Royal Caribbean's new Oasis of the Seas, measures some 225,000 gross tons and carrying 5,400 passengers, will be the largest cruise ship in the world when it debuts next year - by a long shot.

Some two thirds bigger than the biggest ever (its fleet mates Freedom of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas and Independence of the Seas), Oasis will also be the world's most unusual. Already the cruise line is trickling out details about the mammoth vessel (which is currently being built in a shipyard in Turku, Finland).

Its got a series of seven neighbourhoods that evoke shades of New York's Central Park, complete with real flora and fauna, and Brighton's Boardwalk, with its merry-go-round. Other features include an Aqua Theater, an elaborate sun deck by day and amphitheater-like event space by night.

The encroaching arrival of Oasis of the Seas has already begun to resurrect the "how big is too big" debate that surfaced some years back, when Cunard's Queen Mary 2 was on the horizon. These days, the 140,000-ton, 2,620-passenger Queen Mary 2 barely makes it into the top five.

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In a "Members Speak Out" poll on Cruisecritic.co.uk, more than 3,200 voters responded to questions about Oasis' sizeable impact on the cruise experience: 75 per cent thought the ship's immense size was a bad idea and 24 per cent were in favour.

But even those who weren't yet convinced of Oasis' bigger-is-better philosophy are interested in trying out the ship - at least 10 percent so voted - even amidst concerns about declining quality levels of food and service, and a feeling that the ship's itinerary would largely be irrelevant as most people would cruise for the ship alone.

What's ultimately important isn't that Oasis of the Seas will break cruising's record for largess. The real news is that cruise lines, under pressure to provide the similar varieties of features, amenities and activities that will appeal to a broader base of travellers than is traditional, have to build ships with enough room to house them.

There isn't a line I can think of that's saying "hey, we're building a smaller ship this year". It's not happening. Every ship that's new (and even some that aren't - Fred Olsen, for instance, has taken the existing Balmoral and Braemar, cut them in half, and stretched them with new midsections) is larger than those it follows. Even luxury lines, whose ships are much smaller to begin with, are adding capacity and girth to newbuilds.

There's nothing boring about today's newest cruise behemoths. P&O's new Ventura features circus workshops, complete with top-deck trampolines and a restaurant by Marco Pierre White. Holland America's new Eurodam boosts fleet-first features like a Microsoft series of workshops, an Asian restaurant, private poolside cabanas and the Silk Den, a bar that channels Miami's hip South Beach culture.

Norwegian Cruise Line, whose still-under-construction F3 series of ships - debuting in 2010 - has unveiled plans to incorporate a series of exclusive nightclubs onboard. Celebrity Solstice, to launch late this year, will feature The Lawn Club (cruising's first ever grassy expanse), with putting green and bocce court.

In a few years, I predict, these avant garde innovations will be considered ho hum in the face of even more bizarre additions. Ultimately, the question isn't so much about whether cruise ships are too big. The question should be: How much bigger can they get? And here we're betting that ships may not top out at Oasis' level, but still won't stretch the concept too much further.

There are too many challenges, at least for the immediate future, for ships that are bigger than that. Among them? Fewer ports that can actually handle both ships of such size - and disgorging uber thousands of passengers and fewer shipyards that can either build them - or fix and refurbish in dry-dock.

Ultimately, I've found that there's no right or wrong when it comes to ship size. It depends on what you like - and more to the point what type of vacation you want. On a recent weekend minibreak cruise with colleagues aboard NCL's Norwegian Jade - a mid-sized ship perfectly designed for a party mindset - we had a blast, with choices of bars and restaurants and a spa. For a two-day trip we didn't need much more.

Travelling with kids, the seriously big ships, like Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas and Princess Cruises' Emerald Princess are really perfect because there's enough diversion onboard to split up for the day (and both have excellent kids' programs) but come back together at night for dinner. For romance, though, bigger is not necessarily better; you need an absence of chaos and activity. My favorite cruise ever with my husband was on the 110-passenger, yacht-like SeaDream I, where there were no rules such as dress code or dinner table demands.

Fortunately, the range of cruise styles available today is vast. You've got Fred Olsen trips for more sedate, traditional travelers. There's Carnival for the young (and, er, young at heart). Seabourn is ultra luxury. easyCruise is ultra cheap. And there's a whole range of choices in between.

Carolyn Spencer Brown is Editor in Chief of CruiseCritic.co.uk. Send your cruising questions to Carolyn at yoursay@timesonline.co.uk

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