Is Holland america for Old People ?

We are considering sailing on the Eurodam in Feb. 2016. Someone told me this is for Old people and that everything closes down early at night. Although I am trying to take a break from the Cattle like feeling I experienced on my last cruise I would like alittle action.

Is Holland America for the Older crowd?

We are considering sailing on the Eurodam in Feb. 2016. Someone told me this is for Old people and that everything closes down early at night. Although I am trying to take a break from the Cattle like feeling I experienced on my last cruise I would like alittle action.

 

Is Holland America for the Older crowd?

Define "early".

Define "old".

I was thinking the same thing: define "old."

Here's the deal. I am 61, my wife 60. We have cruised more than 40 times but finally took our first HAL cruise in the summer of 2014--a 24-day double-Mediterranean cruise. Because it was a great itinerary, I would say everyone ran from late 30s and 40s up until whatever.

This past summer we took a 14-day roundtrip New England/Canada cruise from Boston, and I felt there were a lot of people in their low 60s, and we were among the youinger ones, except for a small number of younger people. The rest were in their 70s and 80s. A more lay back itinerary.

But, think about:? If you are cruising in your 70s, you are the ones in your group who are doing well and feeling good. Their friends who are not feeling well are not on the cruise.

My feeling: Don't pick or reject HAL because of the potential age. If it is the itinerary and price you are looking for, go for it.

I will say the service was great, they go above and beyond, and we were on an older smaller ship that felt like it was built 3 months ago. Food was excellent.

I would go again in a heart beat.

HAL is a wonderful cruise line ... but if late night activities are of big importance to you, you might not be happy with HAL. :o

LuLu

The more "younger" folks that sail a line, the fewer "old folks" there will be. Don't discount the fun that older people can have...they've been practicing a long time and know how to have a good time! You don't have to stay up until 2 am to have a blast!

HAL is a wonderful cruise line ... but if late night activities are of big importance to you, you might not be happy with HAL. :o

 

LuLu

I think that really depends on the itinerary and ship though.

My husband and I sailed the Westerdam this past March. Included in the activities we signed up for was a "pub crawl"...we visited four spots to enjoy a specific beverage and other activities.

Around the pool area, we played "flip cup" and drank beer. The 'kids' aged 21-30 helped us older ones learn the right way to flip!

In the piano bar, we ALL had to sing for our drinks. 40 of us singing Billy Joel at the top of our lungs to the delight of other passengers already there.

We had to dance for our drinks at the Northern Lights Disco..a very hopping spot at 11pm.

That was just one of the nights we were up late enjoying ourselves. Husband and I are both 54.

Is 45 old? This will be our second cruise with them. We enjoy the couples and families around us.

Yes, HAL is for old people. It is also for middle-aged people. It is also for young people.

It does not have a lot of the loud activities which Carnival and Norwegian have which appeals to a lot of people (of whatever age) who want or need a lot going on all the time. It has no skating rinks, bumper cars or carousels the way some large Royal Caribbean ships have. So it is not for people for whom non-stop action is essential. But then it does have things going on after 9:00 PM, contrary to some of the oft-repeated cliches. Because I am not very interested in midnight activity, I do not miss it.

It does have a reasonable level of activity, very good food, superior service and very comfortable staterooms which many HAL regulars feel other lines lack.

So, HAL is for some old people - but it is also for a lot of other people

On HAL, you will find generally the same demographic as Celebrity and Princess. Some cruises will have more seniors and some less. During school holidays, HAL cruises in the Caribbean will have lots of families. Holiday cruises have three and four generations of family traveling together.

If the age of your fellow cruisers is important to you, perhaps sailing Carnival or RCI might be more to your liking. They tend to younger party hearty guests and more young rock climbing and wave riding sort of activities.

After sailing HAL over 80 cruises, I can tell you I've seen guests in baby strollers and those in power scooters for guests with arthritic hips knees etc

If we are lucky, all of us will be 'old' one day. Most people that it sure beats the alternative. :eek:

I find this thread funny! in a nice kind of way. I understand the OP concerns. there is a stereotype the "old people" go to bed at 6pm. given this thought, the ship would be quiet at 9pm with nothing happening after that.

but those are just stereotypes. as a previous posted stated, if you're on the ship doing stuff, you're better off than those that can't make it, you're part of the active crowd. if the ship and itinerary appeals to you, do it! make your own fun!!

almost the opposite can be said about family cruises. stereotypically, they could close up shop early because the kids are in bed!

HAL is for refined passengers, no matter their age.

HAL is for refined passengers, no matter their age.

Please define your idea of "refined" :confused:

My 2 cents and I'm in early 50's. It depends on when you go, what you like to do on a cruise and with whom you go. I have cruised only 4 times each with their plus and minus ( my last review compares 3) my 2 cruises that i was part of a large loud boisterous group of Zumba enthusiasts had fun on NCL and Celebrity, ( though we may have been a bit much for the latter) 4 of us gals sailed HAL for my daughters 30th. A 4 day cruise where the 3rd night we closed the nightclub at 1am, though the following night (a Friday) last call was 11 and empty by 1130pm. My daughter enjoyed it enough to sail 6 months later for her anniversary. Although i nickname it the snooze cruise, ill sail again on it as the food is amazing and price was right. I also sailed a 4 day on PRINCESS with my 80 yr old mom. The shows were great as was the food but we didn't do alot in the nightclub as mom was pooped. Also on Holland America, our ship was small, Zaandam which may attribute to the laid back attitude, i was told the bigger ships have more going on. The daytime activities were meh, unless you like computer seminars or cooking demos and bingo.

