At 67, am I too young for Holland America?

[cwd79]

I am 33 and my husband is 32. We went on our first cruise ever for our honeymoon with HAL. There were people around our age that we saw, but the majority was over 50 I would say. That didn't bother us at all. We did see some kids but a handful and they were all well behaved. It is an older crowd but with that we noted they were very well spoken, polite and wonderful to chat up with. We are not party people, pretty laid back and fit right in.

[jtl513]

Were your friends on a cruise of 30 days or longer? Those tend to skew a little older because those of working age usually can't get that much time off. For 7>10 day Carribean cruises 67 is well above the median IMO.

Edited November 14, 2013 by jtl513

[Lis2065]

I'm 51 and DH is 67 - we love HAL, but haven't cruised with anyone else so haven't got anything to compare it to. Love the pace, the style and the atmosphere... But its an individual choice I believe!

[swin26]

My parents (85 and 90) only sail on Princess and RCI and say HAL passengers are too old. They have never been on HAL. My brother and his wife (63) just sail celebrity and RCI and DH and I (mid to late 50s) prefer HAL. Go figure.

[kazu]

We are both younger than your age, have cruised on several lines and traditionally do longer cruises now;). HAL is our line of choice to date.

[serendipity1499]

I was younger than you when we first sailed on HAL..We have over 300 days on HAL & will be on her again next week for 3 weeks to the Southern Carib & the Western Carib..We've been to the Carib more times than I can count so at this point our actual destination is the ship..We've also sailed two other lines & HAL has become our cruise line of choice..

IMO you should try it, before deciding if HAL is a good fit for you & your wife..

Cheers..Betty

Edited November 14, 2013 by serendipity1499

[nauticusgb]

If you want alot of noise and commotion at 1AM, would like to see some guy crush a beer can on his head, or wear shorts and a ball cap to the dinng room on formal night, then try another cruise line.

 

George B 65 cruises and been on all major cruise lines

[existentialtraveler]

Why are we cruising? Simple question that goes to the heart of this.

 

We've only been on a single RCI cruise which we greatly enjoyed. We didn't do the rock climbing and we didn't do any shore excursions. We only did a single show. One of the things we enjoyed the most was watching the sunrise with coffee on the balcony. (BTW, we had an aft which was huge.). We simply enjoyed being there and being with each other.

 

We're both retired now, we've worked hard, and now we want to enjoy life. Cruising just seemed so relaxing that we couldn't wait to make another reservation. We're on Caribbean Princess in March 2014.

 

We would like to find a cruise line that provides good service and makes us feel at home. We'd like to find a cruise line with a multiplicity of destinations. We'll only be able to do a couple of cruises per year for now (we've got a couple of dogs), in the not too distant future, we'll do more cruises.

 

We're looking for that special cruise line which will be our 'go to' line for our future cruises. I guess you'd say that we're shopping around now.

 

What are we looking for? Some thing that makes us feel at home, that is relaxing not hyper intensive, good food, good conversations, interesting destinations, a cruise line to call home.

 

I do appreciate everyone's responses. They seem to reinforce my thoughts that HAL just might be what we're looking for.

 

I sort of envy you. My wife and I have been cruising for over 34 years now..80+ cruises...and we still enjoy the excitement and anticipation of an upcoming cruise. BUT there is nothing like being new to cruising! We brought friends and family with us on B2B cruises on Celebrity just a couple weeks ago. None of them had EVER been on a cruise. It was fun experiencing the cruise vicariously through them! Little things (that we have begun to take for granted) were amazing to them. So enjoy HAL, but try other ships as well. They all have a slightly different feel to them. By the way: 1.AFT CABINS ROCK!! I am not referring to the motion of the ship!

2. The Caribbean Princess is a LOVELY ship....Make sure you check out Adagios for happy hour!

3. Sabatini's is worth the extra money

4. If you like Princess, you will like HAL and Celebrity...all pretty comparable.

Edited November 14, 2013 by existentialtraveler

[510picker]

I'm 42 and my wife is 39. We are leaving on our 7th HAL cruise this Sunday. We don't have kids. We don't climb rock walls. We don't use water slides. We don't go to late night dance clubs. We aren't partiers. We are in bed by 11 at the very latest. We cruise to relax and get away. HAL is a good fit for us.

