What/Who sets the feel of the ship

[Captain Carnival]

I think you've got it! If I arrive at the port in a sour mood, the guy who does all the boarding announcements, and injects a bit of humor into that job, makes me smile, and puts me in the GREAT MOOD to enjoy the entire cruise. ;) Yep, that's it. No doubt that without the Boarding Announcement Guy at the port, putting me "In The Mood" for FUN, FUN, FUN,,,,I'd probably book only half as many Fun Cruises.

 

"SKY"

 

Thanks Sky - And Until You Sail With Us Again, From Port Tampa Bay, I'll Miss You Most Of All!!

Edited October 15, 2016 by Captain Carnival

[MCFTJCH2V]

I think you've got it! If I arrive at the port in a sour mood, the guy who does all the boarding announcements, and injects a bit of humor into that job, makes me smile, and puts me in the GREAT MOOD to enjoy the entire cruise. ;) Yep, that's it. No doubt that without the Boarding Announcement Guy at the port, putting me "In The Mood" for FUN, FUN, FUN,,,,I'd probably book only half as many Fun Cruises.

 

"SKY"

 

Thank God none of the ports we sail from have that.

[funinthesun1964]

1 - Time of year. Definitely LOTS of families will be cruising in the summer, and many kids on board. I am to the stage where kids are grown, so don't think I will intentionally book a cruise when the kids are out of school again.

 

2 - Length of cruise - the longer the cruise, the average age increases. It may be more laid back. OTOH, some older folks can still get pretty rowdy. But in my experience, 8-day cruises have more elderly folk and less late-night activity going on. Never been on one longer than 8 days, so can't speak for those.

 

3 - Ports visited - This kind of goes along with length of the cruise. The shorter ones which go to Nassau and Freeport, or Cozumel and Cayman, may have more of a younger, mid 20 to mid 30 age base with no kids, providing not in summer or a school break period. Depends on the passengers, though, if crazy or not.

 

I would say that if you like the family-oriented cruise, definitely try to cruise in the middle of summer, not too close after school breaks or too close to when schools start -as different parts of the country have various dates- and this would most likely be very family-oriented season.

 

Very Happy Cruising to you in the future.:)

[maeormaenot]

I think the port you leave from makes a difference.

 

I prefer to leave out of Galveston. I have left out of New Orleans and the pax were so much different than out of Galveston (left from there 4 times). Just a more conservative uptight crowd. Texans are great people... just saying! That are friendly and not afraid to let their hair down and have fun!

 

 

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[Honolulu Blue]

First, a reply to a side issue...

 

I have left out of New Orleans and the pax were so much different than out of Galveston (left from there 4 times). Just a more conservative uptight crowd. Texans are great people... just saying! That are friendly and not afraid to let their hair down and have fun!

 

I'm surprised that Galveston and N.O. passengers are that different. They're not THAT far apart, and Nawlins has a bigtime party reputation. Or is that just during Mardi Gras?

 

Back to the OP's original question (not odd, but very interesting, IMHO), I think everyone and many things have an influence on the ship's feel - including, but not limited to:

 

* The passengers, both collectively and individually,

* The ship itself - shiny & new, rusted-out bucket of bolts, or something in between

* The Captain - mostly indirect, but don't underestimate this

* The Cruise Director

* The Entertainment Director, if applicable

* The entertainment staff

* Guest entertainers, if applicable

* The Hotel Director and his/her staff not mentioned elsewhere

* The waiters and waitresses

* The cabin stewards

* The friendly, patient faces at Guest Services

* The weather

* The time of year

* The itinerary - both region and the individual ports

* The suits in Miami

* Lady Luck

* Acts of God

[Redhead79]

It depends on the passenger mix. I prefer the shoulder season where the atmosphere is "retired grandma." Sometimes, particularly on Carnival, that turns into "drunk grandma." I've seen my fair share of grandmas getting plastered and trying not to throw out a hip while dancing by the pool.

 

Haha! I'm right there with you, fyree39. Whenever I find cruises that are described as being geared towards an older crowd, I know I've found my cruise. Not because I eat dinner at 4pm, but because I love sleeping through the night without the "perk" of an all-night "WOOOO!" lullabye. :D

[Foxinspace]

Another factor is if there are any large groups on board. Sometimes there are groups booked that you never know about. Went on a cruise with a "country music" group. We had just happened to book on the same cruise, we weren't associated with them, but I'm sure having them on board changed the way the cruise felt.

If your first cruise had a couple big family reunions on board that might have changed things.

[Cruzaholic41]

Forget the length, cruise line or some self-promoting narcissist on a loud hailer at the port. I've found the number 1 factor to be the embarkation port due to the local crowd it attracts, and it is the reason why there are certain ports I will never sail out of again, and certain ports I love to cruise out of.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Cruzaholic41

[jgskes]

Great unique question! The guests is my answer. Really depends on the mix and if there is groups, kids etc. You can do your best to book in the time of year that is representative to the atmosphere you want but there is no guarantee as it depends on those other guests who book. Some want the party crowd and it just doesn't happen. Or others book for quiet and it is spring break in another part of the country..... One other thing we have found is the guest mix is different from different home ports. You will get a bigger mix I think from Miami or NY. But say Baltimore, Texas, New Orleans or California will have more local people make up the mix. Makes it very interesting to try different ports. :)

 

My daughter who is 21 mentioned this to me. We always sail out of Galveston (or at least most of our cruises) We have never sailed out of Miami and we are at Christmas...she was wondering how different the crowds would be. It will be interesting.

[maeormaenot]

Forget the length, cruise line or some self-promoting narcissist on a loud hailer at the port. I've found the number 1 factor to be the embarkation port due to the local crowd it attracts, and it is the reason why there are certain ports I will never sail out of again, and certain ports I love to cruise out of.

 

 

This^^^

 

 

 

 

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[poz222]

as was mentioned above, aside from the general passengers, ports, length, time of year and departure port... I have found that groups have a HUGE impact. For example, If there are a lot of family groups then the general vibe is more family, some music centered groups wild, radio station sponsored wilder, NASCAR watch out and swinger cruises (use the vacation guarantee and get the heck off the ship )!! But seriously, I have seen that a group or groups can sometimes break and/or make a cruise atmosphere as the rest of the cruise and activities seem to be influenced by their feedback.