Question Re: How full the ship is

[Bear3412]

..... I hope they do not do KSF anymore. I would switch cruises because of it.

and we have kids.

 

[lbgraves]

I will say on the Magic this last year the princess gathering in the atrium had a long wait on each of our cruises (7 and 8 nights). About an hour before the line started forming.

That is the one time where I would go down and get in line 30 minutes early and be within the first 10 parents there. About 10 minutes before the start the other parent arrived with the kids. There has always been a character walking the line talking with the kids as they wait in line for this M&G.

 

[princessmommyx3]

and we have kids.

We do too!!!

 

[Ssamara28]

mouse37 thanks for reassuring me. I was nervous as I found out the Dream is close to sold out on our cruise sailing. OP you can call DCL at 1-888-325-2500 and they can tell you. I called the other day because I was online and didn't see our sail date listed. We are sailing soon. So I called to make sure she was still sailing that day. She is still sailing. After a few probing questions I asked can you tell me how full she is and the CM said woooo, she is full. But two days later about five categories opened up. I'm sure she still full but it was scary when I didn't see our date posted.

 

[She Taz]

We sailed the repo cruise from Vancouver to LA in Sept 2013 on the Wonder. Although there was only 1 unsold cabin on the ship it didn't feel full except for the adult only areas.

 

[lbgraves]

We cruised on the Fantasy over spring break this year and while it was sold out, I didn't find the crowds horrible. If you waited to go to the pool deck at 1 pm, the chairs were full of people. We went around 10 and were able to find a lounger or two. We actually got to know another family because they were there every day it seemed as well. They would tell us when someone had just left when we were walking by and we did the same when they came down to the pool with their kids. We would start with one lounger but soon after that another one would open up next to us.

 

[slzer0]

That is the one time where I would go down and get in line 30 minutes early and be within the first 10 parents there. About 10 minutes before the start the other parent arrived with the kids. There has always been a character walking the line talking with the kids as they wait in line for this M&G.

People don't get upset about this?

 

[jjje]

People don't get upset about this?

I hope not! That's just smart line management.

Our first cruise was during a KSF (in fact that's why we decided to book it) and while I never felt like the ship was over crowded there really were a LOT of kids. I'm looking forward to cruising during the school year when there will be a few less kids on board. I would be bummed if they suddenly offered a KSF deal on our upcoming cruise.

 

[lbgraves]

People don't get upset about this?

No. You are going to see that a lot during the cruise. I have actually suggested it to people standing next to us in line with little kids if they were starting to get antsy. Would you rather have the little kids standing there for 30 minutes getting restless? People would then post complaining about them running around or whining/crying. I wasn't waiting in line to see the character, get their autograph and take a picture. My child was going to experiencing that. It would be a different story if I was holding a spot for kids from multiple families. If that is the case, at least one adult from each family needs to be in the line IMO. For us it was just DD going through the princess meet line.

Another strategy when there are multiple lines going is to have the second parent get in the next line. Also, when we are waiting for the life touch pictures on the white background it takes a bit because the photographers take so many poses with multiple mixes of the family members. One of us stayed in that line while the other took the kids to get a different picture taken in a shorter line. The kids see another character, stay happy, have smiles for the posed pictures with the family.

 

[Meghatron]

People don't get upset about this?

Why would people get upset? Someone is still waiting in line; it's not like they're cutting.

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[tvguy]

Another issue to consider is how many cabins are left for sale vs how many lifeboat seats. On the new ships, there are 1250 cabins and a passenger capacity of 4000. If every cabin is sold, but has on average only 2 passengers, then the ship is only at 62.5% capacity even though every cabin is occupied. In order to get the ship to 4000 passengers, they need at least an average of 3.2 passengers per cabin. That tends to happen only during peak travel times, when kids are out of school, and you have a higher proportion of families vs just couples. And, in that case, the ship can reach 4000 passengers and still have unsold cabins.

.

Exactly. This is a huge difference between the number of passengers on board with all cabins filled, versus all berths filled.

 

[slzer0]

Why would people get upset? Someone is still waiting in line; it's not like they're cutting.

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It's sort of like line cutting. If one parent is just holding a spot for a cranky kid, I can see that as reasonable... but if I was 2 spots away from my turn and someone let a bunch of kids in line in front of me, I'd be mad.

In terms of lines where everyone is "waiting for a turn" one person letting the rest of their family cut would be unheard of. With just the kid visiting the character, that's a little more reasonable.

It's like holding 2 seats in WD Theater for dh & ds.... versus holding an entire row.

