Older ships

[Big Bob]

Just back from a Greek Island cruise on Celebrity Constellation which is approaching 20 years old. The ship is very well kept - better than Azura when we were on her two years ago. You can see signs of age if you look. However the revelation is 2000 pax on a 90000 ton ship which means you can get in a lift, the lift rarely stops, you can get a seat in any bar and most important there are plenty of sun beds and open deck space. As always with Celebrity top flight food and service way beyond anything we have seen on other lines.

A trip on an older ships shows just how much is squeezed into every new iteration. Some of the newer designs we saw made us shudder. However, having been on a Solstice class ship she is not quite as good despite being 'solsticeised' - to be expected as galleys and buffets were designed before Solstice.

Conclusion is that in the good old days it was about customer experience whereas nowadays it is more about profit. You have to question if one day the lines will kill the golden goose.

[oldbluefox]

I agree with you. We much prefer the older ships. I'm afraid the newer ships just seem to be designed to extract as much money out of you as they can and it's not so easy to find a nice quiet, comfortable spot to sit. Just my opinion of course.

[Jack Staff]

I agree with the thrust of the OP, but still recall my shock at the garish new designs of the Canberra and Oriana (the real one), throwing away the quality and refinement of the proper ships I was used to. Wish I could cruise on them again now.
My parents and their friends had many conversations about it not being like the old days.

[Boris+]

It's not just ships.... just been to see Concorde G-BOAF in her new home, flying just ain't the same nowadays.

[GillD46]

I have to say we thought Concorde terribly claustrophobic when we saw her. While having a supersonic aircraft again would be amazing, I do think some of the newer aircraft are far more comfortable. And personally, I feel the same about ships.

[Boris+]

Yes ok, it was a bit of a squeeze, but she had style.

[barney]

I've sailed on older ships and newer ships and embrace the difference.

As I'm the type of person who does a fair bit of research before committing to a holiday, I'm unlikely to be surprised too much when I get on.

The amount of info available these days is mind boggling if you care to search.

I admit to have a slight leaning towards the smaller traditional cruise ships but am equally at home of the larger, newer ships.
I do have a bit of a soft spot for Oriana and Aurora, if the truth be known.

Any day on holiday is better than a day at work in my book.

I'm always a bit astounded when reading a review on say, Britannia and the poster complains about the size of it.
Surely they must have taken to time to check it out before parting with their hard earned readies?
It appears, sometimes not.

[oldbluefox]

I must admit I'm not a great fan of the bigger ships in the P&O fleet. I suppose I am not keen on their contemporary design. We have been on QM2 which is a large ship but she retains many of the traditional features which I like - a proper promenade deck, plenty of brass and mahogany and well fitted out with lounges where you can sit and enjoy natural light.
I can't get over the fact there is no dedicated cinema or facility for talks/lectures on Azura. Many of these were scheduled for one of the bars with a public highway going past and naturally, people chattering as they went, and probably unaware there was a film on or somebody talking. Often it was difficult to see the screen because of drapes/curtains. Sorry folks, not impressed with that at all although I feel sure many will disagree.

[Stephen]

It's not just ships.... just been to see Concorde G-BOAF in her new home, flying just ain't the same nowadays.

One of my life's ambitions was to fly on Concorde. Sadly it will never happen.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I missed out there too Stephen. Could never afford a full transatlantic flight and a quick circuit of the Bay of Biscay seemed silly at the time. Regret it now.

But back to ships, yes I love some of the "smaller" ones - Aurora particularly. But I also love the choice of facilities on the larger ships such as Azura and the magnificence of QM2. And it is about economics too. To keep headline fares down cruise lines have to find other ways of topping up the income and large ships are cheaper to run per passenger than the smaller ones.

[david63]

I fall somewhere in the middle of this. I like the older, or should that be the more traditional, ships such as Oriana and Adonia but I like the facilities (dining, entertainment) of the newer ships such as Azura.

[Gill W]

I fall somewhere in the middle of this. I like the older, or should that be the more traditional, ships such as Oriana and Adonia but I like the facilities (dining, entertainment) of the newer ships such as Azura.

Same as me, David.

[Happydays]

I fall somewhere in the middle of this. I like the older, or should that be the more traditional, ships such as Oriana and Adonia but I like the facilities (dining, entertainment) of the newer ships such as Azura.

Same as me, David.

Agree with both of you