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Finally a 55+ cruiser!


bigwally
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Dear Young People!

Just a 51, but my wife now being 55, I decide to join the Club 55+ already now ;)

As we started not that long ago, we fell in love for Cruises instant. And last year we met a couple living nearby, being a 75+ They are fitter than we are and cruising like hell, so best for us to remind us the upcoming next 25 years.

cu at sea

Joerg and Martina

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  • 1 month later...
What are the perks of being in "Club 55" .... Hubby and I have cruised several times, but this is our first since turning 55 in July!

 

You can sometimes find some 55+ cruise fares, but other than that not a whole lot.

 

Of course, there can be other vacation related perks too - discounted passes to attractions and whatnot.

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  • 3 months later...
You can sometimes find some 55+ cruise fares, but other than that not a whole lot.

 

Of course, there can be other vacation related perks too - discounted passes to attractions and whatnot.

 

Just joined cruise critic. Wife and I never been on a cruise. Recommendations for cruises for 55+? Wife and I are 68. Would prefer a cruise with adults.

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Just joined cruise critic. Wife and I never been on a cruise. Recommendations for cruises for 55+? Wife and I are 68. Would prefer a cruise with adults.

 

Depends on what kind of "seniors" you are. DW and I favor HAL and Celebrity for more mature company and a better cruise experience. Maybe Princess and Viking Ocean too, though we've never personally sailed either. We'd also like to try Costa at some point, but couldn't say one way or the other at this point.

 

You probably would want to avoid Disney (too many kids) and Carnival (too many younger adults). RCL I couldn't say, since it's literally been forever since we've been on a RCL ship, and NCL the cruise experience wasn't "quality" enough for us (though it wasn't horrible either).

 

Hope this helps.

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Was just shy of being 55 on our Carnival cruise last summer, but I'm now 56 and looking forward to our transpacific next spring. :)

 

Where are you cruising from and with what cruise line? We are contemplating a Spring 2019 cruise but very few in the system as of yet.

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Just joined cruise critic. Wife and I never been on a cruise. Recommendations for cruises for 55+? Wife and I are 68. Would prefer a cruise with adults.

 

There are two ways to make it likely that your cruise will have more mature passengers and not a lot of either young adults who are there to party, or families with children:

 

(1) Choose a cruise that is at least seven days long and not during the school vacation. While there is a lot of variation in spring break dates, times before the middle of March, at the end of April, and all of May are unlikely to be spring break anywhere. Younger adults seem to gravitate to short cruises, 3 to 5 days, especially in the Caribbean. The longer the cruise, the more retirees there will probably be.

 

(2) Choose one of the luxury cruise lines. Because they cost significantly more (and offer higher levels of service and dining, and smaller ships), they appeal more to mature passengers, especially those with extensive travel experience. If this is not feasible or just doesn't do anything for you, rely on (1). Among the mainstream lines, Holland America is reputed to have a more mature clientele, but I have no experience to draw on.

 

 

Beyond that, think about where you want to be and when you want to be there. I'm just a bit short of your age and I'm getting ready for my first cruise, in the western Mediterranean. The end of April, which is the beginning of the Mediterranean cruise season, happened to work best for me, and the itinerary is all countries that I have never visited. Museums and historical sites agree with me. Beaches and shopping don't, so the Caribbean doesn't float my boat.

 

Also consider where you want to depart from. Do you want to drive to a cruise port, or would you fly to one? Would you depart from another country, or do you want your first cruise to depart from your own?

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Where are you cruising from and with what cruise line? We are contemplating a Spring 2019 cruise but very few in the system as of yet.

 

The post where I say this Spring was actually from August of last year, so "next Spring" is actually THIS Spring in the context of what I posted. In fact, we're 86 days away (not that I'm counting or anything). :)

 

That said, we ARE looking at a Princess cruise for Fall of 2019, so Princess at least has their offerings available.

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  • 3 months later...
I'm actually wishing my life away until I can retire. Then I'll feel like I'm 25 again. This working stuff is for the birds.

AMEN!!

 

For years I said that I couldn't wait to retire but I didn't want to be 65. But now that retirement is nearly here, I feel great. I guess 65 is the new 25! :')

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  • 4 months later...
How do most of you book your cruises? Travel agent? Directly with the cruise line?

