Oceania good for young adults?

[LHT28]

I think there is  a different demographic on port intensive Med cruises compared the  Caribbean where it is more laid back & people may or may not get off the ship

Even our Norway cruises have more energetic people  even in our 70's  we  still can get around

Ask your  daughters  what they want to do  

go for the itinerary

JMO

[Rosroz]

I’m sure they’d rather stick needles in their eyes 😆😆

[LHT28]

Just now, Rosroz said:

I’m sure they’d rather stick needles in their eyes 😆😆

Do you know them??

[jonthomas]

everyones  comments here, including yours are made without knowing anyone....except their parents...

 

not knowing someone does not preclude you from making an educated guess...

 

that is what this forum is mainly all about....opinions based on not knowing anyone...

[DCGuy64]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Do you know them??

Exactly, how can someone be "sure" about someone he/she hasn't even met? Unreal. 🙄

[Iamthesea]

On 2/26/2023 at 8:14 PM, johnlat said:

Hello,

Long time cruiser on other lines.  Looking at a 2024 Spain, Canary, Morocco cruise on Oceania.  Our two adult daughters would like to join us (23 and 24) is there things that will keep them entertained while on ship?  They aren't party types, but like to go to live music and meet people. We have cruised RCCI, NCL, Princess  for years.  Some friends of ours, recently got back from a Caribbean cruise on the line and felt that our girls might be bored as the ship's demo, is a bit older.    I really love the itinerary but don't want my kids not having a good time  Any insights would be appreciated.

After reading some of the comments since I first replied, wanted to point out that it is true that we do not know the young adults in question.  We can only comment about our own children, which is what I did.  So I re-read what the OP is asking, and realize that he pretty much answered his own question.

 

He says that his daughters would like to join the parents on this cruise.   He says they are not "party types", so they do not need a party atmosphere.  They do enjoy "live music and to meet people".  Plenty of both on the ship!!!   With that, along with an interesting port itinerary, the daughters should have plenty to keep them from getting bored.

 

I'd say that as long as they understand that the demo is going to be older, let them make the decision to cruise, or not.

 

[LHT28]

Check some of the Live  threads  from "WHAT A MARKET"   his last cruise this month  he did not have his daughter with him but his other sailings she  was on with her boyfriend/husband  & I think when  she sailed with  her parents  a few years ago  they were in the 20 something category

 But it all depends on if your  children WANT to spend time with  YOU

 JMO

[hawkesbaynz]

Just had a fantastic itinerary led cruise on the Marina. Wife and I (both early sixties) said that we would return in 10 years when we were old enough! 
 

Although my 20-30 something self would have loved interesting conversations around the dinner table with Flatbush flyer et al. However after dinner would like something better to do than listen to cellists or listen to shows about singer/song writers who were at their peak before I was born. Wife refused to go to any shows after a while and was in bed by 9.15. We are usually up to midnight on Celebrity. 

[jakes47]

wrong post

Edited March 1, 2023 by jakes47
Correction

[Jim and Monika]

I'll bite. We were Elite on Princess many years ago and felt the average age to be about 80. A few years ago we started sailing Oceania and noticed the same age average at 80. I should add we were in our 50's. The main difference with the passengers is that the on Princess most seem to have mobility issues, and Oceania very few. The Oceania passengers seem to be much more fit than on Princess.

I agree with the above about being boring on Oceania with very little entertainment and bars starting to close between 11 and 12. After that, there is nothing but room service. Like any cruise, they are what you make of them and we have adjusted our expectations and enjoy Oceania.

Younger adults should be able to enjoy Oceania just like everyone else, but they need to know what to expect ahead of time and make their decision on that.

[Flatbush Flyer]

7 hours ago, Jim and Monika said:

I'll bite. We were Elite on Princess many years ago and felt the average age to be about 80. A few years ago we started sailing Oceania and noticed the same age average at 80. I should add we were in our 50's. The main difference with the passengers is that the on Princess most seem to have mobility issues, and Oceania very few. The Oceania passengers seem to be much more fit than on Princess.

