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Yacht Class Cruise ships are up to 20,000grt and will carry up to 300 Passengers. They are very intimate and are among the most exclusive, luxurious and highly rated ships afloat in the world today. If you select a ship in this category you will be really pampered and looked after. They will also offer you a programme that is flexible and not rigid as one would find on a large ship. If you want to have a caviar party they will organize it without question. You would have a hard time doing this on a large ship without causing a lot of commotion. The crew of a Yacht class ship are more flexible and adaptable compared to their colleagues on larger ships. You must be prepared to pay more for this type of cruise compared to a large ship. The old adage is true in this class of cruise, you pay for what you get.

Advantages

• Highest level of crew to passenger ratio
• All suite accommodation
• Very relaxed
• No waiting in line
• Highest culinary service, with fresh ingredients cooked to individual order
• More flexible and open dining arrangements
• Can meet your individual requirements at a whim,
• Excellent for small ports of call

Disadvantages

• Do not have the range of public facilities onboard that the larger ships do
• Limited variety of entertainment
• Tend to feel the motion of the ship a little more especially in inclement weather

Small Ships are up to 50,000grt and will carry up to 1,000 passengers. They are well suited to provide you with an itinerary of adventure and exploration as they have access to the smaller ports of call throughout the world. This class of ship is still an intimate experience in many cases. Several ships in this class operate long distant cruises to exotic destinations and also World Cruises that are not feasible aboard a Yacht Class or larger ships. This type of ship will tend to have a greater number of Seas days depending on the itinerary. They will be a lot more stable in inclement weather than a Yacht Class ship. A small ship will provide more public facilities and structured activities throughout the day. They are neither to large nor are they too small.

Advantages

• Good level of crew to passenger ratio
• Good variety of accommodation will be available
• Easy to find your way around the ship
• Line ups are less in frequent than a larger ship
• Culinary service is usually excellent and will cook to order

• Do not have the range of public facilities onboard that the larger ships do
• Limited variety of entertainment
• Tend to feel the motion of the ship a little more especially in inclement weather

Medium Size Ships are up to 100,000grt and will carry up to 2,000 passengers. In this class of ship you loose the intimacy of a smaller ship, but gain in wider variety of activities and entertainment. Cabins in the medium size ship can vary in size from a tiny inside cabin to a large penthouse suite, complete with butler service. You will see more variety in the entertainment and there will be more public facilities. The dining options will increase and you will be able to mix and match to meet your mode. This class of ship tends to operate 7 to 14 day cruises to the most popular destinations.

Advantages

• This class of ship is neither to small nor is it to large
• Flexible dining options
• Will tend to sail better in inclement weather conditions
• More family orientated and tend to offer Kids and Teens programs
• Will offer more facilities and activities regardless of age

• Finding your way around the ship
• Service will start to become more impersonal
• Food will become bland as they must cater to every passenger
• Lines will start to form when you least expect them too
• You will start to notice the public address announcements

Large Size Ships are up to 150,000grt and will carry up to 2,500 passengers. Choosing a large means that you will loose the intimacy of the smaller ships as you will be travelling with lots of people and will have a wider array of entertainment and variety of food to suit almost any taste, along with everything being at your door. These ships are run on a highly programmed basis and are planned well in advance. The crew is not always able to respond to a whim that you may have, like having champagne delivered to a Jacuzzi at 11: 30 pm while you looking at the stars. Large cruise ships have lost the flexibility for which cruising is known. A fair analogy, it will almost be like being in a city center environment. If you like this type of environment and are sociable, this type of cruise ship will provide you with a well packaged Cruise vacation either in the Standard or Premium cruise experience and they usually operate on a 7 day cruise itinerary. One recommendation is that if you’re looking for something special or want above average service on this size of cruise ship you should upgrade yourself to suite style accommodation.

Advantages

• Will have a wide range of public rooms and other facilities
• Much wider variety of entrainment will be available around the clock
• Increased and more flexible Dining arrangement to choose from
• The new ships in this class will have electronic interactive facilities
• Wide program of activates to participate in

Disadvantages

• Finding your way around the ship
• Service will become more impersonal
• Food will become bland as they must cater to every passenger
• Lines will form and you will have to wait in line
• Resembles a floating hotel
• More than likely you will have to sign-up in advance for activities
• Constant public address announcements

Ultra Size Ships are over 150,000grt and will carry in excess of 2,500 passengers. Although the number of ships in this category are less than 7% of the worlds cruise fleet at present, it is needless to say that this size of ship is an integral part of the growth plans for many cruise lines to provide ships with this type of capacity into the future. Stack-um high and sell them cheap. But quality starts to suffer and you will not receive the personal service that would be found on a smaller ship. These ships run on are highly programmed basis and are planned well in advance and the crew is not always able to respond to a whim that you might have like having champagne delivered to a Jacuzzi at 11: 30 pm while you look at the stars. Large cruise ships have lost the flexibility for which cruise ships are known for. A fair analogy it will almost be like being in a city center environment. If you like this type of environment and are sociable, this type of cruise ship will provide you with a well packaged Cruise vacation either in the Standard or Premium cruise experience and usually operate on a 7 cruise itinerary and do the same this week after week.

• Will have a wide range of public rooms and other facilities
• Much wider variety of entrainment will be available around the clock
• Increased and more flexible Dining arrangement to choose from
• All the latest in electronic interactive facilities and high tech gadgets
• Wide program of activates to participate in

Disadvantages

• Many items you will have to pay extra for
• Finding your way around the ship
• Service will become impersonal, except suite accommodation
• Dining room staff are programmed to provide speedy service
• Room service becomes a challenge at the best of times
• You will have to wait in line for almost everything
• Resembles a large resort hotel ashore
• More than likely you will have to sign-up in advance for activities
• Constant public address announcements

 

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Last Modified: 11/25/05