Carnival SpiritOK for Oldies?

[Sundowners]

Hi,

My bride and I are thinking of taking our second ever cruise (May '13) and wondered if Carnival Spirit is a good ship for older folk in their 50's?

Last cruise we took was on Holland America's, Volendam and it was great, but we've heard that Spirit is more tuned into younger folk and young families. That doesn't bother us a bit......but do they take the grey haired set into account too?

Any advice is most welcome.

Cheers,

Rob

[Cruise ship fan]

With previous cruises on the QM2 and Volendam you will notice a completely different experience. When I was on the Spirit (we had the same cruise director so activities should be similar) they did try and cater for older folk but it was restrictive, and wouldn't be a often as it is on HA and Cunard.

[Sutho]

I hope you get someone who has been on it to answer you properly. All I can say is that based on the tv adverts it looks like you are asking the right question as it looks like it is geared to younger people. Judging by the ship you have been on I think you are wise to ask these questions first as HAL is known to be quite "up there" in terms of its service and attention to detail etc. Just a reputation it has. There are plenty of cruise lines sailing out of Sydney in the next year so you are bound to have plenty of choice.

[The Fox]

Hi,

My bride and I are thinking of taking our second ever cruise (May '13) and wondered if Carnival Spirit is a good ship for older folk in their 50's?

Last cruise we took was on Holland America's, Volendam and it was great, but we've heard that Spirit is more tuned into younger folk and young families. That doesn't bother us a bit......but do they take the grey haired set into account too?

Any advice is most welcome.

Cheers,

Rob

 

hi,

 

I woukld be more inclined to look at RCI,princess or celebrity cruises...I am a bit older than 50 and i find RCI and Princess have a great mixture fior young and mature aged pax.

 

I love RCI cruises...thewy suit me perfectly...however each to their own.

[MMDown Under]

I suggest you read the Cruise Ship Reviews for Carnival Spirit to see whether the ship is the right fit for you.

 

Might be a good idea to wait until the ship has been cruising in Australian waters for awhile.

[Sundowners]

Thanks for your answers and suggestions.

The reason I asked about Spirit is that we would like to take a Sth Pacific cruise in May/June '13 and find that most of the cruise lines have deserted our shores at that time of year except for Spirit and P&O.

I did take a look at the reviews and found virtually nothing relating to older passengers on Spirit. Anyway....there's nothing wrong with being with younger folk. Their company keeps us feeling younger.

Thanks again for your answers.

Rob

[Royalty X]

There's was nothing but older passengers on board our transpacific cruise. There was only about 20 people between the age of 20 and 40!

[kate59]

Thanks for your answers and suggestions.

The reason I asked about Spirit is that we would like to take a Sth Pacific cruise in May/June '13 and find that most of the cruise lines have deserted our shores at that time of year except for Spirit and P&O.

Hi Rob I haven't been on the Spirit yet but booked for May. We did our first cruise on Pacific Jewel around the Pacific Islands 2010 in April - got to go to Pentecost Island - the land bungy jump ritual - and it was great - yes some kids on board but they were ok. I preferred Princess cruises however we don't get much choice for cruises over our winter so just do it and have an open mind. ;)

[Sundowners]

Once again, thank you for your answers folks. Much appreciated.

As you can tell by the new time ticker on my signature, We've bitten the bullet and decided to go ahead.

Cheers,

Rob

[Ned49]

We was on first cruise on Spirit out of Sydney. There was a lot of kids on board. I think royal Caribbean are more suiting to an older age group. Princess are also good. We went on a N Y E cruise with them and there was just a normal amount of children.

[The_Big_M]

Once again, thank you for your answers folks. Much appreciated.

As you can tell by the new time ticker on my signature, We've bitten the bullet and decided to go ahead.

Cheers,

Rob

 

 

That's the best way to find out!

 

I agree they're going to have less targeting an older crowd than the other ships you have been on. However, it really depends on your own preferences as to whether what they have is what you're looking for.

 

Given the time you're travelling though, I wouldn't expect a large amount of youth onboard, so I'm sure they'll be catering for a variety of interests.

[Sundowners]

Given the time you're travelling though, I wouldn't expect a large amount of youth onboard, so I'm sure they'll be catering for a variety of interests.

 

Yes Big M, it wasn't until after we'd taken into account the QLD, NSW & VIC school holiday times that we decided to go ahead.

