River Cruises with a younger demographic

[marazul]

MeganM -

there are two issues: actual age and physical fitness. We were in a Viking cruise a couple of weeks ago and while the actual average age was probably upper 60s, about 85% to 90% of the passengers seemed to be in really good shape, keep up with the walking tours, active, etc. Viking always offers an easy-walking version of the tours for those who need to move slower.

 

On a couple of the ports we docked alongside two different Scenic cruises and their passengers seemed to lean the other way. A lot of canes, walkers, etc. And much older than the Viking group. It may well be that this was mere coincidence, not the rule, but there was a definite difference.

[franski]

MeganM -

there are two issues: actual age and physical fitness. We were in a Viking cruise a couple of weeks ago and while the actual average age was probably upper 60s, about 85% to 90% of the passengers seemed to be in really good shape, keep up with the walking tours, active, etc. Viking always offers an easy-walking version of the tours for those who need to move slower.

 

Most companies offer some sort of "gentle walker" program...

 

MeganM -On a couple of the ports we docked alongside two different Scenic cruises and their passengers seemed to lean the other way. A lot of canes, walkers, etc. And much older than the Viking group. It may well be that this was mere coincidence, not the rule, but there was a definite difference.

 

Actually, I think it was coincidence. We have travelled with Uniworld, AMA, Avalon, Viking and Scenic. We have often found ourselves on the younger end of the demographic spectrum (we are 57 & 59 yrs old) but I can't honestly say that I noticed that any one line had "older" travellers. I think it might be more dependent on itinerary or date of sailing.

 

I know caviargal has experienced a younger demographic on AMA, but we actually noticed this more on our last Scenic cruise (Danube) - followed closely by our Avalon cruise (south of France).

 

Some of the most interesting people we have met have been the 80 somethings.... (Just hope people will say that about us if we are still travelling in 30 years....:D )

 

Fran

[Hoyaheel]

I've been saying for years that it's not "age" that's important - it's ambience & activities - what do you want to do and where do you want to do it?

 

People told me I was crazy when I did a HAL cruise in my early 30s. We LOVED it! Because we wanted what HAL offered at the time - mid-sized ship, large cabins, nice dining, calm & quiet, no kids. Have we been among the younger on our cruises because of the choices we make? Sure. But we knew that going in - and age/demographic has never been important to us -we were just looking for certain amenities.

 

So when OP asks for "younger demographic" - what does that really mean? Lively activity until late hours? Music & dancing? Active tours? That sort of specificity (in questions and in answers!) is what I personally find helpful.

[caviargal]

... I think it might be more dependent on itinerary or date of sailing.

 

I know caviargal has experienced a younger demographic on AMA...

 

Some of the most interesting people we have met have been the 80 somethings.... (Just hope people will say that about us if we are still travelling in 30 years....:D )

 

 

I do think dates and itinerary play a large part. Our Tulip Time in April on AMA had a significantly older demographic than our wine cruise and Christmas market cruise and was less enjoyable for us overall. There was little happening in the evenings after the scheduled entertainment and the overall personality of the cruise was quite different. It was the least favorite of our 3 AMA cruises so far in terms of onboard activities and fellow passengers, as well as scenery in general.

 

We prefer to be on cruises with some passengers our age and younger. Those are where we have met the most people we stay in touch with and where we have had the most fun. We have also found that the staff on those cruises was more social and interactive. That could be due to the CMs we had but I think it was also influenced by the very social passengers we had on those specific cruises. They were the two best of the 7 we have been on.

Edited August 19, 2014 by caviargal