Another "Largest Cruise Ship": Do cruise ships really have to get bigger? Do you enjoy an intimate Caribbean cruise with 5,500 of your closest friends? Imagine all those people...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Do cruise ships really have to get bigger? Do you enjoy an intimate Caribbean cruise with 5,500 of your closest friends? Imagine all those people disembarking on a tiny island, while four other ships are disgorging passengers.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/harmony-of-the-seas-royal-caribbean?adbpr=3270129738&xid=social_20150830_51672366&adbid=637826129655533568&adbpl=tw

PhotoPhred Loc: Cheyney, Pa

I would not sail on that thing even if it was free. I sailed as an engineer and there is just too much that can go wrong on something this complicated. Thanks for the link, jerryc41.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

PhotoPhred wrote:

I would not sail on that thing even if it was free. I sailed as an engineer and there is just too much that can go wrong on something this complicated. Thanks for the link, jerryc41.

Imagine that in 40' waves.

GARGLEBLASTER Loc: Spain

Why on earth would you want a broadwalk lined with trees on a ship?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

GARGLEBLASTER wrote:

Why on earth would you want a broadwalk lined with trees on a ship?

Right, or a climbing wall or a skeet shooting, etc. I prefer a smaller ship with a smaller passenger list. If a contagious disease starts, well, you can figure out the rest.

PhotoPhred Loc: Cheyney, Pa

I think, unfortunately jerry, the planners don't want you to think you are on a ship. I have a couple friends who love cruising on these things, and the tell of all the stuff to do. All these activities are available right here close to home. Even the first class dining. Someone mentioned getting an illness, watch how quickly that will spread and overwhelm the available recourses. There are many other cruise lines that offer smaller ships with bookings of 100 to 300 passengers or so. Check out WindStar cruises.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

PhotoPhred wrote:

I think, unfortunately jerry, the planners don't w... (show quote)

I like the idea of being on a ship. Before it was taken out of service, we took a couple of cruises on the SS Norway, which began life in 1957 as the SS France. It was an actual ocean liner. I enjoyed that.

PhotoPhred Loc: Cheyney, Pa

I bet you did, jerry. That is a beautiful and elegant ship. That was the "golden age" of sailing. My cousin went to the same Merchant Marine school as I did 2 years ahead. He was an engineer on the S.S. United States near the end of it's service life. He actually hated working on it, It is sitting and slowly rotting in Phila. and looking for donations to restore it and turn it into a museum. It holds the trans-atlantic record (The Blue Ribond) for crossing from England to New York in a little over 3 days. It took the pennant from the Normandie. The Big U. could exceed 36 knots.

happy sailor Loc: Ontario, Canada

jerryc41 wrote:

Do cruise ships really have to get bigger? Do you enjoy an intimate Caribbean cruise with 5,500 of your closest friends? Imagine all those people disembarking on a tiny island, while four other ships are disgorging passengers.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/harmony-of-the-seas-royal-caribbean?adbpr=3270129738&xid=social_20150830_51672366&adbid=637826129655533568&adbpl=tw

Sounds like it is only taking short cruises!!! The text says you can also sail out of Civitavecchia, Italy heading to Rome. Lol, that is the port for sailing out of Rome, new proofreaders needed!!

Clauz Loc: MA

Having 37 cruises under my feet, I agree with you. Have never been on one of the giants ships and have no desire to do so....

banjonut Loc: Southern Michigan

I guess I'm just not a cruise ship type of person.

exakta56 Loc: Orford,New Hampshire

How can you get away from it all, when you take it all with you?

Day.Old.Pizza Loc: Maple Grove, MN

jerryc41 wrote:

Do cruise ships really have to get bigger? Do you enjoy an intimate Caribbean cruise with 5,500 of your closest friends? Imagine all those people disembarking on a tiny island, while four other ships are disgorging passengers.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/harmony-of-the-seas-royal-caribbean?adbpr=3270129738&xid=social_20150830_51672366&adbid=637826129655533568&adbpl=tw

My wife & I took our first cruise in January on a 1000' Princess ship. We were treated very well. The wesrern Carribean was fun, but a little restrictive (only off the ship about 6 hours a day). I gained 10 pounds in 6 days. On board we didn't feel cramped because activities all over the ship kept us spread out. On shore it was a different story. In port we found our boat to be 1 of 4 or 5 each with close to 4500 passengers. Next time I think we'll rent a place on shore and travel around from there. A larger cruise boat? My guess is they know their business, but they won't see us again anytime soon.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

banjonut wrote:

I guess I'm just not a cruise ship type of person.

It depends on the cruise and the ship. One of our best was on Holland America - smaller, less crowded, and older passengers. Our worst was Carnival - the name says it all.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

PhotoPhred wrote:

I bet you did, jerry. That is a beautiful and ele... (show quote)

What merchant marine school was that?

Yes, the SS United States was a fantastic ship. One reason it was so fast is the designer was once on a ship that caught fire. He made it as fireproof as possible and used lots of aluminum to make it light. They've been trying to restore it for years, but I don't think that will happen. It was a fantastic ship, but it came along too late.