Old folks on HAL

[Ken the cruiser]

7 hours ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

Onboard Rotterdam last night on the World Stage, the theater name now, were the performers Contare. They are young men who sing most of their numbers in harmony. Most of the material is very dated including a number from The Ink Spots: I like Coffee. If that is not appealing to the most senior guests, then I don't know what is! There is usually quite a mix available of entertainment, although we do miss the Lincoln Stage.

Ocean Bar has a quartet for early evening with many old tunes.

I guess “senior guests” is a relative term. I was 11 when the Beatles came on the scene and turned 18 in 1970 when Queen and Elton John were just starting out. My mom, who was born in 1929, was definitely an Elvis fan and whose music I also enjoy. 
 

The Ink Spots music was from the 1930-1040s, so I would categorize that music as being from the Sinatra and Big Band era. But that’s cool. I’m glad you had a great time listening to them. 

[cruiseconcious]

Only been on one HAL cruise about a dozen years ago on the Amsterdam in Alaska. At that time they had some wonderful big production shows (I’ll never forget the vibrant energy in the room when they did ABBA’s Voulez-Vous) and I’m sorry to read that they have gotten away from that. We have cruised with Celebrity many times over the years, but that has come to an end after they literally booted us off a Japanese cruise we were supposed to be on in 2 weeks, 13 months after we booked because they oversold the cruise. So, we are back to HAL going to Greece & the Holy Land (if it’s still there) next year.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I guess “senior guests” is a relative term. I was 11 when the Beatles came on the scene and turned 18 in 1970 when Queen and Elton John were just starting out. My mom, who was born in 1929, was definitely an Elvis fan and whose music I also enjoy. 
 

The Ink Spots music was from the 1930-1040s, so I would categorize that music as being from the Sinatra and Big Band era. But that’s cool. I’m glad you had a great time listening to them. 

I'd also like to make note of one other issue we recently learned last year when we went on a 38-day cruise from Athens to Cape Town by way of the Suez Canal on the NCL Jade, which was only our second time cruising with NCL. It wasn't until after a few days when we stopped comparing the NCL "experience" with recent X and PCL ones we had come to expect as "normal", that we really started to appreciate the NCL "experience' on the Jade which BTW we had a great time on! See my below Live From thread if you're interested in the details of that awesome cruise.

 

And we will try to do the same when we board the Eurodam in April 2025, and that is to enjoy the current HAL "experience" for all it has to offer, to include maybe even dancing a little in some of the Music Walk lounges.  I tell you, it's tough getting old and having to try new things! 😂
 

Edited October 11, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[WriterOnDeck]

It might be of interest to report the age breakdown of the almost 1,000 passengers currently on the 73-day South America & Antarctica grand voyage. Of course these longer and more expensive cruises draw a generally older crowd.

 

On this cruise one person is between 8 and 12, 15 are 22-35, 21 are 36-50, 30 are 51-65, 382 are 66-74 and 367 are 75 or older. Another 48 are listed with “unknown” ages, which is interesting as the staff has our passports.

 

[leerathje]

10 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

I love to see the "scooter showroom" in the main dining room on Dressy Nights.  All the various makes on models on display near the entrance.  When I am ready for one, I know where to go to look at my options.

 

Hahaha!  Just happen to have such a photo!  This was on the Rotterdam earlier this year.

 

L.

 

[DaveOKC]

Have seen much better selection on several HAL cruises!

 

[horseymike]

17 hours ago, cruiseconcious said:

Only been on one HAL cruise about a dozen years ago on the Amsterdam in Alaska. At that time they had some wonderful big production shows (I’ll never forget the vibrant energy in the room when they did ABBA’s Voulez-Vous) and I’m sorry to read that they have gotten away from that. We have cruised with Celebrity many times over the years, but that has come to an end after they literally booted us off a Japanese cruise we were supposed to be on in 2 weeks, 13 months after we booked because they oversold the cruise. So, we are back to HAL going to Greece & the Holy Land (if it’s still there) next year.

Celebrity may have done you a favor.

[Mitwif]

O started cruising HAL in my early 40s, absolutely loved being one of the youngsters, closing down the Northern Lights Disco at midnight, lol. This year I celebrated my 60th, and I really appreciate the music of the Rock Room. We still both work, but have the vacation time to do a 21-day next January. Can't wait! I am now diligently working toward my 5th star :).

[POA1]

I was 31 and DW was 29 when we first sailed on Holland America's old Noordam. We were at a table for 6. It was quite frankly, the only table of under 40 passengers on the ship.

