Age Demographic Question

[Grandadmike]

Hi, I am new here (sort of). Had a Cruise Critic account years ago but have forgotten log in details !

We, (Me 48 year old and my wife 54 year old Grandparents to one with another on the way), have cruised many times before mostly with Royal Caribbean and NCL. We are fed up of the huge ships and also the fact that being so big prevents these ships getting into the smaller and more interesting ports.

Have just seen a lovely looking cruise on Azamara Pursuit for next June that I am really interested in. 

Without wanting to upset any Azamara cruisers I was wondering about the age demographic. We are a professional couple and are young at heart and enjoy a very busy social life so we are very sociable people. We are not party animals by any stretch of the imagination but we do like to enjoy a drink or ten on our holidays so don't want a ship that goes to bed at 10pm every night (not suggesting that you all do). We enjoy meeting people and getting to know them and discussing their cruising experiences and their day in port and their plans etc. 

As I say, not looking to upset anyone just wanted to get a feel for the age groups and the feel on board an Azamara Cruise ship.

Any help and advice would be gratefully received.

Many Thanks

Mike

 

[excitedofharpenden]

You’d fit right in.  It’s difficult to put a typical age.  It does so much depend upon the cruise length, itinerary and even then it’s difficult to predict.  All I will say is I have generally found the ship isn’t sleepy after 10.  The show finishes at 10.30 or thereabouts and then the DJ starts in Living Room.  There will be plenty of people there and also in The Den, unless it’s been or will be a busy touring day.

The other thing to say is that other guests on the ship are really friendly.  It’s one of the things I really enjoy about Azamara.  As I say you’ll fit right in.  I am the same age as your wife btw.

Phil

[Blocks]

Hi Mike, I just completed my first Azamara cruise on Journey on an Italy Intensive itinerary. I am 50 and although there were some people who looked younger than me on the cruise there was not many, I was definitely at the lower end of the age range.

I found that after 11pm there was not much happening apart from a few people in Spirits/Casino area but it was a very port intensive cruise so maybe that was a contributing factor. On a couple of nights we went to the Living Room after the show in Cabaret and it was almost empty. It will depend on the length of cruise and the number of ports.

Edited October 17, 2018 by Blocks

[BillC]

It really depends on the duration of the cruise and the itinerary, but on our 39 Azamara cruises we have never  had a problem despite the variety of ages on board. We have made many lasting friendships with fellow passengers and try to coordinate schedules with them. On cruises when we sailed alone we were presented with the  ability to make many new friends. If you are tired on " big ships " you will enjoy Azamara.

Edited October 17, 2018 by BillC
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[Grandma Cruising]

I think you would find the age demographic fine for you on Azamara. The age range probably tends to be from mid 30s to late 70s or so and generally pretty fit and well. Azamara guests tend to be well travelled and very sociable.

There is a disco every night in the Living Room on Deck 10 & Spirits bar has music every night. There’s a show every night too.

[govanguy]

Old people being old ...comes to mind. I was on the Pursuit inaugural.

"Disco" was poorly attended most , if not every evening. The ship died after the "show" every night. 

Clapping when the DJ turns down the music (that was not loud) summed it up for me.

I`m 67 buy the way.

 

[Grandma Cruising]

I think it depends on the cruise. Most of our 7 there have been plenty of people in the living room dancing until the early hours, but not so much on the Costa Rica Intensive cruise where most people were out on early morning tours each day.

we’ve done Athens to Dubai 3 times, which has lots of sea days and evenings were very lively on those cruises.

[excitedofharpenden]

32 minutes ago, govanguy said:

Old people being old ...comes to mind. I was on the Pursuit inaugural.

"Disco" was poorly attended most , if not every evening. The ship died after the "show" every night. 

Clapping when the DJ turns down the music (that was not loud) summed it up for me.

I`m 67 buy the way.

 

Sorry, but this is such a poor generalisation.  Where did the Pursuit inaugural go?  Was it Iceland?  And I think it was 12 or 14 nights.  Likely as not you won’t attract a particularly active demographic.  June in the Med will most probably be very different.  As I and others have said it does depend on the itinerary, but I have rarely encountered what you describe.

