Has the demographic on HAL changed in recent years?

[DestinationCruise]

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.

 

Interesting b/c I was just researching some Holland America cruises and the advertising showed a mother and child, it caught my attention and got me thinking perhaps they are trying to market a younger crowd?

 

[ExpatBride]

Interesting b/c I was just researching some Holland America cruises and the advertising showed a mother and child, it caught my attention and got me thinking perhaps they are trying to market a younger crowd?

 

Oh no! I'm just off my first HAL cruise and I loved it. One of the main reasons I picked HAL was because I'd heard that it skewed older and expected few children onboard (I was right).

 

If HAL starts following the family lines, I'm off! I get why they want to market to a younger demographic, but I don't think families are their niche.

Edited August 23, 2016 by ExpatBride

[iancal]

We see a large disconnect between HAL's marketing and reality. Not certain if HAL is moving at a snails pace to change their target market or if they are using target advertising to increase sales in a younger demographic market. what we have seen in their adverts is not what we have experienced even adjusted for poetic license.

[TheCalicoCat]

I agree with everyone else who says that the age range increases with the length of the cruise.

 

I was on a 13 night Carnival cruise & the median age was 70.

I was on a 7 night HAL cruise and it at least felt younger.

 

My next HAL cruise is 14-nights in AK and I anticipate that in general the age range will be older.

 

In general (based upon the people that I know) I don't think that young working families can afford the time or the price tag for the longer cruise.

[navybankerteacher]

I agree with everyone else who says that the age range increases with the length of the cruise.

 

I was on a 13 night Carnival cruise & the median age was 70.

I was on a 7 night HAL cruise and it at least felt younger.

 

My next HAL cruise is 14-nights in AK and I anticipate that in general the age range will be older.

 

In general (based upon the people that I know) I don't think that young working families can afford the time or the price tag for the longer cruise.

 

Right on: young working families can better afford the time and cost of shorter cruises. As soon as length of cruise exceeds two weeks, the overwhelming skew is towards 60 plus. How many families with school age children will spend a few days in Europe and then board a longer-than-two-week trans-Atlantic repositioning (our favorite itinerary) which is virtually certain to take place after schools start at or after end of Summer?

[OlsSalt]

We see a large disconnect between HAL's marketing and reality. Not certain if HAL is moving at a snails pace to change their target market or if they are using target advertising to increase sales in a younger demographic market. what we have seen in their adverts is not what we have experienced even adjusted for poetic license.

 

Which cruise line marketing best matches actual experience? I have seen a disconnect on all the ones we have also experienced. Dang, if I did not bring a lot of prissy little sweater "twin sets" on one British cruise ship to match their on board "casual" marketing look. Only to find most wore logo tee-shirts picked up in prior ports.

 

And I would certainly need to grow a few inches and lose more than a few pounds to match HAL's laughing, thin, young and impeccably coiffed happy travelers.

 

Crystal actually had a few glams when checking in the first day, but those of us in Crystal steerage cabins did not see much of them later. Not sure where they hung out during the cruise. Plus the Crystal pool set did not look any better or worse than those on any other ship. No cover-page photo op there either.

 

So the marketing imagery is all fluff on all lines, from my own experience.

[dpump]

Yes, our cruises on Holland it seemed to be an older crowd (which we are now part of). Some of those seniors could kick our butts with their activities! To be honest, I'd rather be with the older crowd than a bunch of kids.

[veryseasonedtraveler]

Guess I now fit the demographic[emoji848]. Have been lucky to have seen the world on HAL ships and will keep going until no longer able. Just bought a DVD player for out next long cruise so I won't miss a day of stretching exercises. You are as young as you feel[emoji847]

[Beejay4016]

I think one of the aspects of the demographic that needs to be considered is not just age but nationality. It seems that workers in the US get a lot less holiday time that people from other countries, where 4 weeks is the norm, and that's often 5 or 6 weeks. So Australians and New Zealanders, for instance, tend to be younger than the American passengers simply because we have the luxury of being able to enjoy longer cruises than Americans who are still of a working age. I think it's fair to say the longer the trip the older the age demographic is likely to be.

 

We are in our 50s and have no problem with a cruise where there are more passengers older than us than there are younger. We enjoy listening to the stories of those who have travelled extensively and are able to offer advice about different ports, ships etc.

Edited August 28, 2016 by Beejay4016

[Ken the cruiser]

Guess I now fit the demographic[emoji848]. Have been lucky to have seen the world on HAL ships and will keep going until no longer able. Just bought a DVD player for out next long cruise so I won't miss a day of stretching exercises. You are as young as you feel[emoji847]

 

What HAL ship were you on where you were required to bring a DVD player? We like to bring DVDs on our HAL cruises and, except for the Koningsdam, there has always been a DVD player in our room. Unfortunately on the Koningsdam, there isn't even a place on the TV to plug in a DVD player.

[RuthC]

What HAL ship were you on where you were required to bring a DVD player? We like to bring DVDs on our HAL cruises and, except for the Koningsdam, there has always been a DVD player in our room.

