Cruisin w/spring breakers; the good, the bad & the stupid

[4spring]

Just got back from a 5 day cruise on the Fascination. Since there has been some discussion on these boards regarding cruising at the same time as Spring Breakers, thought I'd toss out my observations:

 

First off, I knew that if I was picking a 5 day or less cruise out of FL during spring break that there would be tons of college kids going. And there were!!! I'm not sure however that they were any worse than other travelers at other times of the year. You just tend to notice them more because there are sooooo many of them.

 

One thing I found is that they were a pretty easy, happy go lucky crowd. Very friendly. Some of this I'm sure had to do with the onboard drinking. They did a lot of dancing by the pool & kept the waiters busy getting drink orders. This worked in my favor since the last cruise I took on the Fascination, l felt like I was constantly being asked if I was ready for another drink. No one bothered me this time around! :)

 

Second I also had fun people watching. There was plenty of entertaining

scenes to observe. Lots of singing & dancing. The guys trying to look cool for the girls & the girls trying to look like they didn't care.

 

In the evening, the guys & girls all seemed to dress up alittle more than your average cruiser would (or at least from my three previous Carnival cruises). They were all trying to keep up with each other in the fashion dept or were trying to get noticed. I think this actually was pretty nice to see (the dressier outfits).

 

My encounters with the kids were always positive as well. They seemed polite & respectful. Or drunk & friendly (I got more high fives than I usually get while cruising :) ).

 

The downside - well, the pool area was crowded with kids sitting around the perimeter of the pools & hot tubs. But if you wanted to swim, the pools themselves were pretty much open. Security stayed visible at pool side so nothing was getting out of hand. The serenity area was pretty packed during the day with kids trying to get suntans, but in the evening it was very quiet.

 

Were there some stupid things, sure. There were a few boys jumping in the water from the walkway at the port which almost got them kicked off the ship as port authority wasn't going to let them board initially. Rumor had it that several kids missed the boat in the Bahamas so I'm sure mom or dad got calls from them. There were also a few ping pong balls that ended up in the water.

 

But overall it was just as fun a cruise as I've always had. I would go over spring break again.

[lizjoemom]

How nice to hear someone say something nice about these college kids! After the last postings regarding Spring Break cruising, you would think that all young people are a bunch of drunken idiots! I have actually never gone cruising during Spring Break, but given the opportunity, I wouldnt mind going with college kids. Glad that you had a great time and that you made this post:)

[marcopaulo]

Sounds like a great cruise. Me and my husband leave on Sunday and I was wondering if it was Srping Break for some colleges. We're not worried if it is.

[Cruzaholic41]

Were you on the March 12 sailing? A good friend of mine told me a Spring Breaker was taken off the ship in Key West and arrested for breaking in to the ship's engine room. I don't know the details though.

[Cristallo]

Seems like you went in with a realistic expectation and therefor had a great time.

 

I mean basic logic tells you that if Spring Break on land is hectic that Spring Break on a cruise ship is going to be too. :rolleyes:

[NotWthOutablcony]

Sounds like a great cruise. Me and my husband leave on Sunday and I was wondering if it was Srping Break for some colleges. We're not worried if it is.

Yep its still Spring Break for many out there, we leave in 10 days and it will still be Spring Break for some. I find that the longer the cruise is, the less amount of kids you get onboard of any age, so I don't think we'll have very many anyhow. My mother and I usually just find them good entertainment!

[MicksMom]

Glad you had fun! I think the people watching would be fun over spring break but I am too cheap to pay those rates if I don't have to. :)

[sharecruises]

Glad to hear you had fun !

 

I was on a 3 night NCL last year in March, spring break, the breakers all stayed in a couple hot tubs with beer buckets, ate mostly at the grill, buffet

and were in the disco....they partied up at White Hot Night (NCL's deck party)

 

I think a lot of people just freak out...this is NOT a disney cruise, it is family friendly...but also "friendly" and open to singles, couples, groups, college kids whatever

 

Those who don't like it need to go on Disney Cruises or LegoLand or whatever

[thesmiths]

Awesome..nothing wrong with our future having a good time before they hit the working world.

 

For those that have their panties in a bunch over spring breakers...

My gosh...quit complaining..

 

Oh wait, you'll just find something else to complain about. Its in your nature to be negative......just go elsewhere and do it!

 

 

Signed

50 something in De.

[JustUs2Finally]

Sounds like it was a blast! I, also, am happy to see a positive Spring Break review.

 

Glad to hear it was a good cruise!

[Cristallo]

Glad to hear you had fun !

I think a lot of people just freak out...this is NOT a disney cruise, it is family friendly...but also "friendly" and open to singles, couples, groups, college kids whatever

 

Amen. I'd LOVE to take a Disney cruise but in doing so I know that there will be a ton of children and that isn't something we're interested in. It would be silly of me to sail with them and them come back and complain about how all the children ruined my vacation.

[KirkWN737]

Glad you had fun. We're thinking about a Fascination cruise next fall.

[thesmiths]

Amen. I'd LOVE to take a Disney cruise but in doing so I know that there will be a ton of children and that isn't something we're interested in. It would be silly of me to sail with them and them come back and complain about how all the children ruined my vacation.

 

Plenty to do and plenty of Adult only area's on a Disney Cruise....

Granted we had our children on those cruises but we met many adult only couples on the 2 cruises we did and they were enjoying themselves.