Phil

[aussie travel bird]

Just chiming in, we're in our late 50's (and still working full time - when we're not cruising) and never had an issue with age demographics.   Different itineraries attract a different clientele and we have made many meaningful friendships with both younger and older cruisers.  Age to us is a mere number, it's how you approach life and the adventures it offers. As Phil said some cruises i.e. the Med or shorter cruises - will attract a younger generation.  One of our most memorable ones was a Christmas cruise to Indonesia in 2016 on the Journey when we took our adult kids, 26 and 24 and there were actually 33 guests from the 18-30 year old age group.  Subsequently they had a ball (and very late nights) and still remain in contact via social media with the friendship made (from all over the world I might add).  I say go for it, you won;t look back!

[Grandadmike]

Many thanks to everyone. 

We are looking at a couple of cruises on Pursuit. Both around 7-10 days in the Med.

[JIMinNC]

We are both early 60s, and I would say on our recent Barcelona to Rome cruise on the Quest that we were pretty close to the middle as far as age demographic, maybe slightly below the midpoint. There were quite a few people who appeared to be in their 70s, even 80s, but also a nice contingent who appeared to be younger than us. We commented that our college-age and recent-college-grad kids would consider this an "old fart" cruise, but we loved the age demographic for us. Lots of folks our age and enough somewhat younger people to offer some diversity and a little more energy.

The ship did seem to get very quiet after about 10 or 11pm. We are not early-to-bed folks, so we spent most evenings in the Living Room having a couple drinks and listening to the band or the DJ. That seemed to be about the only place with much activity later in the evening. Some nights were pretty busy there with lots of people dancing and socializing, but several other nights, there were only a few couples there after 11pm or so. We saw a lot of the same faces in the Living Room most nights.

[Arizonasunshine]

Late night in the Living Room is all over the map. We were on a trip from Singapore to Auckland a couple of years ago that consisted of four BTB. The composition of the guests consisted of mainly Brits, Americans and Australians (the cruise director gave us the breakdown on each segment of the cruise). Although the mix % changed from cruise to cruise, it did not change drastically. What did change was the number of people dancing in the Living Room at midnight. On some segments the dance floor was full and went on way past midnight, on other segments there were very few in the Living Room. Don't know why, it really puzzled us.

[audobon_tx]

10 hours ago, Grandadmike said:

Many thanks to everyone. 

We are looking at a couple of cruises on Pursuit. Both around 7-10 days in the Med.

We are on Pursuit in the Greek isles now.  11 night b2b with a 10 nighter.  Port intensive cruises.  Age distribution bell curve is probably from about 55 to about 75 with some statistical outliers in there.  Passengers have been dressed much better (almost no denim, thank goodness) on these two cruises than on cruises we took on the Journey in July/August and the Living Room and Den are heavily used including late nights with the DJ.  Our northern Europe cruises this summer were much less active.  

Edited October 18, 2018 by flyingshoes

[mnocket]

 I'm on the journey as I write this.  It's our first Azamara cruise. This is a TA so older demographic is expected. My impression is that the demographic is a tighter range and shifted slightly older than Celebrity. At 50 there would only be a few others your age or younger. Celebrity has a broader age range. I see more younger cruisers there, but also a lot more people on scooters or with walkers. Azamara is nowhere near a party line. The only choices for after 10pm entertainment are the casino and the living room - both of which are quite reserved. It's A tradeoff.. Larger Ships = More crowds, But Also More To do. I must say I'm enjoying never having to wait for an elevator on the Journey. The biggest diappointment for me is that the casino has no live dealers - machines only.

[laurieb]

We did two cruises b2b in September, one 11 nights and one 8 nights.  Very different demographics on these cruises! The first, 11 night London to Lisbon was an older demographic, I would say mostly 70 to 85 but the living room was hopping every night!  Lisbon to Barcelona was younger with a lot of under 50’s, and the living room was hopping every night.  Choose your cruise on itinerary; azamara cruisers for the most part are young at heart, friendly and interesting.  I’m 60, started cruising azamara mid 50’s and have never felt out of place

[hubofhockey]

This is an interesting thread as our first Azamara cruise is a year away (next October).  We are late 50s and doing a 15 night southeast Asia itinerary.  We are used to Celebrity and Princess on longer cruises abroad and never really felt out of place on a cruise.  We have never been to Asia and are cruising for the itinerary for the most part.  What drew us to Azamara is the itinerary and greater immersion in ports, but also that it's a bit more casual than the other boutique upper scale cruise lines.  I realize the entertainment cannot be on the same level as those on larger ships and we're adjusting our expectations on that end.  Any entertainment we enjoy is a bonus.  If we meet people we like, that's great too.  If not, we are still getting a great vacation in a new part of the world for us.

