How crowded is "crowded"?

[mkandk]

We're thinking about going for Spring Break...price is our first issue , but then, I'm worried about the crowds. This is our first cruise... when you say it's crowded on Spring Break, what does that mean? Have trouble getting into shows? Finding a place on the beach? Long lines for food?

We (I) really would like to do the cruise...it's our 10th anniversary.

 

[DreaminDisney]

We were going to Cruise spring break too until I discovered how high airfare was then. keep that in mind. You'll pay more at that time.

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

While the ship is likely to be at or pretty close to capacity, it still only has a maximum number of passengers it can carry. Check the details to be sure but I think that means approx. 3000. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong anybody).

Yes, the beach at Castaway Cay will fill up and there will be lines for buffets. But DCL has planned for this at capacity. They split people up going to the shows so you shouldn't have a problem there and you're guaranteed your table at dinner each evening.

All in all crowded on board ship is less crowded than at WDW IMHO.

Deb

 

[FlatcoatLuver]

We went to WDW last spring break. No more! Tooooo crowded. They closed the parks a couple of times during the week due to overcrowding.

At least on the ship, you are dealing with a finite number of passengers.....

 

[Firefighter Mickey]

One thing I'll say that if you're thinking about this spring break (as in sometime in March 2003), it's going to be a lot more expensive now to book then it would have been 9 or 10 months ago.

The cost of our accomodations for the 4 of us has gone up more than $1000 since we originally booked (according to the DCL website) - and that was even using a catagory lower than we had, since last time I checked, our catagory wasn't available any longer.

You may still be able to get decent deals on airline tickets, but you may have to be willing to fly on off days. For example, we're leaving on Thursday for our 7 day cruise on Saturday, and flying back on Monday - that's the best deal we could get.

I've seen a lot of comments on this board that people have said even with a full ship, it doesn't seem crowded. October of 2001 we sailed on a full ship, and it didn't seem all that crowded (at least to me).

 

[nearlychildless]

We have alway gone to WDW at spring break because I just can't take the summer heat but while the parks have be full if you time your day right it has not been bad. Last year at this time we decided to do the cruise. Last minute it cost more but we had a great time. We booked our cruise for this year before we left the ship. This year will be over a $1000 cheaper. As for crowds while we were on a full ship, it was never a problem. Even the buffet lines were short but we opted for parrots cay instead of topsiders most of the time. Also our dd is a teenager so she was with others her age and we were not dealing with the kids and family pools which I understand are the most crowed area. However I never noticed them any worse than the water parks at WDW and as for Castway Cay I would say the same.

 

[mmouse37]

We have sailed on DCL when it was full a few times (over the summer months) and I never really felt that the ship was crowded. There are so many different activities that people are pretty spread out. The pool and hot tubs can get crowded but we always managed to find a lounge chair on Deck 10. The shows are always in two sessions so there is always a seat available. You have your assigned table at dinner so that is not a problem and the breakfast buffets go quickly even if there is a line.

Castaway Cay also fills up but if you get off the ship early, and walk all the way down to far end of the family beach....it is always less croweded there.

Out of 7 DCL cruises we have always been able to snag beach chairs with no problem. But, don't wait until 10 to get off the ship because then picking may be slim.

MJ

 

[mkandk]

Thanks for all the prompt replies! Yes, we knew it would be more expensive by buying last minute, but we have a lot of trouble planning ahead. We're also having trouble deciding if this is a trip with or without kids.

I'll show him this thread...maybe we'll do the cruise later in the year.