Adult-only Cruises

[lv2cruisgrl]

I don't think anyone has indicated that they are universally pissed that kids are on cruise ships. The point of the thread was to discuss whether there is interest in an adults-only cruise....not changing a company's entire marketing strategy and banning children across the board.

 

Special chartered cruises are not an unusual occurance. People get so defensive when the topic of kids come up. I don't think anyone is saying they don't belong on any cruises at all, but it's also no accident that it is a topic that pops up frequently.

 

I don't hate kids...in fact, I love to watch them enjoying themselves. But I'd sign up for an adults-only cruise in a heartbeat. Would be a different experience for sure, and probably an enjoyable one.

 

 

 

T

I agree, we love RCCL ships and crew. Adults only cruise would be nice.

[Tracy123]

Usually it's a charter that is adult only. Radio personalty Tom Joyner has a charter each year called Fantastic voyage it's VERY expensive. The cheapest inside room goes for 2-3 thousand (per person). There's a non refundable deposit of $1000. I think it has something to do with a charity so a portion can be written off your taxes. This cruise usually sells out in a month or two each year.

[Onessa]

If there is enough demand for a concept, the cruise lines will fill it. If everyone on this thread wanting A-only cruises contacted their TA and RCCI requesting a series of A-only cruises, perhaps they would be able to qualify the need.

 

There were cruisers asking for a smoke-free ship --- that idea was tried and failed. There were cruisers asking for a Hawaii-only itinerary --- NCLA has three ships filling that niche.

 

That there aren't more A-only cruises offered seem to indicate that it is not a viable market. (but of course my area of market research expertise is retail consumer goods, not big ticket vacations, so I'm no expert!).

 

Sniping at one-another on this thread and/or these boards is not the best way to let RCCI and the other lines what you want. Contacting them and indicating that you either will not cruise unless it is an a-only cruise OR letting them know with your pocketbook that you will book MORE cruises if they offer more a-only options/itineraries/ships is what will sell them on the concept - they want more cruisers so as long as you are willing to say "gee I'd like a-only but since there are none, I'll still book this one anyway" will not get you anywhere.

[Guest cvbart]

Usually it's a charter that is adult only. Radio personalty Tom Joyner has a charter each year called Fantastic voyage it's VERY expensive. The cheapest inside room goes for 2-3 thousand (per person). There's a non refundable deposit of $1000. I think it has something to do with a charity so a portion can be written off your taxes. This cruise usually sells out in a month or two each year.

 

A charter might be the answer. Plus you could have a little police force to make sure everyone obays all the rules at all times.

 

Sounds like a really fun time to me.

[Widespreadpanic]

...to be on an AO cruise for the same reason I love Sandals and other AO resorts. I'm neither a partier nor a child hater, just a person who occasionally enjoys the AO atmosphere and is willing to pay a little more for the opportunity. It seems I am constantly balancing my desires for a quiet vacation at a time of my choosing with the possibility that there will be more children than I feel comfortable around. I spend at least half my vacations (4 weeks) and holidays with my own (grown) children, and my siblings (8 of them), and their families, and my parents, that when I book a vacation for JUST ME, I do not want any distractions from children, and/or parents that cannot/chose not to discipline theirs.

[M&A]

If you want an Adult only cruise just book a transatlantic in April or May!

 

We were on the 14 day Jewel of the Seas Transatlantic that left FLL on 30 April. There was a total of 19 kids on the ship out of a total of 2500 passengers so we hardly saw them.

[caviargal]

If you want an Adult only cruise just book a transatlantic in April or May!

 

We were on the 14 day Jewel of the Seas Transatlantic that left FLL on 30 April. There was a total of 19 kids on the ship out of a total of 2500 passengers so we hardly saw them.

 

Many of us who prefer adult company have neither the time nor the desire for this type of itinerary.

 

Now, one must choose a luxury line to have an almost AO experience, at least on most sailings.

 

And a charter where the costs are highly inflated has little appeal.

