Holland America - too "geriatric?"

[navybankerteacher]

The 2 HAL cruises we have been on have mostly had an average age over 50. We have met some nice people on board from around the world, and mostly we are on the trips to get away together. We're been newly weds for the last 3 decades, so spending time together is the most important thing for us.

 

We almost passed on a last minute HAL cruise last year because of negative reviews, but the price was too good to pass up. We had our best cruise ever and look forward to each trip on Holland. We booked another trip this spring on the Maasdam and again we're extremely happy that we did.

 

If we just looked at the negative reviews, we would never cruise with HAL, but we would have missed out on some of the best vacations of our lives.

 

My advice is to try HAL and make up your own mind.

 

Sorry if if this is a little off topic.

 

No, it's right on topic. I remain curious about the numerous posts about HAL ships being floating nursing homes - average age 75 - scooter parking lots, etc. I suppose those posters believe they sound knowledgeable, but am inclined to think that they have a lot less experience on HAL than they claim.

[eandj]

. I suppose those posters believe they sound knowledgeable, but am inclined to think that they have a lot less experience on HAL than they claim.

 

 

I know lots of people who have started their commentary/reviews on their first or second cruise on HAL with an honest comment about the older age of the cruisers. (Not necessarily negative.) BUT still a first impression. That doesn't happen on any other cruise line that I know of. No one goes on Princess' board and asks if there are too many "geriatrics" onboard. Nor on any other board.

 

Carnival is trying to buck the "party ship" image by making them more family and senior friendly and it seems to be working. Perhaps when HAL adds ships, they will do some things that will attract a new demographic. Celebrity has begun to figure it out with the new ships. Still keeping their older crowd, but adding a whole new group of cruisers to the line that want to upgrade a bit from Royal. I'm anxious to see what HAL can do with some new ships. ;)

 

Smaller ships are great. We like them a lot. But you can do things to make them more exciting yet keep them refined and relaxing. THAT should be HAL's goal.

[Yeezplate]

I suppose the definition or perception of what geriatric is may be different for everyone, but we took our first HAL cruise in April/May and we had a blast. When I say we, I mean me (33) and my wife (28).

 

We based our decision to choose HAL on a few things:

 

Itinerary (we know what we want to see)

Size of ship (woo woo!)

Our need to have our room be a sanctuary (read: quiet at night).

 

Were there older people on our cruise? Of course. But older people have as much right to the ship as we do. At no time did we experience anything like has been occasionally reported on this board: wheelchairs or slow tours because of the age of the participants. From top-to-bottom, each person on all of our tours was fit (and if they weren't, they knew their limitations and waited for the tour in a cool spot) and appeared to have a wonderful time. I would gladly trade some of my current friends for the ladies and gents that we met onboard and I wish we were able to spend MORE time with them.

 

We were also rarely in bed before 12:30 a.m. and we weren't alone on a ghost ship, either. There weren't thousands of people out and about, but there was a sufficient amount for human interaction. :)

 

All of that said, in the end, you have to use your instinct as much as anything else. The only time I was ever concerned about our choice was AFTER I read some of the stuff on this board and various reviews on the web in which people voiced complaints about the age of the cruisers. Truthfully, it made me slightly fearful we wouldn't fit in. It would have been an enormous mistake if I had chosen to cancel our cruise resulting in us missing out on some of the wonderful memories and wonderful people we met.

 

If you are looking for a quality ship with a great, warm welcoming staff and group of cruisers combined with adventure, then I don't think you can wrong with HAL. If you are, however, looking to get tipsy and dance all-night, every night, there are plenty of other more suitable options. And I wouldn't recommend HAL to the latter.

 

Good luck with your choice!

[Murray's Pop]

Tend to agree with the majority of the folks here. Depends on the time of year, length of cruise and location, and NOT specifically the cruise line. To us, Carnival certainly had a "party" type atmosphere (many "well lubricated" passengers, and lots of silly pool games). Did not appeal to us, so we don't cruise on Carnival any more. Princess, for us, tended to be a little older crowd but still fun.

 

We prefer to cruise when school is in session, and usually take cruises over 15 days in length. Saying that, the "oldest" demographic we had on a cruise was a recent Celebrity 15 day Hawaii cruise. The youngest demo was a 21 day Wayfarer cruise on HAL.

[pv girl]

Only one of our many cruises has been what could be called a "floating nursing home". It was a heavily discounted Caribbean cruise in the period right after Thanksgiving. Full of scooters, walkers, and complaining old folks. Dinner conversations were not pleasant as they were full of gripes, not interesting discussions. Had this been our first HAL cruise, we might have had a negative opinion, and we are seniors too. It was mostly Florida retirees looking for a cheap getaway who wanted to be waited on. They never got off the ship at ports. One couple griped about the free anniversary cake they got - called it "cheap". We just chalked it up to the clientele, not HAL, and vowed to be more selective if we ever do the Caribbean again. Please, Florida retirees, don't flame me, but you know who I am talking about, as you live among them.

 

All of our other cruises have been a pleasant mix of ages and cultures, with active, interesting seniors thrown in, ready to learn new things and see new places. Mama Lou uses a walker, but from everything I've read about her, I'd love to have her as a shipmate some day.