Really, it's line cutting for anything other than one parent holding a spot for a kiddo to small to wait in a line that long.
I mean, it's cutting regardless, but in that case it's excusable. It's definitely a "grey area" in my book.

Case in point, WDW 2010, waiting with DD in line to see Stitch.
One couple in line ahead of us (Brazilian, maybe?) with one kid. Just a few ppl from the front, the rest of their family comes and "stands next to them", chatting, and slowly edging their way into line in front of us, deliberately ignoring the pointed looks I'm giving as I try to prevent them from getting in line. They stayed alongside their party until it was that little girl's turn. And then stepped directly in front of me and we waited while each of the 5 or so children with them took multiple pictures. Very unfair.

I would hate to see large groups begin cutting into line like this on a DCL cruise. Especially considering that there are multiple meets available per character.

End Rant.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled discussion. ;-)

 

[Meghatron]

It's sort of like line cutting. If one parent is just holding a spot for a cranky kid, I can see that as reasonable... but if I was 2 spots away from my turn and someone let a bunch of kids in line in front of me, I'd be mad. In terms of lines where everyone is "waiting for a turn" one person letting the rest of their family cut would be unheard of. With just the kid visiting the character, that's a little more reasonable. It's like holding 2 seats in WD Theater for dh & ds.... versus holding an entire row. Really, it's line cutting for anything other than one parent holding a spot for a kiddo to small to wait in a line that long. I mean, it's cutting regardless, but in that case it's excusable. It's definitely a "grey area" in my book. Case in point, WDW 2010, waiting with DD in line to see Stitch. One couple in line ahead of us (Brazilian, maybe?) with one kid. Just a few ppl from the front, the rest of their family comes and "stands next to them", chatting, and slowly edging their way into line in front of us, deliberately ignoring the pointed looks I'm giving as I try to prevent them from getting in line. They stayed alongside their party until it was that little girl's turn. And then stepped directly in front of me and we waited while each of the 5 or so children with them took multiple pictures. Very unfair. I would hate to see large groups begin cutting into line like this on a DCL cruise. Especially considering that there are multiple meets available per character. End Rant. And now, back to our regularly scheduled discussion. ;-)

Ah, I see, yes. The difference is that on the ships they do not usually allow a separate picture for each child. It might be one picture of just the kids, and then a picture for the whole family. For high volume events like the Princess gatherings or the entire gang, they only allow one picture per family period. So in your example, the one person holding the spot in line for a group of kids is still only holding a spot for one encounter, not a series of encounters with each kid.

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[Meghatron]

Also, and this may be different on the larger ships, but on the classics we found that within a day we were quite chatty and congenial with the other families who always ended up in the same character lines, so the ship environment, for me at least, creates a more friendly, cooperative effort to a shared goal among guests than the strangers passing each other element of the parks. It's one of the many reasons I prefer to cruise. That, and the character lines are all indoors in air conditioning and are cut off to guarantee the character you're actually waiting to see.

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[Postal68]

Hi!

I've been reading that CruiseFish.net is a useful tool to determine how full a ship is prior to sailing. I am curious if the percentage number that is given is what percentage of the categories is full, or is it what percentage is available. This can make quite the difference! Thanks in advance for helping to clarify.

We were on the Dream on Oct 6th and it was basically a full ship and it did not seem crowded at all except of course the pool which we don't bother with unless it's night swimming when the pool is empty, and they have pretty much stopped late pool hours I guess since the accident.

 

[cruisemomma]

I am a newbie to cruising so I need a little help please! What do GT rates and KSF stand for?
Thanks!

 

[cruisemomma]

We were on the Dream on Oct 6th and it was basically a full ship and it did not seem crowded at all except of course the pool which we don't bother with unless it's night swimming when the pool is empty, and they have pretty much stopped late pool hours I guess since the accident.

What accident? I haven't heard about this yet.

 

[Bear3412]

I am a newbie to cruising so I need a little help please! What do GT rates and KSF stand for?
Thanks!

Welcome

GTY and *GT explanation; http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2914256

KSF; A special booking rate DCL comes out with occasionally. Kids Sail Free.

HTH

 

[Lauriejl2]

What accident? I haven't heard about this yet.

I imagine she's referring to last march when a little 4 year old drown and was revived .

 

[cruisemomma]

Welcome

GTY and *GT explanation;
KSF; A special booking rate DCL comes out with occasionally. Kids Sail Free.

HTH

Thank you! That info helps clear up a lot of confusion.