I agree with the above about being boring on Oceania with very little entertainment and bars starting to close between 11 and 12. After that, there is nothing but room service. Like any cruise, they are what you make of them and we have adjusted our expectations and enjoy Oceania.

Younger adults should be able to enjoy Oceania just like everyone else, but they need to know what to expect ahead of time and make their decision on that.

We spend about 75-100 nights per year on Oceania ships and our experience is that the average and median ages on almost any itinerary is more in the 60’s - 70’s age range.

I will agree that O geezers generally seem to be reasonably ambulatory with only the occasional scooter seen and nothing even close to a “walker brigade” (as fans of SNL will chuckle about).

One interesting observation is that, on shorter Med and Alaska itineraries, the O average/median ages drop significantly due to numerous college alumni group cruises and the appearance of many more multi-generational families including kids!

[sofietucker]

On 2/28/2023 at 11:33 AM, orchestrapal said:

Currently on the Riviera and I assure you my daughter in her 50s is one of the youngest people on the ship. Walkers and scooters are the thing of the day. It is sad we began this journey with Oceana 20 years ago when they began. Looking around the ship, we have all grown older together.

There must be better lines out there for their 20s 30s and 40s crowd.

 

 

 

And it's Celebrity.

[What A Market]

On 2/28/2023 at 2:53 PM, LHT28 said:

Check some of the Live  threads  from "WHAT A MARKET"   his last cruise this month  he did not have his daughter with him but his other sailings she  was on with her boyfriend/husband  & I think when  she sailed with  her parents  a few years ago  they were in the 20 something category

 But it all depends on if your  children WANT to spend time with  YOU

 JMO

I was going to forego commenting, but I’ll weigh in now that you’ve opened the door for me. Lol

It was sweet of you to be thinking about my DD.

 

You are spot on with your comments regarding Shannon and her now husband Blaine. I didn’t have them on our last Oceania cruise, but they were with us on our September Pacific Coastal on the Regatta. They love love Oceania. Big ship, small ship — they always find a way to have a blast on our cruises. Would they prefer going to Europe over the Caribbean? Well duh, who wouldn’t.  😆

 

I’ll leave by quoting from a long ago post from Don Horner (God bless him!).  Shannon met Don and Betsy on the Riviera’s maiden voyage. Shannon still talks about that cruise, but mostly talks about some of the people she met on the ship. This is the beauty of letting “young” people meet “old” people.  Here’s Don’s post:

 

Our best wishes to Shannon - we loved cruusing with her. My favorite story was the time we were at the pre-party for La Reserve, on the patio, with crew blocking access on either end. Walking past, Shannon spotted us, ducked past the crew member and ran up to chat. Meanwhile, her SO didn't have the nerve to duck in and stood waiting helplessly. When Shannon noticed his absence, she giggled and ran back out with everyone smiling!
She has that effect on people...

 

Parting comment, which is personal to my approach with my kids, but I suspect could be applicable to most: Don’t overlook opportunities to expand your children’s horizons through interactions with people, regardless of age and all other things that make people unique. Oh, and a photo from the Riviera’s maiden. (Sorry for the photobucket overlay.)

 

 

[sofietucker]

So we're in our late 60s, music fiends (of many genres), love art, dance and theater, and just getting out there having fun.  Love to meet new folks of all stripes, always choose large tables for dinner (pre-covid), etc. On our first O cruise (so far) on Riviera last year, we saw maybe 5 younger folk (ne a teen with 3 gen of her female elders, seemed bored out of her mind).

 

We closed down Horizons every night, being the sole late-night music venue. Each night there was a honeymoon couple in maybe late 20s, who seemed to have a great time but never interacted with anyone (there or around the ship, pool, etc.).

 

There was also a mid-30s couple of guys, always there with what seemed to be their extended older families, felt like maybe a marriage/honeymoon cruise while honoring the elders? That whole group was there every night, all of them rocking out.

Now, by "rocking out," I mean to jazz standards and show tunes from pre-90s. Swing, jitterbug, foxtrot...  