 

IMO, Celebrity did not succeed because they did very little to promote the AO cruises. Also, as more and more families go cruising, more and more adults that are of a different mind set will be interested in alternatives. Look at all of the discussions on this and many other threads about how to time/choose cruises to avoid kids. Seems like a viable business opportunity to me!

 

RCI is much better at marketing than X, IMO. With their marketing knowhow and the right ship, they would easily be able to sell out a few AO cruises a year.

 

I like their ships and staff - esp. Radiance class - quite a bit but have been turned off by personal experiences, mostly involving too many kids. If they tried an AO, I would definitely give them another try.

[cruiselife4me]

I agree with Phins - my next cruise (after Freedom) will be a Windjammer Barefoot cruise - the Polynesian. I can't wait.

 

Like adults - kids can't just run rampant. I absolutely love kids, but usually it's parents being the problem because they're "on vacation so let the kids have a litte fun." Ugh...no!

 

PS: M Go Blue...I say GO GREEN!!! (I work for MSU Extension)

[PhinsAndGills]

I agree with Phins - my next cruise (after Freedom) will be a Windjammer Barefoot cruise - the Polynesian. I can't wait.

LET ME KNOW how it goes - it'll probably be summer of '08 before we're on. We're favoring the Yankee Clipper right now. I'd LOVE to see how you like WJ after the Freedom. I'm not sailing on the Freedom just because of the kid factor. I live less than an hour and a half from one of the largest amusement parks in the country, and I think the Freedom is just going to be a little too much like that. Skip on over to http://www.jammerbabe.com/flotilla/index.php!

PS: M Go Blue...I say GO GREEN!!! (I work for MSU Extension)

Um, SCARLET AND GREY all the way, baby... (OSU)

[Onessa]

It appears that there are some ways to minimize the number of kids who will be on your cruise - they may not be perfect solutions, but if that is what you are looking for, try some of the suggestions. I've been in some hotels and had problems with kids, but really haven't run into issues with kids on cruises.

 

no, Cardinal and White - 'when you say WISCONSIN, you've said it all!'

[caviargal]

It appears that there are some ways to minimize the number of kids who will be on your cruise - they may not be perfect solutions, but if that is what you are looking for, try some of the suggestions. I've been in some hotels and had problems with kids, but really haven't run into issues with kids on cruises.

 

no, Cardinal and White - 'when you say WISCONSIN, you've said it all!'

 

IMO, a ship like Freedom is a true kid magnet. While it might be possible to minimize, there are no guarantees. After being aboard, I can tell you that I would look in other directions if I want to minimize the possibilities.

[billmeek]

I have taken the RCI transatlantic voyages about 12 times over the last 8 years. There are very few children aboard due to the time (spring and fall) and the duration (10 to 17 days). If you do see any children, they are usually pre-school, not the bratty types.

[Lyncruiser]

RCCL targets the family market -- their ships are kid/teen magnets, especially Voyager class (and now Freedom class). So, an AO cruise with RCCL will never happen, IMO. If you want to avoid children, I think you have to go with the premium luxury lines, or try Holland America, Cunard or Celebrity. Windstar is another possibility.

 

Don't try RCCL, Carnival, NCL, Princess (or Disney, of course).

 

I have to laugh because when my brother and sister-in-law and our parents were on Celebrity Summit to Alaska, my brother called me one night and said by 10 p.m. he and my sister-in-law seemed to be the only people on board (other than crew) who were still awake!

[zotzer]

RCCL targets the family market -- [snip] If you want to avoid children, I think you have to go with the premium luxury lines, or try Holland America, Cunard or Celebrity. Windstar is another possibility.

[snip]

when my brother and sister-in-law and our parents were on Celebrity Summit to Alaska, my brother called me one night and said by 10 p.m. he and my sister-in-law seemed to be the only people on board (other than crew) who were still awake!

