Carnival Glory for 75 year olds??

My husband and I along with my sister and her husband will be cruising on the Glory in April next year. We are all in our early 50's and this will be our first cruise. We are trying to get my dad to come along (he is 75), but his girlfriend is telling him that "Carnival is only for young people". She worked for a travel agency many years ago and has been on several Carnival cruises - not sure which ships. To anyone who has been cruising with Carnival for a while, can you give me some examples of how Carnival cruises have changed over the years and / or how they are suitable for people in their 70's? I really feel like he would have a great time but his head is now filled with with visions of nothing but a bunch of 20 years getting drunk, taking over the pools, etc. Any ammunition you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Pam

Hi,

I don't know how Carnival has changed but I DO know that now there is quite a large mix of age groups especially on the longer 7+day cruises!

My husband is 73 and I am in my late 60s. We have met older folks and younger folks and all were having fun!

I don't know the specific ship you are using but there will be shows, comedians,trivia,music for dancing(all sorts) ,a piano bar for sing alongs,silly contests, board games,bingo,cards,books to read, and wonderful ports to visit.

I think the only time that the stereotype of "party central" is true is for the really short booze cruises!

I don't know the specific ship you are using...

Given the title of the thread, my guess would be Glory. [emoji6]

Yes! I read the name of the ship was the Glory.

When I said I "didn't know it". I meant I haven't been on that ship so I don't know exactly what it offers!

Sorry if that wasn't clear.

My Mom and her girlfriend are in their late 70's and love Carnival! We have lots of fun and they are never bored. I haven't seen any crazy parties, but they may happen later in the night after we go to bed. :-)

Tell them to come on. There are lots to do besides drinking/partying.

Entertainment is not what it used to be but if you never seen the other, you might like what they offer now.

My mom is 88 and will go every time she is asked.

There are many opportunities to eat, my mom loves that.

Just walking around a moving ship can be hours of fun.

Go up to Lido and get a cookie and a cup of coffee and watch the dolphins or the flying fish in comfort. Take a deck of cards.

Take a tour around the pool area, Listen to the music. play bingo. There is a casino. A sports bar you can catch a game.

Play ping pong or mini golf.

Just ride the elevators and talk to people.

The not so newly wed game is usually very good.

I just called my mom to ask what she liked about a cruise. Her answer was the food and she can be out and if she gets tired, she just catches the elevator back to the room for a nap.

If we go to say Disney, we have to have a plan to get her back to the hotel for her afternoon nap. It is a hassle. That is not a problem on the cruise.

She gets coffee delivered for her morning wake up call. Then gets dressed and we usually go to the dining room for breakfast. Then there is trivia games to play or just watch. Usually some excitement out around the pool. Take a dip or sit in a hot tub for a while. Go to lunch.

My mom really loves being able to order whatever she wants off the menu without having to worry what it is going to cost. They have movies on the big screen at night.

My FIL won the Hairy Chest Contest three times. Last time he was 80. That was a three day cruise.

Young is a state of mind.

This is our 14th cruise. We love the Glory. You will have a great time. We love to play cards or bring our favorite game in the Lido, The music before dinner in the atrium is great. We have only had one drunk person late at night make us feel like it was time to find a new place to sit. You will have a wonderful time watching the waves and being with family.

Relax and enjoy life.

Thanks everyone for the replies! Hopefully they will go a long way in helping to convince them they will enjoy themselves. I have been looking at the excursions available and there seems to be one or two they would be able to do in every port (we are doing the 7 day Eastern Caribbean with stops in Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; St. Thomas, USV; San Juan, Puerto Rico and Grand Turk). Wish me luck:)

I would tell him about the variety of things there are to do on the ship and let him decide. I wouldn't say for sure that Carnival is for everybody, older or younger. But there certainly is a variety of things to do.

My Mom was 87 when she last went on a Carnival ship the Liberty in Nov. 2014. While I had to push her around in her wheelchair to go more than a hundred feet or so, she enjoyed the cruise immensely. We were with family and friends that ranged from 23 to Mom at 87.

My Mom passed away in March of this year but she always loved her cruises whether they be on Carnival, Princess or Holland America. FYI - we always went on 5, 7, 8 or 10 day cruises.

I noticed you plan to go in April. That could hit right during spring break, which may or may not affect the crowd on the ship. We love Glory and are going back again in October for a 14-day Journeys cruise. We are in our 60's and still enjoy many of the activities, but also like the option to head to the Serenity deck and do nothing. Well, we read, watch the waves and the people, but it is so relaxing there.

Best of luck convincing them to go.

I noticed you plan to go in April. That could hit right during spring break, which may or may not affect the crowd on the ship.

