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Author Topic: Small Cruise Ships
Malcolm @ cruisepage
Cruise Director
Member # 301

posted 08-15-2002 05:36 PM      Profile for Malcolm @ cruisepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Have you cruised on a small cruise ship? How small? What was the experience like?

(Cruiseny - no rowing boat stories please! )


Posts: 19210 | From: Essex (Just Outside London) | Registered: A Long Time Ago!  |  IP: Logged
cruiseny
First Class Passenger
Member # 2928

posted 08-15-2002 06:14 PM      Profile for cruiseny     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
(Cruiseny - no rowing boat stories please! )

Certainly not, Malcom. Just the now-departed 26' cabin cruiser I spent several weeks "cruising" in as when my family owned it a few years ago ...

Happy Cruiseny,
Cruiseny


Posts: 4730 | From: New York, USA | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged
Colin
First Class Passenger
Member # 1676

posted 08-16-2002 04:01 AM      Profile for Colin   Email Colin   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
At 4250GRT they don't come much smaller than the Sea Goddess twins. (now Seadream I & II)

I've got a review on a couple of other sites but here's some extracts.


"We were expecting things to be different. And they were.

The first thing that you notice as you approach the ship for the first time is it's size. I had joked with a friend before we left that we had been on ships whose lifeboats were bigger than this thing, but it wasn't that bad. Not quite! But at 4,250 GRT there can't be many smaller ships. Apart from the Restaurant, or as it's known here, The Dining Salon, there are really only two other public rooms. The Main Salon and The Piano Bar. There's also a small Library and a tiny Casino.

With one hundred and fourteen of us, the ship was full. Maximum capacity is one hundred and sixteen but there were a couple of cabins in use as singles. And with ninety-four crew there was very nearly one to one. The level of service that allows them to provide is outstanding. What it must have been like a couple of weeks earlier when they only had seventeen passengers onboard I can't imagine."

"Tipping is actively discouraged, although I get the impression that it's no longer the keelhauling offence, that it once might have been, for a crew member to accept.

On every other cruiseship I've been on there has been a chart somewhere around the ship showing the route of the cruise and the ship's position. As you might expect, they do things differently here. If you want to know where you are, simply wander up to the bridge and have a chat with the officer-of-the-watch. He'll show you on the chart that he's using. It was great having an early morning mug of coffee, watching our arrival at a new port, from the bridge."

"Dining
This is what it is all about. The finest food that I have had on any cruise, and possibly anywhere else for that matter. Everything was cooked to order and was superb."

"One night at dinner, on being handed the menu, a man at our table realised that he had forgotten his reading glasses. "That's not a problem Sir." And the waiter produced a polished wooden box with a selection of spectacles in it.

One afternoon we saw a couple coming back aboard after lunchtime, to find that the Dining Salon and the Outdoor Cafe had already closed. They went to sit out on deck. A few minutes later a waiter appeared and asked what he could get for them. He took their order and set a table for them where they were, by the pool."


Posts: 283 | From: Inverness, Scotland | Registered: Nov 2000  |  IP: Logged
Great Lakes
First Class Passenger
Member # 1836

posted 08-16-2002 03:51 PM      Profile for Great Lakes   Email Great Lakes   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The smallest ship, or boat in this case, I've cruised on is the Mississippi Queen. The experience is unlike anything you can find anywhere else. Everything about the cruise revolves around "steamboatin". The entertainment, the lectures, the food, the steamboat itself, all works to create nostalgic trip into the past, but also into the present and the future at the same time. I would strongly recommend a steamboat cruise to anyone who has an appreciation of steamboating and American history, and wants to experience it in the best possible way.

[ 08-16-2002: Message edited by: Great Lakes ]


Posts: 74 | From: Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Registered: Mar 2001  |  IP: Logged
DOWNDIE
First Class Passenger
Member # 1517

posted 08-16-2002 05:31 PM      Profile for DOWNDIE     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Malcolm:
If you consider any ship < 25,000GRT a small ship, I,ve thoroughly enjoyed a couple of cruises on such. In 1995 a 4 day Greek Island cruise on Dolphin-Hellas,s Aegean Dolphin (Aegean 1),11,500GRT and a nice little ship with good food, entertainment and shore excursions, although it,s not rated very highly now.
Last year had a 7 day trip on ROC,s Stella Solaris, 18,500GRT that many consider a classic.
That excellent cruise on this old ship reminded me of the faded elegance of an old railway hotel in UK with their understated service.
Some Scottish/Canadian friends of mine were on the Olympic Voyager at the same time and raved about it.
By the way, thanks Cruiseny for the ship pictures in Pireus, sure brought back some good memories.