[Hlitner]

DW reminds me of our first HAL cruise which was on the then, new, Maasdam to the Baltic. We were in our 40s and among the babies on this particular cruise. One of the comedians worked some of the Welcome Aboard Show and started his routine by saying "Welcome aboard to all the Seniors and their parents." There were few laughs because there were fewer then 100 passengers awake for this late show which started about 10. It was more then 12 years before we again dared to return to HAL. Although the demographics had not gotten any younger, we were somewhat older so it was OK :).

 

Hank

[nana51]

My in laws are dedicated HAL cruisers. They are well into their 80's.

 

You know it is a geriatric cruise when my MIL complained about all the "old people" on board the Amsterdam a couple of years ago. My in laws go to Alaska just about every year.

 

Last year was to be their last cruise ever. Due to cancelled ports on last year's cruise on the Amsterdam, they will be at it again this year. They will be on the 14 day Alaska cruise that will stop in Kodiak that leaves I think August 24th.

 

Very typical of most elderly people, my in laws nap. A lot. Morning naps, afternoon naps, evening naps. More than likely that is why some folks feel that HAL cruises aren't that crowded - so many people are sleeping.

 

I have been on HAL six times, only twice on regular HAL cruises. The others were fully chartered. The regular cruises were like being on a floating nursing home. No night life. No vibe. Bad entertainment. Those were 7 day Caribbean cruises.

 

So folks like a super quiet atmosphere, like my elderly in laws. They don't like being around little kids for more than a few minutes. That's why they love HAL.

 

I'm an elementary school librarian, so on vacation I'm not too crazy to be around a bunch of young kids . This March we took a Mexican Riviera cruise on Zaandam. There were 300 kids on board plus all their young parents. Not too fun. That is why I usually prefer HAL. To each their own.

[POA1]

Only one of our many cruises has been what could be called a "floating nursing home". It was a heavily discounted Caribbean cruise in the period right after Thanksgiving..... . It was mostly Florida retirees looking for a cheap getaway who wanted to be waited on.

 

Awesome! We're on a Caribbean cruise right after Thanksgiving. It's not heavily discounted though. Not yet, anyway. Of course, we live in Florida and retirees don't bother us. In fact, we're bringing one of our own. (I know everyone says to 'Buy Local' but we're having our retiree shipped in from out of state. Not because out of state retirees are fresher or more exotic... We just took a shine to this particular one.) ;)

Edited July 11, 2014 by POA1

[pv girl]

Awesome! We're on a Caribbean cruise right after Thanksgiving. It's not heavily discounted though. Not yet, anyway. Of course, we live in Florida and retirees don't bother us. In fact, we're bringing one of our own. (I know everyone says to 'Buy Local' but we're having our retiree shipped in from out of state. Not because out of state retirees are fresher or more exotic... We just took a shine to this particular one.) ;)

 

Just knew I'd get a response from you on my comment!

[POA1]

Just knew I'd get a response from you on my comment!

My DFIL really is coming on this cruise with us, and he *is* from out of state.

[Deep68]

Our first cruise with HAL was when I was 29 and my DH was 34 (we are now in our 40's ).

We have cruised twice since with HAL and have a trip on the Veendam booked in August.

 

We purposely chose HAL due to the lack of children and more sedate image. We have no children of our own so this appeared to be a better fit or us. We have also sailed RCCL, Celebrity, NCL and Rennaissance. Rennaissance and Celebrity were our favorites along with HAL.

 

We were probably the youngest on our 14 day cruise by a couple of decades and I could not count the number of times I was asked if I was here with my parents or on my honeymoon! I even remember a gentleman one day asking if I had lost my parents and could he help me find them (he thought I was about 14!). But we enjoyed the older crowd.

 

It was quiet late at night with 6 regulars in the disco at 11pm!

But that was our choice. Carnival would not have been our thing even in our 20's.

 

We made our trip very active by arranging our own excursions hiking a volcano, kayaking etc.

 

So it is really not about age but what you are looking for in your experience and making an informed choice.

[peaches from georgia]

Only one of our many cruises has been what could be called a "floating nursing home". It was a heavily discounted Caribbean cruise in the period right after Thanksgiving. Full of scooters, walkers, and complaining old folks. Dinner conversations were not pleasant as they were full of gripes, not interesting discussions. Had this been our first HAL cruise, we might have had a negative opinion, and we are seniors too. It was mostly Florida retirees looking for a cheap getaway who wanted to be waited on. They never got off the ship at ports. One couple griped about the free anniversary cake they got - called it "cheap". We just chalked it up to the clientele, not HAL, and vowed to be more selective if we ever do the Caribbean again. Please, Florida retirees, don't flame me, but you know who I am talking about, as you live among them.

 

All of our other cruises have been a pleasant mix of ages and cultures, with active, interesting seniors thrown in, ready to learn new things and see new places. Mama Lou uses a walker, but from everything I've read about her, I'd love to have her as a shipmate some day.

Boy, will I agree with that!! Our least favorite cruise of all was a 2 week b2b on the Oosterdam to the East/West Caribbean. Most everyone else on the 2 cruises were 7 dayers only, retirees from south FL. Loud, obnoxious, demanding and rude to crew and pax alike. Cruises in early Dec are the cheapest of the year and we just wanted to try out the brand new Oosterdam. Never again between Thanksgiving and Christmas.