YOUNG ADULTS on Holland America???

we are wanting to travel over Christmas with our two young adult children ,ages 18 & 19. We are concerned that they will not have any peers to " hang out" with . After reading the reviews it seems HA is geared to older adults and does not have music by the pools Ect.

Any experience seeing younger folks on these ships or should we search elsewhere?

I just tried HAL for the first time. I'm much older than your children and it didn't have much "life" on it. I think they would enjoy Royal Caribbean as it has much better entertainment, is geared toward families and has lots of sports type activities. I would suggest looking around before making a decision.

 

Enjoy cruising!!!

 

Patti

I second what Patti said. Having been on several different lines, I think Royal Caribbean is good for the ages you reference. They would also have a lot of peers on Carnival- but if you went that route, I would definitely pick one of the newer ships.

Our first cruise on HAL was in 2008. We took our kids who were 23 & 21 at the time to Alaska. They had a wonderful time-but-the Crow's Nest was hopping every night. Music, dancing, young adults mingling.

 

Now nothing goes on it seems after the BB Kings is over. Crow's Nest is completely dead and nothing much happening anywhere. I'd find a different cruise line.

 

Having said that, I took my 30 year old daughter during spring break this year on a HAL Caribbean cruise and she did find people her age to hang out with. She has been on HAL before and it didn't matter to her if she found people her age or not as we were just going to go to relax by the pool and snorkel/diving.

 

Tough decision for you. I'd research a bit more before deciding but in my opinion, for what you're looking for this time, I'd find a different cruise line.

 

 

 

 

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If it is the Konsingdam you'd probably be okay. The other ships.....not so much if they like to be entertained.

If it is the Konsingdam you'd probably be okay. The other ships.....not so much if they like to be entertained.

Good point, and that's a fairly big "if". Preferences based on age may not be so homogenous. It might be better to start with questions about the individual, then the cruise line.

we are wanting to travel over Christmas with our two young adult children ,ages 18 & 19. We are concerned that they will not have any peers to " hang out" with . After reading the reviews it seems HA is geared to older adults and does not have music by the pools Ect.

Any experience seeing younger folks on these ships or should we search elsewhere?

We had our daughters 18 and 21 on a Christmas cruise several years ago, and they had a great time. There are more kids on Christmas cruises than any others. Your worries about them entertaining themselves is probably misplaced. Between ports, Half Moon Cay, and the pools, they'll be glad they're somewhere warm and sunny. Your kids will be listening to their own music on the phones/ipods anyway. Don't overthink it.

It probably depends on which HAL ship you take. I would not recommend the Prinsendam - although it is a beautiful ship and I personally loved the smaller passenger count - however I felt as though I was getting a preview of retirement home living. We have travelled NCL a few times with our kids and there were lots of on board activities for kids and teens of all ages.

 

 

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My sense would be to look at RCI and Carnival.

 

I have no doubt that there will be other young adults on Christmas HAL cruise however HAL's entertainment leaves a lot to be desired for people of our age...in their sixites. Cannot imagine what young adults will think of it.

I assume you're going to the Caribbean or somewhere warm. There's a whole different demographic (up to a third kids) on a Christmas cruise, and HAL plans accordingly with activities for kids of all ages. That being said, with kids 18-21, they are adults, will expect to be treated as such, and will find their own way. They will explore the ship, ports, and enjoy the beaches. I would agree that you want to be on Vista class ships or larger, but I've been in your shoes and our kids the same age had a blast. No matter what ship or line, prepare them for being "unplugged". They have never experienced internet as slow or as expensive as onboard ship. They probably have music on their phones, but prep them for lack of streaming service so they can download in advance if needed.

We booked Westerdam out of Ft. Lauderdale for Christmas 2017 for budget reasons. But our kids are 26 & 22. Travel agent did warned HAL was mostly older adults. Have to believe that even the older folks will be taking the family with them on vacation at Christmas time. Okay, I could be wrong. Fortunately we are a close family and won't mind hanging on the beach ports together when it is 20 degrees back home.

We booked Westerdam out of Ft. Lauderdale for Christmas 2017 for budget reasons. But our kids are 26 & 22. Travel agent did warned HAL was mostly older adults. Have to believe that even the older folks will be taking the family with them on vacation at Christmas time. Okay, I could be wrong. Fortunately we are a close family and won't mind hanging on the beach ports together when it is 20 degrees back home.

 

TA is correct in that HAL is an older demographic. My kids did HAL ad 17 & 15, and again at 22 & 20. We had a Retreat Cabana both times (Eurodam) so they read and listened to music. Billboard Onboard was fun, and they have always liked fine dining. But there was not much for them to do. However they don't do much on other lines either and they knew what they signed up for when I booked the cruise.

 

It will be a relaxing vacation and my advice is to get up early and enjoy the ports.

we are wanting to travel over Christmas with our two young adult children ,ages 18 & 19. We are concerned that they will not have any peers to " hang out" with . After reading the reviews it seems HA is geared to older adults and does not have music by the pools Ect.

 

Any experience seeing younger folks on these ships or should we search elsewhere?

 

 

 

Took our 30-year old son on a HAL January cruise 3 years ago and he had no peers. Staff told us that it was the luck of the draw BUT they did concede that Seniors flock to January cruises to escape from the winter doldrums . Good luck...

 

 

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I just tried HAL for the first time. I'm much older than your children and it didn't have much "life" on it. I think they would enjoy Royal Caribbean as it has much better entertainment, is geared toward families and has lots of sports type activities. I would suggest looking around before making a decision.

 

Enjoy cruising!!!

 

Patti

 

I agree though the length of cruise, itinerary and time of year can have an impact.

I think the attraction here toward HAL is the price. For the Caribbean, open rates during Christmas 7 day cruises when the kids are out of school are less on HAL by $400-$600 Each. So for a family of 4 that would be around $2,000. Gosh, have both kids bring a friend, that is still cheaper. I suspect these rates will attract a crowd with younger kids.