passenger demographics (age?)

[lovelyladi]

We are considering our first cruise on Holland America. It will be a European cruise, probably on a Vista class ship. We have cruised recently on Princess, Azamara, Celebrity, Carnival (didn't like) and NCL(25 years ago). My hubby and I are 60 & 62 years young. Every time we mention it people including TAs say wow...the people are really old on those ships (walkers, oxygen etc) and that we will be uncomfortable.

 

Can I get some feed back here (nicely please!)

[RuthC]

It bothers me whenever I hear of a TA saying someone won't be happy just because other passengers are: 1) old, 2) using walkers/wheelchairs, 3) need oxygen, 4) etc. :rolleyes:

They can still be delightful to associate with.

Now as to your question---

Age-wise you will be in the median group of passengers. In the Summer there will be some families with kids of all ages, working people taking their annual vacation, retirees. On HAL the bulk of passengers tend to be in the 40's on up.

Have a great trip.

[hammybee]

Many of the people who sell cruises are ignorant. They have never seen a cruise ship, let alone sailed on one.

 

The demographics onboard any mass marketed cruise ship changes sail to sail. In my 40's I have been among the youngest onboard a Carnival cruise and in my 50's among the oldest onboard a HAL cruise, the opposite of popular perception.

 

Generally speaking, early and late season European cruises trend older than peak season, regardless of cruise line. I think it likely that you will be in the median age bracket on such a cruise.

[garydm]

Generally, in our experience, the longer the cruise, the greater the tendency that the demographics will include a greater percentage of older and more medically involved people. Another factor, obviously, is whether you are cruising during school vacation times which drives the factors down. A January HAL cruise to Hawaii for 15 days will have a much different passenger profile than a 7 day Mexico cruise during a school break period.

 

YMMV.

 

Gary

[Jen&Joe]

We are in our early 30's and sail with HAL! We find that there is a wide range of ages on board and as pp stated it really can change with the length of the cruise. We were on the Zuiderdam for 18 days in 2006 and the average age was probably mid to late 40's and very few kids. Last year we were on the Westerdam for 7 days and the average age was a bit lower and there were alot of families.

[Rhea58]

Garydm has it right.

 

The longer the cruise the older the passenger as U S working folks

have vacation restraints.

 

I have been on a number of HAL cruises & my upcoming 2/08 seems

to be skewing to folks in their 50's. The upside of HAL is less

children during the school year no matter how HAL tries to

encourage young cruisers.

 

For upper-class amenities w/o the pricey ticket, I can heartily

recommend HAL.

 

BTW, just how many HAL cruises has your TA taken?

[HokiePoq]

I'm thinking that TA will get some type of higher compensation for putting you on another line because you are the perfect age for HAL. I saw people of all ages enjoying themselves on our two cruises. At 59, I am glad not to have swarms of teenagers and little ones running around and on the two cruises, not one obnoxious person of any age.

[DFD1]

Your travel agent is talking BS as, sadly, some often do.

 

You are the perfect demographic for HAL. HAL offers a considerably more elevated cruise experience than any of the cruise lines you mentioned in your OP except perhaps Celebrity, and that's debatable. The ships are lovely and the perfect size. The service is wonderful for a large-ship cruise line.

 

What you will not find on HAL is the noise, whistles and nonsense you find on some of the others. HAL is still by no means dull.

 

Book it! Go and have a wonderful time!

[starysacz]

Very surprised the TA would make such a statement. As others have said, the TA has never been on a cruise. Your will blend in nicely. It is great that the individuals with walkers, etc., are enjoying and not sitting at home.

[MarieBr]

I will be celebrating my 40th birthday on a HAL cruise this March. I purposefully picked this cruiseline for many reasons but also because it might lean toward an older demographic vs. the younger/rowdier crowd.

[Kolleen]

As has been stated time of year, length of cruise, destination all factor into age groupings for each sailing.

 

On a personal note, in early December we sailed on the Oosterdam to Mexico. My husband and I are in the 40-50s age range. We love HAL although we occasionally cruise on Princess and RCCL as well. This cruise we brought our 25 year old daughter and her best friend, 26, on this cruise with us. We all had a wonderful time. The girls had such a great time that we are again booked for the 2/9/08 sailing of the Oosterdam. They are so excited and cannot wait to get back on board. All they can talk about is their past and future cruises. So much for younger people not having fun on HAL, at least in our experience.

[jtl513]

Our Mediterranean cruise in June had more kids than our Baltic cruise in September to be sure, but in our mid-60's we were basically right around the median on both. Yes, there are people in their 80's and 90's with mobility problems, but there are no more of them than those under 30.

[cruisebunnies]

This may upset some people but, in 30 years of travel and 8 cruises ,2 on HAL the mentality of most HAL passengers not the age was very very old.

We ,my wife and i ,are 70 and 62 and we found both HAL cruises to be dull .The ages of the passengers will range from 30ish to 90ish but the attitudes will mostly be older.

