Single at 80

Hi I hope someone can help. My mother in law is 80, a fit and stylish 80 year old. She is going to Miami from the UK next April to stay with her niece for a few days then she would like to do a cruise for 5 days.

We need recommendations of suitable cruises as she will be on her own and would like to meet other people.

Thank you

If she wants to be with people her own age look at hal

Suggest you go to www.cruisetimetables.com and choose Miami as departure port. It will show you what is available, and the itinerary. there are also a few from Fort Lauderdale. Celebrity Infinity might be a good fit for her. Choosing traditional dining will help her to meet people. EM

She may find it more difficult if she only wants to take a 5-day cruise. Shorter cruises tend to attract a younger crowd; more party oriented or families with lots of kids. Older people tend to take longer cruises; at least 7 days or longer.

If she is looking at mainstream cruises I would recommend Holland America. They tend to cater to an older crowd. I would also suggest traditional dining with a large table so she would have the same dinner companions each evening.

Celebrity is another possibility but again recommend 7 days.

Bad idea: a short April (Easter break time) cruise from Florida will be loaded with young drinkers. She should look at HAL or Celebrity for a sailing of AT LEAST a week.

I don't think a 5 day cruise will be suitable for an 80 year old woman.

Those cruises are known to be party cruises with a lot of drinking -- lots of younger cruisers.

HAL does attract an older crowd. But HAL does not have any ships sailing out of Miami. All HAL cruises sail out of Ft Lauderdale. The best ships for a woman of her age would be the smaller HAL ships and sadly there aren't many HAL ships left sailing in April as they are repositioning to Alaska, Canada/New England and Europe.

As others responded, shorter cruises tend to have a younger passenger looking for a drinking/partying atmosphere, which is more prevalent at that time of year.

In addition to HAL & Celebrity, you should check out the premium & luxury lines, which will definitely have an older demographic - Viking Ocean, Oceania, Azamara, etc.