Has the demographic on HAL changed in recent years?

[carolmacey]

We sailed on HAL about 10 years ago. We went on the Zuiderdam and Westerdam when they were newish. At that time it seemed everyone was a lot older than us and we were in our 50's. Several times my husband had to pull scooters away from the wall because elderly people would get stuck.

 

We would be going in the Carribean and at off peak season. Does anyone know if there are more younger people sailing on HAL now? Like 50's or 60's vs 80's.

 

Getting old sucks, doesn't it. We used to say the same thing, but now we are the ones in our 60's.

[Sequim88]

Getting old sucks, doesn't it.

 

The only alternative sucks way worse. :eek: :D

[sail7seas]

Has the demographic changed? Yes, we have all gotten older:D I was a spry young thing of 45 when I started cruising with HAL, and now I find I am an old bat of 57:eek: How that happened to me can only be ascribed to "tempus fugit":D As jtl513 says above, "More and more people are getting younger than me" :)

 

Part of the raison d'etre for this forum and others like it is to air ones' views, ask others' and gather factual information. ;)

Edited August 19, 2016 by sail7seas

[lakemurraykid]

I am glad the OP asked this question. I'm wondering what the demographic will be on the Eurodam this New Year's Eve. I remember the first time we sailed to Alaska, my DH made the comment that HAL must issue scooters and wheelchairs to everyone as the were boarding. Anyway, we haven't cruised with HAL in years, so another reason for my question.

[TiogaCruiser]

Has the demographic changed? Yes, we have all gotten older:D I was a spry young thing of 45 when I started cruising with HAL, and now I find I am an old bat of 57:eek: How that happened to me can only be ascribed to "tempus fugit":D As jtl513 says above, "More and more people are getting younger than me" :)

 

Got a chuckle last week when I saw your name change. (Was a little hesitant to post then.) Happy Birthday, from another in your demographic.:)

[OlsSalt]

I think I read somewhere that HAL passengers that cruised 10 years ago were now 10 years older. Must be the case.

[OVgirl]

On our last three HAL cruises we notices much less walkers and scooters.

 

Dan

 

I have noticed the same thing. A few years ago, we did B2B 10 day cruises on Noordam and saw a lot of walkers and scooters. This past year we did B2B 7 day cruises and I could probably count on 1 hand, the number of scooters on the ship. Don't know if it's a trend or the shorter cruises have younger passengers.

Edited August 20, 2016 by OVgirl

[UPNYGuy]

I have noticed the same thing. A few years ago, we did B2B 10 day cruises on Noordam and saw a lot of walkers and scooters. This past year we did B2B 7 day cruises and I could probably count on 1 hand, the number of scooters on the ship. Don't know if it's a trend or the shorter cruises have younger passengers.

 

 

That is exactly the reason! Most younger folks aren't in a position to take enough time off to do a longer cruise while employed. So, age is steered lower for cruises 7 days and less.

[FloridaGram]

Thanks, everyone for your input. I think I am ready to give it a try again. As you said, we are older now, in our 60's and I know we are considered old by many younger! We have sailed Carnival mostly and there are many reasons we are looking for another line. I just remembered liking HAL and I LOVE Half Moon Cay. Carnival goes there but I am just ready to try something else!

[sapper1]

We are booked on a seven day Caribbean cruise next April during spring break period and fully expect the pool area to be wall to wall children. We are then staying aboard for the 20 day repositioning through the canal. At that time the demographic will skew much older and there should be just a manageable number of children around the pool.

 

It has been my experience that the children found on the longer cruises are much better behaved than the ones you encounter on the quick seven day cruises. This is just a general observation. I am not saying there are no well behaved children on seven day cruises, by any means.

Edited August 20, 2016 by sapper1

[navybankerteacher]

 

...

 

It has been my experience that the children found on the longer cruises are much better behaved than the ones you encounter on the quick seven day cruises. This is just a general observation. I am not saying there are no well behaved children on seven day cruises, by any means.

 

I have noticed this as well; of course, the reason is obvious: no one could tolerate a badly behaved child on a long cruise as well as they might be able to for just seven days. The longer the cruise, the more the responsible adults will feel inclined to insist upon, and maintain, acceptable conduct.

[navybankerteacher]

Totally agree. Our RCCL 12 and 15 day TAs had a much older demographic than the 7 night S. Caribbean cruise. The youngest people were all Europeans with lots of holiday time. A couple employers ago I was up to 4 weeks of vacation per year (after 16 years) so could take the longer cruises but that much time off is sort of rare since people move around more during the working years. But 7 or so years from now when I retire at 68 (the plan anyway) it will all be vacation. :D :cool:

 

I do not see it as "all vacation" -- it's more just an endless series of seven day weekends.

[sapper1]

I do not see it as "all vacation" -- it's more just an endless series of seven day weekends.

 

I agree---- even when one is retired a vacation is something to look forward to.

[OlsSalt]

I agree---- even when one is retired a vacation is something to look forward to.

 

Anytime, under any circumstance, when one gets someone else to cook, clean and entertain you ....it is a vacation.

 

Nothing like new places to see and things to do to break the local routine of being retired - which is still blissful in its own way. But sometimes it feels good to not turn a newspaper and cup of coffee into an all morning affair. (42 years working was enough.)

