Will we enjoy Hal as we're in our 30s

[sandbag7]

One of my friends says that Hal is for senior citizens and their parents.

 

I love this one! Can't wait for my 2/1/18 HAL cruise with this in mind!

I've also got an upcoming Carribean cruise on the Riviera (Oceania line); I mentioned on the roll call that I was looking forward to snorkeling and maybe even to do a beginners scuba dive (did one in Tahiti years ago). Well, that was enough to get everyone on the roll call talking about how they weren't scuba people or didn't snorkel or even swim and maybe the cruise wasn't right for them! :rolleyes: I am 66 but apparently a little younger in mind than some.

Cruisers are on the whole a conservative lot but there's a wide variety on every cruise; on a Windstar cruise I met a former CIA agent and his wife who were Quakers (how to see these together) and in their "early" eighties, who were great fun.

All that being said you create your own experience, and based on a pre-inaugural cruise I took years ago on the Carnival Pride a new ship will be fun. I would think social anxiety could be handled to some extent by gradual contact; it it will be a gentler, older experience on HAL.

If you are looking for an experience with cruisers more your age I would suggest you look at the smaller ships on Star Clipper (the clientele on the Royal Clipper was surprisingly Much different :eek:). We had fun in ports with both passengers and crew who were off duty! We were in our 50's but we were older than most.

[dee2673]

It is about relaxing. We took our first HAL cruise in our early 40s. We had a Neptune Suite with a lovely balcony. A table for two. It was our 25th anniversary and we just wanted to be together. We spend zero time at the pool and most of our time on our balcony. We didn't make any friends and spoke very little to any passengers. We are not particularly social but the purpose of the trip was relaxation and reconnection. We spent a whole day in our cabin and never even got dressed til we went to dinner at 8.[emoji33]Sat on the balcony , in our robes and had food brought to us. It was lovely! It really is what YOU make it . Later experiences were different

 

 

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[onedaysevening]

I think it really depends what you are wanting to get out of your cruise. We'll be sailing HAL next year and are in our mid-30s, and sailed HAL our first time in our mid-20s.

 

We really enjoyed it because we are going on the cruise to explore new places, enjoy our time together, and relax. Some of the things people complain about HAL not having (rock climbing walls, bellyflop contests, slides, mini-golf, dance clubs) are things my husband and I wouldn't be doing anyways, so for us we don't mind.

 

We're doing HAL again to recreate our honeymoon for our 10-year anniversary, but we had explored other cruise lines too before committing to HAL. We ultimately went with HAL for several reasons including relaxing experience, dates/itinerary, nostalgia, and cost (a BIG pull for me was the room size, we had an SS and for a higher price on another line you can get a balcony room that's smaller)

 

We are also really excited about the new musical entertainment they have on board, as that's something I think we can really enjoy.

 

From what I've seen from my researching the Dutch Cafe is just dutch inspired with Dutch goodies. I feel like I did see a picture with drop (black dutch candies), but I think you had to buy it, I would be surprised though if they had the dubbel zoute drop (my mom's favorite), but who knows! But if your going to any of the Dutch ports on the cruise (Curacao, Aruba, etc) you might find it there. I know we did at a candy shop in Curacao.

 

Explore the ports, the ship and if you feel you guys will enjoy it, then go for it.

It always hard to tell how you'll enjoy each cruise line until you do it, but thankfully there are a lot of ways to make any vacation what you want it to be no matter what cruise line you're on.

[sandbag7]

It is about relaxing. We took our first HAL cruise in our early 40s. We had a Neptune Suite with a lovely balcony. A table for two. It was our 25th anniversary and we just wanted to be together. We spend zero time at the pool and most of our time on our balcony. We didn't make any friends and spoke very little to any passengers. We are not particularly social but the purpose of the trip was relaxation and reconnection. We spent a whole day in our cabin and never even got dressed til we went to dinner at 8.[emoji33]Sat on the balcony , in our robes and had food brought to us. It was lovely! It really is what YOU make it . Later experiences were different

 

 

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Well there it is! You can spend all your time in your cabin like some Kooky love struck kids who got married in Hi Skool, or you can join the gang who drop their walkers and canes to boogie down till 10:30, OR you can go back to carnival 🎡, where I once lost a hairy chest contest to a bald guy with no hair on his chest, and you can enter the "Find your husband" contest which I'm pretty sure your wife would enjoy. The choice is yours :cool:.