Cheers,

Rob

[6andy6]

TBH - when I think of Carnival I think of a worthy successor to Fairstar the 'fun' (although there was often another f that was used) ship - specially if your 18-25 and looking for good times with mates or the other opposite sex. Or families of course. Basically a moving Queensland family/young singles resort at sea....

 

That doesn't mean that it isn't fun...but it does cater for a demographic like all cruise lines do from Cunard and the all inclusive lines down. You will either fit in or you won't.

 

Now that means whether you will get much out of it or loath every minute depends on what your looking for and what your tollerance levels are. I would expect during school holidays for example it will be packed with school age children - so you would expect noise and given the way children are handed these days by parents - prolly a lot of running around.

 

If your on a honeymoon that might be crazy scary for you. if you had children prolly less so.

 

I think aim for a Princess (whether Australia or the US seasonal visitors) or RCI. HAL might be to old (from what I hear - not been on it myself). Celebrity would also be good with a slightly more upmarket feel than Princess (although I am sure I would get disagreement there).

[ceejay3377]

HAL might be to old (from what I hear - not been on it myself).

 

lol, I am constantly bemused at how many people think HAL has an 'old demographic', especially those who haven't sailed the line. To put it quite frankly ... you are misinformed.

 

I have been on 4 HAL cruises - including a 30 night b2b, Sydney to HK, which had lots of families on board - and I would not consider the demographic 'old' by any means (I'm 41, DH is 44 and we have sailed HAL for the last 3 years and will be again this summer). It certainly isn't in the same league as Carnival Spirit, but nor is it full of coffin dodgers ;). It does have a cap for the number of children it can take into the kids clubs, so the number of minors on board is always at a manageable level (an important consideration in my opinion). Like any line, the demographic on board is dependent on itinerary, price, and timing. Almost every cruiseline will have fewer children and families on certain cruises, like transatlantics or repositioning cruises.

 

The thing that I like about HAL is the better quality of food and service I perceive it to provide, the large number of quiet spaces (both indoors and outdoors) and the fact that I can sit by the pool and not be bothered by hairy chest/big bosoms/bombing competitions!:p

 

Cheers,

 

Carina

[happyaussies]

Good on ya Rob........because you'll never never know unless you go go go!

 

I think by your posts that no matter what you'll enjoy yourselves........have fun!

 

B&B

[6andy6]

lol, I am constantly bemused at how many people think HAL has an 'old demographic', especially those who haven't sailed the line. To put it quite frankly ... you are misinformed.

 

Carina

 

I can accept I may be misinformed...but if I am it's by HAL cruisers themselves.

 

Pop over to their boards.....I have seen several threads where people have been traveling with young children or young couples with said people asking would they feel out of it or would there be enough to do for people their ages and the repeat cruisers themselves have said it is an much older crowd, the ships close by 10pm and that on some longer voyages the average age is closer to 70 than 27. Personally, I am in my mid 40's and don't mind a crowd lie that...even in my 30's I would have enjoyed it (never been a party boy).

 

I have also seen posts by past younger passengers that also said they felt out of it....

 

So who to believe........repeat passengers...or repeat passengers.... :confused::confused::confused:

[ceejay3377]

Hi 6andy6,

 

It was not intended as a personal comment, although your post was a catalyst for my reply. This board is full of people genuinely wishing to be helpful, but I don't think it is particularly helpful when people offer advice on cruise lines that haven't experienced. (and even though I have three cruises with P&O Aus under my belt and I hesitate to offer any advice or opinion on P&O, given how strong the feelings can run on these boards :p)

 

My personal feeling is that I don't think those who haven't cruised with certain lines should be offering advice regarding those lines. Cruise Critic is a great place to come for advice and chat with fellow cruise addicts, and I just think we should be careful not to step over the line from helpful sharing of first hand experiences and opinions to presumptions based on what others have written and offer it as advice. Those opinions and comments vary enormously. I haven't sailed on Carnival and I have been watching the Carnival threads with interest. You would think that the Spirit has a doppelganger cruise ship cruising alongside her given the wide and varied opinions offered by those who have cruised on her over the last few weeks. ;)

 

Cheers,

[bazzaw]

I have to admit that my perception (based only on advertising I have seen ) is that Carnival Spirit is going to be a "family friendly" boat (shudder!!! :))

 

BUT - when I look at the Voyager of the Seas, I see all kinds of "family friendly" facilities- rock climbing wall, inline skating track, ice skating rink, mini-golf. SO -- what is it about Spirit that would make it any more or less family friendly than (say) VOS???