Thank you.

If it's a Caribbean I book it myself. If we ever do a Mediterranean I'd go,with an agent. I'm sure there are some great agents who give great service and perks, but I quit using one when I do all the footwork and she just raked in the commission with no perks and no follow up.

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There are two ways to make it likely that your cruise will have more mature passengers and not a lot of either young adults who are there to party, or families with children:

 

 

 

(1) Choose a cruise that is at least seven days long and not during the school vacation. While there is a lot of variation in spring break dates, times before the middle of March, at the end of April, and all of May are unlikely to be spring break anywhere. Younger adults seem to gravitate to short cruises, 3 to 5 days, especially in the Caribbean. The longer the cruise, the more retirees there will probably be.

 

 

 

(2) Choose one of the luxury cruise lines. Because they cost significantly more (and offer higher levels of service and dining, and smaller ships), they appeal more to mature passengers, especially those with extensive travel experience. If this is not feasible or just doesn't do anything for you, rely on (1). Among the mainstream lines, Holland America is reputed to have a more mature clientele, but I have no experience to draw on.

 

 

 

 

 

Beyond that, think about where you want to be and when you want to be there. I'm just a bit short of your age and I'm getting ready for my first cruise, in the western Mediterranean. The end of April, which is the beginning of the Mediterranean cruise season, happened to work best for me, and the itinerary is all countries that I have never visited. Museums and historical sites agree with me. Beaches and shopping don't, so the Caribbean doesn't float my boat.

 

 

 

Also consider where you want to depart from. Do you want to drive to a cruise port, or would you fly to one? Would you depart from another country, or do you want your first cruise to depart from your own?

 

 

 

While we are 49 and 50 so not quite ready to join the 55+ crowd, I pop over here for great advice. And the above fits that.

 

We have largely cruised Carnival but it is FUN and has tons of families. If you want a more classic line that will let you travel the world, I would suggest Princess. You will find families on board for the shorter cruises over holiday breaks but the longer cruises shift to primarily adult.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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How do most of you book your cruises? Travel agent? Directly with the cruise line?

Thank you.

 

Hi Songbird!

I do the research myself and use a HAL Personal Cruise Consultant (PCC) to do the actual booking. She saved me THOUSANDS of dollars when I had to cancel a cruise for four (two cabins) over a holiday. An "in real life" TA could not have cancelled my booking and got me my money back on Christmas eve! Before that I just did it directly, but having an in-house connection is very nice.

 

She also called me recently when I emailed her to switch a large low cabin to a smaller higher cabin -- to ask did I know it was smaller? I did and it was intentional, but that goes to show she is really watching out for me.

 

The RCI booking in my signature, I just booked directly on line, but I am antsy to have a personal connection and I may call them and ask for their version of PCC.

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How do most of you book your cruises? Travel agent? Directly with the cruise line?

I have always used a travel agent....I have 3 who give me quotes and what perks they have, then I book with the best. I get 12-15% off cruisefare if the cruiseline allows the agent to discount or, if not, they give me that much in OBC. I also get other perks such as prepaid gratuities, specialty dinners, more OBC, transfers and other nice stuff. Won't get any discounts or perks from the cruiseline agents!:(

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We book with an on line TA. We get better pricing and great service.

 

Plus, our TA gives us feedback from other customers about other ships and about cruise line. She alerts us to offers on competing cruise lines that we might not otherwise be aware of. Cannot see a cruise line employee telling us that we can get a better offer on another cruise line or that the ship we are considering has poor reviews. Can you?

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  • 6 months later...

Celebrating 55 years today, so you'll be seeing more of me. 

 

We always book through a travel agent. Always. 

 

Our next cruise is once again to the Western Caribbean, but for 2 reasons: 1) this is my mil's first (hopefully not last) cruise. She is 75, and even though she still gets around pretty well, we figured it would be best to go with what we knew. 2) We live near St Louis and it's much easier to drive the 11 hours to NOLA.

 

I have absolutely no desire to fly anymore between the gestapo security and flights that are more like African bush taxis now that everybody has to bring their pets with them. 

 

Eventually we'll do something new. Sorry, but those more expensive cruise lines are out of the question for us as we have to do some serious saving. 

Edited by Lady Patriot
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