Cruise for Young Couple(s)?

[qcnc]

Hello,

I've looked on the forums before, but new to posting. I am a graduate student in my mid-20s and my significant other and I would like to go on a Caribbean cruise for our spring break (in March, so off season for families). I've cruised before on Carnival, NCL, and RCI (S, E, and W itineraries), but SO has not and so I'd really like to make this an enjoyable experience (so we can book more in the future). Note that this is definitely not a honeymoon cruise or a college spring break cruise, so we'd like however a crowd that would include some young couples to interact with (also, another couple may be joining and price is a concern for them, so I'm pretty much down to certain itineraries on Carnival, NCL, and Princess).

 

I'd be comfortable re-booking on any of the lines I've sailed on before, but are there any thoughts about adding Princess to the mix? Does it normally cater to the same crowd or an older crowd?

 

Also, does anyone have a thought on Florida vs. San Juan as a departure point? I've been on an RCI San Juan cruise in March, and I felt the crowd was older than US-based spring departures, but was this just my imagination? I'm very attracted to the more exotic S Caribbean ports (since I've cruised before to the traditional E/W stops).

 

I appreciate your help! I know that this question has been asked before, but hopefully the time of year and Puerto-Rico vs. US aspect will make this useful.

[Bonnie J.]

We were on our 3rd Princess cruise last February and felt we were the youngest on the ship. We are 67 years old! We like to dance and the trio in the lounge left for their dinner at 7PM! In the atrium, every night, they had a violin, chello and piano playing. How do you dance to this? There was only one couple in the disco. Never seen so many people waltzing!We ended up watching 'Marmaduke' in our cabin!

 

We are partial now to Carnival. There is such a nice variety of ages and people. And they have very good prices. Royal Caribean is also very good. We hate freestyle dining on NCL - once had to wait 40 minutes for a table! They give out beepers, the wait can be that long!

 

Don't know where you live but we drive from NC the day before for Florida, stop in Cocoa, 3-4 hours from the ports. We've taken 3 cruises from San Juan but it has been years since then so can't say much about that. Everyone on CC recomends getting to the port the day before so that would mean a hotel there- more $$. In FL we never leave our car at the port, have garage or hotel to leave it at.

 

I'd say Carnival or Royal Carribean.

[paul929207]

Just so you know, March is right in the middle of spring break for schools all over the US and Canada. There will be lots of families and kids.

[1025cruise]

Your other concern is that you state you are in your mid-20s. You don't specifically state how old you will be when you sail. This is very important. Some lines won't allow you to book unless you are 25.

[FawnRiver]

We've only cruised on Princess thus far, we're in our 30's and weren't the youngest people on board. It all depends on the atmosphere you're after, Princess is less party-ish than Carnival or NCL and while they do have kids clubs, they don't have waterslides and other stuff that would draw families. There is plenty to do at night, its not like the ship shuts down at 7pm. There's shows in the theatre, comedians in the lounge, musical acts in the bars among other things. There's also the casino, if you like to gamble and MUTS (movie under the stars) up on deck. I don't think we went to bed any night (except the last) before 1or 2am.

 

I imagine that you'd run into an older crowd on longer cruises since they have more time (and money) to spend cruising, but for 7 day cruises you'll see more of a mix. We'll see what the mix is like on our next cruise - its a 10 day.

[sail7seas]

Try your choice of RCI, Celebrity or HAL IMO

 

Don't go with the nonesense line that all HAL cruises are ready for nursing homes. A seven day Caribbean cruise draws the same demographic as Princess and Celebrity. Of course, a 45 day Transatlantic/Europe cruise or 60 day Pacific rim cruise will draw senior people...... they're the only ones that have that much time off.

 

[excitedcruzr]

When I took an RCI cruise in March 2008, there were plenty of young kids and families. We were a mid 20's couple, and our dinner table had 4 young couples..two who were young to mid 20's, and the other two were older 20's to young 30's. It was a great mix of all ages.

