Arcadia passenger age

[stevet2607]

I called P&O today to enquire about cabin availability on Arcadia. The guy I spoke to was very chatty and clearly wanted to sell me the cruise. I asked him what he thought was the highlights of the ship and he asked me my age. When I told him we are in our 50's he said that Arcadia was Adult Only (which I knew) and then said that he shouldnt really comment on the age of the majority of Arcadia passengers but then said that there would be virtually no passengers below the age of 65 and most much older.

 

We have cruised on both Aurora and Oceana and know that there are many "senior" passengers. We are in our mid 50's and have no problems with this. It makes us feel younger! Our experience is that there are also plenty of other passengers in their 40's and 50's or even younger.

 

I'd welcome other cruisers comments. Its making us have second thoughts about booking.

[Dreamgirl1957]

Hi Steve ,

 

Me and my husband are in our fifties but feel like we are in our thirties and would like to think we look like we're in our forties! ;-)

 

We are booked on Arcadia for next New Year.

I asked quite a few previous Arcadia passengers about the average passenger age before we booked and got lots of different opinions.

Some said mostly older, some said forties and over, some said all ages .

 

Since we booked I've talked to lots of people on another site who love Arcadia and are mostly quite young so I think that although there will be a good percentage of over sixties there will be plenty of under fifties too and a fair amount of under thirties too as they now do weddings at sea etc....

 

Have heard it's a lovely ship , relaxed but also quite the party ship if that's what you like :-)

[NSWP]

On Arcadia World Cruise in 2012 (we did Sydney-Southampton) the ages ranged from 40's to 80's. But I would say the average was around 60-65, young retirees. I would expect our next Arcadia cruise in the Med in April to have a somewhat younger mob on board.

 

No children on child free Arcadia, not even the senior officers had their children on board which is unusual.

[dsrdsrdsr]

I... he said that Arcadia was Adult Only (which I knew) and then said that he shouldnt really comment on the age of the majority of Arcadia passengers but then said that there would be virtually no passengers below the age of 65 and most much older.

He's wrong. Firstly, there won't be "virtually no" passengers under 65. I dare say there might be down to 100 or so on one of the older-age cruises, but I very much doubt it'll go that low. I'd say 400 or so - that's 25% approx.

 

But secondly, it won't be true that "most passengers will be much older". Not by any standard, ever. A lot of passengers will be retired, certainly, but within the retired age group there is no skew towards the older end. Newly-retireds are just as likely to be on board as log-term retireds, and of course some of those newly-retireds are under 65 anyway.

[TOMOGP]

We have sailed on Arcadia 3 times and its our favourite and would say the average is 50 up.

Interestingly A staff member commented that on the near med cruises the age range appears higher not having been on then cannot comment, go for it but would not call it a Party ship

[the english lady]

I called P&O today to enquire about cabin availability on Arcadia. The guy I spoke to was very chatty and clearly wanted to sell me the cruise. I asked him what he thought was the highlights of the ship and he asked me my age. When I told him we are in our 50's he said that Arcadia was Adult Only (which I knew) and then said that he shouldnt really comment on the age of the majority of Arcadia passengers but then said that there would be virtually no passengers below the age of 65 and most much older.

 

We have cruised on both Aurora and Oceana and know that there are many "senior" passengers. We are in our mid 50's and have no problems with this. It makes us feel younger! Our experience is that there are also plenty of other passengers in their 40's and 50's or even younger.

 

I'd welcome other cruisers comments. Its making us have second thoughts about booking.

Hi we are on the same cruise as NSWP. My OH is 398 (at least that is what I think he looks;););););))

I am late 50's. I think the main thing is how long is the cruise and where is it going. World crusises, tend towards the older end as they are the ones who can be away for 3 months. Shorter cruises will slide downwards.

Have to say some older people on cruises have been more spritely than me.

Age is what you want it to be, and just because someone has grey hair does not mean they are not worth talking to.

The late night dancing venues may be quieter, but again depends on the length of cruise.

[Monorail Orange]

I'm in my thirties and last time I was on I was told that I helped lower the average age. I would say that there was about a dozen of us in a similar age range.