Ive always considered HAL too old for me (I'm late twenties) but have been tempted by their interesting routes on a few occasions. I would book for the right price and one of kind voyage but I would have concerns about the vibe on board.

Saying that though my colleague whos late forties and considers herself a party girl took her first cruise with them this is summer and is hooked.

I wouldn't say Holland America is for old people, but I would probably say it is for a more sedate group. I have sailed HAL several times (in my 40s) and there is definitely a quieter vibe on board than, say, Princess. Fewer activities by day and yes it does get more quiet at night. (No late-night comedy shows or movies, very few people in the disco, etc.) I am a bit of a night-owl and I have sometimes found myself with nothing to do other than getting and watching a free movie in my room.

That said, I can live with this on a very port-intensive itinerary such as the Mediterranean. HAL would probably not be my choice for the Caribbean or where the ship is more important than the ports.

We have never cruised HAL but now in our 50's and cruising as a couple again and not as a family we will consider it. Our last cruise and for our next cruise we chose Celebrity.

The emphasis for us other than itinerary now is food, service and live music especially Latin.

Not every senior has the extra spending money to afford HAL, Princess or Celebrity. We cruised on Royal Caribbean in Early December and February years ago when kids were in school and half the ship seemed to be seniors.

We are considering sailing on the Eurodam in Feb. 2016. Someone told me this is for Old people and that everything closes down early at night. Although I am trying to take a break from the Cattle like feeling I experienced on my last cruise I would like alittle action.

 

Is Holland America for the Older crowd?

I'll answer your question without all the PC BS. Yes, HAL certainly is geared more for the older crowd and yes, you will experience an older crowd on board. You will see more walkers, scooters and canes on HAL than any other line and live entertainment shuts down pretty early in the night.

I can only guess what "cattle herding" line you were on, but I recommend stepping up to Celebrity. The ships are much more modern than HAL and the crowd is more mixed.

The recommendation of Celebrity is good. Holland America is older and a bit subdued, which we treasure.

If you crave action, though, there's a chance you won't find it here.

I've only taken one HAL cruise - a TA repositioning cruise a few years ago. I was 55 at the time and I was definitely in the lower age bracket. We did have one honeymoon couple in their 20's(they had vacationed in Europe for a couple of weeks and wanted a leisurely trip back home) and there were maybe two families with kids. I would imagine this would be the demographic on most TA's regardless of the cruise line however.

We had a really good time and happy hour was quite active each evening. Another plus was we had a really great group that played texas hold-em each evening and we would close the casino down about 2:00am...the casino host liked us so much he would buy us a couple of rounds each night.

Also there was a fantastic string quartet on board and although I don't know much about classical music I found myself grabbing a gimlet and enjoying them almost every night.

None of that probably helps you but I did enjoy reliving the cruise as I typed it all up!

We are considering sailing on the Eurodam in Feb. 2016. Someone told me this is for Old people and that everything closes down early at night. Although I am trying to take a break from the Cattle like feeling I experienced on my last cruise I would like alittle action.

 

Is Holland America for the Older crowd?

This is JMO, but yes, it is geared to an older crowd - on our Alaska cruise ages 70 and up. We found the food bland, the entertainment lacking and the ship was very quiet at night. The ship's was new but the decor looked a good 20 year out of date with very blah colors. There was not much entertainment either. On a positive note, we liked our suite (the first suite we ever had on a cruise) which had a separate tub and shower and dual sinks. We spent most of our cruise hanging out in our suite relaxing when not on a shore excursion as there was so little to do onboard of interest to us.

As a veteran cruiser, I was once asked if there was much of a difference between lines such as Celebrity and Holland America. My reply ... "The older folks cruise with Celebrity; their parents sail on Holland America." That pretty much sums it up.

Al

We have been on most of the major cruise lines and found that HAL had

plenty of activities for all- good music choices etc. We enjoy HAL because they offer a fine cruise experience.

Not at all. I remember seeing folks as young as their mid 60's...

I meant to say on the Nieuw Amsterdam (and other ships) there is a live band branded by BBKing and the room was PACKED with 50-, 60- and 70-somethings dancing until the end and yelling MORE when they stopped.

We still love our 50s, 60s and even 70s music.

And this was a Med itinerary where you had to get up early in the morning for the very interesting ports.

We were contemplating an HAL cruise and told my late mother (she was 85 at the time) about it. She said, "Oh you don't want to go on Holland America; it is for old people." We are booked and sailing on HAL next week. I don't feel old, but my calendar says I am 73.

If you are looking for a port intensive cruise that features a higher level of activities than hairy chest competitions and belly flop contests or rock wall climbing, then HAL is a good choice.

Doc