20's Something Honeymoon

[CP Family]

Hi! Trying to book honeymoon for our son and new wife....thoughts about Holland for them....

[OlsSalt]

This could depend a lot on the time and place, and what level of cabin you would like to think about.

 

HAL is not thought of as a "young persons" cruise line - there are others that might be geared more to younger people's tastes in destination and formality. Yet there are wonderful ship with wonderful cabins and services that could make for a very special honeymoon remembrance trip.

 

How nice of you to offer this for them.

Edited January 9, 2017 by OlsSalt

[oakridger]

Honestly, I love HAL (but I'm 64 and on the 15+ day cruises I still feel like the young-un!), but unless it's to Alaska in the summer I would recommend another line for 20 somethings. RCCL maybe? My daughter and her husband are 40-47 and they enjoyed HAL in Alaska this summer.

[headhunterke]

I like the elegant touch HAL offers and their ships. Not only in decor, but also in service on board.

I am in my 20's myself (First HAL cruise at 22) and have never regretted it. It is true, night life as you might encounter on a Carnival cruise is non existent if you compare them. But this is a totally different cruise line which caters more to people enjoying their time in relative peace. Is there anything to do after the late dinner? Of course there is. On some ships, HAL has the BB King's band on board (a jazz and blues band) and they can rock the place.

 

Depending on the time of the year and the crowd on board you might find late night sports games in the sports bar as well.

 

If you like to have an intimate experience, go with HAL. If you prefer to celebrate your wedding with night long parties with a much younger crowd, this line is most definitely not your best suit.

Although I have had many interesting conversations with some elderly folks aboard a HAL ship.

It's really up to you and how you prefer things.

[JVilleGal]

If they are young I do not believe HaL is a good fit for them. What itinerary are you thinking??? Princess imo is a better Classy fit for a honeymoon.

 

The age demographics on HAL are just not suitable for Honeymooners, I luv HAL but I'm 63. And the majority of passengers on HAL are of similar or older age.

 

 

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Edited January 9, 2017 by JVilleGal

[RMLincoln]

On our recent 48 night cruise there were young honeymooners having the time of their lives. But not everybody's choice.

 

What does the young couple think? What would they want in a cruise experience? Are they interested in destinations? Entertainment? Fine dining? Dancing? Being alone? Being with others, especially some older folks -- folks who are well traveled and usually rather interesting.

[kalliekae]

My son sailed with us on several HAL ships, but when he got married, he wanted Carnival or Royal. He and his fiance were 29 at the time and they chose Carnival. Personally, I would recommend Royal's Allure, Harmony, or Oasis ships for your son. There is so much to do on those ships and they will still have plenty of quiet times together.

[JVilleGal]

OP what itinerary are you looking at???

 

 

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[FlyingFishy]

Go for HAL... a "boring" ship for 20-somethings on a honeymoon could land you a grandkid in 9 months! :D

[onedaysevening]

I think it really depends on their personalities. My first cruise was on HAL at 24, DH was 28, for our honeymoon and we LOVED it.

For us, we liked the elegant touches and more calm, relaxed, pampering atmosphere that we crave.

Last year, we went on a Royal Caribbean and even though we were in a high level suite, and had all sorts of perks, we felt it paled (for us) to HAL, we still enjoyed it a lot, but liked the onboard experience of HAL more.

We noticed how Royal did more PA announcements than we experienced on HAL. We loved being able to get the Hydropool/Thermal Suite pass, we went EVERY day and we missed having that option on Royal. We also felt the staff was super attentive, and went out of their way to make things special since they knew it was our honeymoon.

We are not the type to go out dancing, or go to musicals so that didn't even faze us.

I think really it all depends on what your son and soon to be daughter-in-law, will want/enjoy from different onboard experiences.

I know HAL gets a bad rap for being "old" but honestly, we really enjoyed our experience and are repeating it for our 10 year anniversary in '18.

[peaches from georgia]

I would let them pick the cruise themselves. They can read brochures and talk to your travel agent. It's their honeymoon, an important event in their life together. If you are financing the trip I would give them some guidelines as to price range and/or also talk with the travel agent with them.

[JVilleGal]

I remember being on a cruise in our early 20's and thinking (still do) that it was a Geriatric cruise from hell. I remember joking that Wheel Chair races and Ox Bottle Rolls being the entertainment each evening. This was a Caribbean cruise on the Grand Princess (pretty sure about the ship) in the 70's. After that experience we never got on another ship until the mid 90's.

I love HAL but not for young people!

 

 

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Edited January 9, 2017 by JVilleGal

[TheCalicoCat]

I think that "Peaches" had the best advice.

