Best ship for lively disco, games on Christmas sailing?

[mary_228]

Hi there. I've only sailed on the Amsterdam so would love advice as to which ships might have a more lively scene with younger passengers during the holiday sailings. My kids are 28, 20, and 17. We are in our late fifties and enjoy deck parties, steeldrum bands, dancing in the disco (hopefully to disco, :D).

[SilvertoGold]

A Vista or Signature ship I guess would be best because of the Northern Lights "disco" and definitely on a Caribbean cruise.

 

You might enjoy the BB King Blues Club, too.

 

Hope you find the right cruise on the right ship, because HAL does nice holiday cruises, but possibly more sedate than what you are looking for.

Edited September 25, 2015 by SilvertoGold

[catl331]

weekly or 10 day cruises when school is out will have a younger crowd. I agree with the above CCer that the Northern Lights will be the hot spot. I have never walked through there when it has been lively--that would be after 10!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

The Vista and Signature class ships do attract more younger people during the holidays.

And those ships do have the Northern Lights for "disco" music in the late evenings.

Maybe someone else can answer this -- I am not certain if your 17 year old will be allowed in the Northern Lights as there is a bar there as well.

[mary_228]

I am trying to decide between the Zuiderdam and Nieuw Amsterdam so if they are similarly equipped I guess I am looking for opinions of the cruise staff and which one is more upbeat, plans the best activities, etc.

[Hlitner]

We think "lively" and HAL are contrary terms. HAL is just more of a sedate cruise line (most HAL cruisers are very comfortable with that atmosphere) and that is by design. Holiday cruises are a bit more lively, but it is still HAL :). If you want lots of life, deck parties, games, etc. you should probably be looking at other lines such as RCI and Carnival. That being said, we have been on plenty of HAL cruises with deck parties. The staff does work hard to make those parties fun, but we often find that a majority of HAL cruisers (that are still awake) will just sit down, eat some food, and that is that. As to HAL's Northern Lights Disco, they do play music until pretty late. But when we walk into the Northern Lights after 10 pm we usually find a DJ, perhaps a dozen passengers sitting around the outside doing nothing, and sometimes (after the shops close) a few crew from the shops who might actually come to dance.

 

Hank

Edited September 27, 2015 by Hlitner

[mary_228]

Thanks for you rfeedback Hiltner. I am very tempted by the Explore 4 deal but maybe it is just not for us.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I would definitely pick one of the ships that has the BB King Blues Club. I have not taken a Holiday sailing in years but from doing several cruises on HAL during the past two years, I can say that the most active, fun areas on the ship at night was the BB King Blues Club!

 

The Northern Lights disco was usually pretty quiet unless there was a special event taking place...pub crawl, theme music event (on our Baltic cruise the Abba music event was a big hit!), etc. Maybe with more young folks it would liven up! The Piano bar always had a lively crowd but not sure that will appeal to the 20's crowd.

Edited September 27, 2015 by sunsetbeachgal

[bjarrett7]

On both of my HAL cruises there was dancing at BBKing Blues. We also checked out the northern lights but it was probably too early. We are in our early 50's and had a blast. Loved the parties on deck... They were very festive.

I also want to add that the pub crawl seemed very lively and fun too! [emoji41][emoji485][emoji482]

Edited September 27, 2015 by bjarrett7

[SilvertoGold]

I am trying to decide between the Zuiderdam and Nieuw Amsterdam so if they are similarly equipped I guess I am looking for opinions of the cruise staff and which one is more upbeat, plans the best activities, etc.

 

Cruise staffs are changing all the time. If you book a couple of weeks out, you might be able to find our who will be on and then ask on the board for opinions. Not sure how else you can do this, though.

[78232]

Between Zuiderdam and Nieuw Amsterdam, I would choose the Nieuw Amsterdam. It is larger and would probably mean more younger people. It also has the Tamanind restaurant and has both Lido cabanas by the pool and the cabana club on one of the higher decks.

[iancal]

I would never put the words lively disco and HAL in the same sentence. Not even on a holiday sailing. Keep shopping!

[POA1]

I'd say Princess - or possibly Royal Caribbean or Carnival. If you want lively, avoid Holland America and Celebrity. On Princess, you want Royal or Regal. Norwegian might be a good choice, too.

[Aquahound]

Hi there. I've only sailed on the Amsterdam so would love advice as to which ships might have a more lively scene with younger passengers during the holiday sailings. My kids are 28, 20, and 17. We are in our late fifties and enjoy deck parties, steeldrum bands, dancing in the disco (hopefully to disco, :D).

 

Royal Caribbean. It's the only cruise line I've sailed in the past couple years that still has a regular calypso band on the pool deck.

 

The Northern Lights disco was usually pretty quiet unless there was a special event taking place...pub crawl, theme music event (on our Baltic cruise the Abba music event was a big hit!), etc. Maybe with more young folks it would liven up! The Piano bar always had a lively crowd but not sure that will appeal to the 20's crowd.

 

The only times I've seen Northern Lights lively was when it was packed with off duty ship's crew.

[elusive_23]

Hi there. I've only sailed on the Amsterdam so would love advice as to which ships might have a more lively scene with younger passengers during the holiday sailings. My kids are 28, 20, and 17. We are in our late fifties and enjoy deck parties, steeldrum bands, dancing in the disco (hopefully to disco, :D).

 

As a 29 year old who has done several different sailings with HAL I really don't think you can predict which sailing or ship will be more lively. It's just a chance you take sailing with HAL. The 7 day Caribbean sailing I did in the month of March on the Nieuw Amsterdam had the least amount of young people and was the least lively I have experienced with only 1 couple around my age. The most lively was a May 7-day Alaskan itinerary (Rotterdam) and two different October 12/14-day Mediterranean itineraries (Rotterdam and Nieuw Amsterdam). And "lively" on HAL is probably not even close to what you might experience on RCCL, NCL or Carnival. I would say there are never more than a dozen people in the age range of your kids. That being said I believe the smaller groups of people have led to a more enjoyable time with everyone being included. And if they don't mind the company of older people there are often many fun 30-40 year olds that keep the Crow's nest or Northern Lights open late as well. Personally I love HAL but I go for the quiet and relaxation and not for the parties and late nights. Good luck in your decision!

Edited September 28, 2015 by elusive_23