Is Princess a Line for 20-somethings?

[qcnc]

I posted a general question on another thread about cruise lines for a young couple (vacation cruise, non-honeymoon). I've gotten a lot of RCI and Carnival answers, but I'm very attracted to some of Princess' southern itineraries (since I've done the traditional Eastern and Western ones several times). I'd normally book NCL, RCI, or Carnival, but I'm so attracted to the St. Thomas-Tortola-Antigua-Dominica-Barbados route (4 new ports for me!).

 

Would my significant other and I (mid-20s) feel out of place on a Princess cruise in the off season? We're going in early March, before most school children have spring break. It's my SO's cruise, so I'd like it to be a great experience. We don't need all night partying, but some action in the bars/lounges later at night would be nice!

[Cruise Junky]

Hard to say. I love Princess, but my first reaction to you was sail Royal Caribbean. I've heard so many reports of the age group soaring on those fantastic 10 Caribbean itineraries that I'm a bit put off booking them. Princes is a great line, don't get me wrong, but anything over 7 days, the age demographic goes through the roof.

[Rob & Beckys mom]

Our kids were 20 something's when they cruised with us & always found something to do...no complaints, but then we were paying :rolleyes:. It will be mostly older couples with a few kids, but a cruise is what you make it.

 

Jan in Mi

[Love.II.Cruise]

I say go for it! We got engaged and then married with Princess in our 20's. A cruise is what you make of it. We thought the activity in the lounges were great.

[Pam in CA]

There will be plenty to do and plenty of people around throughout the evening but probably not after midnight. You won't find the party, high-energy atmosphere of Carnival or the constant stimulation.

 

Princess is probably closer to RCI in passenger make-up than the other lines you mentioned. If you were comfortable on RCI and had a good time, you'll have a good time on Princess. One of the differences between Princess and RCI is that on Princess, the activities are spread throughout the ship, not concentrated in one or two areas so it might appear to be less active. Do a search for Princess Patters on CC or the web to see the types of activities planned during the evening and the times lounges are open. This will give you an idea of what to expect and whether that would appeal to you.

 

Here are a couple of posts with links to recently scanned Patters:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1525119

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1525123

[Worn out mailman]

I posted a general question on another thread about cruise lines for a young couple (vacation cruise, non-honeymoon). I've gotten a lot of RCI and Carnival answers, but I'm very attracted to some of Princess' southern itineraries (since I've done the traditional Eastern and Western ones several times). I'd normally book NCL, RCI, or Carnival, but I'm so attracted to the St. Thomas-Tortola-Antigua-Dominica-Barbados route (4 new ports for me!).

 

Would my significant other and I (mid-20s) feel out of place on a Princess cruise in the off season? We're going in early March, before most school children have spring break. It's my SO's cruise, so I'd like it to be a great experience. We don't need all night partying, but some action in the bars/lounges later at night would be nice!

 

On out first Princess cruise, in 2009 on the Ruby, a western, there were plenty of younger people...we actually hung out with a nice couple in their young 20s. On our next Princess cruise in 2010 on Emerald, this time an eastern, we were way outnumbered by older folks, many of who were impolite.

[lovevacadays]

I've cruised several times with my twenty something nieces. They all loved Princess. My most recent cruise was on the Sapphire with my niece who just turned 30. I hung out with her until 11 or so and then she was out with friends she met on the ship until 2am or so. She had a fabulous time on our cruise. Skywalkers lounge/disco was very active on our sailing. I have another niece (twenties) who cruised with me and my sister back in 2004 or 05 on the Star. She loved the cruise. She then cruised on one of RCI's older ships and said it just didn't compare at all to her experience on the Star. She's definitely a Princess cheerleader.

 

I do think the 7 day itinieraries are your best bet for a mixed demographic. But, it can really be the luck of the draw. I'm in my 50's and like activities in the evening and fun fellow passengers. I've been very lucky in my 16 cruises. However, I've had a couple of cruises where the passengers just didn't get involved in anything and we had to make our own entertainment. I think it can happen on any cruiseline.

[Peace2U]

Princess has something for every age, which we love! Try them, you'll like!

[Iamcruzin]

My kids always enjoyed Princess as teens. Now my oldest will be 20 and I am starting to consider Royal Caribbean. I really don't think there is much for an active young adult to do on Princess. As far as the port days it really doesn't matter what the age demographic is so in your situation I would go with the itinerary and not worry so much about the ship.

[CrusinAgain]

Western Caribbean is where you will see the younger folks and the southern and eastern are the older folks. We felt young (in our 50's) on the eastern route and the New England route. Carnival and Royal has the best mix of ages but the activities are about the same on all three, it just depends on the ages that go to those activities. We just came off a Carnival and a Royal cruise and we felt like we were the older ones for once. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

[mcrcruiser]

Princess has a lot of variety ;but ,not as active as a Royal Caribbean cruise for those in their 20s;) .