 

It depends on the 20-somthings & where they are going. (It probably also depends on the level of accommodation...)

 

I'm in my 40's & love HAL, but it wouldn't be what I would have described as a Honeymoon experience - more a silver anniversary or retirement experience - as a gift.

 

(We sailed on P&O in the Great Barrier Reef for our honeymoon - so this advice does not come from a party animal.)

[Aquahound]

Hi! Trying to book honeymoon for our son and new wife....thoughts about Holland for them....

 

HAL is about the last cruise line I would recommend for honeymooners in their 20s.

Edited January 9, 2017 by Aquahound

[kamac56]

Go for HAL... a "boring" ship for 20-somethings on a honeymoon could land you a grandkid in 9 months! :D

 

:D Love this made me laugh!!

Benn on Holland four times and I too would not book it for a honeymoon cruise unless of course your going for what FlyingFishy offered up. My opinion would also be RCCL, there's more athletic activities to do on them than Hal.

However if they just want to be left alone to enjoy their cruise Hal would be a good one.

[JPH814]

I would not hesitate to book HAL for Honeymooners. It depends on their personalities and what they would expect in a cruise.

 

If they are the type that like nightclubs and bars open until 2 AM and loud music around a pool, If they are OK with mass market foods and consider an Olive Garden or Chilli's their type of cuisine when going out to dinner and they would rather be in shorts and T shirts when eating, by all means Carnival and others like it are for them.

 

But I know a lot of young people that enjoy more varied and upscale dining and dressing up a bit for nice evenings. They are more interested in the spa and the shows than the hairiest chest competition. As honeymooners, late night entertainment might not be what they are looking for. They may not want a cameraman in their faces every time they turn around or being surrounded by a lot of 10 and 12 year olds splashing in the pool.

 

It depends on the couple and what they like. But there is nothing categorically wrong with HAL for honeymooners. In fact, for some young people ot might be just what they are looking for.

[foodsvcmgr]

I think Celebrity would give them many of the positives of HAL but with an overall younger demographic and vibe that they would likely prefer.

[sppunk]

We started cruising HAL in 2008 when we were 26. Haven't looked back really, we love HAL. It's gotten better and better too since back then (contrary to what you might read here!).

[JVilleGal]

The OP has never returned to assist or reply to any questions like "proposed itinerary" we are all wasting our precious spare time responding to someone who is not apparently interested. JMHO

 

 

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[jtl513]

I wouldn't recommend HAL for honeymooners, but if what they read about the line appeals to them I would suggest the Koningsdam in the Caribbean.

 

The OP has never returned to assist or reply to any questions like "proposed itinerary" we are all wasting our precious spare time responding to someone who is not apparently interested.

OP's last activity was 9:57 last night when s/he started the thread. I would expect s/he will likely be back on tonight to see what replies have collected. Edited January 9, 2017 by jtl513

[JPH814]

The OP has never returned to assist or reply to any questions like "proposed itinerary" we are all wasting our precious spare time responding to someone who is not apparently interested. JMHO

 

 

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Yes. And it has been all of 18 hours since they posted.

 

Sheesh!

 

 

 

 

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[kalliekae]

I would let them pick the cruise themselves. They can read brochures and talk to your travel agent. It's their honeymoon, an important event in their life together. If you are financing the trip I would give them some guidelines as to price range and/or also talk with the travel agent with them.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with this. We gave our son a specific dollar amount and told him and his bride to choose what they wanted to do. They chose the Carnival cruise and that was fine with us. They had a wonderful time and had fun planning it.

[JVilleGal]

Yes. And it has been all of 18 hours since they posted.

 

Sheesh!

 

 

 

 

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Misread it, I apologize!

 

 

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[RocketMan275]

Hi! Trying to book honeymoon for our son and new wife....thoughts about Holland for them....

 

My step son recently remarried. He's about 44 and she's a bit younger. Wife wanted to gift them a cruise for their honeymoon. There were constraints. No more than a five day cruise (she has kids) and had to go out of NOLA. Those constraints limited them to a Carnival cruise. They loved it and have taken a second cruise on Carnival. They are outgoing, her more than him.

 

We would have placed them on Princess but that wasn't an option due to the constraints.

[CruisinHarvey]

In general HAL is not for a younger couple. Here's a youtube. If your son and new wife are anything like most 20 somethings, they want a bit more stimulus than HAL offers.

 

If you've been this ship, you know this is the deck where everything that is going on happens. If you're not in the casino after, say 11:00, everyone else is asleep. We even had the HD our last HAL cruise, complain people kept him up after 11:30. It was pretty funny.