Best Cruise Line for 40-something Singles???

[CorrieC]

Hi!

 

My friend and I are divorced ladies in our 40s.  Last year we cruised on a 4-day Carnival cruise out of Long Beach and this year we just came back from a 5-day Carnival cruise out of Galveston. Don't get me wrong, both cruises were a lot of fun, but they also both seemed like big time booze cruises with a lot of young drunk people! We did manage to meet some more serious types on both cruises, but we are trying to plan for next year and wondering if we should be looking at a different line or just a different port?  We are both interested in mingling with singles, however we would like them to be a little older and a little more appropriate for us, maybe not so many 20-somethings gone wild! 

 

Any suggestions on good cruises that fit this description would be greatly appreciated! We are not extremely wealthy, so something like a European River Cruise is probably off the table, however we can certainly afford a more expensive line than Carnival...we've just been going on them because it's what I've done in the past so I'm familiar with the line. We also need to stick with cruises around 5-7 days or less, due to time constraints.  Let me know what you think!

 

Thanks!

Corrie 💗

 

Edited May 2, 2019 by CorrieC

[brillohead]

Shorter cruises are more likely to be "booze cruise" oriented.  Cruises of a week or more will find a more serious demographic than the shorter ones.

I just turned 50 this year, and I've been cruising quite happily on Royal Caribbean since 2013.  To me, Royal is the right mix of sophistication and affordability. 

I'm not a "get dressed up in a fancy dress and heels all the time" kind of person, and while Royal does have two "suggested formal" nights per weeklong cruise, it's not a requirement.  

Royal's demographic ranges from families with young children to blue-haired folks, and everything in between.  Princess and NCL are somewhat similar, catering to families and adults both (although IMO Royal's entertainment and activities are superior... just a personal preference).

If you want fewer children and more sophistication and fancier dress with a lot more older people, Celebrity might be more to your liking.  If you want to be the youngest person on the ship besides the crew, try Holland American.  And if you want to get really snooty, there's always the really expensive luxury lines, where dress codes are strictly enforced and dressing up is an every day affair.  

Hope this helps!

[SRF]

Carnival and short cruises are the issue.

 

Longer cruises on Carnival would be less of a booze cruise, as well as other lines.

 

We are also Royal cruisers (shortest cruise has been 8 nights), and find we fit with most people onboard.  Even though there is a wide range of ages, backgrounds, education level, etc.

[Bizmark'sMom]

The length of the cruises is the problem.  Any cruise 7 days or longer will attract a quieter demographic.  Short cruises are party boats.

 

[Cruiser_1977]

I am a 41 single! I cruised NCL in June 2018, Carnival in January 2019, and I have cruises booked on RCCL, Princess and Celebrity (in my signature). I'll keep you posted on my thoughts. Seems we may be in similar situations 🙂

Edited May 2, 2019 by JennyB1977

[Itchy&Scratchy]

going on a 6-7 day cruise would solve half of your problems.

I love RCI for all the fun activities they have onboard. Princess is a bit more somber and formal, but the food is much better.

[Husky61]

Holland American for sure.😁

[CorrieC]

Thanks everyone! Yes I cruised on Holland American years ago with my then-boyfriend, and though we did have a nice time, it felt somewhat like a seniors cruise! 

 

Yes JennyB, it does sound like you are in a similar situation!  My friend and I want to be social, but the young party scene on these short Carnival cruises is a little much, and we are not really meeting as many people our age as we would like. How did you like NCL? I've heard it might be a step above Carnival???

 

Thanks for the input everyone! Sounds like we need to be looking at longer cruises and maybe a different line. 

[TNcruising02]

The short cruises are definitely the biggest issue.  I have cruised on many 7 day Carnival cruises and they weren't party cruises.  However, the energy on a Carnival cruise is different than a RCL.  I would suggest a Royal cruise.   I had a wonderful time on Liberty of the Seas.  I enjoyed the shows, entertainment, and food.  I liked the layout of the ship.  It was a lot of fun.

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, CorrieC said:

Thanks everyone! Yes I cruised on Holland American years ago with my then-boyfriend, and though we did have a nice time, it felt somewhat like a seniors cruise! 