 

Personally, I think the old rules of thumb -- "the longer the cruise, the older the crowd" - and "don't even think about sailing during school hols :)" will still apply regardless of the "marketing" done by the cruiselines.

 

Barry

[Sundowners]

I can accept I may be misinformed...but if I am it's by HAL cruisers themselves.

 

Pop over to their boards.....I have seen several threads where people have been traveling with young children or young couples with said people asking would they feel out of it or would there be enough to do for people their ages and the repeat cruisers themselves have said it is an much older crowd, the ships close by 10pm and that on some longer voyages the average age is closer to 70 than 27. Personally, I am in my mid 40's and don't mind a crowd lie that...even in my 30's I would have enjoyed it (never been a party boy).

 

I have also seen posts by past younger passengers that also said they felt out of it....

 

So who to believe........repeat passengers...or repeat passengers.... :confused::confused::confused:

 

I cant count our QM2 trip as a cruise. It was a Trans Atlantic crossing, so the only real "cruise" we've been on was a NZ cruise with Holland America, on their Volendam. I would agree that the average age of the crowd was a little older than we expected, but there were quite a few children on the ship and all ages in between too. BUT...the ship most certainly didn't close down at 10pm. It was humming along just nicely thank you....well into the small hours.

Its because of our experience on HAL and the "age" reputation that they have, that I started this thread.

Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, we've decided to go ahead and book a stateroom on Spirit.

Once again, Folks, thanks for your answers and all your suggestions.

Cheers,

Rob

[Ned49]

Yes Big M, it wasn't until after we'd taken into account the QLD, NSW & VIC school holiday times that we decided to go ahead.

Cheers,

Rob

We did the same thing booked out of school holidays and we had near 1000 kids on board. It will be interesting to see how the next few cruises pan out.:eek:

[The_Big_M]

BUT - when I look at the Voyager of the Seas, I see all kinds of "family friendly" facilities- rock climbing wall, inline skating track, ice skating rink, mini-golf. SO -- what is it about Spirit that would make it any more or less family friendly than (say) VOS???

 

That's a valid statement. I do see the two lines as quite comparable overall - not the same, but broadly equivalent. I'd expect passengers to be fairly similar as well (adjusting for itinerary, date and duration as others have mentioned).

[Duck Creek]

Currently on the Spirit and there is somewhere between 600 -900 kids.

Ages range from babies to very senior citizens.

Lots of extended family groups as well.

[Cruise ship fan]

BUT - when I look at the Voyager of the Seas, I see all kinds of "family friendly" facilities- rock climbing wall, inline skating track, ice skating rink, mini-golf. SO -- what is it about Spirit that would make it any more or less family friendly than (say) VOS???

 

The Carnival brand is very different onboard to RC. The first place to look is the look of the ships, they are very bright and loud design wise. Everything is more in your face. RC ships are more modern and minimalist (in comparison) so it is easier to find a place to get away from it.

 

Also the activities play a role in this. RC uses is facilities to provide entertainment, while Carnival need to organise activities. With RC having the facilities people can make their own activities and don't need to rely on the organised entertainment, this allows a wider range of people who will enjoy it. With Carnival the activities are almost all organised so if the activities are not aimed towards you, you wont have the best time. The activities are usually based towards the largest crowd onboard and that just happens to be a young crowd.

 

So even thought they sound the same they are very different due to the large variety of choice on the Voyager.

[Duck Creek]

Currently on the Spirit and there is somewhere between 600 -900 kids.

Ages range from babies to very senior citizens.

Lots of extended family groups as well.

 

Revised figure 650 under 18s on board

[Kiwi Kruzer]

The Carnival brand is very different onboard to RC. The first place to look is the look of the ships, they are very bright and loud design wise. Everything is more in your face.

 

 

All the Carnival ships have had the the influence of interior ship designer Joe Farcus.

He is renowned for his use of neon throughout the ship which he uses in a bright and gaudy fashion.

Its quite often "over the top" or "way out", but whatever , it does get noticed and remembered.:D

 

http://www.beyondships.com/Carnival-art-Farcus.html