 

That was 1994. It didn't bother us a bit.

 

We've been diligently easing our way into the demographic ever since. Now I'm 60 and my child bride is 58. We still enjoy HAL as much as always, but we've noticed that the passengers seem younger.

[mustgo]

We have hit the 85plus age bracket and are booked for the Antarctic cruise this Dec.  We thought about next year but who knows if we would be able to make it.  Also Holland gave us a fantastic last minute price.  It is more difficult to do any tours, but we have seen many penguins in SA.  We really want to view the ice in the Antarctic before more of it melts.  We appreciate the tolerance from younger cruisers.  We are oart of the crowd that likes to eat early, enjoy the theatre shows and goes to bed early.  Cannot take the loud volume in the music halls and can no longer dance.  Holland does offer something for everyone.

[SargassoPirate]

21 hours ago, leerathje said:

 

Hahaha!  Just happen to have such a photo!  This was on the Rotterdam earlier this year.

 

L.

 

Would those double doors be marked as an exit, by any chance?  I see a fire alarm pull station next to the doors.

[IAcruising]

11 hours ago, mustgo said:

We have hit the 85plus age bracket and are booked for the Antarctic cruise this Dec. 

.

Holy bajeebiz!

[cruiseconcious]

On 10/12/2023 at 6:33 PM, horseymike said:

Celebrity may have done you a favor.

Perhaps so! It is good to branch out and when you get comfortable with one cruise line it can take a real kick in the guts to jump ship.

[horseymike]

1 minute ago, cruiseconcious said:

Perhaps so! It is good to branch out and when you get comfortable with one cruise line it can take a real kick in the guts to jump ship.

I hope your new cruise choices will work out well for you . 🚢👍🍀

[Heartgrove]

From November 2018 on the Circle Hawaii cruise aboard the Eurodam. This was port side outside the  MDR and the starboiard side was just as full. I refer to it as the "overflow parking" as there are probably just as many inside the MDR. Hopefully I am still cruising when I need assistance! I know that my choice will be either a red DRIVE "Nitro" or a TRIONIC Veloped.

 

[IAcruising]

18 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

 I know that my choice will be either a red DRIVE "Nitro" or a TRIONIC Veloped.

 

I hope my first step is a walking cane. There are some very cool ones out there. Plus, no one messes with an old codger wielding a cane! 

 

[mawvkysc]

My mom uses walking/treking  poles. They actually keep you more upright than a walker and she feels a little bit “hipper”using them. She doesn’t need them for balance but  does need back support. 

[Banditswife]

We did our 1st HAL cruise in 2017 for the itinerary.  We came off that cruise & said never again... but here we are.  On that cruise it wasn't the older demographic that bothered us, it was the entitled wealthy & I am pretty sure, the pretending to be wealthy group.  They complained about anything & everything.  I had 1 older guy decide that he wanted to sing to me in the MDR.  I just want to enjoy my dinner, please.  Several fellow passengers were down right snoody.  Fast forward to 2021, we get an excellent offer from HAL that we couldn't pass up-which turned out to be our most favorite cruise & fellow passengers of all time.  Maybe because we are older now, or the passengers have toned down their attitudes.  Since our 2021 cruise we have sailed HAL 4 more times & have 3 more booked.

So I have learned to not judge a cruise line or it's passengers by 1 cruise.  Carnival gets a bad rap as the "party ship" or Walmart of the seas, but that isn't totally true.  We've had some wonderful cruises on Carnival & will continue to sail them as well as HAL.

[Diver2014]

Give me a Holland America ship with an 'older' clientele vs a ship full of families with little kids anytime!  I don't enjoy having someone's kids running up and down hallways or hogging the hot tubs and pools or dipping their fingers into the food at the buffet.  But that's just me and yes, I guess I'm a senior since I'm 72.  Our first HAL cruise was 1996 and we've been on at least a dozen since then. I love seeing people enjoying themselves on a cruise even if they have to use scooters, walkers or have mobility issues.  They are enjoying their lives, bless them.

Edited October 22, 2023 by Diver2014

[wdw1972]

1 minute ago, Diver2014 said:

Give me a Holland America ship with an 'older' clientele vs a ship full of families with little kids anytime!  I don't enjoy having someone's kids running up and down hallways or hogging the hot tubs and pools or dipping their fingers into the food at the buffet.  But that's just me and yes, I guess I'm a senior since I'm 72.  I love seeing people enjoying themselves on a cruise even if they have to use scooters, walkers or have mobility issues.  They are enjoying their lives, bless them.