 

RCI targets the "mass" market, not just family market. I just watched their "It Girl" commercial...two late-twenty-somethings...not one child in the commercial. Telling people who want a fun adult vacation to go to a premium luxury line lands you with the above dilemna....a potential snooze cruise. :)

 

Having sailed for a week on Freedom, and having read feedback of subsequent cruisers who've had more children on their sailings, it sounds like Freedom has begun to crack the code of providing a level of generational segregation that facilitates a fun time for all!!

 

T

[MGilly]

As far as adults-only cruises - great idea! We raised both of our children to be well-mannered people, and thankfully, they are. Now in their twenties, they rarely cruise with us. I am an elementary school teacher, so you KNOW I love kids. That said, DH and I would relish the idea of sailing on a ship without the ill-mannered children we have, at times, encountered on some of our cruises. We have chosen, though, not to let it ruin any part of our vacation. If we are awakened in the middle of the night, we retreat to our balcony to let the sound and scent of the ocean lull us back to a sleepy state and then go back to bed. We're on vacation! We don't have to get up at the crack of dawn, so we CAN sleep in, if we want to. Getting splashed near the pool - hey - it's water! It's going to happen! In the dining venues, parents really should be mindful of their children's behavior. Having your meal crash to the floor because a child rams into you is not wonderful, but then, unless serous bodily injury is a result, it's really not a big deal. Yes, I know someone commented that some people are able to overlook things that others are not willing to overlook. I guess DH and I are just lucky.

 

crusinmama06 - - - Thanks for explaining ; who knows ? Maybe our next (our 2nd) cruise will be with RCCL. Ever since I booked our cruise I've been here and other places gathering information, trying to get ideas on what to expect. It seems like there are unhappy passengers with every cruise line. They say, "you can't always believe what you read." What the Heck - - we're gonna make the best of it with an attitude "nothings perfect".

If this is your first cruise, you will LOVE it, no matter what cruise line you go with. Our first one was with Carnival, and we DID love it! So much so, that we booked her sister ship for the following year. Two years later, we sailed on the Voyager of the Seas, and we saw a big difference between the two lines. We've since sailed on two more Carnival ships and three more Royal Caribbean ones. Our last cruise was on Carnival, and because of many factors, we have chosen to not sail Carnival again. Our next two cruises are booked - RCCL and Celebrity.

 

I know you will probably be curious about the "many factors" comment. We sailed on the Destiny. Several of the elevators were not working for most of the week, the air conditioning went out in the port aft section of the ship (we DID have a fan put in our room for the balance of the cruise), and the service in the dining room was pretty bad. We also felt that just about all of their activities were aimed at the 18 - 21 year old demographic. Even our 26-year-old son felt like "that was teeny bopper stuff." I guess we've just outgrown Carnival.

[Onessa]

RCI targets the "mass" market, not just family market. I just watched their "It Girl" commercial...two late-twenty-somethings...not one child in the commercial.

 

. . . and there are those who have had problems with "kids" who are really talking about 20-somethings who buy into the 'party' mentality of cruises.

 

Like MGilly, we've been disturbed in our sleep, but not by teens; but by loud and obnoxious adults. Similarly, many of us on vacation don't want some early birds shouting instructions down the passageway at 5:30am! My point is, there are a lot of ill mannered people of all ages. Two things - 1) don't let some other boor (whatever age) spoil your vacation; and 2) be certain your own house is in order before you start casting aspersions upon others (if your idea of fun is to stay up until 3:00am partying, keep your parties in public places and turn down the volume when near cabins, if your idea of fun is being the first person off the ship in each port, remember that others may not want you shouting to your travelingmate that your forgot the camera - inside voices please!)

 

For every - kids messing with the elevator story one person might have, another could counter with a story of an adult "holding" an elevator for their companion who "just went back to the cabin for a minute . . . " For every splashing child in the pool story, someone else will have an overweight 40'something in a speedo doing a cannonball. Even in your utopian adult-only world - you'll still encounter cads.