 

Yes JennyB, it does sound like you are in a similar situation!  My friend and I want to be social, but the young party scene on these short Carnival cruises is a little much, and we are not really meeting as many people our age as we would like. How did you like NCL? I've heard it might be a step above Carnival???

 

Thanks for the input everyone! Sounds like we need to be looking at longer cruises and maybe a different line. 

Of course, you are older than you were “years ago”, and Holland America has changed from the way it was “years ago”.  I would suggest you look at Celebrity, HAL, and Princess - and avoid anything shorter than 7 days.

[Cruiser_1977]

3 hours ago, CorrieC said:

How did you like NCL? I've heard it might be a step above Carnival???

Both were short 4 nighters. I did NCL with a friend but we weren't "together" LOL I thought they were more similar than different. Both had a lot of partying. I'm not opposed to that but I'm not in the nightclub every night or at the deck parties either. I'm more of a lounge sitter or the piano bar. I also hang by the pool and read most days. Unless I'm on an excursion. I would probably do either again no problem. Also, on the NCL trip I spent 2 nights in the sports bar due to the Stanley Cup Championship. I have no idea what was happening anywhere else those nights....

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Do not want drunks and major parties. Do not cruise during spring break or when all the schools are out.

Carnival stands by there name. Royal Caribbean might be the best for you. Most other cruise lines cater to the older class. Want a great cruise for you. Go on any of the oasis class ships. Mainly the Harmony. You will love it. I guarantee it.

[EganFire]

I just sailed on the NCL Bliss, and it has rooms built for one person called Studios. Several of the NCL Ships have these. They also have a lounge just for the studios. They also have a daily "Solo" meeting for solo travelers or singles who wish to attend. 

 

NCL Bliss solo meetings are held in the Studio Lounge at 6 PM each day. The NCL assigned host (one of the activity staff) to Solos was great. He organized events and activities for each day of the cruise, and the solos went to dinner together every night (if they wanted to).  Some of  the events the Host offered us to sign up for were hard to schedule items like go-cart racing and or shows. Attending these meetings and activities is strictly optional and you can do what or nothing that you want.  Having the host plan events really helped those amongst the Solos to find friendships and people to do things with in port and on the ship.

[Aquahound]

I agree with most of the larger sentiment here.  I recommend 7 nighters on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or Princess.  I don't recommend Holland America.  I'm mid 40s and every time I was on HAL, I was the youngest.....by far! 

[hallux]

Just like @EganFire I was just (debarked on Saturday 5/4) on Bliss with the studio cabins.  These are a FANTASTIC concept for solo travelers.  The lounge is a nice area to mingle, the 5:00 meet (that's what it was on my cruise) was a nice gathering and I ended up doing dinner at specialty restaurants with a group of them several times during the cruise.  The cabins may be small, but with the lounge and other public spaces (observation lounge, waterfront, atrium, spice h2o, the pool deck) there were plenty of places to go to stretch out and read/relax.

 

Other NCL ships have these, though I can't say for certain the cabin/lounge setup is like the Bliss where you need to have a room in that area in order to enter (meaning no kids running the hall outside your room and the beds don't border the "public" halls).  Epic, Breakaway, Getaway, Encore (November launch) all seem to have the studio cabins also.  I'm a little younger than the OP and Jenny but I found the crowd was mostly 10 years or more older than I am but they were mostly pleasant and accepting of everyone in the group during the solo meetup.

[Nic6318]

Hi Corrie

 

Since you say you enjoyed yourself on the Carnival ships in the past, there is no doubt that if you go on a 7 day cruise or longer, you will notice the difference.

 

By all means if you want a change, then give one of the other lines a go, but remember, if you are going on an 4 or 5 day cruise (especially if it over a weekend), and there are "included" alcohol packages, then you will likely find a similar atmosphere. Think about it, you are 20something and someone says, you can drink as much as you want, it's already paid for. The mass market cruise lines are more similar than different. Perhaps a few such as Celebrity or HAL may attract a more senior crowd (so typically there would be fewer children), but otherwise the differences are only subtle. You can always pay more, but you don't always get more, sometimes it's just different.

 

Choose based on itinerary, price, and how it works with your schedule and you won't go wrong.

 

[George C]

I know there are a lot of singles on our msc seaside cruise , since they had a excellent rate for singles, about half of our roll call are singles , new ship with great perks for there yacht club.