[pugmadkate]

Have not done our cruise yet but we are booked with HAL for June 2018. Friends who are frequent cruisers told us that HAL skews older except for summers and schools holidays. They say that the average age goes down then because of families traveling together. As I've said before, the worst that can happen is I'll wind up feeling like a youngster and, at 47, that ain't bad!

[VennDiagram]

OP -- I hope you realize that the ship you are asking about is not yet fully built. Therefore, any replies you get will be somewhat speculative, based on experiences with Koningsdam. I hope you ALSO realize that many things can change between now and the inaugural voyage, as HAL seems to be making many changes to its offerings, across the fleet.

 

My perspective is that since you won't get the applicable information at this time, you should let the thread drop, and reactivate it in a few months. Posters are spending considerable time attempting to answer your questions now, for some future reality which may not be at all consistent with the then-current state of things.

Edited June 17, 2017 by VennDiagram

[Mary229]

I book HAL because they have smaller ship that are moderately priced. They do have a couple of unique itineraries. My belief is that they can offer those longer, unique itineraries because their older clientele do have time to be away. I don't mind that they don't offer the theme park style amenities since I am using them for transportation and lodging. They don't offer many active shore excursions if any.

[OlsSalt]

I book HAL because they have smaller ship that are moderately priced. They do have a couple of unique itineraries. My belief is that they can offer those longer, unique itineraries because their older clientele do have time to be away. I don't mind that they don't offer the theme park style amenities since I am using them for transportation and lodging. They don't offer many active shore excursions if any.

 

Of late HAL has been adding more active shore excursions - hiking, biking, zip-lining etc. Try the legendary Pulpit Rock Hike in Norway for some real activity. Since this one takes exquisite timing between ship to ferries to hike and back, the HAL excursions is the best way to go during the available port time stop.

[woodduckmn]

We have done one HAL cruise and many on Disney and NCL. We liked HAL for Alaska last year, but we are about 50 and we were some of the younger people on board. I describe the average people on this cruise as Senior Citizens and their parents. Not much night life, pretty quiet. Great Service. After Alaska again this year on HAL, we are going on MSC Seaside, which looks to be nice ship for the Caribbean. NCL is a good choice for nice ships and a good mix of ages, not too much partying and good night life.

[Mary229]

We have done one HAL cruise and many on Disney and NCL. We liked HAL for Alaska last year, but we are about 50 and we were some of the younger people on board. I describe the average people on this cruise as Senior Citizens and their parents. Not much night life, pretty quiet. Great Service. After Alaska again this year on HAL, we are going on MSC Seaside, which looks to be nice ship for the Caribbean. NCL is a good choice for nice ships and a good mix of ages, not too much partying and good night life.

 

 

I agree about the nightlife. It is mature.

[OlsSalt]

I agree about the nightlife. It is mature.

 

Enlighten us. What is immature night life?

 

Sloppy, noisy drunk or a light show drug fueled rave comes immediately to my geriatric mind, but perhaps you mean something else. Different music, dance venues, more of a similar age group ......?

[SnorkelMoose]

Look, I was on the Amsterdam in my 20's, and I loved it. I'm very introverted, and I had no problems onboard. People kept to themselves. No rowdy crowds--everyone seemed to be pretty respectful. I realize that a lot of young people are into partying and socializing, but I'm not one of them. For me personally, I found HAL's atmosphere very pleasant. Many people comment how HAL is for early snoozers, or HAL ships are "floating nursing homes," but that's hyperbolic nonsense.

 

Regardless of what you decide, OP, have a great trip!

 

 

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[Mary229]

Enlighten us. What is immature night life?

 

Sloppy, noisy drunk or a light show drug fueled rave comes immediately to my geriatric mind, but perhaps you mean something else. Different music, dance venues, more of a similar age group ......?

 

Remember we are talking about a 7 night Caribbean Cruise not a world voyage.

HAL: It ends early, the dancing is of a certain age, the comedians are funny yet tame.

The mega ships have late night comedy venues, late night energetic dancing and are ideal for a club crawl.

But then again I have only sailed HAL on more staid itineraries perhaps they let their hair down in the Caribbean

[OlsSalt]

Remember we are talking about a 7 night Caribbean Cruise not a world voyage.

HAL: It ends early, the dancing is of a certain age, the comedians are funny yet tame.

The mega ships have late night comedy venues, late night energetic dancing and are ideal for a club crawl.

