Small, Medium or Large – Do You Have a Preference – Part Two

So how small is small? John Bercow is small for a man at 5`6″, but that would be considered average for a woman. In cruise ship terms I guess small can be anything from a yacht up to lets say an Azamara or Fred Olsen size ship, whose largest ship holds just over 1000 passengers.

The smallest I`ve ever been on, apart from a rowing boat, is a yacht. I sailed around Rhodes a few years ago with some friends, 6 of us in total and we had a ball! It was great fun apart from when the water ran out whilst I was having a shower! That was a definite disadvantage!

Since then I have been lucky enough to sail on many ships, many of them small ones like Royal Clipper who carries just over 200 passengers, Aegean Odyssey about 380 and Fred Olsen Braemar with about 900 on board. Of course river cruising is becoming increasingly popular and I`ve done many Nile cruises where they are really boats and hold around 75 people.

There are many advantages of small ships, and I personally think these outweigh the disadvantages. To start with small ships can visit small ports, usually making the itineraries much more interesting. If you visit St Petersburg on a small ship you will dock almost in the centre of the city, on a large ship it will be 4 miles out, the same with several ports along the beautiful Italian Amalfi Coast. You won`t see a large ship docked in Sorrento or Positano, more likely you`ll be moored in Naples which is a fair distance away.  They are also much easier to get off and on, especially when tenders are needed and you won`t wait so long for the lift to arrive either, in fact some are so small you won`t need lifts at all ! The disadvantages ? As far of ports of call are concerned I really can`t think of any. What could be nicer than strolling off your ship, moored close to town and having a lovely day exploring, and this is so true especially with river cruising.

Regent Mariner Balcony Stateroom

So what about the cabins? Obviously there are less of them and some of the older ships have less balconies, which makes them more expensive than large ships where the cabins nearly all have verandas, but on the plus side the cabins on small ships, and older ships, tend to be bigger. This is, of course, unless you are looking at six star ships like Regent Mariner which is small but all the staterooms have balconies and they are huge too.

Facilities on small ships cannot really match their large sisters. If you want Rock Climbing Walls and Water Parks then small ships are not for you, but as far as shows, bars and lounges are concerned, then little ships have them, just smaller versions. They all also have casinos and gyms too.

Palms Café On Braemar

Most small ships have fixed seating dining, traditional first and second sitting, and mainly in one or two dining rooms. Most also have really good buffet restaurants and open air dining by the pool in warm weather. Again the 6 star ships differ slightly, they are small but have open seating in several restaurants. Take Azamara for example which has four restaurants as well as the casual buffet restaurant which is excellent, and you can dine when you want – no fixed seating here. The food on smaller ships is normally excellent, it must be so much easier to cook for 600 guests than 4000, and quality remains high. The staff are wonderful too, most of them will have been with the cruise line for years and become like family.

With less than 1000 or so passengers you will meet people, and you will see the same people every day, something that cannot possibly happen on a  big ship, and cruising, I think, is a very sociable event.

I think you can gather from this that personally I would choose a smaller ship any day and there`s one other thing to take into consideration too when choosing your cruise. Not only do small ships sail into small ports they sail out of them too! If you live in the north of England or Scotland, near Bristol or Liverpool,  take a look through the brochures, especially Fred Olsen , and you will see that a small ship may be coming to a port near you very soon !