RCI - For The More Relaxed Cruiser

[BlueCat1105]

Hi RCI fans. We have cruised primarily on Princess, and will be trying Celebrity next year. On our recent Princess cruise, we met a lot of RCI fans. I had always thought of this line as something more in line with younger families with very active schedules, but these people were more in line with our age (or older). We were fairly active until my husband suffered a stroke and he now has some significant disabilities, and we're moving much more slowly these days. Even before the stroke, however, we've always kind of liked the idea of relaxing on a cruise. What do you think? Will we like RCI - and what suggestions would your have for our choice of ship/itinerary/etc.? Thanks!

[Biker19]

Depends on ship/itinerary - try an older ship (Vision/Radiance class) on a longer itinerary.

[Clarea]

Hard to predict whether someone will like something or not.

 

I suggest trying a cruise and deciding for yourself. Cruises with older demographics would be Alaska, New England, and cruises longer than 7 days.

[suesnake2002]

If your not gonna zip line,rock wall climb,go down the slides. Avoid those ships (oasis class)

I really had a great time on rhapsody. Cruised when "kids" were in school, so it was mostly a more mature clientele.

 

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[BlueCat1105]

I should have mentioned that we tend to like the Caribbean itineraries because we live in the Chicago area and like a warm weather getaway. I'm still working, and we're really not in the older crowd yet, despite the health issues. I guess I'll just have to monitor the posts here to see if it sounds appealing to us.

[cruiselvr04]

Personally I would stay away from the mother ships....Oasis class. Much more family oriented and huge. While not hard to get around they are so big it will require a lot of walking to get where you are going. It also requires more planning for shows and maybe for meals.

 

I think RCL still has a lot to offer you. The solarium is great for reading and people watching as is the promenade. I’d suggest the vision class or radiance class or even voyager class. These are smaller ships with short and longer sailings and you will find them easy to get around on.

 

These ships will still have entertainment you’ll enjoy and lots of relaxing areas to rest in. Cabins are pretty similar across the fleet in size except for Empress whose are downright tiny. One thing we like about RCL is being able to be active if we want or slow down and do nothing.

 

You will also enjoy Celebrity and may want to try Holland America for your demographic.

 

Happy sailing!

[Grandma Dazzles]

Agree with Bob's post #3 above. Hard to say what someone else will like. The nice thing I like about RC is the big difference in their ships - they are all beautiful, but some have more active things than others.

 

The big ships I think have better entertainment - Broadway shoes, ice shows, etc. whereas smaller shops have more routine-type entertainment such as comedians, singers/dancers, etc.

 

The big ships also have stuff I would never attempt like Flow riders, zip lines, rock climbing, but can be fun to be a people watcher.

 

RC ships have an adult pool area/solarium where you are not bothered by families and kids.

 

Would agree that longer cruises have more couples and less families and an older demographic.

 

Try it and see!

[cruisefan0110]

I should have mentioned that we tend to like the Caribbean itineraries because we live in the Chicago area and like a warm weather getaway. I'm still working, and we're really not in the older crowd yet, despite the health issues. I guess I'll just have to monitor the posts here to see if it sounds appealing to us.

 

We are also Chicago area and part of the ''more mature" group. I have some knee issues. We have cruised RCI all along and have found no reason to leave. We enjoy the Freedom Class most. Plenty of things to do. Plenty of space to not do anything. Enjoy.

[taglovestocruise]

Hi RCI fans. We have cruised primarily on Princess, and will be trying Celebrity next year. On our recent Princess cruise, we met a lot of RCI fans. I had always thought of this line as something more in line with younger families with very active schedules, but these people were more in line with our age (or older). We were fairly active until my husband suffered a stroke and he now has some significant disabilities, and we're moving much more slowly these days. Even before the stroke, however, we've always kind of liked the idea of relaxing on a cruise. What do you think? Will we like RCI - and what suggestions would your have for our choice of ship/itinerary/etc.? Thanks!

 

Maybe time for a transatlantic. We have done 3 on Oasis class ships, one on Independence, and one on Mariner. We are in our late sixty's and love Oasis class. No kids, lots of older couples and very relaxing. One way fares on royals air2sea are under $350.00 from California to Barcelona or London. .

[nyllrap]

My husband and I are in our 60’s and cruise mostly on Royal. We have been on many of their ships, and I have loved them all. Lots of older folks are on any of their ships. You can be as active or as relaxed as you want. Give Royal a try! My favorite is the Freedom class.

 

 

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[NewSalt]

Our last cruise was on Serenade, following two cruises on Anthem. I really liked the size of the ship; we didn’t feel like we were trekking from one end of the ship to another.

 

However, if you like a lot of daytime activities, you might be disappointed unless you’re big bingo or trivia fans. I found very little going on on sea days. No cooking demonstrations, or talks and lectures. No crew talent show. No ice or vegetable carving. I was happy to read (not at the pool since it was impossible to find a chair either on the pool deck or on the two levels above).

 

But we did love the martini-making classes. :D

[cb at sea]

You can be as "relaxed" as you want on ANY line. If you don't do any of the "bell and whistle" stuff, I wouldn't pay to be on a ship with those things....those ships are more expensive, and if you're not going to zip line, or I-fly....why pay for that?

[h20skibum]

You will find that Celebrity is a lot like Princess. Royal has a little more active vibe, but we still enjoy the FlowRider, zip line, rock wall and skating rink on their larger ships (Oasis and Freedom class).

 

Just stay away from sailing during school breaks and summer, since these ships will be packed.

 

 

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[CatLadyFemme]

We are in our 30s, but tend to enjoy the things people in older demographics like (and I am disabled, so no rock walls or slides for me). We have enjoyed cruises on the Enchantment, Independence and Liberty (all Caribbean) and are trying Explorer in Alaska next month!

[GBM]

There have been some great replies here. We've only done a half dozen cruises (on Royal, over the past 15 years), so there are a lot of people who have a lot more experience, but as I tell people, you can do as much or as little as you like.

Like you, we're still both working (and are in the 55+ category), and aren't looking for a lot of activity.

We've done island tour excursions, and those can be not too much walking, but you'll want to check as some have more.

We like to go to the beaches on some islands, and sometimes just walk around the port area and shop a little, then get back on the ship. We do enjoy the shows, and sitting on the balcony reading (zzzzzzzzzz.)

So I would consider us relaxed.

I don't think the size of the ship would really matter that much.

If someone wanted to be active, I think the bigger ships would be an advantage, as they'd offer more,

but I don't see a downside to the bigger ships for less active, other than maybe walking a little further.