Old folks on HAL

[electro]

I just finished my 4th Hal cruise on the Zaandam, Montreal to ft Lauderdale. It was myself, 58 and my sister, 60. The others were Zaandam, Boston to Montreal, June 2022, solo and b2b NA, Alaska with Dh 56 and friends, early 60s. On all cruises on Hal we were younger than the average but on this last cruise, the margin was much wider. 

 

There was the gentleman who had had a stroke, obvious by the non working arm tucked in front and the laboured gait, who was on the dance floor with his wife several times each evening. 

There was the couple, her 85 and her husband, 86 who sat with us in the Ocean bar one evening to listen to the band. She told us about how they loved to travel and about the full day excursions they were doing in each port. 

The ladies, mid to late 70's, sitting around the piano in Mix. One of whom had taken a photo of her tequila shot and sent it to her son, 50's, who replied danm Mom! As told to the other as they both laughed.

This is just a few examples of many.

There were canes, walkers and scooters, but not as many as you would expect, given the demographic.

The promenade deck was busy on sea days with old people getting there daily exercise, including the mid 80’s couple I spoke of above.

The dance floor was busy each night in the Ocean Bar.

 

What I realized while observing these old people, is that I hope that in 15, 20, 25 years that we have the energy, stamina, love of travel, and sense of humor of the old folks on HAL.

 

Lois

[Huskerchick]

Well said Lois.  I too love to see older folks, hubby and I are 60 and 58, enjoying life to the fullest as it gives me hope 😂 And it is true what they say age is just a number 

[cwd79]

Couldn't agree more. Hubby and myself are in our early 40's and we have been cruising with Holland  for the past 12 years. We love the older crowd and have met so many wonderful people in our travels. 

[mcrcruiser]

We are part of the  older crowd on HAL in our mid 80s &we continue to book & enjoy their cruises😃

[mawvkysc]

I’m 51 and happily live in a 55+ Florida condo complex. (The benefits for marrying an “older man” 😂)I think I’ll totally enjoy my upcoming spring TA which will skew older. 

[Ken the cruiser]

Here's a fun fact. We started cruising with HAL back in 2012 (when I was 60) on 11 different itineraries. The whole time we kept quietly asking ourselves when was it going to be our turn, as the music played in their production shows and by many of their guest singers was mostly centered around Sinatra and the Big Band genre of music?

 

Then around 2017 HAL HQ made the decision to significantly reduce the quality of their production and guest entertainment shows in the main theater and started to implement their lounge-based Music Walk strategy, where folks could hang out in various music lounges and listen to their favorite music genre. It soon was apparent to us that HAL totally bypassed "our turn" and wanted to focus on attracting a more younger crowd, which from some of the comments on this thread appears they were successful. So after going on a couple more awesome 3-5 week cruises to Antarctica and Australia, we switched to X and PCL, as their production and guest entertainment offerings, as well as their enrichment programs, made us feel like it was finally "our turn". I know, it sounds selfish. But what can I say.

 

So fast forward to about a month ago. For a variety of reasons, one being that we are now in our early 70s and have 4-star status and since HAL still offers some outstanding 3-5 week itineraries, we're going to give them another try on a 22-day Eurodam cruise in April 2025. We still don't plan on hanging out in lounges but are willing to see how HAL's entertainment strategy has "evolved" since 2019. Besides, their prices and early booking perks are quite attractive and as 4-star Mariners we still get free laundry! Hopefully by then HAL and as well as ourselves will have both evolved closer together for us to have a great time and include them back into our cruise decision-making process.

 

BTW I had to look up how to spell "genre" as it wasn't a term we used when I was growing up in California. But the term "hippy music" definitely was! 😂

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[3rdGenCunarder]

Our very first cruise was in 1978. I'd like to say I was in pre-school then, but that would be a lie. I guess we were among the younger cruisers, but it seemed like such a mix of ages, I didn't particularly notice. 

 

At some point, HAL got the reputation of being "God's waiting room." 7 or 8 years ago, I met a woman who complained that the ship was "full of old people." She looked to have at least 10 years on me, and I guess my facial expression gave away what I was thinking. She said, "Well, my husband and I are at the upper range of the passengers, but what I mean is I want to see more of a mix." I deserve credit for not saying "Well, bless your heart for contributing to the demographic you don't want to see."

