How crowded does it feel when ship is fully booked?

[Melissa]

From what it looks like from a bit of checking, I think our sailing will be quite full have you cruised when it was full? I am not a crowd fan and that's why WDw in early May has been a great time for us. Maybe the ship is always almost to capacity?
Any thoughts. We are doing a verandah room if that matters.

 

[kcashner]

I've done several "full" cruises. The ship is big enough and the activities varied enough that it never feels crowded. The pool deck in the kid/family area gets crowded if you have the little/middle kid ages. Otherwise, really doesn't feel crowded at all.

 

[toot2]

Melissa,

We cruised on the 4 day Wonder a few years ago. It was in February over the President's Holiday. I think it's safe to say it was at or near capacity.

You didn't mention if you will be traveling with children.

The kids pool areas and the elevators (strollers) were usually the most congested areas. We used the stairs alot. I didn't really notice heavy crowds in other areas of the ship.

We did have a verandah that we thoroughly enjoyed!

My children were 11 and 13 and enjoyed just hanging out 'away from their parents'. If you have pre-teen or teens you may never see them except when they are sleeping or eating!!! My DD and DS enjoyed their 'vacation independence' so much we're going on the Magic in April!


If you have younger children you may want to plan your day to avoid some of the congestion. Things like meeting the characters etc are probably busy but I can't speak from experience.

If you're adults only... no problem. Try the adult pool and go to Palo! Get to dinner a few minutes late and avoid the lines ino the dining rooms. Get a cocktail and relax on the verandah...enjoy your morning coffee out there too!

Enjoy your cruise!
Sue

 

[hsteacher]

I have only cruised on very full ships as I can only vacation when everyone else has time off too. The Mickey Pool does get very crowded and so can the family pool but people are there in shifts. The decks can be crowded too but we just plan blocks of time to be there and then leave and do something else. We too have had the verandah and have enjoyed it just for peace and quiet sometimes. I have two teens that I rarely see and they have never once complained about the kids clubs or teen clubs being so crowded they couldn't participate. On your Day at Sea it can be pretty crowded on the decks but once again, block out time and you'll be fine. We usually hit the deck by 10 (chairs still available) stay out until 2 or so and then head to other activities. Hope this helps.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

We've cruised DCL when it was almost full, and full.

I didn't notice a difference. Crowds on a cruise ship are nothing compared to crowds at WDW, sporting events, concerts,etc.

The ship is so big, and the capacity is regulated. There are not really any bottlenecks which create attitudes, (IMHO), and crowds at the pools and decks are still tolerable because one is able to move about to a less crowded area.

Give me a full ship over a crowd at a theme park, crowded beach, book-signing, etc any day!

 

[jrabbit]

The swimming pools (mickey & goofy) are busy from mid morning until a while before first seating. And these areas can be very crowded. Meeting the characters in the atrium can be crowded because several characters are there at once and all of the kids want to see them. Lining up outside of the restaurants 5-10 minutes before your seating is crowded especially around the lifts. The lines move very quickly into the restaurants.

The deck & sail away parties can be crowded. Go up to deck 10 and watch from above - it's less crowded and you can see the party and watch as you leave port.

The rest of the time you will rarely notice huge overwelming crowds.

 

[inkkognito]

We sail at a variety of crowded times (holidays) and not so crowded times (hurricane season), and I can honestly say that I prefer the crowds. The ship is built to handle them, so you really won't notice much. You might just need to get to the shows a little earlier if you are picky about where you sit or get to the beach earlier for a prime spot, but other than that the crowds are a non-issue. On one of our cruises, the ship was so uncrowded that many of the tables on the late seating weren't even in use. It was weird to be in a half-empty diningroom, and the shows lacked the energy that a big, enthusiastic crowd generates. I'd rather sail at capacity any day.
Barb
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