HAL- An older crowd?

[Wanderlust30]

My DH and I are planning a cruise for January 2007 to celebrate my 30th b-day. In October 2005, we did a Mediterranean cruise with X and it seemed the average age of the passengers was mid 60's. I have nothing against older people but DH and I found the older passengers tended to slow things down.

I know that more "exotic" cruises tend to attract an older crowd, while Caribbean cruises tend to attract a younger crowd. I have also heard that HAL generally has older passengers. We are not too much into "nightlife" but at the same time we don't want to be the youngest people on the ship. What are your thoughts on this? Would a young active couple find kindred spirits on HAL?

[djallar]

Based on my wealth of experience...one cruise on the Westerdam, :D the average age was in the mid to late 40's and the attitude was even younger.

 

I'm 49 and there were a lot of more "seasoned" passengers that could blow my doors off with their energy. It was infectious and admirable.

 

I booked with HAL only because I didn't want to deal with a lot of young children, or young adults letting loose. I, my wife, my 24yo son-in-law, my 22yo daughter, and even my 16yo son & 15yo daughter had a ball.

 

I'm sure you won't be the youngest in chronological age OR life attitude.

 

Have fun!

[herb]

I booked with HAL only because I didn't want to deal with a lot of young children, or young adults letting loose.

 

 

Your reasons for booking are EXACTLY the same reasons we booked Holland America WORD FOR WORD :D

[NORTHSHOREPAIR]

We just got off the Oosterdam and you'd want to book HAL for the same reasons we enjoyed it. Great mix of ages and interests....no screaming kids.

One nice thing you have with the group on the HAL ships...no matter what their ages....they have manners and are respectful of other people.

I encountered one "jerk" maybe late 40's early 50's...and I don't think anything would have made him happy, he was just a jerk. He complained that the elevator was slow (first time it happened to me), then he was ahead of me for breakfast at the Lido. Wanted his eggs a certain way...didn't seem to like that they made them to order...wanted them now. When his wife stopped by and asked if they were making his eggs, he replied "They better be". Oh, come on, stop being a jerk. Glad I didn't see him the rest of the cruise...maybe something happened and no one is talking about it:confused:

[Tricia724]

Longer cruise/smaller ship = older passengers

 

Shorter cruise/Vista ships = younger passengers

 

Any cruise over 7 days will likely have an older passenger base. Since many people who work cannot cruise for extended periods of time, it stands to reason that you will find a greater number of retired people on the longer cruises. I think that applies to any cruise line.

 

The Vista ships....Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, and the new Noordam attract a wider variety of ages. If you're looking for a one-week Caribbean cruise on a Vista class ship, it shouldn't be a problem.

[Sparticus]

Most of the HAL pax are indeed older. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is the truth. For reference, our party is in the mid-30s to mid-40s range normally.

[Nasmas]

Your reasons for booking are EXACTLY the same reasons we booked Holland America WORD FOR WORD :D

 

DITTO

[Krazy Kruizers]

The only ship that we encountered a younger crowd was the Zuiderdam in May 2005. Even when we were on the Westerdam and Oosterdam there were a lot more older people like us - 60's.

[TexasDH]

We sailed on the Rotterdam for the 10-day Venice RT crusie in October. We average mid 40's, and LOVED the cruise -- as well as the line! (This was our first BUT NOT LAST Holland America cruise!)

 

Don't let the potential age thing scare you a bit... this was one of the most fabulous cruise experiences we have ever had! All of the personnel, officers and crew were very courteous and attentive, and the ship had PLENTY to offer, even at the relatively small size. The activity schedule could have catered to 20-somethings with ease!

 

Go enjoy yourself, the treatment on HAL is certainly worth the chance! :D

[Toogroove]

I'm 35 and my DH is 33. We love HAL! We have sailed with them 3 times already. The crowd is grown-up (in behavior) but still a lot of fun. We like the mixed ages, and limited children. On our last Cruise, MS Zuiderdam March '05, it was spring break and there were more children than normal but all were well behaved or coralled by the 'Club HAL' folks.

Give it a try. Ultimately, its up to you to have fun.

[garydm]

Tricia has it exactly right. On a shorter cruise ( 7 days ) you can expect an average of 55-60. On our Hawaii cruise ( 15 days ) the average age had to exceed 70.

 

Just my experience, your's may vary.

 

Gary

[Jim Gallup]

Wanderlust,

 

If you gave us more details, we could give you better answers.

VERY Generally speaking:

Early January = Younger crowd

Late January = Older crowd

Vista Ship = Younger crowd

S&R Class Ship = Older crowd

Caribbean / Mexico / Hawaii = Younger crowd

South America / Asia / World Cruise = Older crowd

7-Day Cruise = Younger crowd

7+ Days = Older crowd

 

FYI, for 2005 the overall average age of cruisers on Vista Ships was 43.

[bc713]

My 19 yr old g'son & I are taking a mexican riviera cruise Mar. 4. This will be our third HAL (7 day) cruise & he has had a great time on all of them - as have I. We've always had a good age mix - even on the old Westerdam to Alaska. I agree with all the previous posters, longer cruises would tend to attract an older crowd who don't have to worry about taking time out of work. That being said, you'll find "old" fuddy-duddies in their 20's & "young" seniors who are tough to keep up with mentally & physically. Don't pay any attention to the stereotypes & you'll have a great time.

