Choosing - requesting advice from Experienced Cruisers

[ArtInMotionPersians]

We're recently home from a disappointing cruise.  (Jade, 10 day, Southern Caribbean)  Hubby is still in the "never again" stage, I'm getting past it - our first cruise was fabulous, would love to have that experience again.  Would more experienced cruisers be willing to give some constructive advice on choosing a cruise that is more suitable for us? 

 

First cruise, (Sun, 7 day, West Caribbean) tons of activities & music that were clearly aimed at different generations (of adults), times throughout the day and night - it kept us moving about the ship & busy, we had to schedule in lounging/pool time.  We came home exhausted, our feet never stopped moving, we had the best time!

 

Last cruise, activities & music were clearly aimed towards retirees, leaving those younger generations with nothing to do.... this lead to an overcrowded pool deck, game room, deck games, sports area, sundecks, bars and casino.  There were a few shows and performers that did a set that was "younger", again, overcrowded, really overcrowded.  Several venues sat empty, frequently.   Odd times for some activities; ice sculpture demo starts 30 mins after the big show in theater, movie in theater on port days, but not on sea days.   The demographic was about 1/3 to 1/4 younger generations, all looking for entertainment options. (Yes, the larger portion of guests were retirees & we very much enjoyed seeing them so happy!) 

 

We did several excursions with couples our age, this was main conversation every time.  I truly felt sorry for a couple we met on our first port day, in their 20s, on their first cruise, the second question (first being was it our first cruise) they asked us:  "Is this cruise line just for grandparents?"  Ouch, but yeah, I see where they were coming from.  As the conversation continued, they were bored, over it, with still 7 days to go.  Hmmm, NCL is cutting off their nose, our generations will be those retirees eventually, not too far off even, and we're souring to this experience.

 

So how to choose something a bit more diverse?  What to look for in the ship?  The itinerary?  Dates?  Departure port?

 

P.S. No, I'm not "that complain over one little thing person"; this issue wasn't this cruise's only one, there were other HUGE ones.  This issue seemed to be the root of things falling a bit more apart day by day; keeping guests busy doing fun things keeps them happy, keeps very young ones out of trouble, lessens stresses on the staff, and wears those teenie boppers out so they sleep at night. >wink<  A good multi-generational, multi-activity schedule keeps everyone from hitting the pool, buffet, bars, shows, MDR, etc at the same time. (aka overcrowding) 

 

 

[nicoleinwi]

I wonder if the length gave you the older crowd?  It's convenient to do a 7 day leaving on Sunday, fly in on Sat and fly out early on Sunday.  Only one week of vacation time.  And, for families it could be more affordable then a longer cruise.  

That's the only thing I can think of.  I notice when we do 3-4 night cruises, relatively young party crowd.  Week long, mix of all ages.  Then over a week usually older crowd.  

 

 

[Clay Clayton]

First, I've found that even on the same ship and same iteniary that the guest demographics can make the cruise feel different. That being said I'd suggest you look at cruises shorter than 10 days as the longer the cruise the fewer "younger generations" aboard. You might want to consider the larger ships-Escape for instance, as they have lots more entertainment venues. 

[mjkacmom]

If you want a longer cruise, maybe a back to back. I think the longer the cruise, the older the demographics.

[quercus alba]

Our family's experience might indicate that Alaska 7-day cruises in the summer are more multi-generational and family oriented. (Kids out of school, destinations more "outdoorsy", etc...)

[tomk3212]

Where are you sailing out of?  That makes a difference.  Also when do you cruise, that makes a HUGE difference.  Also the type of ship; Jewel class ships vs. Breakaway class also makes a big difference.

 

We're from MD now but lived in NJ for over 30 years so we've been cruising out of NYC unless we're going on a European or Alaska cruise.  NYC area is VERY cosmopolitan & diverse so you can get a HUGE generational range of pax.   We usually cruise out of NYC between September & early December; prices are usually lower & no kids running around.  Definitely NOT multi-generational during this time!  Kids are in school so not a lot of families with kids.  Ditto young (under 30's) but there are some.  We're in our mid-60's & are typical of the folks who cruise during this time period.  We like this time because of the usually lower pricing & it's less hectic.