 

We had a FL departure, but on my next upcoming cruise, we'll be sailing out of San Juan. I can get back to you and tell you any differences I noticed.

[tak81288]

Your other concern is that you state you are in your mid-20s. You don't specifically state how old you will be when you sail. This is very important. Some lines won't allow you to book unless you are 25.

 

Not true! The cruiselines that have a 25+ year old rule only applies if someone under the age if 21 is traveling. So long as both parties are 21 years old, (which I am assuming they are since the OP stated they are in their mid 20s), then they will be fine on any line.

 

OP: March is not the off season for families. Tons of schools, K-12 and college, will be out of for spring break. You should be ok on any cruiseline, even Princess, during that time of year.

[sail7seas]

Certainly verify so you don't get an unpleasant surprise but if both are 21 years old, I don't think the 25 year old rule applies on MOST cruise line but do not fail to verify.

[qcnc]

Thank you! I did a RCI cruise on Adventure of the Seas from San Juan on March 1, 2008 and there were only a handful of young couples on board and a NCL cruise on the Spirit from New Orleans on March 2, 2009 which was full of college spring breakers from SEC schools and a few Texas schools (the messy, blackout type). Neither of those is particularly appealing. I was surprised to see how much RCI's prices have increased vis-a-vis NCL and Carnival from the last time I looked to book a cruise. I think I'll just triangulate based on price, niceness of the ship, and ports and hope for the best!

 

Does anyone have an opinion on Norwegian Sun (by far the best price) vs. Caribbean or Ruby Princes vs. Carnival Victory or Glory? I know they all have plenty to do on board, but most of them (other than Ruby) are around 10 years old. If anyone has been on one (or more), are they showing their age or still seem nice? I'd only been on newer ships (less than 5 years old) before the Spirit and I could tell a difference.

[Colorado Kat]

If your friends have money issues, they may not want to spend the extra to fly to San Juan to cruise. I would look at Carnival. Perhaps you could spend a bit more and get a balcony cabin? I would choose for the ports.

 

What does your SO want? To see new places, be in the warmth, visit beaches?

[FawnRiver]

If you're interested in Princess and want southern Caribbean than try the Ruby's sister ship the Emerald. Those two are in the same class of ship as the Crown and the Caribbean Princesses. We're on a southern Caribbean itinerary next month, it is a 10 day, so it will be a bit more money. Its out of Fort Lauderdale, which can be fairly inexpensive to fly into (depending on where you're flying from).

 

We were on the Ruby last year and she was a very nice ship with a great crew.

 

We haven't had the chance to try any other cruiselines yet, so I can't give you a comparison, sorry.

[qcnc]

Thank you all for the advice. We are both 25 or older, so age issues are not a concern. Because I'd really like to get a balcony, I think I'm somewhat constrained by price (Princess, NCL, and Carnival balconies on select itineraries are about $200 cheaper per person than an RCI balcony). From where we live, flights to San Juan are only about $100 more than to Florida, so that seems to be less of a price differential consideration.

 

I'd like to see at least some new places (i.e. not only Cozumel, Belize, St. Thomas, the Bahamas, etc.). I don't think my SO knows what he wants since he's never been to the Caribbean before (or out of the country). He says beaches and sunshine so I've looked at beach-heavy S. Caribbean routes (thus the San Juan predicament - since those itineraries seem to have fewer traditional ports as well as good beaches). But, I also want him to have a good time on the ship and a wonderful overall experience (fellow passengers, meals, ship quality/ambiance).

 

Now, I think I have it down to two complete opposite experiences - NCL Sun from Florida with a pretty traditional itinerary and a very good price vs. Caribbean Princess from San Juan with (what I consider) an awesome S. Caribbean itinerary that's also a great price. Decisions, decisions!!!

 

p.s. - Asked the SO to pick one, but he's artfully dodged the question.

[FawnRiver]

In your shoes, I'd take the Caribbean Princess, but I'm not impartial.