[ozcruizer]

To the OP's original question.... Our first cruise on HAL was about 12 years ago. We had also heard about the "masses" of scooters, walkers etc. On that cruise (2 week Antarctica) we saw a total of FIVE on board...) On our 4 cruises on HAL since then, the numbers have been similar.

 

So maybe your experience was an abnormality?

 

On a cruise to Norway on the Eurodam in 2013, there were a lot of people in wheelchairs but there was a reason for that. They were a group of people from the Netherlands with carers but really, we were not at all bothered by them. We were just happy we weren't in their situation.

 

Daphne

[ExpatBride]

I'm just back from my first HAL cruise in Zuiderdam. DH and I are 41, and there maybe a handful of cruisers (excluding kids and teens) who were our age or younger.

 

We noticed that most of the cruisers were in their 60s and older, we paid particular attention because we always consider whether or not to recommend our travel experiences to my inlaws who are in their late 60s. They would've fit right in. That said, I only saw a handful of scooters and wheelchairs.

Edited August 21, 2016 by ExpatBride

[mor mor]

We sailed on HAL about 10 years ago. We went on the Zuiderdam and Westerdam when they were newish. At that time it seemed everyone was a lot older than us and we were in our 50's. Several times my husband had to pull scooters away from the wall because elderly people would get stuck.

 

We would be going in the Carribean and at off peak season. Does anyone know if there are more younger people sailing on HAL now? Like 50's or 60's vs 80's.

 

Yes the demographics skew older than it used to. We started cruising with all 10 of our family aged 3 to 70. Now we are 18 to 85.

[lilybob]

Just off the Koningsdam in the Norwegian fjords and found a mix of people and ages. Every night the bars and music venues were full of people having fun when we left at midnight! It was the most night time activity I have ever seen on a HAL cruise and hope it continues on their new ship:)

[caggfamily]

I am glad the OP asked this question. I'm wondering what the demographic will be on the Eurodam this New Year's Eve. I remember the first time we sailed to Alaska, my DH made the comment that HAL must issue scooters and wheelchairs to everyone as the were boarding. Anyway, we haven't cruised with HAL in years, so another reason for my question.

 

My first Holland America experience was a New Year's sailing on the Eurodam two years ago. We were worried about the demographic as we were traveling with our two teenagers but my parents loved HAL and booked the trip for the family - parents, kids, grandkids, etc. We warned our girls (who were used to Carnival and Royal Caribbean) that there might not be much to do or anyone to hang out with, but we were all pleasantly surprised. I think it's almost universal that at least on holiday sailings, you are going to have a much wider age range than in off season or longer sailings. It was one of our favorite cruises and we are looking forward to this year's New Year's sailing on the Zuiderdam.

[lakemurraykid]

My first Holland America experience was a New Year's sailing on the Eurodam two years ago. We were worried about the demographic as we were traveling with our two teenagers but my parents loved HAL and booked the trip for the family - parents, kids, grandkids, etc. We warned our girls (who were used to Carnival and Royal Caribbean) that there might not be much to do or anyone to hang out with, but we were all pleasantly surprised. I think it's almost universal that at least on holiday sailings, you are going to have a much wider age range than in off season or longer sailings. It was one of our favorite cruises and we are looking forward to this year's New Year's sailing on the Zuiderdam.

Thank you for sharing this with me. It makes me feel a whole lot better. I hope you have a great time New Years on the Zuiderdam.

[stevec999]

We took our first HAL cruise last February, 11 day partial Panama Canal. Had a good cruise enjoyed the itinerary very much.

 

I am 59 and my wife is 47. We travel with friends that are 50ish. We were among the younger people on the cruise. There were a couple families with younger kids and a few 30 somethings but most seemed to be late 60s and up. There were lots of walkers and scooters which made getting an elevator a bit slow at times.

 

it was defiantly quiet and later in the evening pretty dead. Much lower energy than what we are used to.

 

The age of the other passengers in no way impacted our cruise, had a good time.

[jhsocal]

On our eastern Med. cruise on Noordam a couple years ago, there were many adults under forty. When you cruise and length of the cruise will usually affect the age demographic.

[Sequim88]

That said, I only saw a handful of scooters and wheelchairs.

 

This and several other posts seem to equate wheelchairs with age. My wife has used a wheelchair since age 19 after traumatic brain injury from an auto accident at age 18 (took her several months to regain consciousness). Left her mostly paralyzed on her right side and with terrible balance. Our first cruise was at age 46 - so younger than most of the passengers even with her wheelchair.

 

Age is a state of mind - 60 is the new 40. ;)

[ExpatBride]

This and several other posts seem to equate wheelchairs with age. My wife has used a wheelchair since age 19 after traumatic brain injury from an auto accident at age 18 (took her several months to regain consciousness).

 

And? Speaking purely according to numbers, the majority of wheelchairs and scooters on your average cruise are going to belong to the older demographic.

[navybankerteacher]

I believe the demographic is trending younger - we first cruised HAL 14 years ago and were among the younger - now we are older than the middle - but I have increasingly noticed more in their thirties and forties -- but when it comes to scooters and walkers, there seems to be as many on Celebrity, Princess and Cunard -- admittedly more than on NCL or Carnival - but that may be because the age group more likely to need such assistance has gained sufficient life experience to demonstrate discretion.