I feel the same way, and felt that way when I was in my 30's, 40,'s 50's and now in my 60's.  Always love the older, well traveled HAL passengers.  Don't want to see kids - love my grandkids, but don't love other people's kids and won't cruise with mine until they're adults.  There's a time and place for everything, and a HAL cruise isn't meant for hordes of kids.  There are plenty of other more appropriate choices for that demographic.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[Stateroom_Sailor]

The older people on HAL are chill, and generally stay good respectful passengers, whether the cruise is long or short.  We were on a 2 week Carnival cruise, maybe only 5 years younger on average, and it was shocking how irritable, entitled, and intentionally germ sharing people became by the end.  

 

We relate to people both younger and older than us, and can gravitate towards younger couples onboard and crew.  Ports that requiring bussing can be challenging with a higher frequency of passengers with mobility issues, but for us that's the only drawback.  Still, better for us to keep enjoying life, especially in our golden years. 

[montythecat]

Music is such a wonderful subject with, obviously, so many different

genres leading to, understandably, a variety of opinions. We love

the offerings from HAL which is why we have moved from Celebrity.

On the Pinnacle and Vista class ships we can enjoy the music we grew

up listening to. The rock bands in The Rolling Stone Lounge are a perfect

way to finish the day. I just love loud electric guitars !  Also the 

pianists have always, so far, been immensely entertaining. The

classical quartets in a separate room (not in a noisy lounge) are

also well worth listening to. I am not keen on the theatre production 

shows of X and other cruise lines. We are looking forward to

being back on Nieuw Statendam next Sunday. 

 

 

 

 

[bennybear]

An interesting topic,  we have not experienced this to any great extent.   OnePrincess cruise out of Fort Lauderdale we did, to the extreme,   The dining room was hard to get in and out of with all the motorized scooters.  We think it may be more itinerary based.  
 

On 10/11/2023 at 10:07 AM, cruiseconcious said:

Only been on one HAL cruise about a dozen years ago on the Amsterdam in Alaska. At that time they had some wonderful big production shows (I’ll never forget the vibrant energy in the room when they did ABBA’s Voulez-Vous) and I’m sorry to read that they have gotten away from that. We have cruised with Celebrity many times over the years, but that has come to an end after they literally booted us off a Japanese cruise we were supposed to be on in 2 weeks, 13 months after we booked because they oversold the cruise. So, we are back to HAL going to Greece & the Holy Land (if it’s still there) next year.

I had read about Celebrity’s cancellations,  unbelievable the grief that must have caused you.  Japan has been one of our favourite cruises.  We too are booked on next years holy land as we had to cancel this years.  I am not optimistic, but will look at Japan again instead.  

17 hours ago, mawvkysc said:

My mom uses walking/treking  poles. They actually keep you more upright than a walker and she feels a little bit “hipper”using them. She doesn’t need them for balance but  does need back support. 

I don’t need these but have been using them and increased my spine density significantly. 

17 hours ago, Banditswife said:

We did our 1st HAL cruise in 2017 for the itinerary.  We came off that cruise & said never again... but here we are.  On that cruise it wasn't the older demographic that bothered us, it was the entitled wealthy & I am pretty sure, the pretending to be wealthy group.  They complained about anything & everything.  I had 1 older guy decide that he wanted to sing to me in the MDR.  I just want to enjoy my dinner, please.  Several fellow passengers were down right snoody.  Fast forward to 2021, we get an excellent offer from HAL that we couldn't pass up-which turned out to be our most favorite cruise & fellow passengers of all time.  Maybe because we are older now, or the passengers have toned down their attitudes.  Since our 2021 cruise we have sailed HAL 4 more times & have 3 more booked.

So I have learned to not judge a cruise line or it's passengers by 1 cruise.  Carnival gets a bad rap as the "party ship" or Walmart of the seas, but that isn't totally true.  We've had some wonderful cruises on Carnival & will continue to sail them as well as HAL.

Wow, we have never experienced this on HAL.   We have met some lovely people, some very well travelled, probably wealthy and extremely gracious.   We have made some lifelong friends from our travels.   On Princess we were constantly asked our status and on Cunard if we were in the Grills.  So a different experience.  

[Copper10-8]

Awesome thread! Thanks for starting it! 🤙

[electro]

1 minute ago, Copper10-8 said:

Awesome thread! Thanks for starting it! 🤙

Your welcome. I glad it seems to be received in the spirit it was written.