[Whitby100]

Hubofhockey - my husband and I follow your mindset (surprising since we’re Leafs fans 😊).  If we meet like minded people that’s great but we’re happy just with each other if not.  We are now late 50’s and did our first Azamara 4 years ago. There have always been other guests in our range.  If you want to meet people ask to be seated at a larger table for dinner.  Also, you will keep running into people with similar interests by showing up in the same place on the ship.  The ship is small enough that you’ll inevitably exchange names and home towns. 

[Grandma Cruising]

3 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

This is an interesting thread as our first Azamara cruise is a year away (next October).  We are late 50s and doing a 15 night southeast Asia itinerary.  We are used to Celebrity and Princess on longer cruises abroad and never really felt out of place on a cruise.  We have never been to Asia and are cruising for the itinerary for the most part.  What drew us to Azamara is the itinerary and greater immersion in ports, but also that it's a bit more casual than the other boutique upper scale cruise lines.  I realize the entertainment cannot be on the same level as those on larger ships and we're adjusting our expectations on that end.  Any entertainment we enjoy is a bonus.  If we meet people we like, that's great too.  If not, we are still getting a great vacation in a new part of the world for us.

If this is your first Azamara Cruise, you may find it helpful to look at the sticky thread ‘Tips for Azamara Newbies’ in the ‘Azamara Club Cruises Forum’

Edited October 27, 2018 by Host Grandma Cruising

[hubofhockey]

1 hour ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

If this is your first Azamara Cruise, you may find it helpful to look at the sticky thread ‘Tips for Azamara Newbies’ in the ‘Azamara Club Cruises Forum’

I've looked at the thread, but there is no substitute for an actual cruise.  Even after so many cruises that we have done, every one of them seem to take on a life of their own.  

[Grandma Cruising]

23 minutes ago, hubofhockey said:

I've looked at the thread, but there is no substitute for an actual cruise.  Even after so many cruises that we have done, every one of them seem to take on a life of their own.  

I absolutely agree with you. You can’t describe in words the feeling you get on any Azamara cruise.

[ilikewhatisgood]

On 10/17/2018 at 2:53 PM, excitedofharpenden said:

Sorry, but this is such a poor generalisation.  Where did the Pursuit inaugural go?  Was it Iceland?  And I think it was 12 or 14 nights.  Likely as not you won’t attract a particularly active demographic.  June in the Med will most probably be very different.  As I and others have said it does depend on the itinerary, but I have rarely encountered what you describe.

Phil

He's sharing HIS experience. Not a "poor generalisation".

[agathasmum]

I would imagine the itinerary, length of cruise and time of year would impact the on board clientele. My 7 day summer cruise in the Med attracted a much younger crowd (40-60) than my recent 10 day Cuba which had a much older demographic (60 to 80ish).

[Lois R]

I will be taking my first cruise with Azamara in April and very much looking forward to it. I am 60 (will be 61 by the time we sail)and plan on having a wonderful time.  I have many cruises over the years and I think I made the right choice with this one.  I have come to the realization I LOVE smaller ships

[TrakHack]

My husband and I are in our 30s and prefer Azamara.  We are early birds, though, usually among the first off the ship and walking around in port until late afternoon, then back on the ship for an unrushed dinner.  We're usually ready for bed by 10pm, so we can so it all again the next day.

[uktog]

I find in addition to the impact of potential age demographics (and for me that’s “attitude age” not physical age) a cruise is impacted by the distribution of nationalities onboard, the extent to which guests are familiar with the cruising concept, either through experience or research and the reality of expectations of everyone. (Eg do regular cruisers on the brand only look for a mixture of all their previous best experiences, do newbies look for a clone of the lines they’ve previously been with etc). 

The extent to which evenings are active depends on the ships personnel as well.  We have recently been on a b2b2b.  First two cruises, pretty active evenings, final leg, different cruise director but many same guests, lots of sea days, the activities day and evenings went flat.  The dancers were no longer supporting events in the Living Room and it was very different indeed. 

All this leads me to a view that you cannot generalise and no two cruises are the same.  

Edited January 10, 2019 by uktog