The single most consequential choice in cruising is not the line or the itinerary. It is how many people are on the ship — and the range is enormous, from expedition vessels carrying under a hundred to the largest ocean ships carrying over six thousand before crew.
The number determines four practical things, and they compound.
1. Which ports the ship can enter
Physical size decides where a ship can go. Large ships need deep water and long berths, so they call at commercial ports — which are often some distance from the place named on the itinerary, connected by a coach.
Small ships get into the harbours themselves. On the Greek islands, the Dalmatian coast and the Norwegian fjords this is the whole difference between walking off into a town and spending forty minutes each way on a bus.
2. Whether you tender
Where there is no berth, passengers go ashore by tender — the ship's small boats. On a 4,000-passenger ship this is a queue, a ticketing system and potentially an hour of your day in each direction. On a 200-passenger ship it is a short wait.
Tendering is also the first thing cancelled in swell. Small ships lose fewer port calls to weather because they need less water and can often berth where a large ship must tender.
Check the itinerary for the word "tender". It is printed and almost nobody reads it. A Caribbean itinerary with three tender ports on a very large ship is a materially different week from the same itinerary with three berths.
3. What the day feels like
| Very large (3,000+) | Mid-size (1,000–2,500) | Small (under 500) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onboard choice | Enormous — a dozen restaurants, shows, water parks | Good | Limited — one or two dining rooms |
| Queueing | Constant, and managed | Occasional | None |
| Ports | Commercial, often far from town | Mixed | In the town |
| Fellow passengers | You will not meet them all | Familiar faces by day three | You will know most of them |
| Price per night | Lowest | Middle | Highest |
| Motion | Least — stabilisers and mass | Moderate | Most |
4. The price, and why
The economics are simple and unavoidable: fixed costs — fuel, crew, galley, mooring — divided among more passengers. That is why the Caribbean, sailed by the largest ships, has the lowest nightly median in our data at $79, and why Europe's rivers, capped at 130–190 passengers by the locks they pass through, sit at $427.
It is not a quality difference. It is arithmetic about hulls.
Who should choose which
Choose a large ship if
- You are travelling with children or grandchildren — the onboard facilities are the point.
- Price matters and you want the most nights for the money.
- You want variety on board and do not mind organisation.
- You are worried about motion. Mass and stabilisers make big ships noticeably steadier.
Choose a small ship if
- The ports are why you are going, not the ship.
- You dislike queues more than you like choice.
- You want to visit places large ships cannot reach — the smaller Greek islands, the Dalmatian coast, Arctic Norway, the Galápagos.
- You want to know the crew's names by Wednesday.
The mid-size case
Ships of roughly 1,000 to 2,500 passengers are the most under-considered option and often the sensible one. They berth in most ports, they have enough on board to fill a sea day, they do not queue like the giants, and they cost meaningfully less than the small-ship premium.
The classic mistake is comparing only the extremes — the megaship and the boutique — and never looking at the middle, where most of the older, well-regarded ships in the fleet actually sit.
The short version
- Ship size decides which ports you enter and whether you tender to get there.
- Large ships: cheapest per night, most choice on board, steadiest in a swell, furthest from the towns.
- Small ships: dearest, fewest facilities, and they take you into the harbour itself.
- Look for the word "tender" on the itinerary before you book.
- Mid-size is the overlooked compromise and frequently the right one.