 

Don't let others decide what is a good for you. With the various cruise lines out there, everyone can find one that is a good fit with a little research.

[cruz chic]

Why are we cruising? Simple question that goes to the heart of this.

 

We've only been on a single RCI cruise which we greatly enjoyed. We didn't do the rock climbing and we didn't do any shore excursions. We only did a single show. One of the things we enjoyed the most was watching the sunrise with coffee on the balcony. (BTW, we had an aft which was huge.). We simply enjoyed being there and being with each other.

 

We're both retired now, we've worked hard, and now we want to enjoy life. Cruising just seemed so relaxing that we couldn't wait to make another reservation. We're on Caribbean Princess in March 2014.

 

We would like to find a cruise line that provides good service and makes us feel at home. We'd like to find a cruise line with a multiplicity of destinations. We'll only be able to do a couple of cruises per year for now (we've got a couple of dogs), in the not too distant future, we'll do more cruises.

 

We're looking for that special cruise line which will be our 'go to' line for our future cruises. I guess you'd say that we're shopping around now.

 

What are we looking for? Some thing that makes us feel at home, that is relaxing not hyper intensive, good food, good conversations, interesting destinations, a cruise line to call home.

 

I do appreciate everyone's responses. They seem to reinforce my thoughts that HAL just might be what we're looking for.

 

I think you will enjoy Princess too. I find that their MDR service to be much better than Hal although Hal is my preferred line. I've only been on the smaller ship that Princess has so their large ship may be different.

[stlouistravelers]

I'm 52 and Hal fits me well. The gym is not busy and it's quiet. Those two things are important to me. I'm also self entertaining. It you need a lot of activities Hal may not be for you.

 

I'm 55 and this is why I am sailing with HAL.

[SparklingBlonde]

I am 29 and am sailing again for Christmas with HAL this year. This will be my 5th and 6th (doing a back to back) cruises with HAL. My first cruise was when I was 22. I love it! The passengers are overall substantially older than a Carnival, RCI or Princess crowd, but they are also overall nicer and just more relaxed. You rarely run into drunk people and its hardly rowdy at all. If that's what you like you will want a different line. We continue to go back because of their amazing crew (really best out there), beautiful ships and relaxed atmosphere. We now have a 2 year old and this will be her 2nd a d 3rd cruises with HAL. With her it's also great because the passengers often treat her like grandparents and are all so sweet.

[puppycanducruise]

We are in our 50s and love HAL. We have sailed with them since our first cruise 12 years ago.

We like the itineraries offered - lots of sightseeing during the day (Baltic and Med specifically) so we don't care about partying all night.

We like the food, wonderful crew, attention to detail and overall experience.

Even though we can only afford to cruise every couple of years (wish it was more), we always love to hear "welcome back" when we check in, and we feel they mean it.

[sherilyn70]

My husband is 41 and I will be 44 when we go on our first HAL cruise. I'm glad to see there are other younger people like us that cruise with them. :) I decided to try HAL this time because it seems calmer and the activities appear to be more oriented towards our taste. On Carnival and RCI we avoided all of the activities since they did not appeal to us, the only ones I wanted to do were all canceled because of lack of interest (mixology, wine tasting, etc).

[CaroleSS]

Yes, you're too young, the average age on Hal is 90....

 

It is really sad, but this sentiment is prevalent concerning HAL. We love HAL and are in our 50s. Our kids have sailed with HAL before and enjoy it as well.

 

BUT, if you read other boards, the comments about HAL always say it is the cruise line for the almost dead crowd. I'm not sure why that is, but it certainly is out there. Our last cruise was with Celebrity and we found the nightlife to be nearly non-existent! That is the exact thing people say about HAL - that everyone's asleep by 9pm, but the Reflection was dead by 9pm on a 7 night voyage!

 

Julia said it best....."The bottom line is..... you will NEVER get a clear picture of ANY line until you actually sail them. PERIOD."

[innlady1]

Or about 10 years younger depending on the cruise.

 

You didn't mention what cruise you were considering and I find length of cruise the determining factor in age make-up.

