Geriatric Cruise?? Carnival Miracle to Hawaii

[SadieN]

I've done this cruise on Hal, Princess, and Carnival.

 

Yes, it does attract an older crowd, but I have found Carnival does it better and funner. IMHO.

 

 

 

The older folks on Carnival have always been funner and nicer than on the other lines. Again, just my opinion.

 

 

 

Awww, thank you. Anything has to be better than that last Ruby cruise.

[joepeka]

Sorry. I didn't mean to offend anyone. Just looking for a chilled out cruise.

 

Wow. The low number of children sounds like heaven.

I'm certainly not offended and I doubt any others are. If a chilled out cruise is what you're seeking, I say stick with this one, judge for yourself and then let us all know afterward how it went. :)

[Sillyjilly]

Awww, thank you. Anything has to be better than that last Ruby cruise.

 

LOL!

 

I'm trying Ruby again in Nov. If it's anything like that last one, I'll be exclusively a Carnival girl. Hoping for the best as Princess took care of me for many years. I think I'm just getting younger as I get older. The 50's rock!!! Just saying. :D:D:D

[cruizergal70]

Are there really going to be a lot of gym rats at 6 am? Geesh.

[bizeemom4]

On the Legend? If so, we'll see you on board!

 

Yep! Leaving for Vancouver in 25 days. :):D

[Micahs Grandad]

Understood. I often get aggravated with the behavior of "old people" then have to stop and remember that many would consider me one of "them" and so just live with it. :)

 

My only concern is people on scooters.

 

Too many of them either have no clue how to operate them or they think they get a bounty for every foot they run over.

[meatloafsfan]

Having done a couple of Journey cruises (and booked on a couple more), here are my observations:

 

• The buffet will still be busy - what you'll find is more people camped out at "their table" with a coffee or tea.
  
• Early dining will be full.
  
• Anytime dining will have a line starting at 5:30pm (or earlier) - mostly people who wanted early dining but couldn't get it.
  
• The gym will be busy the first couple of days and then will taper off. Even the older crowd uses the treadmills, bikes, etc.
  
• You'll find more people walking around the ship for exercise.
  
• The CD and activities staff will act however they normally act - so much of that is personality. If you have someone who's hyper, they will remain hyper.
  
• You'll get to see more of the personality of the CD and the activities team because most can't keep the fake smile plastered on their face for 2 straight weeks when dealing with the few crazies on board.
  
• You'll also get to know who the crazies are on board and start avoiding them (like the guy who brought back every ship on a stick, every medal won to each trivia game and would display them on the little table in front of him).
  

[mommacruiser07]

After reading this thread, I'm thinking I'd enjoy cruising with any of these passengers!

 

:cool: Yes me too! :cool:

[Micahs Grandad]

Having done a couple of Journey cruises (and booked on a couple more), here are my observations:

 

• The buffet will still be busy - what you'll find is more people camped out at "their table" with a coffee or tea.
  
• Early dining will be full.
  
• Anytime dining will have a line starting at 5:30pm (or earlier) - mostly people who wanted early dining but couldn't get it.
  
• The gym will be busy the first couple of days and then will taper off. Even the older crowd uses the treadmills, bikes, etc.
  
• You'll find more people walking around the ship for exercise.
  
• The CD and activities staff will act however they normally act - so much of that is personality. If you have someone who's hyper, they will remain hyper.
  
• You'll get to see more of the personality of the CD and the activities team because most can't keep the fake smile plastered on their face for 2 straight weeks when dealing with the few crazies on board.
  
• You'll also get to know who the crazies are on board and start avoiding them (like the guy who brought back every ship on a stick, every medal won to each trivia game and would display them on the little table in front of him).
  

 

Never understood why people need to carry around all of the sos and medal won on a cruise. Once met a fellow with over 100 cruises and he wore all of the pins on his hat.

[evandbob]

I was 60 when I cruised the Miracle to Panama, and I labeled that my "geriatric cruise". (Carnival.com did not accept my review of it). I discovered that I was one of the youngest on board that particular cruise. The buffet was generally crowded, as there was a great number of cruisers using walkers and scooters. Many seemed lost as they were trying to find their tables or families.

 

Those on motorized scooters seemed to have a straight ahead driving mode, and I actually had to painfully hop out of their way several times to avoid having my toes run over.

 

Early dining was jammed, so that made late dining a pleasure. Can't offer an opinion on the gym, as I was between back surgeries and didn't visit it during the cruise. The casino wasn't crowded after late dining, and there seemed to be fewer smokers aboard.

 

I haven't had another cruise like it, whether on Carnival or another line, but I haven't sailed Holland yet. Even the longer Journeys cruises I've done, while they had an overwhelmingly high # of Plats & Diamonds, didn't approach this high age demographic. I wondered if Carnival put out special fares for nearby Floridian retirement centers to fill the ships cabins. I also imagined that those few near my age on the cruise looked at me as part of the older set.

 

Oh, and about the CD? Just as long winded as any other Carnival shill.

[DnD_Cruisin]

We did this cruise on the Miracle in Jan 2014. At the time we were early 50s. We definitely brought the average age down.

