships and adding another unique first – onboard surf riding. Then, in 2009, RCCL’s Oasis of the Seas was delivered with more of just about everything plus a full size carousel, AquaTheater and a zip line crossing the ship from starboard to portside.

That leaves the question as to when we would choose a smaller ship. Ships averaging half the size of mega-liners have been our windows to the world throughout the 38 years we have been cruising. We have visited just over 100 ports world-wide with destinations in Alaska, Eastern and Western Caribbean, Hawaii, New England, Canada, the British Isles, Eastern and Western Mediterranean, Australia, South America and the South Pacific from exotic Bora Bora to mind boggling Cairo and its pyramids at Giza. Most recently our trips have been repeat cruises aboard the mega-liners sailing the Caribbean. Seldom do we get off the ship and simply enjoy the weather, the pools and the food. We are finding more and more repeat cruisers enjoying the same thing. Unsettling times, overcrowding and beaches no longer as pristine as in the past all seem to be contributing factors. If you have never been there however the aforementioned do no apply.

Happy Cruising!