How to Avoid an Overcrowded Cruise Ship
Carol and I hate massive crowds. Don’t you?
We will never forget the massively long lines of people standing in line to see the Versailles Palace and Eiffel Tower in Paris. Or, the 6-hour line of folks waiting to get into the Sagrada Família in Barcelona. Or, the worst, the poor line of thousands waiting to get into the Vatican in Rome. Perhaps thousands is an exaggeration, I’m not sure. I didn’t count. But folks, these were massively long lines. We’ve never seen anything like it!
Thankfully, our clients never spend a minute in these lines because of our connections.
But, did you know that you can experience overcrowding and long lines on cruise ships? One of the great frustrations of travelers on many cruise ships are the long lines to eat and having to get up at 5:00 in the morning to begin the daily battle for a lounge chair at the pool?
Does that sound fun to you? It certainly doesn’t to us.
How to Avoid an Overcrowded Cruise Ship
So, just how does one avoid a ship that was designed from the beginning to pack as many people aboard as possible.
Answer: take a peek at the ship’s “space ratio”.
Carol and I just sailed with Crystal Cruises in Alaska (articles here). One of the very first things we noticed aboard the ship was how spacious the ship was. Even though we were aboard with upwards of 1,000 people, the ship felt spacious and we never waited in a line or felt crowded. Ever. We were amazed at this.
As I began to explore this, I learned the a ship’s space ratio can vary radically from one ship to another. In other words, when some ships are on the drawing board, the goal is to pack as many people on the ship as possible. Where other ships are designed to create the best experience for the passengers; which means, among many things, more cubic feet/passenger.
Definition: a cruise ship’s “space ratio” (by definition) is the enclosed space (measured in ft3/cubic feet) per passenger. A ship of 45,000 GT (gross tonnage) with capacity 1,000 passengers will have a space ratio 45 (or 45ft3=45000/1000).
We Never Felt Crowded on the Crystal Serenity!
The Crystal Serenity is 68,870 gross registered tons. When we divide that by it’s maximum guest capacity of 1,070, we get a space ratio of 64.4. That is one of the highest space ratios of any cruise ship.
When I looked back at a particular ship we sailed in the past, which felt very crowded, its space ratio was 25. In other words, there were 2 1/2 times more people per cubic foot on that cruise ship than the Crystal Serenity.
YIKES!
Moral to the story: if you don’t want to be fighting for lounge chairs at the pool, or standing in long lines for dinner, be certain to check out a ship’s guest ratio. It is seldom talked about, but in our opinion, can make all the difference in the world in your cruise experience.
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And now, a shameless commercial message….
Listen, if you haven’t sailed the Crystal Serenity, you simply must. We promise, it will be an unforgettable experience. To read more about our Crystal Cruises experience, click here.
We’re expert travel planners and know the cruise industry very well. If you’d like to have us help you find a ship with a very high space ratio, please give our travel agency a call at (480) 550-1235, or use our convenient online information request (click here) and we’ll reach out to you.
Plus, as we’re members of the $15 billion/year Virtuoso Travel Network, we’re very likely to have complimentary VIP perks to share with you that you can’t get on your own.
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