Planning a Baltic cruise for next July and since we have never been on a cruise, I am very confused as to the pros and cons of a large verses a mid size ship. Are we going to dislike all the people on a large ship? Are we going to be bored on a mid size ship?
What is the best avenue to getting the best price? Should we book via the local travel agent, internet travel agent, or directly through the cruise line?

Everyone is different in their wishes and viewpoint about your question. For us, give us "the bigger the better". Why?
More people to meet and enjoy, larger and varied venues of entertainment, as well as cuisine.
Also, less rockin' and rollin' on those big, big ships.
We could babble on and on as to why we believe there is an advantage of the larger/largest cruise ships. Others would disagree.
Either way--large or mid-size, few passengers on the cruises of today ever seem to get "bored".
Why would you ever dislike "all the people on a large ship"? Strange question--unless you have the mind-set of--"Na na, I don't want to go, so I'll just let myself get grossed out by other people!"
We've done the Baltic several times and always enjoyed the area and also being able to return to a fantastic "large" cruise ship.
BUT--"to each his own".
As for your booking--the web is a great source but a local agent may be able help you just as well or better. Going directly to the cruise line, in our experience, has not given us competitive pricing and benefits. Maybe it would be a different story for you.
Bon Voyage. --PickySeniors, 10/30/09, NY

We like both large and small ships. Never bored on either one.
Not sure that going through the cruise line would be beneficial. We use a cruise consolidator for our trips only after doing some research (half the fun) on pricing and he ususally beats any price I can find.

Baltics cruises tend to be very port intensive, therefore I wouldn't worry about having great entertainment on board the ship. Once you narrow down the cruises in which you are interested, find a travel agent that specializes in that cruise line or at least is very familiar and books heavily with it. You will do better price-wise with an agent than doing it through the cruise line directly.

We took a Baltics cruise on Regent in August. While the ship is not considered small--about 50,000 tons--it only has 700 passengers because the cabins (all-suite, all-balcony) and public areas are so spacious. It is an all-inclusive line (alcohol, tips, air, and now even shore excursions). We felt that we got what we paid for (and more), in part because fares were reduced several times because of the economy, and our agent was always able to adjust our fares.

Dreps, would you share your agent's name? Thanks.

Nancy, you will NOT be bored, no matter what you choose.

PickySeniors are certainly right when they say people disagree about the relative merits of large vs. mid size ships. My wife and I strongly prefer mid size and would never again take a cruise on a ship bigger than most of Holland America's old fleet, which holds 1200 to 1400 passengers. Where we notice the difference is getting off and on the ship, especially if tenders are required, and lines on the Lido deck and at certain activities and shore excursions. I have never seen that much difference in entertainment. Even small size ships have their appeal, although they tend to be more expensive. You need to ask yourself whether you are a big city or a smaller city fan, and go with your choice. You are likely to enjoy the cruise either way. We have always used a travel agent and prefer letting her handle the details and potential problems.

I am all in favor of the midsize ships because the service is better, the food is better and the lines are not there when the time comes to have breakfast or any other meal. You also get off the ship a lot faster in ports. I am taking a group on the Crystal Symphony to the Baltic next August and the value being offered is fabulous for a deluxe product - FREE air, 2-for-1 pricing and $2000 shipboard credit.

What are some good cruise consolidators?

I concur that the cruise lines do not seem to give extras.

I have always used internet agencies, and lately seem to get good results from www.cruisecompete.com. Others have found
vacations to go, etc. have good value.

Hi ND

TRM says,

>...My wife and I strongly prefer mid size and would never again take a cruise on a ship bigger than most of Holland America's old fleet, which holds 1200 to 1400 passengers.<

Too big. My wife and I will be cruising on the Prinsendam next year - 700 passengers.

As you can see, it is a matter of taste. Some people love the anonymity and liveliness of city life and take to 200,000 ton ships with 3000 passengers. We live in a town of 3000. We don't wish to go to a big city.

Whatever you choose, it is unlikely that you will be bored if you check out a few things:

A. Do you wish to visit ports or spend your time on the water?
B: If you are young and active, make sure that the ship is intended for you, ie, 35 yr old rock climbers who think that wearing a jacket to dinner is "formal" are unlikely to love the Prinsendam.
C: The itinerary.

We had very good luck with Pattie at www.cruise.com. 1-800-300-4804 xt 458

Enjoy your journey.

For our cruises, we always use Linda Litteken at Brown and Keene travel in Dallas: brownandkeenetravel.com (800-856-1155). They book primarily Regent, Silver Sea, Oceania, and Seabourn. They also arrange some exotic land tours--particularly African Safaris--we've taken 2--and they were incredible. They also book River Cruises, and we're doing Prague-Budapest next year. When they escort trips, fares are reduced even further. They also have a great cruise/travel forum that anyone can use: luxurycruisetalk.com.

Thanks Dreps. I did not know they were luxury cruises (note: price when I asked you for the information. Wish we could afford Regent, sounds great, but we must stay at the Holland level. Thanks again.

Smaller ships have more port options and thus more exotic itenary. Larger ships cannot go to certain places so you got to stop at all the usual stops.

In terms of comfort and crowds, the size of the ships doesn't matter. What matters is how much public area there is and what is the service staff to customer ratio.

I have been on some very large ships but never feel crowded and have been on some smaller ships that felt crammed.

The mid-size ships, Oceania, Regent, Azamara, and the like tend to tie up closer in to the center of cities when there are berths available. That will save you a fair amount of time and money if you are using local guides or transportation in St. Petersburg and Helsinki among other locations.

I have cruised on ships of all sizes and honestly say we enjoyed them all. Ship size is the least factor that I would take into consideration, especially on a Baltic cruise (do not worry too much about berths in Baltic ports - ship size does not make too much difference in Copenhagen, Stockholm, St. Petersburg or Tallinn).

I forgot what port in the Baltic it was but we, on a large ship, the Star Princess, were berthed right next to a smaller ship from the Oceania line. As for our berths and locations nothing was far away enough to make a difference. I don't think there is a sig. difference in this regard. The nice thing about smaller ships is the feel of more intimacy. There are fewer people so your chances of becoming familar with other passengers is far greater. I agree with Dreps in that the Baltic is a port intensive cruise. Your time in port can be busy, esp. in SPB. Most cruises have a two day stop there and its well worth seeing IMHO even though its two long days. Have fun as this is a grat cruise, maybe the best we have ever had. Larry

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