Yes, we are going in April but it actually sails on April 30th. I am pretty sure that this will be after Spring Break but before the kids are out of school. I don't know that I would want to go during spring break and I KNOW my dad wouldn't!

Another voice saying they should, " Go, go, go."

We are both in our 70's and love Carnival cruises. Even with the mobility challenges that we each have, we love the spirit of the crew and cruisers on Carnival. There are plenty of things to do , or not do; the choices are varied enough to make those decisions.

We have never felt that age was a factor. The slogan, All for Fun and Fun for All has been our experience no matter which Carnival ship we've been on.

Be sure to come back with a review to let us know how they enjoyed it.

Stay away from short, weekend cruises and you'll be fine. Many of those are probably fine too, but you do have a greater risk of a younger, more boisterous crowd with them. Book during the school year and on non-holidays for an older crowd. Honestly, I've never seen an overly boisterous party, or individual on a Carnival ship, but we tend to cruise during the school year and for at least seven nights. You'll be fine. Enjoy!

It really doesn't matter how old you are there is indeed something for EVERYONE! Tell your Dad to try it one time ...I'll guarantee you he'll love it! :)

On a January cruise to Panama from Miami, I was one of the youngest on board at 60. It was actually dangerous in some of the buffet areas and hallways due to motorized scooters - had my shins bumped and narrowly avoided getting my toes run over several times.

This was an aberration, of course, I assumed the cruise wasn't selling well and then got heavily discounted for Florida residents. I wrote a review for the Carnival website titled "Geriatric Cruise", but it was only there for a day or two before it vanished.

Back in the day when I started cruising Carnival was definitely a party ship...beer drinking contests, male nightgown contest...these were ship sponsored events. It was a younger crowd usually on short cruises.

Over the years Carnival has gone more family friendly. The ships got larger and there is so much variety as far as things to do,entertainment, food etc. My first cruise was in 1986 when I was in my 20's. My parents have gone with us occasionally and enjoyed it each time. So since my parents were in their 40's until recently when they are in their 70's they have enjoyed the ships and traveling with family. We don't always do the same excursions but meeting up for dinner together every night is a great way to reconnect and share what we did each day! Take you dad....I'm sure he will enjoy it !

I can't wait. First time going on a cruise and it will be on the Glory next April.

My husband and I along with my sister and her husband will be cruising on the Glory in April next year. We are all in our early 50's and this will be our first cruise. We are trying to get my dad to come along (he is 75), but his girlfriend is telling him that "Carnival is only for young people". She worked for a travel agency many years ago and has been on several Carnival cruises - not sure which ships. To anyone who has been cruising with Carnival for a while, can you give me some examples of how Carnival cruises have changed over the years and / or how they are suitable for people in their 70's? I really feel like he would have a great time but his head is now filled with with visions of nothing but a bunch of 20 years getting drunk, taking over the pools, etc. Any ammunition you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

 

Pam

I am 54 and my husband is 55. I've sailed 16 Carnival cruises, with two more already booked. We're not partiers nor heavy drinkers. We enjoy sitting on deck and watching the ocean going by. We love comedy shows. We love music. (We DON'T visit the disco. :eek:)

My mom is almost 75. I've taken her on three Carnival cruises so far, Glory being one of them. She loved them so much she keeps begging to go on another one. (Hopefully we're all going when our son graduates from Harvard Law School next May.) She enjoyed karaoke, trivia, comedy club, where she laughed till she had tears streaming down her face. We watched a movie on deck at night. We sat at the piano bar.

Are there still the partiers on the ships? Sure, but we never seemed to run into them.

The 3,4, and 5 day cruises draw the younger crowd. The 7 day and longer are mixed ages. We are 67 and 62, sailed all our 9 cruises with Carnival and have never run into a rowdy crowd. One 3 day and the other 8 from 7 to 15 days. The 3 day was a younger crowd, the 7 day ones were a mixed age crowd, and the 3 that were 10 days or longer were an older crowd. We have sailed Glory 3 times, with a 4th coming up, really nice ship, they will have a wonderful, relaxing time.

The 3,4, and 5 day cruises draw the younger crowd. The 7 day and longer are mixed ages. We are 67 and 62, sailed all our 9 cruises with Carnival and have never run into a rowdy crowd. One 3 day and the other 8 from 7 to 15 days. The 3 day was a younger crowd, the 7 day ones were a mixed age crowd, and the 3 that were 10 days or longer were an older crowd. We have sailed Glory 3 times, with a 4th coming up, really nice ship, they will have a wonderful, relaxing time.

The cruises I took with my mom were all four-day cruises. I felt like one of the youngest people on board. :eek:

My parents are 75 and 72. They like Carnival better than the other lines they've tried. They also loved the Glory. Go for it!