 

On that same cruise, I met a couple I estimated to be in their 80s who had been to Africa the winter before. I commented that it requires a LOT of shots. He said , "Yeah, that was expensive. I want to go back to amortize the cost of the shots over a second trip." Later, I saw a woman in a motorized wheelchair. Her partner was working the joystick for her. She wasn't among the "old" folks, but still, she was traveling despite it being difficult.

 

And I thought, nope, not God's waiting room. It's a place where we can point up to the sky and say "NOPE, NOT YET!"

[habenicd]

We first cruised with HAL 25 years ago and have typically been the "youngest on board." 

We introduced our parents to HAL a few years later (they are all in their 80's now.) We enjoy the company of the so-called HAL old folks, including our parents, and have another family cruise set in February.  We can't wait to have the time to take longer cruises and become HAL old folks ourselves. 

[mcrcruiser]

Personally ,we liked  the later styles of  Frank Sinatra singing as he aged . At our ages we were caught between the 40s & 50s   Rock-N-Roll  music era  . There was no question the greatest of them all was Elvis Presley in our minds . We enjoyed seeing Elvis ,TomJones , Frank Sinatra ,Dean Martin Sammy Davis duering our 35 years doing business with the Las Vegas hotels & Casinos . A era we will never forget .It was the  greatest entertainment era  at much much lower cost

Edited October 10, 2023 by mcrcruiser

[mcrcruiser]

Our cruising  stated in 1990 with Carnival ro Alaska , now at over 100 past wonderful cruises ,we sail exclusively with HAL from ourhome port of San Diego  .We have 4 cruises booked & looking to jeep going on HAL cruises

[retird]

Im one of the “old people” being referred to.   Remember age is just a number, but while on the topic, it is nice to see the 50 some cougars on the cruises as well. 😇

 

[electro]

6 minutes ago, retird said:

Im one of the “old people” being referred to.   Remember age is just a number, but while on the topic, it is nice to see the 50 some cougars on the cruises as well. 😇

 

not sure if you are referring to me but I'm definitely not a cougar. Happily married but my DH is not retired so he didn't have the vacation time so I went with my sister.🙂

[IAcruising]

Can't wait to be a young'un again and watch all the "old people" when we cruise HAL next year. We'll have just turned 60 -- the new 30, I guess. 😄

[lyndarra]

Age is just a number. A few weeks ago I was working on the roof of my house and a 60ish guy walking past called out that people over 60 should not be climbing ladders and climbing about on roofs. I replied "It's ok, I'm over 70"😁

[zgscl]

I am shocked by this thread, after 18 HAL cruises I don't think I have ever seen the older folks you speak of on HAL, I was always so sad the demographic was so young! 🤣😂

[St Pete Cruiser]

11 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here's a fun fact. We started cruising with HAL back in 2012 (when I was 60) on 11 different itineraries. The whole time we kept quietly asking ourselves when was it going to be our turn, as the music played in their production shows and by many of their guest singers was mostly centered around Sinatra and the Big Band genre of music?

 

Then around 2017 HAL HQ made the decision to significantly reduce the quality of their production and guest entertainment shows in the main theater and started to implement their lounge-based Music Walk strategy, where folks could hang out in various music lounges and listen to their favorite music genre. It soon was apparent to us that HAL totally bypassed "our turn" and wanted to focus on attracting a more younger crowd, which from some of the comments on this thread appears they were successful. So after going on a couple more awesome 3-5 week cruises to Antarctica and Australia, we switched to X and PCL, as their production and guest entertainment offerings, as well as their enrichment programs, made us feel like it was finally "our turn". I know, it sounds selfish. But what can I say.

 

So fast forward to about a month ago. For a variety of reasons, one being that we are now in our early 70s and have 4-star status and since HAL still offers some outstanding 3-5 week itineraries, we're going to give them another try on a 22-day Eurodam cruise in April 2025. We still don't plan on hanging out in lounges but are willing to see how HAL's entertainment strategy has "evolved" since 2019. Besides, their prices and early booking perks are quite attractive and as 4-star Mariners we still get free laundry! Hopefully by then HAL and as well as ourselves will have both evolved closer together for us to have a great time and include them back into our cruise decision-making process.