 

On short cruise of 10 days or less, the demographics are probably not much different than Princess, Celebrity or RCCL, among others. Face it, on longer cruises, its generally retirees than can absent themselves from home for extended periods and the demographic is older, more experienced cruisers. If you are not put off by a lot of folks with mobility problems, and I'm not, and if you are not looking for a bar open past midnight, then you should find HAL to your liking.

 

That's generally true...we did a Collector's Cruise last winter on the Ryndam. The first 14 days, I'd guess the average age was late 70's/early 80's. The following 7 days brought on a much younger crowd. That was out of Tampa. For some reason, out of Fort Lauderdale, the folks seem younger.

[OlsSalt]

Glad HAL has a reputation of being for "older passengers". Helps to pre-select its customers, in order to maintain its quieter charms.

 

Everyone eventually gets older so the demographics will keep coming that will keep the ships filled. Particularly with the aging baby-boomer bulge moving inexorably down the pike.

[GeorgesGal]

I first cruised on HAL when I was in my mid=40's and enjoyed the experience so much that now, almost 30 years later, I'm still sailing on her ships (along with other lines as well).

 

You are neither too old or too young - you're just right!

[jtl513]

Yes, you're too young, the average age on Hal is 90....

I've never met any of the 130 year olds that bring it up that high! I guess they just stay in their cabins with their nurses! ;)

[Typhoon1]

Never too old. HAL passengers are all ages.

 

Those that think HAL is for the 80 and over crowd, have never set foot on a HAL ship.

[innlady1]

It was interesting on our recent 7 days Barcelona/Barcelona and then 14 across the pond. I don't recall seeing many folks in their 80's....if any at all. Very port intensive so that's probably a turn-off.

Edited November 14, 2013 by innlady1

[serendipity1499]

That's generally true...we did a Collector's Cruise last winter on the Ryndam. The first 14 days, I'd guess the average age was late 70's/early 80's. The following 7 days brought on a much younger crowd. That was out of Tampa. For some reason, out of Fort Lauderdale, the folks seem younger.

 

Innlady..We leaving on that exact same cruise this Sunday to the Southern & Western Carib...Two weeks & then one week on the Ryndam..

I noticed in one of your posts on another thread, for smart casual you mentioned that you only had Capri's for a European cruise, but everyone seemed only to wear slacks..

Had originally planned on taking only Capri's for smart casual but after reading your post I've thrown in 4 pairs of slacks... Still trying to cut down on my clothes as DH accuses me of taking my entire wardrobe on every cruise..LOL

Should I forget the slacks & stick to the Capri's or keep the slacks on the list?

I'm just about 5 ft. tall & love the Capri's.. Also wear a lot of shells with jackets with the Capri's when we dine out here in FLA.. Assume it will be cold in the MDR..

 

Sorry for the thread drift folks..

Thanks...Betty

Edited November 14, 2013 by serendipity1499

[lmentzer]

We’re your age, healthy and mobile. We just returned from a two week HAL cruise and found what seemed to be the average age of cruisers at well over 70. There’s good and bad to that demographic. The lines were often longer and slower, there were some of these folks that seemed to think they deserved special service, i.e. rude (I suppose there are those kind at any age), and I feel the food was bland due to catering to this age group. The positives are that there are interesting people with lots of life experience to talk to and get to know, the ship is quiet and peaceful, if that’s your preference, and many of the areas on the ship are less crowded. We’ve cruised with two different cruise lines, and HAL isn’t our preference, but everybody is different. I think you need to focus more on the cruise line and ship you are considering and what it offers, the ship’s condition, the itinerary, and it’s reputation. Average age of the passengers is one thing to consider, but maybe not the most important.

[mamaofami]

. Not Sheila but wear your capris just like in Florida. I'm thinking Sheila was talking about her TA

 

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[cruiseapril]

We were 2 generations on the Westerdam and all had a grand time.

 

We've been on most of the major cruise lines and like HAL's relaxed atmosphere. Also, we didn't see "Bingo Batman" on HAL (he was on another cruise line)- so that was a relief!!!!

 

Age is all relative and we loved our grandparents- so any age passenger is fine with us, as long as they are kind.

 

Hope you try HAL at some point.

Edited November 15, 2013 by cruiseapril