 

Because it's pretty darned cold no one was out on Lido during trans-pacific portions of the cruise. This meant EVERYONE was inside. Common areas tended to be very crowded.

 

The good part to that was we met a lot of people and had some fantastic conversations.

 

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[buddylover]

Hubby *54* and I (younger than that) were on a 10 day one way Galveston to San Juan. We had three medical emergencies in the terminal before the ship even left. At each port, we had a medical evacuation via ambulance and one medivac while at sea. There is a downside to cruising with the older crowd.

 

We are booked on a 11 day Vancouver to Hawaii next month. I'm hoping that this group will be a heartier bunch because we're at sea 5 days in a row and there's nowhere to evacuate to if need be.

 

Hey, just remember, one day you too will be part of the "older crowd" too.....and furthermore, to a 20 or 30-something you are already part of 'that' crowd!!;p

[sanmarcosman]

Never understood why people need to carry around all of the sos and medal won on a cruise. Once met a fellow with over 100 cruises and he wore all of the pins on his hat.

Most likely it's their individualism, pride, sense of accomplishment and most of all their way of having fun on their cruise vacation.

It would be a dull world if we all thought and acted alike.

[Micahs Grandad]

Most likely it's their individualism, pride, sense of accomplishment and most of all their way of having fun on their cruise vacation.

It would be a dull world if we all thought and acted alike.

 

Could be you are correct (and your comment about a dull world is right on) but seem to me they were bragging about their accomplishment.

 

With all those pins on his head do not know how he kept his head up:)

[kwokpot]

We did this cruise on the Miracle in Jan 2014. At the time we were early 50s. We definitely brought the average age down.

 

Because it's pretty darned cold no one was out on Lido during trans-pacific portions of the cruise. This meant EVERYONE was inside. Common areas tended to be very crowded.

 

The good part to that was we met a lot of people and had some fantastic conversations.

 

Sent from my SM-G920T using Forums mobile app

I've done 3 transpacific Hawaii cruises from Vancouver(The first one in '04 on the Carnival Spirit was one way - definitely prefers those), two were in September and one in April. The transpacific portion on both September cruises had great weather and actually the majority of the crossing it was warm, sunny and just amazing! The April one this year was terrible weather wise. We only had 1.5 days of nice weather going. Top it off our portstop in Maui was all day non stop raining. We actually canceled our car rental and stayed on the ship. The weathered started to clear during sailaway and we did have a beautiful sunset.!

[leen50]

Jamie Dee was our CD on Hawaii Miracle 18 months ago. She was very energetic. Yes there were more + 55's, but this was one of our most "fun" cruises. There was so much to do esp. with all the activities our Roll Call group had. We were the "Lei'd Back Cruisers". Go & have a ball!

[terri-eddie]

We did this cruise a few years ago, when we were late 40s. The average age of our fellow cruisers appeared to be 60+. We didn't notice any major difference in crowds in the buffet or other areas, there was an interesting trend for the evenings.

 

After the family friendly comedy show each evening, my husband and I would wander around the ship, seeing what else was going on. And we noticed that there were hardly any passengers in any of the bars or lounges! I guess after 9 or 10pm, they all went to bed!

 

So, if you're interested in a lively, active evening scene, this might not be the best cruise for you!

[Pellaz]

The Captain would prefer no one in the gym too early as it's located directly above his cabin, lol

 

Holey moley, I just noticed that (regarding Dream-class).

What were they THINKING? :D

[Micahs Grandad]

No wait to get into late night comedy shows

[cruizergal70]

No wait to get into late night comedy shows

Or the late night pizza. :D

[Rosefloater]

No wait to get into late night comedy shows

 

Not true. We've stood in the back and on the stairwell of the comedy club just to hear (not see) the comedian.

[sanmarcosman]

Not true. We've stood in the back and on the stairwell of the comedy club just to hear (not see) the comedian.

That's unusual in my experience.

Edited August 17, 2017 by sanmarcosman

[Havingfun2010]

I'm going on the 15 day Carnival Miracle cruise to Hawaii. I've heard that this cruise tends to attract older passengers. I believe the average age is on the upper end of 60.

 

I'm quite younger and I'm looking forward to cruising with a less raucous bunch.

 

Can someone correct or confirm the following assumptions:

 

1. The buffet area will be less crowded as the older people will want to use the MDR and specialty restaurants as much as possible. Plus there's the issue of standing, etc.

2. The gym should be empty at 6 am.

3. The CD will be toned down as there won't be a great need to be so "hyped."

 

So, am I wrong?

 

Well, this is kind of insulting. For starters, as a young person, I disliked buffets, and as a geriatric, I still dislike buffets. Older people still use gyms, and they have no issues doing it in the morning. As far as the CD, they are all annoying on Carnival, so even toned down, they will still be annoying.

[Micahs Grandad]

Not true. We've stood in the back and on the stairwell of the comedy club just to hear (not see) the comedian.

 

On our first Hawaiian cruise (where we first met) the late night shows often had less than 25 people attending.

 

Stanley Ullman one of the comedians did a couple of minutes on small attendance late night.

[Micahs Grandad]

As far as the CD, they are all annoying on Carnival, so even toned down, they will still be annoying.

 

Some CD's will add to the cruise others are just a lot of noise loving the sound of their own voice