 

BTW I had to look up how to spell "genre" as it wasn't a term we used when I was growing up in California. But the term "hippy music" definitely was! 😂

 

Onboard Rotterdam last night on the World Stage, the theater name now, were the performers Contare. They are young men who sing most of their numbers in harmony. Most of the material is very dated including a number from The Ink Spots: I like Coffee. If that is not appealing to the most senior guests, then I don't know what is! There is usually quite a mix available of entertainment, although we do miss the Lincoln Stage.

Ocean Bar has a quartet for early evening with many old tunes.

[RedneckBob]

12 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Our very first cruise was in 1978. I'd like to say I was in pre-school then, but that would be a lie. I guess we were among the younger cruisers, but it seemed like such a mix of ages, I didn't particularly notice. 

 

At some point, HAL got the reputation of being "God's waiting room." 7 or 8 years ago, I met a woman who complained that the ship was "full of old people." She looked to have at least 10 years on me, and I guess my facial expression gave away what I was thinking. She said, "Well, my husband and I are at the upper range of the passengers, but what I mean is I want to see more of a mix." I deserve credit for not saying "Well, bless your heart for contributing to the demographic you don't want to see."

 

On that same cruise, I met a couple I estimated to be in their 80s who had been to Africa the winter before. I commented that it requires a LOT of shots. He said , "Yeah, that was expensive. I want to go back to amortize the cost of the shots over a second trip." Later, I saw a woman in a motorized wheelchair. Her partner was working the joystick for her. She wasn't among the "old" folks, but still, she was traveling despite it being difficult.

 

And I thought, nope, not God's waiting room. It's a place where we can point up to the sky and say "NOPE, NOT YET!"

Were we on the same cruise. Our first cruise was also in 1978. Back then we noticed a lot of what I will call more mature passengers. Now when we cruise we see a lot of young passengers.  Go figure! 

[ski ww]

We're both in our mid 70's and hope to keep cruising for many more years. We thank our lucky stars that we can still do this. We know people that are younger then us that do not get around as well any more. Enjoy it well you can. 

[Caribbean Chris]

My first solo cruise was in 1977 back when people joked about the demographics (on almost all lines) as being “old people and their grandparents.” It was the best vacation I had ever had.
 

I loved it so much I got a job two years later as a cruise line sales rep for the next ten or so years. Got married along the way and DH loved cruising as much as I did.
 

Now we’re among the old people on board, wondering how that all happened so fast.

[lcand1923]

My first cruise was on HAL.  I was 49 and I cruised with my Dad who was 75.  He had some mobility issues and was finding long car trips more difficult.  We had a great time.  I was very fortunate that Dad was well able to cruise another 8 years before the mobility issues stopped his travel completely.  When he passed, I started cruising again as a solo.  I’m now in that “old folks” group.  The beauty of cruising is that you unpack once.  You can visit a new place every day or just chill on the ship.  If you feel sociable, you can have amazing conversations with other cruisers.  If you don’t feel sociable, you can sit in a quiet spot and watch the ocean.  I’ve cruised other lines, but return to HAL.  The crew always makes me feel like I’m coming back to the Family Home.

[DaveOKC]

I love to see the "scooter showroom" in the main dining room on Dressy Nights.  All the various makes on models on display near the entrance.  When I am ready for one, I know where to go to look at my options.

[Sir PMP]

Yes, we're hanging in:

 

[albingirl]

I love the older people on cruises.  Now, they know how to dance.  Got all the moves and they are so much fun to watch.

[mcrcruiser]

Coming from the fifties which was the best decade of growth & harmony  ,we know how to  dance with all the moves . We learned from the bobby sox era of dancing & improved  on it  .We can cit some rug out there still  😃

[Dobby36]

I’ve been on more than half a dozen HAL cruises, all while in my 30s, and I have never been bored or felt out of place.  The fellow passengers are great company and usually friendly, interesting and kind folks.
 

What i feel is the most “old” on the ships are the comedians constant joking about aging passengers 😉

 

But honestly, The only time I have to tell myself to be gracious is when I’m stuck behind a group of folks who can’t move as fast as I’d like.  But at 6 foot 6, I’m almost always walking faster than folks on land so I’m used to it! 😄