 

Our TA suggested we start with Princess (we'd never been to the Caribbean either) and we haven't regretted it. This way, both of you get to find something new together, which is one of the best things about cruising.

 

Good Luck!

[tak81288]

Well, I guess it comes down to priority. If you itinerary is most important I would chooee Southern hands down out of San Juan, but you may run into the same issue of having a slightly older clientle since the prices to fly to San Juan can be a little pricey so tons of people in their twenties may not flock to that Princess cruise.

 

If you want your SO to have a better overall experience and be around sightly younger crowd, I would cruise out of Florida. Although it is not your ideal itinerary, it will be a better mixture of ship and port experience.

[Colorado Kat]

I would choose the Southern itinerary.

[KDog]

My husband and I are in our mid 30s now, but did our first cruise on Princess out of San Juan in our mid 20s. It was a beautiful ship, food was wonderful, staff was excellent, and the itinerary was great-Aruba, Grenada, St. Thomas, etc.-but we found the crowd to be a little "boring" for us. We travelled with a mix of family and friends-I think 10 of us-and most nights immediately after the late dinner we were the only ones in any club or lounge. We tried wandering around the ship and literally couldn't find any people awake. The excursions were also good-but nightlife was non-existent.

 

Our second cruise was Carnival out of Miami-Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman. We went with another couple and had so much fun that we have gone Carnival ever since. There were a lot more people out having a good time at all hours, a lot more diverse crowd, and still excellent crew and a fun intinerary.

 

Now having completed my 6th Carnival cruise (Dream) a couple weeks ago, I'm considering trying Princess again, or another line. The crowd was older, which could be a result of the time of year, and it was just not great all around. Having said that, we cruised on the Victory last year out of San Juan and that itinerary was great, but maybe too many stops? But Victory had just been refurbished and looked beautiful. It was our second time on Victory and you could really see the improvements from the first time. I like the layout, we have also sailed on the sister ship Triumph, and it seemed spacious and not crowded. The Dream on the other hand felt very cramped in several areas-especially the Lido deck-and it seemed they had a hard time keeping up with so many passengers. I don't think bigger is better-but that's just my opinion from my experience.

 

If you end up going NCL please let us know how it is! I am not sure what we will end up doing for our next cruise-which might be over spring break as well. We did notice that overall spring break cruises are a younger, more partying, "blackout" type crowd than we like-but it's seems partially to be luck of the draw, and we did meet more people with similar ages and interests on the spring break cruises than the one we were just on. Good luck and have a wonderful time no matter what you decide!

[kitty9]

Your other concern is that you state you are in your mid-20s. You don't specifically state how old you will be when you sail. This is very important. Some lines won't allow you to book unless you are 25.

 

So NOT true. This is one of the biggest misconceptions that some people seem to confuse. The ONLY time the age 25 comes into play is on some lines, if you're under 21, you have to have an adult 25 or older in the cabin with you. As long as the OP and SO are 21, they can book any cruise line.

[FawnRiver]

Well, I guess it comes down to priority. If you itinerary is most important I would chooee Southern hands down out of San Juan, but you may run into the same issue of having a slightly older clientle since the prices to fly to San Juan can be a little pricey so tons of people in their twenties may not flock to that Princess cruise.

 

If you want your SO to have a better overall experience and be around sightly younger crowd, I would cruise out of Florida. Although it is not your ideal itinerary, it will be a better mixture of ship and port experience.

Almost all of the older people on the cruises we've been on were people who drove to the port, they didn't want to fly so I don't know how accurate your reasoning is. If you have to fly already, its not that great a deal to spend a little more to get to a further embarkation port for the itinerary you want.

Like everything else, there's no guarantees.

[tak81288]

Almost all of the older people on the cruises we've been on were people who drove to the port, they didn't want to fly so I don't know how accurate your reasoning is. If you have to fly already, its not that great a deal to spend a little more to get to a further embarkation port for the itinerary you want.

Like everything else, there's no guarantees.