 

Holidays (Easter coming up!) when kids are out of school, like Xmas, etc.  Spring Break (late February through late March) for the college crowd & families are VERY multi-generational cruises.  We've been on both & while they're fun they're also quite hectic.  Also our experience then is limited to NCL's smaller ships (Spirit & Jewel-class) because Breakaway-class wasn't in service then.

 

You were on the Jade?  Was this your good or bad experience?  We've been on the Jade & while she & her sister Jewel class ships are VERY nice they don't compare to the bigger range of entertainment you'll find on the Breakaway class ships now.  Even though these ships do have more pax on board they also have more space to accommodate those bigger numbers of pax.

 

It also makes a difference what cruise line you're on.  Our experience in that regard is limited (NCL & Celebrity) so I'll let others speak to that.  

[AllenO]

I agree that the longer the cruise, the older the demographics.  We did a 4 day "booze cruise" to Mexico over Columbus day weekend on Carnival and it was jam packed with families.  (Never again, but hey, it was cheap.) Our longest was a 2 week southern Carribean and it was exactly as you described, down to chatting with a young couple from the UK about the age of the crowd.    I don't think there is any way around the age of the crowd on longer cruises, but we have found a couple of ways to cope with that paradigm.   First when selecting excursions, stay away from ones which have a low energy level (i.e., ones which are a 1 or 2 on a 1-3 scale).  You won't see too many seniors doing zip lining or hiking up a volcano.  Second, select your dining times to be a little later in the evening.  Pardon the generalization, but us seniors tend to eat much earlier than young whipper snappers.  Hope that helps.

[ArtInMotionPersians]

First, thanks everyone for the excellent feedback & advice!  I feel like this gives me a direction to look towards.  Seriously, thank you for being constructive and understanding, others have been quite ugly.

 

To address questions:

 

We're in our 40s, no children, and choose "off season" to avoid the children.  (Total fail this go, as it was spring break for the high school crowd.  Though it seemed the teens came with their grandparents, not parents.)  & our jobs make it unfeasible to vacation in the summer; due to children not being in school.

 

Embarking out Miami - mostly chose that for the closeness/quickness to ports.  Definitely open to try others.

 

Yes, we were on the Jade - bad experience.  (The much smaller Sun was the wonderful one!)

 

TomK3212 - How does Celebrity compare?  I've been looking at their site a bit.

 

AllenO - Can't imagine families on the "booze cruise".  That's a place for children?  Yikes!  Other than that, it sounds like an idea for us.  😊  & your excursion advice is spot on!  We did independent excursions, very busy active ones and had a blast; that was the only thing that kept us on the boat, we were seriously considering a flight home prior to the first port.

[Markanddonna]

I propose that it was a combination of a longer cruise, which tends to attract an older crowd and the NCL Jade. My last cruise was on the Jade and soured me from cruising at all. We then went on the MSC Divina and were reinvigorated. We are Platinum NCL cruisers, so have lots of days in with them, but so many things were "off" on the Jade. BTW- we were on a 10 day MSC Divina cruise in Feb and our fellow passengers tended to be quite young. A wide variety of ages, though.

[robin13]

I have been on 20+ cruises and everyone is correct in that the length of your cruise and the age of your ship most definitely dictates the age of the passengers.  My last cruise was a 10 day on RCCL Serenade of the Seas in the Caribbean and most of the passengers were 65+.  We met a group of 30 year old's from England and the first question they asked us is why are there so many older people on this cruise.   I had to explain to them about the length of the cruise and the older ship and then they understood.  My cruise before that was a 6 day on The Escape and most of the passengers were in their 40's.  Most older people seem to like the smaller ships which don't have all the bells and whistles and plus they are so big that it requires a lot of walking.  If you are looking for a fun crowd I would suggest Carnival.  I know that people run them down but their newer ships are very nice. 

 

And for the person asking about Celebrity it is also an older crowd.  I did the Summit 2 years ago and never felt so young.  and don't even think about Holland America as this is a real snooze fest. 

[kochleffel]

I was on a 7-day cruise in October (not school break time) from New York on the Gem where many of the passengers were significantly older than I was -- and I was 66 at the time! While I thought that the crew as a whole was good and the cruise director's staff outstanding, it was probably true that activities geared to younger passengers were few -- and the weather was terrible, to the point that outdoor decks were closed some of the time, further limiting the activities.

 

Did your itinerary have many sea days? Ours on the Gem had only one, which probably mitigated the effects of the demographics.