But then again I have only sailed HAL on more staid itineraries perhaps they let their hair down in the Caribbean

 

Instead of featuring Oprah, maybe HAL should be featuring Bill Maher or Micheal Moore? But those guys are geezers too. Sorry, out of my element here. I used to think comedy improv was fun when I was younger. But I was also a big fan of playing charades when I was younger too.

 

I can see the addition of a more "mature" immature comedy club venue might have appeal to younger passengers. But for all seven nights? That's quite a demand on any performer who plays to the same audience.

[kazu]

OP -- I hope you realize that the ship you are asking about is not yet fully built. Therefore, any replies you get will be somewhat speculative, based on experiences with Koningsdam. I hope you ALSO realize that many things can change between now and the inaugural voyage, as HAL seems to be making many changes to its offerings, across the fleet.

 

My perspective is that since you won't get the applicable information at this time, you should let the thread drop, and reactivate it in a few months. Posters are spending considerable time attempting to answer your questions now, for some future reality which may not be at all consistent with the then-current state of things.

 

I love a common sense post ;)

[Mary229]

Instead of featuring Oprah, maybe HAL should be featuring Bill Maher or Micheal Moore? But those guys are geezers too. Sorry, out of my element here. I used to think comedy improv was fun when I was younger. But I was also a big fan of playing charades when I was younger too.

 

I can see the addition of a more "mature" immature comedy club venue might have appeal to younger passengers. But for all seven nights? That's quite a demand on any performer who plays to the same audience.

 

 

Being originally from New Orleans and having a sister with a travel agency I have sailed the Caribbean many times. They usually fly in new talent, it is usually refreshed at least twice but sometimes 3 times on a 7 night cruise. Caribbean cruises tend to be party cruises. In recent years the small ships and yachts have entered that market for a more tour oriented experience but in general they are beach hopping party barges;)

[rkacruiser]

I was 27 when I first sailed with Holland America. I was 28 when I sailed my 2nd HAL cruise and 31 when I sailed my 3rd HAL cruise. HAL did not disappoint then and my sailing history signature indicates my preference.

 

The loss of the Italian oriented Lines, i.e. Sitmar and Home Lines, made a significant difference in the guest experiences during a cruise, in my opinion.

 

But, HAL's employment of the Indonesian and Filipino Staff certainly adds much to the enjoyment of a cruise whatever age one may be.

 

Even at age 27, HAL provided a cruise experience and activities/itineraries that were fulfilling and enjoyable.

[sppunk]

Hi. Mid 30s here. HAL is our favorite line by far.

 

We sailed on Koningsdam last November, and if you care to read our experience I did a live blog here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2424989

 

We started cruising HAL at 27, now 35, and closing in on 4 star mariners.

[sail7seas]

Why would you not enjoy H AL because you are under 40? We loved HAL immediately and con tinued to do so for dozens and dozens more cruises. . We were in our thirties for many of those cruises.

[OlsSalt]

Might be good to take a Meyers-Briggs personality inventory before choosing a cruise line. Learn if you a extra-vetted or intra-verted.

 

(Notice this is not the more commonly used personality terms - introverted, extroverted. It test for intrA-verted or ixtrA-verted personality features - something quite different An A, not an O.)

 

Are you self-contained or do you thrive on outside stimulation? HAL probably is better suited for the intra-vert, the self-contained person. Regardless of age.

 

Plenty of other ship choices that cater to the extra-verted personalities. HAL is probably the last mass market haven that appeals to intra-verted souls. Regardless of age.

[POA1]

We first started cruising on Holland America when my wife and I were in our late 20s. We liked it enough that we're still cruising on them 25+ years later. If you really like Carnival, you'll probably find HAL to be sedate. The newer ships have more in the way of activities, so I think you'll be fine.

[NOSaints1]

If you've got a Carnival Vifp number does that get you anything on Hal?

 

 

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[POA1]

If you've got a Carnival Vifp number does that get you anything on Hal?

 

 

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It gets you one star Mariner status. It's not a huge benefit.

[NOSaints1]

You get a nice lunch a collectable gift it's better than carnivals

 

 

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[OlsSalt]

You get a nice lunch a collectable gift it's better than carnivals

 

 

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Adding the beautiful blue tiles from every HAL cruise has been a Mariner treat for us, starting with our first one star mariners luncheon. Now we skip the lunch, but make sure we pick up our tiles. We have covered two bedside table tops by now.