One question which we are often asked is what are the benefits of cruising onboard a large ship, compared with a smaller ship? In this post, I will try and highlight some of the pros and cons of cruising on larger ships. Look out for the next post where I will be focusing on smaller ships.
Large Ships – Benefits
- Larger ships usually have a greater range of onboard entertainment. With more guests to cater for, it is essential that they have a number of venues and various shows to entertain all of their guests.
- Larger ships have room for sports facilities, such as onboard basketball courts, mini-golf and rock climbing walls. There are now ships which even have an onboard bowling alley!
- Large ships have room for facilities such as onboard spas and a range of different swimming pools.
- Big cruise ships are, well, bigger! A lot of people like to walk around their ship for exercise and this is a lot easier on a big ship. They can also hold more shops and places to visit than smaller cruise ships. Basically, there is more to see which can be a very good thing when you are spending a few days at sea.
- A lot of people report feeling more sturdy on bigger ships, and feeling less movement from the sea.
Large Ships – Drawbacks
- Larger cruise ships will not be able to dock at all ports as there often isn’t room for huge ships in smaller ports.
- When you dock at a stop off, you have to queue to get off the ship and when it is carrying around 3000 guests, this can take a fair bit of time. The same applies for disembarking at the end of your cruise.
- Due to the large amount of people on the cruise, some cruise lines make you share your dining table with other guests for your evening meal.
- Due to the size of the ship, you may feel that everything is just too spaced out and it can take a long time to get from one part of the ship to another.