[traveler1980]

My husband and I went on HAL last summer when we were 27 and 30 and had a great time. There was a nice mix on our Alaskan cruise of all ages! It was just right for us. We booked again for this July!

[SarasMommy]

I am 34 and have been on 4 HAL cruises. On the first one, to the Baltic, there was only one child - a 4 year old. After that, I think I was the youngest passenger on board, at age 30. I couldn't go to the library without other passengers trying to return their books to me because everyone thought I was a crew member!

 

Yes, the demographics tend to be older on HAL than lines such as Celebrity, but that suits me just fine. I am not a party animal, but there is no shortage of nightlife to enjoy on board HAL. I think you will also find that the demographics depend a lot on itinerary. Caribbean and Alaskan cruises seem to attract younger crowds than some of the other more exotic itineraries that HAL offers.

[cruisinjudy]

I believe it was a Celebrity Caribbean cruise where I saw the most scooters! We mostly travel at non peak times and we are retired. I am right around the OP's age and I can't imagine being told that HAL was not for me. On the other hand if you like a lot of activity maybe it is not for you, but don't listen to a TA who hasn't sailed HAL.

[airlink diva]

I think that you will enjoy HAL. I'm 39 years old and I sailed on HAL three different times. On my most recent sailing, it was a 10 day in April. I saw fewer wheelchairs and walkers on this cruise than on my 7 day on the Oosterdam.

If you go during the peak season for your cruise, kids are out of school and you can expect more of them on board.

As for you TA, some friends of mine were looking into cruising on HAL last year. When they mention to their TA that they wanted to book on HAL, she told them that it was a nursing home ship. When they mentioned this to me, I ask them to ask the TA had she ever sailed on HAL. The answer was no. I then told them to question how could she give a fair opinon about a cruiseline that she never sailed. They booked on HAL to give it a try. Out of the six that went, four liked it and the other two didn't. But they all enjoyed the level of service and the ship itself.

I like HAL, but I also sail on other cruiselines. Read the boards and reviews on this website. Then make a choice. I hope you chose HAL!

Happy sailing!!

[theodoron]

When we first cruised with HAL in 1995, the demographic was older as we were in our late 30's early 40's. We returned from the Noordam last month and conitnued our love for HAL. On our cruise (12/1 - 12/11), the demographic was great age-wise. Families with children, older couples with grand children, seniors, 20 - 40 year olds - a great variety of people. So, you will feel at home.

 

I think a lot of TA's a playing old tapes and it is not reality. As the other posters have commented, it all depends on length of cruise, time of year, and itinerary.

[hammybee]

Here's a link to a review and a song about a Princess cruise whereby the OP found her fellow passengers to be on the mature side and the night life dead:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=677273&highlight=song

 

The point of this is that beyond generalizations about the length of the cruise and intinerary, you just never know what the demographics are going to be onboard any cruise ship.

 

There are as many posts on this board about too many kids on HAL ships as there are mature folks. You can't win.

[ScottishMaid]

We were on the Westerdam last July (school holidays) on the 10 day Eastern Mediterranean. There were people in their 80s or older, an infant of about 5 months at the next table to ours and every age inbetween. People were evenly spread over all ages. Several parents were showing their teenagers the cultural sights to tie in with school lessons. There were also some Germans, Italians, English, etc. There was some lively dancing in the Crow's Nest. I'm always impressed by people who know all the ballroom dancing steps. We kind of lost that growing up in the sixties.

Some of the very oldest people were the most active dancers and most beautifully dressed.

[richnorto]

We've been on 2 HAL cruises. The first was a spring break which did not coincide with other states and the last was our Christmas cruise this year. The first had a few kids/teens and was quite and older. There were families our age and we did not feel out of place in our 40's. The last was more extended families and was more fun for the kids (teens)! There were a lot of families (not many young children - ie. under 4) and their parents and Grandparents enjoying silly games together and spending great quality time! The Teens seemed to connect better on this cruise and made great friends! None of the under 30 crowd made any disturbance! I say this after being on a Carnival cruise a few years ago... Never again!

[mjwood77]

We are 30 and 32 and will be going on our 4th cruise this year. We pick HAL because of the older demographic. We don't need a bunch of "spring breakers" or rowdy children. The thought of a Disney cruise sends shivers down our spines. We don't need a rock climbing wall or a surfing pool. We like the flowers, linens, and formal nights. Great food, great service. We find there's plenty of fun dancing, games, socializing, and a variety of activities for all ages.

[ILoveScotland]

We are on the Westerdam in 2 and 1/2 weeks. I have no idea what the demographic will be overall, but we have an active roll call of about 50 people with age ranges from 32 to 85. I'm 67, and DH is the 85 year old. He's in a wheelchair but I'm very active as are most of the others on the roll call from the sound of it.

 

I love having people of all ages and welcome children unless they're out of control as happened to us on the one summer cruise we took.