Different Crowds Sailing from Different Embarkation Ports?

[theotherchad]

Since Cruise Critic's boards are probably the best place on the web to crowdsource information, I am curious about something.

 

My wife, family and friends have always and only sailed out of our closest cruise port in Galveston, so our experience is limited. 

 

So for those of you who have sailed from multiple ports, do you notice any significant difference in the crowd demographics and general passenger vibe between different ports within the US and internationally? I have heard that the general passenger mix sailing out of our Texas port tends to be friendlier, and maybe a bit less likely to dress up in the evenings than those sailing out of some other ports. 

 

What is your experience? 

[PhillyFan33579]

I frequently do 3-4 day cruises out of Florida ports. The passenger demographic is significantly different on shorter cruises out of Port Miami compared to Port Canaveral…not better, not worse, but definitely different. 

[Charles4515]

Sure if you cruise out of Florida there will be more Florida transplant retirees. Out of San Juan more Puerto Ricans. Out of Southhampton UK more British, As far as dress up in the evening I notice little difference out of any US ports, Florida, Texas, New York area out of the UK the British definitly dress up in the evening more than Amrican passengers boarding there. 

[theotherchad]

15 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I frequently do 3-4 day cruises out of Florida ports. The passenger demographic is significantly different on shorter cruises out of Port Miami compared to Port Canaveral…not better, not worse, but definitely different. 

Yes, I wanted to mention this, that the length of the cruise is a huge factor completely independently of the cruise line or embarkation port, but I didn't want my initial post to be too wordy. 

 

So, given that these are similar length cruises, what are the differences that you note? 

[theotherchad]

1 minute ago, Charles4515 said:

Sure if you cruise out of Florida there will be more Florida transplant retirees. Out of San Juan more Puerto Ricans. Out of Southhampton UK more British, As far as dress up in the evening I notice little difference out of any US ports, Florida, Texas, New York area out of the UK the British definitly dress up in the evening more than Amrican passengers boarding there. 

Sure, obviously, I would think that you get more folks at each port who live in proximity to those ports, but do you note any significant differences in vibe? I know that "vibe" can be hard to quantify. 

 

By the way, I do hope that folks are kind in their replies. I'm not looking to hear "(insert port) is THE WORST?"

[Charles4515]

26 minutes ago, theotherchad said:

Sure, obviously, I would think that you get more folks at each port who live in proximity to those ports, but do you note any significant differences in vibe? I know that "vibe" can be hard to quantify. 

 

By the way, I do hope that folks are kind in their replies. I'm not looking to hear "(insert port) is THE WORST?"

The vibe is different out of San Juan because there is a larger number of Latino passengers. Different too out of the UK. Not different better or worse just different. I never noticed any different vibe out of mainland US ports or out of Vancouver. 

[smokeybandit]

There definitely is a different cruise crowd based on length, location and time of year. Not necessarily for better or for worse, just different.

One cruise I swear half the state of Arkansas was on board.

[theotherchad]

3 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

There definitely is a different cruise crowd based on length, location and time of year. Not necessarily for better or for worse, just different.

One cruise I swear half the state of Arkansas was on board.

Yeah, we have found some anomalies over the years. Once, we had the same thing you describe regarding a ship full of folks from Arkansas. Turns out, Arkansas state laws requires that all school districts observe spring break on the same week. The only noticeable difference was that there were more kids and teens on board than we expected, as this was a date that did not coincide with Texas spring break. Still a great cruise! 

 

Another time, not sure why, but there were about 500 Mexican nationals onboard. Most were from the Monterey area. Apparently, there was a local travel agent that sold a bunch of people a package where they flew to Houston and sailed back to Mexico, then sailed back to Texas and flew back to Mexico. 

 

The only difference there was that Boleros was packed (and I mean super PACKED) every single night. Also, there was a kareoke contest with several tryouts, and the final was in the main theater. I was in the final and I lost (winner was determined by audience volume for each contestant) to a Mexican gentleman who sang a song by "El Rey" (IYKYK). 

 

I wasn't salty at all, because, honestly, that guy was an amazing singer! 

 

Side note? The folks from Mexico were easily the best dressed folks on the ship. 

[theotherchad]

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I frequently do 3-4 day cruises out of Florida ports. The passenger demographic is significantly different on shorter cruises out of Port Miami compared to Port Canaveral…not better, not worse, but definitely different. 

 Details, my friend, details! 

[theotherchad]

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

The vibe is different out of San Juan because there is a larger number of Latino passengers. Different too out of the UK. 

Did you note different venues (pool, nightclub, particular bars, etc) were more or less crowded based on those differences? 

[theotherchad]

17 minutes ago, CHPURSER said:

The Mass Market Cruise Lines make most of their profits from selling you things onboard the ship.

They all have revenue goals for each ship on each itinerary.

Mass Market ships sailing out of Florida generally receive about US$20 per person per day less spending than most other areas.

Southern California Mass Market cruises receive about US$10 per person per day less than most other areas.

Alaska Mass Market cruises receive an average US$20 per person per day more than most areas.

European Mass Market cruises receive an average US$30 per person per day more than most other areas.

These speading patterns are a good inicator of the style and quality of passengers who sail in those areas.

