How large is too large?

Royal Caribbean is building 2 new ships, the "Genesis" class, which will boogle the mind in terms of size. Each of these builds will hold 5,400 passengers, the largest cruise ships ever constructed. It was announced today that these ships will be sailing year round from Ft Lauderdale. The first one is scheduled to begin sailing in fall 2009 and the second ship a year later.

Large ships offer plenty of activites and interesting features like bowling alleys, ice skating rinks, wave pools, etc. For those seeking a wide array of activities, the large ships are good choices. And, for the most part, I don't feel like I'm in a big crowd on the current group of large ships. People tend to spread out in different sections of the ship.

The part that concerns me is getting on and off the ship. Disembarkation is already a frustrating experience. Unless some new techonology is introduced, I can't imagine what it will be like to get rid of 5400 passengers at the end of the cruise and then put on board a new group of 5400. That will be over 10000 people, and their luggage, at the pier during the course of a few hours.