Posts: 70 | From: Penticton, BC, Canada. | Registered: Aug 2000  |  IP: Logged
Malcolm @ cruisepage
Cruise Director
Member # 301

posted 08-16-2002 05:57 PM      Profile for Malcolm @ cruisepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I'd call anything under 30,000 tons small, these days!
Posts: 19210 | From: Essex (Just Outside London) | Registered: A Long Time Ago!  |  IP: Logged
cruiseny
First Class Passenger
Member # 2928

posted 08-16-2002 06:30 PM      Profile for cruiseny     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Hello,

My size classification for cruise ships:

Under 20,000 GRT: small
20,000-70,000 GRT: midsize
70,000-100,000 GRT: large
100,000+ GRT: megaship

Happy Cruising,
Cruiseny


Posts: 4730 | From: New York, USA | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged
grahame H
First Class Passenger
Member # 3173

posted 08-17-2002 01:34 AM      Profile for grahame H   Email grahame H   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I would have to agree with you Malcolm,that in todays world of the mega liners,anything under 30,000 tons would have to be classfied as small,which makes the two new Princess namings Tahitian and Pacific ,the ex R3 and R4,to my mind ideal for there chosen itenaries,the Pacific Prinecss even after only a week on the market is booking well for P and O Auistralia,its the ideal size for the islands of the south Pacific,and with the Pacific Sky taking up the mass holiday cruise market,the new addition should attract a fairly experianced cruiser.They have just announced that the Star Princess will cruise the Regal princess itenary Australia/New Zealand from november 2003 to april 2004.They must be depending on mass american and british fly ins to fill those cabins.
Posts: 16 | From: Sydney Australia | Registered: Jun 2002  |  IP: Logged
Malcolm @ cruisepage
Cruise Director
Member # 301

posted 08-17-2002 04:42 AM      Profile for Malcolm @ cruisepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Terms like ‘small’ ‘medium’ ‘large’ and ‘Mega’ are obviously open to much debate and take on different meanings over time. For a time the QE2 was at one time the worlds biggest cruise ship, now she’s not even in the top 30 biggest!

I personally would describe the many of the 90,000 ton ship around at the moment as ‘mega ships’. As ships get bigger, of course ‘small’ gets bigger.

There are not so many ships operating under 20,000 tons these days, that’s why I chose 30,000 tons.

Saying that, it is only a matter of time before 40-50,000 tons looks small!


Posts: 19210 | From: Essex (Just Outside London) | Registered: A Long Time Ago!  |  IP: Logged
recab
First Class Passenger
Member # 1677

posted 08-17-2002 06:56 AM      Profile for recab   Email recab   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
[QB
There are not so many ships operating under 20,000 tons these days, that’s why I chose 30,000 tons.

There are well over a hundred ships under 20.000 GRT operating today. To me, that´s a lot.


Posts: 730 | From: Aland, Finland | Registered: Nov 2000  |  IP: Logged
moodus2
First Class Passenger
Member # 2414

posted 08-17-2002 07:21 AM      Profile for moodus2   Email moodus2   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
i have sailed on:sea venture 1971 on maiden voyage to bermuda. she is i believe 550 ft
ss independence around the hawwaian islands. a true american classic steamship.
i had the oppertunity to tour
the engine room when she was
docked at maui.
royal/norweigan majesty before
they stretched her. originally
she was only 530 ft. the atrum
at the pursers office looked
great with the winding stair case. they removed it when they
stretched the ship.
french, a schooner out of camden,maine that sailed around
the islands from camden to bar harbor,maine. she is 79 ft length,50 tons. food is cooked
on a wood stove. better then
any cruiseship. carrys 27 passengers. leave the tux at
home. dungarees, flannel and
tee shirts all that are needed.
finally norweigan leeward,sailed
on a great 5 day cruise from
miami to key west,fl.,
cozumel,mexico,ncl private island.

Posts: 473 | From: moodus,ct. | Registered: Sep 2001  |  IP: Logged

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