 

To be honest its not a huge issue. I've been on Arcadia twice and its never bothered me.

[stevet2607]

many thanks for the replies, none of which have accused me of being ageist .... YET!

 

I see that there is no nightclub, so does that mean there is no music / dancing after midnight? Presumably there is no DJ to entertain us at a sailaway party?

 

We hadn't really considered th early retirees, silly really as we fall into that category too!

 

We certainly feel a bit more confident about booking. Probably J406 in May.

 

Steve

[the english lady]

many thanks for the replies, none of which have accused me of being ageist .... YET!

 

I see that there is no nightclub, so does that mean there is no music / dancing after midnight? Presumably there is no DJ to entertain us at a sailaway party?

 

We hadn't really considered th early retirees, silly really as we fall into that category too!

 

We certainly feel a bit more confident about booking. Probably J406 in May.

 

Steve

Do and I'm sure you will enjoy yourself.

[tillybilly321]

I would never put "Arcadia" and "party ship" in the same sentence :)

 

We did a 4 night cruise on her last year, and to be honest the only people looking like they were having a good time were the members of the crew getting off the ship for our evening in Amsterdam !

 

I'm no party animal, but was rather surprised at how few younger passengers were on board considering it was a 4 night cruise taking in Bruges and Amsterdam.

 

We found the ship a little dismal too. She had a lovely prom and aft deck but no atrium, and all the venues were tiny places off of long corridors. Even the shops were on a corridor, which caused major congestion every time they opened. This lack of any large communal area seemed to give the ship no heart, or meeting hub. All the passengers seemed to be tucked into their own little "cubby hole".

 

It is, of course, each to their own and purely dependent on what type of cruise you are after, but I would not book Arcadia again unless the itinerary was something I desperately wanted to do. This cruise was the first out the 7 or so we have done on 5 different ships, that I came home feeling that I wish I had not bothered. Loved Bruges and Amsterdam so it wasn't the destinations which put me off. It could be that we usually cruise on Ventura or Azura which are livelier ships but there just seemed to be something missing on Arcadia. There just didn't seem to be any " atmosphere " on board.

[wilson2579]

Oh dear I have just booked a 2 night mini cruise on Arcadia with the family. We are aged 59,55,28,27,25 and 21. We loved the disco on Oceana last year and was hoping there would be a similar venue on board this time. Oh well we will have to make our own entertainment:)

[John Jordan]

I called P&O today to enquire about cabin availability on Arcadia. The guy I spoke to was very chatty and clearly wanted to sell me the cruise. I asked him what he thought was the highlights of the ship and he asked me my age. When I told him we are in our 50's he said that Arcadia was Adult Only (which I knew) and then said that he shouldnt really comment on the age of the majority of Arcadia passengers but then said that there would be virtually no passengers below the age of 65 and most much older.

 

We have cruised on both Aurora and Oceana and know that there are many "senior" passengers. We are in our mid 50's and have no problems with this. It makes us feel younger! Our experience is that there are also plenty of other passengers in their 40's and 50's or even younger.

 

I'd welcome other cruisers comments. Its making us have second thoughts about booking.

 

I think you will have a nice cruise anyway. For me it would't be a big problem.....

[Monorail Orange]

I see that there is no nightclub, so does that mean there is no music / dancing after midnight? Presumably there is no DJ to entertain us at a sailaway party?

There is a DJ and they are very much part of all the sailaways. The nightclub however is a bit of an oddity. Its a decent sized room (with suitably garish decor) and yet its hardly used. It was down to be removed in the recent refurb, but they kept it for some odd reason.

[wilson2579]

Will just have to try and liven things up. We love the sailaways.:cool:

[stevet2607]

Thanks for all of the comments.

We booked on J406 at the end of May

[daiB]

There is a DJ and they are very much part of all the sailaways. The nightclub however is a bit of an oddity. Its a decent sized room (with suitably garish decor) and yet its hardly used. It was down to be removed in the recent refurb, but they kept it for some odd reason.

