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Smaller boat cruising for the 40'ish age range?


lunula
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Ask those who go all inclusive, and they'd say they're not paying for other people's drinks, they're paying for the freedom of not having to account for and keep track of every little thing they do/eat/drink on their vacation :)

 

As you said, luxury is different things. To me, the freedom of not needing to pull out my wallet for every choice of what I eat, drink, or do is luxurious.

the cruiselines I have sailed on I did not carry my wallet with me & never felt I had to keep track of what i ate or drank on my vacation

Luxury is different things to different people

Being able to travel is a luxury for some

 

Life is short ...enjoy it

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I meant it figuratively, not literally.

 

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

I guess I just do not get the thing about signing your name when you want to buy a drink

I do not mind signing for a drink ...we do not drink much so it is not worth the extra $$ for the cruise to be all inclusive

 

 

YMMV

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  • 4 months later...
Ah, so you don't "get" it. I get that. I don't "get" golf.....but I don't get snarky about people who love it, and I don't intimate that they're wasting their time or money either.

 

HA! I don't "get" a lot of things people spend lots of money on, but that is just me... luxury vacations, well, I totally get those! :)

 

As for being young on a luxury cruise, we took our first Seabourn Cruise a couple of years ago and were 37 and 38. There was another couple our age, but we spent a of time with people much older than us. They were lots of fun!

 

This Dec. We will be going on one of the "larger" Seabourn Ships, the Quest, and I imagine it will be a similar experience. Alas, I will be celebrating my 40th birthday on the trip (even though the actual day isn't until shortly after our return) so talk of ages will not be particularly appealing to me!

 

Go, and enjoy!

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A couple of comments. Yes -- "luxury" means different things to different people. For the most part the term "luxury" on CruiseCritic refers to those cruiselines with the designation (not sure who gave it to them). They are (in alphabetical order), Crystal, Paul Gauguin Cruises Regent, Seabourn, SeaDream Yacht Club and Silversea. There are also some based out of Europe. All except Crystal were all-inclusive until this year when Crystal joined in. Crystal has the largest ships while Seabourn has the smallest. Crystal is the only ship that still has set seating (although open seating is available through reservation).

 

Paul Gauguin Cruises and SeaDream Yacht Club probably have the youngest demographic. We found a lot of young couples on Regent in May, 2012 and assume it would be the same on Silversea and Seabourn. Since Silversea is the most formal, it might (or might not) have the oldest demographic.

 

During the summer and school breaks there are young families on all the cruise lines. One more point...... the really small ships (excluding Paul Gauguin and SeaDream Yacht Club) tend to have less activities for younger people. I'm specifically thinking of Seabourn's three ships that hold 209 passengers each and also Silversea's Cloud and Wind.

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We went on the Paul Gauguiin a couple if years ago. One of the reasons it may have more young and young at heart, is that they have a lot of water sport people who do the cruises to Tahiti. Many divers, many snorkelers. We are signed up to do another but on a smaller ship in the Mediterranean. Only 90 passengers. 1 crew member for every 1.5 passengers makes them fabulous. No big shows. The concentration will be on beaches that large ships can't get to and history with guest lecturers. A port everyday so no boredom.

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  • 1 month later...

Our honeymoon cruise was on the Paul Gauguin in 2008 (when it was still Regent). I was 32, husband 35. There were at least 5 other honeymooning couples in their 30s on this cruise. We chose the PG for the diving, and judging from our dives from the PG, many others did too. Lots of active people of all ages on this cruise -- did not notice a "generational difference" at all.

 

Went on Crystal last year for the first time. We were at the young end of the age spectrum, but not so much that it was glaringly noticeable. There were several couples in their late 30s/early 40s. I was not made to feel out of place at all by the passengers at the other end of the age spectrum. Again, lots of active, well-traveled people of all ages. I highly recommend the understated elegance of Crystal no matter how old you are -- I've been Crystallized! Booked another Crystal cruise for 2014. I would also love to go back to the PG, but there are so many other places in the world to visit!

 

My husband loved the PG because of the itinerary, first and foremost. For him, the ship isn't as much of a destination, he doesn't care as much about the ship amenities. For me, the ship is as much of a destination, and the service and food are as important as the ports. I loved both of my cruises on Crystal and the PG/Regent. I cannot comment on the bigger Regent ships, nor can I comment on the PG after leaving the Regent fleet.

 

I'm planning a cruise with 3 friends and they want to go on Carnival.......I'm trying to keep an open mind!

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  • 8 months later...

Hi, I am a newbie on this board and just wanted to post to say thanks so much for the opinions offered.