Slowly, but surely, HAL is replacing all the TV/DVR setups with a new, large screen interactive TV, with no DVD.

It's too bad HAL didn't use large TVs with a DVD slot built in.

 

I know this has been done on the Nieuw Amsterdam, as I sailed that ship last fall and had to do without the DVD choices I'd had on previous cruises. Since then, I have read of other ships that have been converted, but I can't recall which ones.

[veryseasonedtraveler]

What HAL ship were you on where you were required to bring a DVD player? We like to bring DVDs on our HAL cruises and, except for the Koningsdam, there has always been a DVD player in our room. Unfortunately on the Koningsdam, there isn't even a place on the TV to plug in a DVD player.

 

 

We have a trip planned on the Eurodam. I asked HAL if they still had DVD players onboard and the response was not after the upgrade. Found a small portable player that will suffice.

[Ken the cruiser]

Slowly, but surely, HAL is replacing all the TV/DVR setups with a new, large screen interactive TV, with no DVD.

It's too bad HAL didn't use large TVs with a DVD slot built in.

 

I know this has been done on the Nieuw Amsterdam, as I sailed that ship last fall and had to do without the DVD choices I'd had on previous cruises. Since then, I have read of other ships that have been converted, but I can't recall which ones.

 

That's what we heard too. Oh well... I guess we will just have to ask our HAL PCA the status of each ship before we sail.

[kazu]

That's what we heard too. Oh well... I guess we will just have to ask our HAL PCA the status of each ship before we sail.

 

Just check the HAL site for your ship and cabins.

 

those that have no dvd players are stated as having "interactive tv".

 

Those that still have the dvd players distinctly say tv and dvd player

 

 

Hope this helps :)

[Tropic]

We just got back from 36 days on the Oosterdam in the Med, Each 12 day segment had more kids and more kids on it. The last segment Venice to Rome had over 400 kids on it.

I think it is more a function of when (summer months) and where (Med) and pricing which is very competitive to other large ships (think we saw at least 2 other HAL vista class while on our cruise)... I think at Naples there were 3 HAL (all vista) ships at the same time.

 

Most of our cruising has been on the smaller class and off season, so I suspect that has skewed our perception until this cruise. Couldn't even get into the whirlpools without kids jumping in with you. So I would say they do have a seasonal factor when they have kids at least in the Med. Since the Caribbean's high season is when kids a in school for the most part means you might expect fewer kids in the winter.

 

In short it depends when or where, but HAL does attract "families" and younger folks on certain highly, highly competitive seasons. We are four star but mainly have been doing longer cruises such a 30-45 day cruises. By the way the 45 day was wonderful, and almost immediately HAL drops it as soon as the started it... sigh!!!

[Ken the cruiser]

Just check the HAL site for your ship and cabins.

 

those that have no dvd players are stated as having "interactive tv".

 

Those that still have the dvd players distinctly say tv and dvd player

 

 

Hope this helps :)

 

Thanks for that Kazu! We'll definitely do that.

[richstowe]

Since the OP asked if the demographic has changed, and not just the age, I wonder if the smoking % has changed onboard . As the sole remaining cruiseline that allows balcony smoking , I wonder if this demographic has changed . Has Holland picked up these cruisers ?

Personally , we made a decisions years ago to never again book a balcony on any cruiseline that allowed smoking . Based on no evidence ;) , I wonder if orphaned smokers are now choosing HAL for their balconies .

 

I am not that concerned with average age demographics . Our Summer Veendam cruise was clearly younger then on off peak dates . Lots of multi generational families .

[DestinationCruise]

I just came across this blog post about traveling on HAL with kids and thought of you all in this thread. Looks like fun, I'm sure my boys would enjoy it.

Edited September 14, 2016 by DestinationCruise

[Ken the cruiser]

What a great write-up! Another satisfied HAL cruiser!

[mickey89]

We gave up cruising with HAL back in 2013 due to the increase in Balcony smokers. It's a great shame that they continue with this antiquated policy

[Moriah]

I'm on the Westerdam right now, and while I haven't polled anyone about their ages, I'm guessing most are in their 70's, but there are also quite a few younger people - even a few young families with small children - and a good number in the 40 to 60 range. Everyone seems to be enjoying and active - I was impressed that a few people with walkers braved the bow of the ship for glacier viewing. So the energy is high on board even if the guests are "aging". I'm 63 and feel like I fit right in... it's all good. Lots of active walkers on deck - of all ages! I guess age is really not important - it's how you feel at heart... and as someone has pointed out, I'd much rather be on a ship full of walkers and scooters than one with a crowd of running, shouting, rope climbing and ice skating KIDS! (LOL, I love kids... just don't want to cruise with them). :)

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

As the ships get bigger it will change more

 

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[Host Walt]

We gave up cruising with HAL back in 2013 due to the increase in Balcony smokers. It's a great shame that they continue with this antiquated policy

All discussions of HAL's on board smoking policies should be posted in this thread:

This Thread Is To Be Used For All Discussions About HAL's On Board Smoking Policies