 

It really was not that bad....just stay out of the Atrium area when Micky was scheduled to be there:D

 

Just don't go During Spring Break :eek::D

[OKLandShark]

They seemed polite & respectful. Or drunk & friendly (I got more high fives than I usually get while cruising :) ).

 

That is a very accurate decription! LOL!! Glad the crazy college kids didn't cause very much trouble. I could only imagine there was good people watching for sure!!! Glad it was a good cruise!

 

Sorry OP, I messed up the quotation part and I couldn't figure how to redo it.

[geoherb]

Our experience on the Fantasy this month was a lot like the OP's. The spring break crowd was never out of control around the pool areas--just a lot of them. We still managed to find times when there weren't a dozen people in a hot tub. My only complaint was being woken up by someone banging on our door the first night and being woken up by kids talking in the corridor outside our door the second night.

[RuthlessBoss]

Just got back from a 5 day cruise on the Fascination. Since there has been some discussion on these boards regarding cruising at the same time as Spring Breakers, thought I'd toss out my observations:

 

First off, I knew that if I was picking a 5 day or less cruise out of FL during spring break that there would be tons of college kids going. And there were!!! I'm not sure however that they were any worse than other travelers at other times of the year. You just tend to notice them more because there are sooooo many of them.

 

One thing I found is that they were a pretty easy, happy go lucky crowd. Very friendly. Some of this I'm sure had to do with the onboard drinking. They did a lot of dancing by the pool & kept the waiters busy getting drink orders. This worked in my favor since the last cruise I took on the Fascination, l felt like I was constantly being asked if I was ready for another drink. No one bothered me this time around! :)

 

Second I also had fun people watching. There was plenty of entertaining

scenes to observe. Lots of singing & dancing. The guys trying to look cool for the girls & the girls trying to look like they didn't care.

 

In the evening, the guys & girls all seemed to dress up alittle more than your average cruiser would (or at least from my three previous Carnival cruises). They were all trying to keep up with each other in the fashion dept or were trying to get noticed. I think this actually was pretty nice to see (the dressier outfits).

 

My encounters with the kids were always positive as well. They seemed polite & respectful. Or drunk & friendly (I got more high fives than I usually get while cruising :) ).

 

The downside - well, the pool area was crowded with kids sitting around the perimeter of the pools & hot tubs. But if you wanted to swim, the pools themselves were pretty much open. Security stayed visible at pool side so nothing was getting out of hand. The serenity area was pretty packed during the day with kids trying to get suntans, but in the evening it was very quiet.

 

Were there some stupid things, sure. There were a few boys jumping in the water from the walkway at the port which almost got them kicked off the ship as port authority wasn't going to let them board initially. Rumor had it that several kids missed the boat in the Bahamas so I'm sure mom or dad got calls from them. There were also a few ping pong balls that ended up in the water.

 

But overall it was just as fun a cruise as I've always had. I would go over spring break again.

I was on Dream last April. This posting pretty much describes what we encountered. The gals got their toes wet and danced a lot.

[PhotoPete]

We just sailed on Liberty 3/3-3/10 and there were plenty of college kids onboard. For the most part they were very well behaived. Wife and I had no issue with any of them.

[bakechef]

I've cruised and been in Daytona during spring break. Yes there are always rowdy people doing something stupid, but I have found that by far there are a lot more that are just happy to be there, and create a really fun atmosphere. If you are offended by sloppy drunks, then spring break might be sensory overload, but if you are happy-go-lucky, then it can be a great time, even if you aren't a spring breaker.

[babyher]

Glad you had a great time. Of course there will always be the bad apples in every group, but like others here have said they are a small minority .

 

Never been on a spring break cruise , but have cruised where there were a good amount of young foliks and they have all been very nice . I have more issues with some of the "adults" I have seen in action.

 

My 4 kids are all college age , and although them and their friends do love to have a good time, they are good kids. They are all going to school and/or working . They work hard , they like to play hard too.

[Almost Packed]

my first cruise was during spring break. had zero problems.

 

then another cruise, full of college spring breakers. well, let's just say they were very entertaining! lol. I only had one bad experience when one guy (highly intoxicated) got loud and obnoxious in the dining room.

 

other than that, they provided me with plenty of entertainment.

 

like others have stated, if you go during spring break you can expect it, just like kids during summer time and spring break as well.

 

the ships are big enough i can find somewhere to go if needed, usually my fave hangout is the balcony.

[gelo7]

Now, that's cruising with a positive attitude.

[Beppevroomvroom]

I'm heading out on the Glory the week after next and I will be dissapointed if there are NOT spring breakers on board!

 

This will be our 5th spring cruise from FL and we absolutely love the people-watching that comes with spring breakers - all the 'woo-hoo'ing and 'high five'ing, we love it!

 

We don't have spring break here in the UK (in the same way) and I think it's fab that these young adults get to let their hair down and have a good time with their mates.

We've never had any trouble with them. As with ALL Americans we have met while cruising, they have been nothing but curteous and polite (even when they are hammerred and slurring their words!!) :)

 

I'm sure there will always be the odd idiot that ruins it for everyone but so far I've never had any issues

[Jeafl]

Seems like you went in with a realistic expectation and therefor had a great time.

 

:

 

Truer words were never spoken.

 

I'm sure we will encounter lots of spring breakers on our cruise this Saturday, but I am optimistic that we won't run into any real problems.