 

DH and I are looking at a Crystal cruise in November 2013 and we weren't sure which operator we'd want to go with on a longer one, but we plan to investigate Regent now as well. It was hard narrowing down the list, so the advice on this thread has helped us focus on exploring Regent for a cruise after the one we are planning with Crystal.

 

Happy cruising everyone :)

 

ETA: I am 43 and my best friend is 77 years old. She is older than my mum and I am younger than her 3 daughters, but we have a true friendship and not a mother/daughter type relationship. So in terms of mixing with people from different age groups, I definitely think that you never know where you might find a long term friend and how much older or younger than you they might be!

Edited by LipBalmAddict
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We returned 2 weeks ago from our Paul Gauguin Cruise. Absolutely spectacular. Visiting French Polynesia is amazing. All included which includes tips and all alcohol. Only shore excursions are extra. They also include air from LAX and all transport and a day room once you arrive in Tahiti.

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We returned 2 weeks ago from our Paul Gauguin Cruise. Absolutely spectacular. Visiting French Polynesia is amazing. All included which includes tips and all alcohol. Only shore excursions are extra. They also include air from LAX and all transport and a day room once you arrive in Tahiti.

 

That's on my bucket list, hopefully to do within the next 10-15 years. Next up is a transpacific on Crystal to NZ, and then 7-10 days there (I just reserved it, and I'm very excited).

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  • 7 months later...

People have left out a unique small ship experience. We have taken the French Polynesia trips with the Paul Gauguin four times. This 300+ passenger vessel is the most truly all inclusive line on the water. It's not the party down experience of the mega ship disco halls, but if you want TERRIFIC service, great food, no worries about whether you are spending too much (all inclusive), rich cultural experiences and in port overnight on every stopover, you are missing out if you choose the other lines mentioned.

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People have left out a unique small ship experience. We have taken the French Polynesia trips with the Paul Gauguin four times. This 300+ passenger vessel is the most truly all inclusive line on the water. It's not the party down experience of the mega ship disco halls, but if you want TERRIFIC service, great food, no worries about whether you are spending too much (all inclusive), rich cultural experiences and in port overnight on every stopover, you are missing out if you choose the other lines mentioned.

 

 

The Paul Gauguin has been mentioned more than once on this VERY OLD thread. Agree that it a wonderful experience!

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  • 1 month later...
A couple of comments. Yes -- "luxury" means different things to different people. For the most part the term "luxury" on CruiseCritic refers to those cruiselines with the designation (not sure who gave it to them). They are (in alphabetical order), Crystal, Paul Gauguin Cruises Regent, Seabourn, SeaDream Yacht Club and Silversea. There are also some based out of Europe. All except Crystal were all-inclusive until this year when Crystal joined in. Crystal has the largest ships while Seabourn has the smallest. Crystal is the only ship that still has set seating (although open seating is available through reservation).

 

Paul Gauguin Cruises and SeaDream Yacht Club probably have the youngest demographic. We found a lot of young couples on Regent in May, 2012 and assume it would be the same on Silversea and Seabourn. Since Silversea is the most formal, it might (or might not) have the oldest demographic.

 

During the summer and school breaks there are young families on all the cruise lines. One more point...... the really small ships (excluding Paul Gauguin and SeaDream Yacht Club) tend to have less activities for younger people. I'm specifically thinking of Seabourn's three ships that hold 209 passengers each and also Silversea's Cloud and Wind.

 

FYI--While the the decor, passenger demographic, and overall atmosphere was pretty well interchangeable between the two, we found Windstar to be much better in terms of service and food than Paul Gauguin. I had better food and to a degree service on Disney than I did on the Paul Gauguin.

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FYI--While the the decor, passenger demographic, and overall atmosphere was pretty well interchangeable between the two, we found Windstar to be much better in terms of service and food than Paul Gauguin. I had better food and to a degree service on Disney than I did on the Paul Gauguin.

 

Wow - this is a rather old thread. It is interesting to read what I wrote in 2012. Anyway, the Paul Gauguin experience we had is when it was run by Regent. It sounds as if the experience is different now. We have heard very good things about Windstar but it isn't something that some luxury cruisers are looking for (in terms of size of cabins and the ship size). The Paul Gauguin did beat out Windstar in Conde Naste Magazine's poll last year (which may not mean much -- just interesting).

 

IMO, the true luxury lines do not have a ship that targets people under 50 simply because they need to be certain that they can fill their ships. They most likely look at the number of people that are not retired that can afford luxury cruising. There is also the issue of people with limited time off -- both in terms of how much time they can take or are willing to take for their vacation.

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