[herb]

=Jim Gallup

 

 

Let's see now.... using your equation...

 

we're sailing on Jan. 6th

Early January = Younger crowd

 

Oosterdam is a Vista Ship

Vista Ship = Younger crowd

 

We're sailing to Mexico

Caribbean / Mexico / Hawaii = Younger crowd

 

Our cruise is one week

7-Day Cruise = Younger crowd

 

we're both 50 so we'll fit in with the average...

FYI, for 2005 the overall average age of cruisers on Vista Ships was 43.

 

I think we made a very good choice :D

[flashdog_1]

So, when you see white hair, or someone putting on his reading glasses, do you run the other way?

 

It's not that the older crowd is falling asleep at dinner, is it?

 

Hey, some of the people aged 60 now used to be adventurous 40 year olds. You might try talking to some of them and you will forget their ages, and just enjoy hearing about their life experiences.

 

do we hear any threads started by 60 year olds that say, "which ship has the 20 year olds, so I can avoid it?"

[Randyk47]

I've been cruising with HAL for 12 years, started when I was 46. I remember the passengers on my first cruise on the then brand new Ryndam as being somewhat older than my previous cruise.....on the Carnival Fantasy. OK...big difference. Did I care? Nope. In fact, I found we had the ship pretty much to ourselves after 10 to 10:30 PM and that was just fine by me. So now maybe I've aged enough to be, more or less, in the middle of the age range on a HAL ship but I still like the quieter, laid back atmosphere and still enjoy having the ship be fairly quiet after 10 PM. Old age is relative....usually 15 years older than what I am. Rest? Sleep? There'll be plenty of that later on. :)

[herb]

do we hear any threads started by 60 year olds that say, "which ship has the 20 year olds, so I can avoid it?"

 

There are tons of threads and the answer is usually Carnival.

[tlm]

We just sailed on a 10 day Southern on the Volendam. We are in our early 50s and we knew going in that the majority of the folks aboard would be older, however I would say most were in their 70s. That's not a bad thing but there were numerous occasions that we witnessed where some of the older folks tended to be downright crabby, rude and inconsiderate. Especially towards the crew (who have the patience of Jobe!)

 

I had one woman from Paris who b$%#ed and complained about the Cruise Director being too young!!

 

Overall, most folks were wonderful.

 

Toni

[lovecruising111]

We were on the Zuiderdam Feb 2005, definitely an older crowd. Our previous cruises were with Princess, which seems to have a mixture of ages.

[Captain Crunch]

Originally Posted by djallar

I booked with HAL only because I didn't want to deal with a lot of young children, or young adults letting loose

.

 

Us too. We took a 7 day Caribbean cruise during spring break season and found the passengers on the middle aged side (mid40s on up). There were more people in their 60's & 70's than in their 20's & 30's. We are 43-40 and we got we we wanted, but we knew it going in.

 

The Lido buffet lines moved slower as older people tend to be more picky. The pool was still crowded, but many of the older pax sought out the covered areas and tables, early and stayed.

 

If you are looking for a nice relaxing cruise with a minimum of drinking games and music, HAL is it. Though it was disappointing that there wasn't good music around the pools.

[iceman93]

My wife and I are both 34. I think every HAL cruise we've taken, we've been the youngest passengers (except for our 16 month-old daughter on our most recent cruise).

 

You're right that some of the most elderly passengers do tend to slow things down. And we are sometimes annoyed by all the complaining and apparent inability to please the "blue-hairs" no matter what. But for the most part we enjoy cruising with a mature yet adventurous clientele who enjoy themseves without doing it at the expense of their fellow passengers.

 

We've seen jerks like Northshorepair did, and it doesn't seem to matter what age they are. HAL appeals to a more sophisticated crowd which suits us "young folks" just fine.

[Alexborngal]

We were on the Amsterdam on !2/7 to 12/22, San Diego to Hawaii. Average age, I would guess would be 70s. We're a young 65 and felt like kids. Very little night life, just people wandering around. There were quite a few wheel chairs, people with walkers and people with canes. We didn't book any excursions as we knew the going would be very slow. Hope this helps.

[flashdog_1]

Herb, I thought of Carnival when I posted. Thanks for the reminder. ha

 

I know, old people with their aches and pains may be cranky because of the way they feel, but I'd place a wager with you that for the most part the cranky old people you find on cruises now that are an embarrassment to the other passengers, were cranky, rude people when they were 30, 40, 50 and 60.

 

If you were "raised right" you are probably just as courteous at 70 as you were when you were a child. It's just an individual thing. Please don't run from the white hair. We still feel as if we're 30 or 40, you know.

[lougee1043]

you are going to find people on board of all ages -- what happens is like cream it rises to the surface -- the "older" people do their thing and the younger people do theirs - and everyone is happy -- some of us older people might fool you with our life experiences etc---and ability to burn the midnite oil -- im sure you will have a great time

[LHC]

DD (age 28) and I (the mom age 52) did a Christmas Cruise..what we found is that indeed we were the youngest at our dining table in age but every one of them ran circles around us. One lady a mother from Canada age 87 danced way into the morning every night (while I was counting my zzzzs) then always eating breakfast by 8 am..

These are wonderfully respectful, mannerly, considerate people by and far who have so many great experiences to share...

Since it was a Christmas Cruise there were younger families too, but I enjoyed the older passengers more...to each his own but I love the beauty and formality that HAL represents.

LHC