 

 

No the Disco has gone and all the action is in the refurbished globe. The DJ booth has been relocated. The disco has gone and there are staff cabins there. Arcadia is as lively as any other ship in the fleet. It all depends on the timing of the cruise.

 

A long cruise to the Caribbean and back 23/25 nights in November/December will be quiet on any ship. On the other hand a 7 night cruise in July/August on any ship will be much more lively.

 

Does not take a great deal of working out.

 

Arcadia is up there with Aurora and Oriana for sailaways as you can see right over the stern and there is loads of room great for party nights.

 

 

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[Monorail Orange]

No the Disco has gone and all the action is in the refurbished globe. The DJ booth has been relocated. The disco has gone and there are staff cabins there. Arcadia is as lively as any other ship in the fleet. It all depends on the timing of the cruise.

Well that makes more sense. It was really an underutilised space.

[dsrdsrdsr]

We did a 4 night cruise on her last year, and to be honest the only people looking like they were having a good time were the members of the crew getting off the ship for our evening in Amsterdam !

I wouldn't worry about it. I've been with Arcadia many times, and most of the passengers do enjoy themselves - but obviously without the outward signs of enjoyment you were looking for (noise, disco moves, signs if excess alcohol? What were you looking for?) But anyway, I suspect you were probably in the minority being down in the dumps.

 

But you're absolutely right, if it's big discos and noisy parties and a nightclub atmosphere you want, Arcadia is not the place to be.

Edited January 24, 2014 by dsrdsrdsr

[cruisefan2012]

My first cruise was on Arcadia in 2009 when I was 25, I`m 30 now and have 5 cruises under my belt

 

I dont know if Arcadia was an "adults only" ship then or not as I didnt really know what I was doing regarding cruising - I love it now

 

My point is I certainly helped to lower the age bracket on the ship

[vizzog]

Our first P&O cruise was on Arcadia 5 years ago, we were 46 and 50. Yes the age range can be older than some of P&O's other ships but we met some wonderful people and had a great time.

It still rates as one of our best cruises, we cruised from Southampton to Venice and back. The dining was excellent we loved the speciality restaurant The Orchid and its bar although I believe this has changed names now, the pool and bar area on the aft deck and the balcony cabins had a small sofa area.

We had a fantastic sail away from Gibraltar the normal cheesy 'Great British' one but everyone on-board seemed to be on deck and still singing an hour out of port!

Would definitely cruise on her again if the itinerary etc. fitted for us

[Monorail Orange]

Would definitely cruise on her again if the itinerary etc. fitted for us

I know that problem! It seems they hardly put her on the Med run anymore, she seems to be mainly doing the Baltic trips.

[tom_uk]

We've been on Arcadia twice; once for a 3-night cross-channel cruise, and again a couple of years later for a 13-night Atlantic Isles cruise in late autumn. I blogged from both of them.

 

The first of these was definitely a party cruise, and we had a great time. The ship was certainly busy all night - when we gave up on the middle night at gone 1:30, it was still very busy both in the Rising Sun (karaoke) and the Globe (DJ + dancing). Here's our review of that cruise.

 

The other cruise was, to be honest, much quieter. I suspect that it was because of the time of year - in late October you've going to attract a mainly retired set of passengers. Nonetheless we enjoyed the ship on both occasions, and of course she's been refurbished now. Here's my review of the second cruise.

[zib_zib]

On Arcadia World Cruise in 2012 (we did Sydney-Southampton) the ages ranged from 40's to 80's. But I would say the average was around 60-65, young retirees. I would expect our next Arcadia cruise in the Med in April to have a somewhat younger mob on board.

 

 

 

No children on child free Arcadia, not even the senior officers had their children on board which is unusual.

 

 

It's will be my 55th birthday on Arcadia In April (j402) I think they'll be balloons on the day and my partner is a young 47. :)

So I min't pack some budgie smugglers. ;) ;)

 

 

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[Denarius]

An adults only ship will always have an older demographic than a family one as many (the majority of?) passengers under 50 will still have children aged under 18 and will thus be prevented from sailing on it.

[June girl]

We're on that cruise zib_zib.....I'll look out for the balloons. We're a tad older than you :) but still have a great time.