 

And consider the benefits - there are the crew who are away from their families who enjoy having some kids around, there are additional 3rd and 4th pax fares that impact the fare you pay, there is the kid who notices the whales breaching outside the dining room window and lets everyone else know, and there is the enchanting toddler who plays peek-a-boo in the line for the tender.

 

If you really want an adult only cruise - MAKE YOUR OPINIONS KNOWN TO THOSE FOLKS WHO COUNT - management at the cruise lines. And when they offer an AO cruise - put your money where your mouth is and take it. Until then quit cher'whining! :D

[mrstrod]

Onessa,

 

Brava! Well said in my oppinion! I hear so many people saying they don't want to be bothered by other passengers kids. In my encounters on cruises, I have experiences way more rude adults than I have mis-behaving children.

 

How about the rude old antique of a man in the elevator who farts? Or the obnoxious thirty something who saves ten lounge chairs for friends that never materialize? Or the rude man that has to be the first one off the ship on disembarkation day and takes my little girls toe with him (stuck in the wheel of his luggage)? Oh and let's not forget the slobs that use their hands to select food in the windjammer?

 

Personally, I don't think any of that stuff really matters though, because none of it can ruin my vacation. I can't see how a child who splashes some water in a pool can really disturb a person to the point where it ruins their vacation.

 

Now, granted, my children are very well behaved:rolleyes: . But that's because I parent the way my parents did. In my house (or anywhere else for that matter) it's not a democracy - it's a dictatorship! My children wouldn't dare embaress me, for they know what my wrath is like. I do agree though that many children now a days do run a muck! This is one of the reasons my children are not allowed to have friends over our house, kids just don't know how to behave anymore. And it used to be that if your children were at someone elses house then, you clould tell them not to do this or that. But now, god forbid you should verbally disapline anyone elses child!!!!!!!!!

 

And so, once again that brings me to rude adults. Rude adults who are bring up bratty kids. So, instead of an adults only cruise, let's have a nice person only cruise!

[caviargal]

Onessa,

 

I hear so many people saying they don't want to be bothered by other passengers kids. In my encounters on cruises, I have experiences way more rude adults than I have mis-behaving children.

 

Personally, I don't think any of that stuff really matters though, because none of it can ruin my vacation. I can't see how a child who splashes some water in a pool can really disturb a person to the point where it ruins their vacation.

 

And so, once again that brings me to rude adults. Rude adults who are bring up bratty kids.

 

I am one of those that does not want to be bothered by kids, period. I have had cruises negatively impacted by badly bevahed kids; we had 900+ on a RCI cruise out of 2500 pax and the ship was so out of control, with so many adults reporting problems, that the Purser put up a sign saying nothing more would be done and no more complaints would be accepted. They said it was the parents job to supervise their kids. What a waste of time and money that cruise was:mad:.

 

We are not talking about kids splashing water in a pool:rolleyes:. But, if there is a adult only pool that is not kept for adult use, then this would definitely be an issue on my part.

 

The issue of kids and teens is a real one and not trivial. Have you seen the videos on the thread regarding youth security on RCI? Some of these kids are thugs!

 

Princess has a special security staff just to prevent these problems. If it were a trivial issue, they most certainly would not go through the expense involved.

.

Whenever an adult is behaving in a way that is really offensive, security handles it, quickly and effectively. When the situation involves kids and teens, it is much less cut and dry. I really do not want to leave the quality of my vacation up to parents who treat cruise ships like a built in babysitter.

 

JMO, and I do stick these days to lines where there are a minimal number of kids and families aboard. It makes for a better vacation all the way around.:)

[bplazo]

I have to disagree with some of these post. I see more children misbehaving then I do adults.

 

I work in a restraunt and the noise level raises quite a bit when parents start arriving with children. Just today, I had one little boy crying, making loud noises, and almost tripping me a couple times because he was running around.

 

I also cruise when there are less kids. Makes for a more peacefull vacation.