Very interesting stats! I wonder if the typical cruise length sailings out of those markets is a factor? I'm also curious for that info pertaining to non-Florida Gulf Coast sailings. I'm from there and we do sometimes refer to it as the Redneck Riviera. 😁

 

That aside, I'm not really looking for people to tell me "classy vs trashy" with regard to these ports, more the personality and the way the crowd may affect the relative popularity of various venues onboard. 

Edited March 24 by theotherchad

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, theotherchad said:

Did you note different venues (pool, nightclub, particular bars, etc) were more or less crowded based on those differences? 

Boleros was always packed out of San Juan. 

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, theotherchad said:

 

Another time, not sure why, but there were about 500 Mexican nationals onboard.

One time out of Florida there were 800 Brazilians on board on Voyager. Probably sold by the same TA. There were announcements in Portuguese. They had menus in Portuguese. They were well off. They treated the crew badly. Almost every day in the dining room there was some kind of drama. They would smoke in the Royal Promenade and in the elevators. I felt bad for the crew. 
 

 

[clo]

I hadn't thought of this but we've never sailed out of a US port! I'm sure our favorite, for diversity and everything else, was a Norwegian coastal. IIRC there was only one other US couple. It was terrific. And these were experienced travelers and cruisers so tons to talk about.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, theotherchad said:

Did you note different venues (pool, nightclub, particular bars, etc) were more or less crowded based on those differences? 

Not the one you asked, but I did notice the dance venues were more crowded when we sailed from San Juan, lots of danceable Latin music.

[TheOldBear]

We do mostly round trip transatlantic sailings - with different 'side trips' that are sold as seperate cruises. This makes for a substantial turnover in passengers from segment to segment. For example our 2022 sailing only had 216 passengers making the entire Brooklyn to Brooklyn round trip - the rest of the passengers were only on for one or two segments, not all three [NYC-SOU, SOU Norway round trip, SOU-NYC].

We have noticed that Cunard adds more languages to announcements and daily program printouts when there are segments beginning or ending in LeHavre or Hamburg.

[navybankerteacher]

We’ve sailed a number of lines from a number of ports.  Rather than the port seeming to have influence on the passenger mix, we have noted obvious differences between the demographics choosing to sail different lines.

[CPT Trips]

Cruises out of the Port of NY/NJ have a very different vibe than that of TX based cruises. 

[Honolulu Blue]

17 hours ago, theotherchad said:

Since Cruise Critic's boards are probably the best place on the web to crowdsource information, I am curious about something.

 

My wife, family and friends have always and only sailed out of our closest cruise port in Galveston, so our experience is limited. 

 

So for those of you who have sailed from multiple ports, do you notice any significant difference in the crowd demographics and general passenger vibe between different ports within the US and internationally? I have heard that the general passenger mix sailing out of our Texas port tends to be friendlier, and maybe a bit less likely to dress up in the evenings than those sailing out of some other ports. 

 

What is your experience? 

Quickie notes; apologies for any duplication:

 

• San Juan, PR:  More Latinos, fewer kids, better behaved kids, somewhat better dressed, more dance classes, nightclub venues more crowded, ship busier late night
• Galveston, TX:  Lots of Texans, friendlier, more open, more country music

 

I haven't found anything notable about any of the Florida ports, San Pedro, or Vancouver.

[theotherchad]

Thanks for the responses so far, everyone!

[theotherchad]

4 hours ago, CHPURSER said:

 

The Texas cruises feature many locals wearing their formal denims, formal cowboy boots,and formal cowboy hats indoors.

 

We've noticed a tendency to "dress down" a bit sailing out of Galveston, but there are a few of us Texans that still like to dress up! 😁

[theotherchad]

16 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

Cruises out of the Port of NY/NJ have a very different vibe than that of TX based cruises. 

Is it just general level of friendliness or is there more? 

 

BTW, I have lived in NYC in my youth and I did discover that, while New Yorkers and Eastern Seaboard folk in general are less likely to greet and smile at strangers, the actual friendliness of the people there is pretty much the same once you get to know them. 

[theotherchad]

18 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

We’ve sailed a number of lines from a number of ports.  Rather than the port seeming to have influence on the passenger mix, we have noted obvious differences between the demographics choosing to sail different lines.

I'm sure that is true, but I think that the biggest differences in the passenger mix (when sailing mass market) are in the length of the cruise. Basically, the shorter the cruise, the younger the average age onboard and the more party oriented the crowd will be. 7 day is the most average mix and any cruises over 7-10 days, the average age goes up dramatically! 

[klfrodo]

Gosh, I've sailed out of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, Charleston, Galveston, New Orleans, Long Beach, Vancouver, BC., Puerto Rico, Venice, Amsterdam, and Southampton.

 

Yes, the crowds, demographics, customs & cultures are all different. It's my job, (in my opinion), to be a Cameleon and attempt to adapt to the majority. No, in my opinion, sailing out of Galveston is NOT the friendliest demographic. 

The friendliest and accepting was Amsterdam or Venice. The least was Galveston and New Orleans.

[theotherchad]

10 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

No, in my opinion, sailing out of Galveston is NOT the friendliest demographic. 

The friendliest and accepting was Amsterdam or Venice. The least was Galveston and New Orleans.

 To be fair, I wasn't saying that Galveston was the friendliest demographic, just that many cruisers and cruise staff over the years have told me that it was friendlier than some other ports. 

 

But your experience is just as valid as theirs and I appreciate your input on the thread. Thanks for sharing!