BUT, re: age? our most fun time was the last night, when the club's theme was "Rock It Till We Dock It"! There were literally us, the guys party--and the entire dance/show cast (plus their assorted theater support folks). That is, people in their 20s-30s! We all stayed on the dance floor until 0 dark thirty--and the tunes beame much more contemporary. 

Edited March 1, 2023 by sofietucker

[Iamthesea]

16 hours ago, sofietucker said:

And it's Celebrity.

😃 Thinking back to our first cruise on Celebrity, with my parents, and some of our children.  One was in college, one a Senior in high school, and the other in 9th grade.  It was Spring Break.  Our children were three of the very few kids on the ship.  At that time, in 2003, Celebrity was known as an upscale, mostly mid to older adult cruise line.  How things have changed!!!  We were afraid that the children would be bored.  They loved Celebrity and continue to!   Many nights the older two hung out with the off duty crew.  Those crew members were despite for conversations with young people. 😁 

 

I remember the formal night that my parents, DH and I were invited to eat at the Captains table (is that even a thing anymore?)  The children were not invited, but decided that they would rather dress up and go to the dining room by themselves instead of ordering room service.  Instead of sitting at our usually table, an elderly gentleman that was sailing alone (he was notorious on the Celebrity ships and always dressed like the Captain of a ship) asked my three children to join him for dinner.  They had a blast and still talk about that night and how interesting he was!  

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

My first O cruise was in 2004.  I was a LOT younger then.  Now I'm old.  I think your kids will be fine, especially if you're on a port-intensive itinerary like many of the Sirena ones. While most folks are older, sometimes they're not.  We once cruised with a baby.  In 2020 we sailed with a whole family, including this girl. I think she had a blast. 

 

I wouldn't change your itinerary.  We absolutely loved the Canary Islands. And Morocco is on my bucket list.

 

 

[sofietucker]

Dining with the officers used to be fairly common pre-covid--at least on HAL and Celebrity--but in our experience has completely disappeared... Just as handshaking at the captains' parties had already stopped due to possible noro contagions.

[sofietucker]

2 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

 

 

She knows the Macarena!

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I meant to add that even if there aren't any other young passengers on the cruise, there are some Oceania folks who are young and might enjoy talking to your kids.  The entertainment staff, for example, are typically fairly young, and do a lot more than just entertain.   In May they helped people fill out entry/health forms on an app.  They ran many of the activities. One acted as a social hostess.  Or your kids can talk to the young man or woman working in Baristas while they sip their caramel mochalatta or whatever.  I think they'll find ways to stay entertained, even if it's just the TV or ping pong or the travel books in the library. Warning, though: you only get one free account for Wifi on board!

 

  

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 2/28/2023 at 12:53 PM, LHT28 said:

Do you know them??

I took this as humor....

 

[LHT28]

Maybe some posters are thinking when they were 20 somethings   we were not as sophisticated  as the  20 somethings of today 😄

[Flatbush Flyer]

4 hours ago, sofietucker said:

Dining with the officers used to be fairly common pre-covid--at least on HAL and Celebrity--but in our experience has completely disappeared... Just as handshaking at the captains' parties had already stopped due to possible noro contagions.

Had dinner with the GM on Regatta last week. Will do it again next week. An occasional Terrace lunch with our current Captain is possible as well.

[pinotlover]

On 2/28/2023 at 2:45 PM, DCGuy64 said:

Right on the money! It's really sad how many people take their prejudices about younger people and then automatically assume, with ZERO knowledge of the people in question (the OP's daughters) what kind of time they will have. WE DON'T KNOW. You'd think the well traveled would have broader minds. At any rate, I can only say that from an early age, I ALWAYS preferred the company of older people to my peers. I just found adults much more interesting, wiser, and more intellectual. Maybe the same will be true here.

This has to be true! 🤗

 

Just look at all the 20 & 30 year old lovely women hanging out with old 70+ year old geezers! 😳. Has to be the stimulating sophistication FF refers to ! 😂

 

If you’ve got the money honey;

I’ve the time!! 
 

Who’s your Daddy?

Where does Daddy want to go? 🥴🥂