 

What ever cruise line you choose have a great cruise:D

[suzyed]

I posted a general question on another thread about cruise lines for a young couple (vacation cruise, non-honeymoon). I've gotten a lot of RCI and Carnival answers, but I'm very attracted to some of Princess' southern itineraries (since I've done the traditional Eastern and Western ones several times). I'd normally book NCL, RCI, or Carnival, but I'm so attracted to the St. Thomas-Tortola-Antigua-Dominica-Barbados route (4 new ports for me!).

 

Would my significant other and I (mid-20s) feel out of place on a Princess cruise in the off season? We're going in early March, before most school children have spring break. It's my SO's cruise, so I'd like it to be a great experience. We don't need all night partying, but some action in the bars/lounges later at night would be nice!

 

We have only sailed on Princess once previously (On the Ruby doing a 16 day TA/Med), and we have another booked for April.

If our previous experience is an indication, I would say that Princess is not for you. There was absolutely NO night life. Unless you count about 8-10 people in the disco along with (DH and I and the DJ) after 11 o'clock as night life! LOL! The "sidewalks" roll up at about 10:30. DH and I are in our late 50's and even we were put off by the lack of any activities at night. We still made it a point to hit the disco each night and we made friends with the DJ(who was 24 and the same age as our son!). and we danced a while, even though I was in a boot/cast after having Achilles tendon surgery! LOL!

 

So, with that said, I would enlist the opinion of other Princess cruisers, and make you decisions based on their views in addition to ours.

 

Good luck!

[Leeroy-Jenkins]

Would my significant other and I (mid-20s) feel out of place on a Princess cruise in the off season?

 

Yes!

[1 HappyCruiser]

I know I would have been bored to tears when I was in my 20's.

Sure, you'll find a select few people in their 20's on Princess who actually enjoy being with the older crowd but they're far & few between. The number of late night people in the lounges is sparse by any comparison to RCI.

Seeing that Princess just eliminated the Horizon buffet after 11 PM should tell you something. :p;);)

[Beopthtuh]

a cruise is what you make it we,ve been on cruises with a good demographic of passengers ,seen busy nightclubs and quiet ones .

you can never right off princess there ships are less boistress, less troublesome and relaxed with a good selection of things to do for all folk

[Working 2 Cruise]

We have only sailed on Princess once previously (On the Ruby doing a 16 day TA/Med), and we have another booked for April.

If our previous experience is an indication, I would say that Princess is not for you. There was absolutely NO night life. Unless you count about 8-10 people in the disco along with (DH and I and the DJ) after 11 o'clock as night life! LOL! The "sidewalks" roll up at about 10:30. DH and I are in our late 50's and even we were put off by the lack of any activities at night. We still made it a point to hit the disco each night and we made friends with the DJ(who was 24 and the same age as our son!). and we danced a while, even though I was in a boot/cast after having Achilles tendon surgery! LOL!

 

So, with that said, I would enlist the opinion of other Princess cruisers, and make you decisions based on their views in addition to ours.

 

Good luck!

 

But then, it was a 16-day TA where you will not find too many young people, due to the length and itinerary of the cruise. OP has a much better chance to have younger people on the Caribbean itinerary than on a Transatlantic!

[austinlw]

My wife and I were just on Ruby Princess the week after Thanksgiving. We were looking for a fun Caribbean cruise and we got one. We saw all ages on this cruise. I'd say the average was probably about my age (55), but that's out of 3000 passengers, and there were lots of young couples aboard. This was our third Princess cruise and the 2nd to the Caribbean. We've also been on Royal Caribbean 3 times and Carnival once. Our first Princess Caribbean cruise 7 years ago seemed a little lame activity-wise compared to our RCI cruises, but I think that was probably because of a bad cruise director who, we heard from a crew member, was on his way out. However, our recent Ruby Princess cruise 3 weeks ago was every bit as much fun and active as the Royal Caribbean cruises we've been on. They even had a late night deck party one night. Not a huge number of people participating, but enough to have a good time (including my wife). As someone else stated, the layout of Princess ships is more "compartmentalized" than RCI ships. So for instance instead of the big open multi-story main dining room on RCI ships, you have multiple one floor dining rooms on Princess. And instead of an atrium as tall as the ship on RCI, they have a 3 story piazza on Princess ships. My understanding is that this is intentional so that you don't feel like you are with 3000 other people on Princess. But activity-wise and age-wise I'd say there was no noticeable difference between this recent cruise and our 3 RCI cruises, and the service was super. And to answer your concern more specifically, there was definitely activity in the bars and lounges at night. There was a good cover band, comedians, a jazz combo in the Wheelhouse bar, and a magician who performed in the main theater and then did amazing card tricks up close and personal in the Adagio lounge later at night. Plus there was dancing up in Skywalker's late at night. No problem with having things to do at night.