 

Obviously my reasoning its not 100% but none of us talk to every single cruiser out there, but my almost 70 year old grandmother and a group of her friends in the same age range, just got back from the SO itinerary out if SJU, on the supposedly party ship of Carnival, and the demographic on that cruise was older than any 7 day we have been on out of FL. It was pretty dead at night because of that and the fact that is was so port intensive. My reasoning is that the OP wants to meet tons of other people in their 20s. For 20 year olds that are just getting started in life, adding another $100-$200 per person on airfare can add up very quickly and many don't have a huge expendable income for that. The OP also indicated that they already did a Southern itinerary and the crowd was slightly older. This was on RCI which is also a family cruiseline.

 

For spring break time, they will probably run into more of people in their age range out of FL then SJU due to all the colleges and things down there and cheaper airfare. But of course nothing is guaranteed. It can be lively one sailing and dead the next. I just think the chances are slightly better to get the demographic they want out of FL, but obviously no one knows for sure.

 

Many families and young adults also drive to ports to save $$ or to combine their cruise with a road trip, so driving has nothing to do with older vs younger in my opinion. Everyone who drives does so for diifferent reasons.

 

Btw: my cruise out of SJU is costing my group another $1000 than it would have to fly to FL. This could easily pay for another cruise for at least one of us. For many people in their twenties, (or even older) that is not chump change.

[seabreeze06]

I have been on 4 of the 5 cruises you're looking at. My husband and I are in our mid-late 30's. We just returned from our 2nd Princess of 11 cruises and agree not to book another until we are in our 70's. The entertainment is not as plentiful and the atmosphere seems to really be mellow. We thoughly enjoy cruising and can always make our own fun, but Princess falls short in entertainment department in my opinion. On our last Princess cruise, Skywalkers night club was hopping with crew members on their time off (contacted workers). So while the rest of the ship was dead at 10pm, the club was energetic. This past cruise, there was hardly anything exciting to do after 11 & Skywalkers was dead. The food was so so. Never said that about a cruise before. Ever! My vote is Victory. Loved the ship, the food and best of all the itinerary we were on, no sea days! 6 ports on a 7 day. Good luck!

[cj_one2000]

Your other concern is that you state you are in your mid-20s. You don't specifically state how old you will be when you sail. This is very important. Some lines won't allow you to book unless you are 25.

 

As several people have stated, not true. I took my 18-year-old sister with me on a cruise on RCI, and I was only 24 at the time and we sailed out of Miami. She didn't drink as the new policy on alcohol sales to 18-20 years old changed in the RCI policies the month before we sailed. No big deal as we aren't big drinkers anyway. But when we got to the ports we did stop at Senor Frogs :p

 

I was in my mid-20s during my last cruise and there is a mix of ages - lots of couples and families. Sure, there were older folks but I think the RCI ships sailing the Caribbean will be a better bet than Princess due to the types of activities. The clubs are always full of the younger crowd (early to late 20s with some 30s) and the sports and shows are always great, no matter what age. And the food was always great.

 

So I'm turning the big 3-0 this year and taking the husband, 35, for his first cruise in June. We are sticking with RCI as I feel it will be the best first experience for him. I think your husband would be pleased with the ammenities and activities on many of the ships in RCI's fleet and I think RCI has better sales and prices to begin with versus Princess. But maybe that's because I look way too much for those RCI deals :D

 

Carnival has never been my choice - way too much party boat like for us. If I was taking my parents, I would look into Princess or Celebrity. Just my two (euro) cents :rolleyes:

[Travelin_Teacher0710]

Bottom line is this:

--there will be TONS of college kids and families in March. Spring Break season's from March thru April!!

--If price is a concern, don't go for the whole week. Do a 4 or 5 nighter. When I was fresh outta Grad School I did a NCL weekend cruise in April and it cost like $200/person and I brought a few hundred with me for my onboard account and I walked off the ship with leftover cash in hand! I'm frugal and love to travel and thus will probably do NCL every time.

Hope this helps!

[Beyondthe7Seas]

I am 20 and absolutely love HAL!