In recent years, the pace of innovation has accelerated to the point where product development cycles that once took a decade can sometimes be accomplished in just a few years. What once took years, now takes months. As an extreme example, while we once saw manufacturers unveil one basic phone every year, we now see several new smartphones in the span of year.
That increased pace of innovation and development, coupled with skyrocketing demand, seems to be driving the passenger ship industry to achieve new records at an alarming rate. Now it seems a newer, bigger cruise ship is announced every year, if not more frequently.
Back in 2006, Norwegian Cruise Lines announced plans to build an epic vessel which would eclipse the passenger count of the reigning Royal Caribbean Lines’ Freedom Class triplets – Freedom of the Seas (2006), Liberty of the Seas (2007), and Independence of the Seas (2008) – which held 4,375 passengers at max load. NCL Epic set sail with accommodations for a maximum of 5,183 passengers in 2010. Of course, before that happened, RCL struck back with Oasis and Allure of the Seas, topping out at 6,296 passengers, and launching in 2009 and 2010.
Royal Caribbean Lines Allure of the Seas arrives in her homeport of Port Everglades, Florida, following her maiden voyage.
Photo: Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
Not willing to be outdone again, Royal Caribbean ordered a third, even larger Oasis class vessel, Harmony of the Seas, in 2012. That ship was floated out in June 2015, and will carry up to 6,360 passengers when it enters service in May 2016. But, before that could happen…
Carnival Corporation had been quiet for many years, operating an extensive fleet of smaller ships under the Carnival, AIDA, and Costa Cruise Lines. The largest of the fleets, the Costa Diadema launched in 2014, carried 3,700 passengers at most. The silence was broken in July when the Carnival Corp announced plans for four new “next generation” ships to be delivered from 2019 to 2022. The biggest cruise ships on record – for now – will hold a maximum of 6,600 passengers, and will join the Costa and AIDA fleets.
An artist’s rendition of Carnival Corp’s new megaships being built for the Costa and AIDA brands, set to debut in 2019.
Photo: Carnival Corporation
The obvious question is where the escalation ends. When it comes to cruise ships, how big is too big?
One advantage of ever larger ships is ever bigger attractions. Water parks, shopping malls, amusement park rides; all have made appearances in recent years in the most unlikely of places: on board behemoth cruise ships. For those afraid they might be bored on a ship, the cruise lines have worked magic to make sure that doesn’t happen.
The trade-off is that your idyllic cruise vacation now comes with amusement park sized crowds, twenty four hours a day. When you set sail with 5,000 fellow passengers, they are present morning, noon, and night. When you go ashore, they go with you. While small(ish) port towns seem quaint, it’s hard to experience local flavor when there are a few thousand of you descending en masse on the shops and restaurants. In 2012, we thought Norwegian’s private Great Stirrup Cay seemed crowded with our compliment of 2,000 passengers from the Norwegian Sky. We can’t imagine the impact of the Breakaway or Getaway’s 4,000 passengers.
Norwegian Cruise Lines’ private island, Great Stirrup Cay, welcomes thousands of passengers every day. Bigger ships means more people on these beaches than ever before.
It is true, though, that some people enjoy big crowds. Some crave the hustle and bustle of New York City, while others like a quieter small town experience. Now, the cruise industry has similar options, with ships ranging from a few hundred passengers, to a few thousand. We have cruised on medium to very large cruise ships. Though we enjoyed each cruise, we found the ship-board experience on the smaller ships was actually more enjoyable. We found the staff was more engaged and, therefore, so were we. Perhaps a larger ship, with all of its options, is simply too much of a good thing.
Beyond the passenger experience, many have questioned whether the travel industry can support giant cruise ships if and when the global economy slows. With a record number of cabins to sell, cruise lines are challenged to fill them all. Thus, perks and offers are becoming increasingly rich. Others wonder if ports of call can support so many tourists, and many destinations wonder if they can withstand increasing numbers of visitors, and whether the income generated offsets the impact. It’s the double-edged sword of tourism, amplified by thousands.
Have you set sail on a megaship? Do you prefer a small or mid-size ship? We’d love to hear about your experiences and expectations. Just leave us a comment!