[skynight]

Depends on the sailing. 7 day cruises tend to have a younger crowd. In spring 2011 we did a 7 night W. Caribbean on the Crown that had a lively late night crowd. We stayed on board and then crossed the Atlantic. The crowd was much older and late night activities were there, but not well attended. Also, sunny Caribbean cruises tend to be more suited for 20's/30's.

[AZaTaz]

My son and daught-n-law love princess and they are 20 something. They always find things to do and people to hang out with.

[LiLBxQt]

Im sailing on princess for the first time next month and DH & I are both late 20's... This was my concern as well... Especially bc of the time of year... But a vacation is what you make of it... You can be miserable or you can have a good time regardless of the crowd...

[CRUZER2012]

I posted a general question on another thread about cruise lines for a young couple (vacation cruise, non-honeymoon). I've gotten a lot of RCI and Carnival answers, but I'm very attracted to some of Princess' southern itineraries (since I've done the traditional Eastern and Western ones several times). I'd normally book NCL, RCI, or Carnival, but I'm so attracted to the St. Thomas-Tortola-Antigua-Dominica-Barbados route (4 new ports for me!).

 

Would my significant other and I (mid-20s) feel out of place on a Princess cruise in the off season? We're going in early March, before most school children have spring break. It's my SO's cruise, so I'd like it to be a great experience. We don't need all night partying, but some action in the bars/lounges later at night would be nice!

 

 

 

 

Based on what you say, I think I know the cruise you are considering. Is is March 4 or 18? Looks like a great one.

 

You may consider looking at the rollcall associated with the cruise you are considering. It is normally a good source of information for the specific cruise. It may clue you in to who is going, shore excursions, and the like. And, members of rollcalls are also very helpful if you have specific questions.

[suzyed]

But then, it was a 16-day TA where you will not find too many young people, due to the length and itinerary of the cruise. OP has a much better chance to have younger people on the Caribbean itinerary than on a Transatlantic!

 

True enough! Which is why I prefaced it with the fact that it was a 16 day TA.

 

I would think that, for sure, a Caribbean cruise would have a younger crowd and if it's only a 7 day, then even more so.

 

I was afraid of misleading them, that's why I shared our experience....;)

[suzyed]

My wife and I were just on Ruby Princess the week after Thanksgiving. We were looking for a fun Caribbean cruise and we got one. We saw all ages on this cruise. I'd say the average was probably about my age (55), but that's out of 3000 passengers, and there were lots of young couples aboard. This was our third Princess cruise and the 2nd to the Caribbean. We've also been on Royal Caribbean 3 times and Carnival once. Our first Princess Caribbean cruise 7 years ago seemed a little lame activity-wise compared to our RCI cruises, but I think that was probably because of a bad cruise director who, we heard from a crew member, was on his way out. However, our recent Ruby Princess cruise 3 weeks ago was every bit as much fun and active as the Royal Caribbean cruises we've been on. They even had a late night deck party one night. Not a huge number of people participating, but enough to have a good time (including my wife). As someone else stated, the layout of Princess ships is more "compartmentalized" than RCI ships. So for instance instead of the big open multi-story main dining room on RCI ships, you have multiple one floor dining rooms on Princess. And instead of an atrium as tall as the ship on RCI, they have a 3 story piazza on Princess ships. My understanding is that this is intentional so that you don't feel like you are with 3000 other people on Princess. But activity-wise and age-wise I'd say there was no noticeable difference between this recent cruise and our 3 RCI cruises, and the service was super. And to answer your concern more specifically, there was definitely activity in the bars and lounges at night. There was a good cover band, comedians, a jazz combo in the Wheelhouse bar, and a magician who performed in the main theater and then did amazing card tricks up close and personal in the Adagio lounge later at night. Plus there was dancing up in Skywalker's late at night. No problem with having things to do at night.

 

Good to know! Thanks!

[Weluv2cruise2007]

My husband and I began cruising in our 30s, but look, feel and act more like our 20s! We've always had a great time on our cruises with Princess...we're not huge party go-ers, but there's always something going on. Get out there and see the shows, trivia games, Princess Popstar, Movies under the Stars etc etc....you won't be bored! We always ended up "befriending" couples who were much older than we were but some of them could party us under the table! As others have said - it's what you make of it! Personally, I can't function very well after a night of partying (drinking) so I usually opt out and we get up early, go to the gym and make the most of our days. Whatever you do, enjoy being pampered and have a blast!!

[Square]

I'm 32 and this will be my second cruise on princess this spring. I really haven't felt it was much different than my 2 cruises on Carnival when I was in my mid 20s. I know some people make it sound like a huge difference but the truth is the majority of people with time and money to cruise are a bit older but a lot of those also started when they were younger. We had a great time on Princess and are now dragging a few other couples with us. If clubbing every night is mandatory there might be a bit more of it on the other ships, but there is plenty of fun to be had and I'd probably let the itinerary dictate where I was going. Just my 2 cents, but hope it helps.