Jump to content

Cruise demographic / sociopolitical status


marktwothousand
 Share

Recommended Posts

i took my first cruise this year in the Mediterranean and liked it so much I’m gonna take my First Caribbean cruise in January on NCL. I found the people on the chat boards and on the ship to be pretty relaxed, mostly 40-50 or higher and noticed a fair amount of party-goers and liberal.

 

I am finding that US-based cruising in general is anOther story. Everyone I have been interacting with seems friendly and helpful. I do sense a lot more of a conservative crowd out of the US-based cruises, tell me what you think:

- generally a more conservative (small ‘c’) crowd.

- more likely to be from republican areas of the US

- non-urban crowd...many southerners and midwesterners but not a lot of New York City or LA people

- people with big families with a big emphasis on celebrating family events like anniversaries (lots of using “DH” and “DS” acronyms etc”)

- mostly married - few divorcées

- Christian / Catholic

- tend to have an attitude of “if you don’t like the way things are, don’t ask for special treatment or accommodations” crowd...”freedom of speech” proponents, tend not to pay much attention to being “politically correct”

- prefer the safety of a ship and organized excursions than going to resorts or organizing excursions themselves

- in married couples, there seem to be more wives doing the online organizing (ie meets and greets)

- prefer a tip-based service tourist industry instead of an all-inclusive flat rate fare, where employees are paid fair and equal wages for the work They do

 

I am not saying that this is how everyone is obviously but I have definitely Noticed a trend of this demographic on the US based cruises i follow compared to the European ones. do you guys agree this tends to be the majority of the crowd I will find on a US based cruise or is it just a very vocal and Noticeable group?

 

As someone who can get along with everyone, I’m always open to associating with anyone I have things in common with, but I wonder if that might be less On my upcoming Caribbean cruise than my prior cruise.

 

What do you guys think?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I chat with people in the elevator and on tenders and in line at the water slides without asking whom they voted for or which family member did the planning. It’s a vacation where you float around the ocean and people cook for you and make your bed. Good stuff.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On these boards, and I include myself, people are more apt to express a varying opinion. On the ship, people are more discreet in expressing their opinion.

 

Socio/political groups?

Again, my experience, if you sail out of Galveston, you’ll have a lot of Texans. Sail out of New Orleans, you’ll have a lot of Missippi Valley and Delta people. LA? A lot of West Coast. New York or Baltimore? Northeast. South Florida? You’ll experience people from all over the world

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have taken 100+ cruises.

 

I find that demographics do range but there are so many factors including cruise line; time of year; length of cruise; where you are sailing; but even sailing the same place the demographics can vary based on the first factors I listed.

 

One of the aspects of cruising we enjoy is to meet other people.

 

Keith

Link to comment
Share on other sites

About the last thing I want to do on a cruise is to discuss the plusses and minuses of the various candidate and parties. We had one a few years ago that spent much of dinner trying to tell our table who to vote for in an American election. We were the only Americans at the table. We had already voted absentee. It was too late to vote if we hadn't. Fortunately, it was Anytime Dining or we would have been changing tables.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i took my first cruise this year in the Mediterranean and liked it so much I’m gonna take my First Caribbean cruise in January on NCL. I found the people on the chat boards and on the ship to be pretty relaxed, mostly 40-50 or higher and noticed a fair amount of party-goers and liberal.

 

 

 

I am finding that US-based cruising in general is anOther story. Everyone I have been interacting with seems friendly and helpful. I do sense a lot more of a conservative crowd out of the US-based cruises, tell me what you think:

 

- generally a more conservative (small ‘c’) crowd.

 

- more likely to be from republican areas of the US

 

- non-urban crowd...many southerners and midwesterners but not a lot of New York City or LA people

 

- people with big families with a big emphasis on celebrating family events like anniversaries (lots of using “DH” and “DS” acronyms etc”)

 

- mostly married - few divorcées

 

- Christian / Catholic

 

- tend to have an attitude of “if you don’t like the way things are, don’t ask for special treatment or accommodations” crowd...”freedom of speech” proponents, tend not to pay much attention to being “politically correct”

 

- prefer the safety of a ship and organized excursions than going to resorts or organizing excursions themselves

 

- in married couples, there seem to be more wives doing the online organizing (ie meets and greets)

 

- prefer a tip-based service tourist industry instead of an all-inclusive flat rate fare, where employees are paid fair and equal wages for the work They do

 

 

 

I am not saying that this is how everyone is obviously but I have definitely Noticed a trend of this demographic on the US based cruises i follow compared to the European ones. do you guys agree this tends to be the majority of the crowd I will find on a US based cruise or is it just a very vocal and Noticeable group?

 

 

 

As someone who can get along with everyone, I’m always open to associating with anyone I have things in common with, but I wonder if that might be less On my upcoming Caribbean cruise than my prior cruise.

 

 

 

What do you guys think?

 

 

 

C'mon! A 7-10 day Caribbean cruise during winter break on an NCL ship is most likely a far different demographic (measured any way you like) than a 3-4 week trans-Pacific on Regent.

If you're hell bent on studying this, you'll need to set some significant limitations et al. on your hypotheses.

Nonetheless, it would be interesting to compare more than the economics and age in a comparison of mass market to premium/luxury lines. But, you'd be talking about one very expensive research undertaking where I see no one willing to fund it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

C'mon! A 7-10 day Caribbean cruise during winter break on an NCL ship is most likely a far different demographic (measured any way you like) than a 3-4 week trans-Pacific on Regent.

If you're hell bent on studying this, you'll need to set some significant limitations et al. on your hypotheses.

Nonetheless, it would be interesting to compare more than the economics and age in a comparison of mass market to premium/luxury lines. But, you'd be talking about one very expensive research undertaking where I see no one willing to fund it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I was taught this when young. When in any social gathering, there are three things to never discuss. Religion, Sex or Politics.

 

The three things that I have added to the list of never do. Non-alcoholic beer, de-caf coffee or filter cigarettes.

 

To each their own. We cruise to see and learn new things and meet peoples of all kinds. Relax and go with the flow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, the med cruise was with NCL, but I am still expecting a different demographic on the US cruise.

 

I appreciate the thoughtful responses, and I understand why some people feel “it’s just vacation, who cares”. I was just raising it as a point of interest and discussion, bc b4 I was a cruiser, I was mainly an urban traveler (capital cities and the like) so the cross-section of people I would run into was EXTREMELY varied. I find there is less of that dynamic on cruise ships, and expecting even less so on the US cruise.

 

I do think it would be a good study for marketers and advertisers, but they probably already have done extensive studies on who their markets are on these cruises.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, the med cruise was with NCL, but I am still expecting a different demographic on the US cruise.

 

I appreciate the thoughtful responses, and I understand why some people feel “it’s just vacation, who cares”. I was just raising it as a point of interest and discussion, bc b4 I was a cruiser, I was mainly an urban traveler (capital cities and the like) so the cross-section of people I would run into was EXTREMELY varied. I find there is less of that dynamic on cruise ships, and expecting even less so on the US cruise.

 

I do think it would be a good study for marketers and advertisers, but they probably already have done extensive studies on who their markets are on these cruises.

 

 

We are Oceania loyalists for a variety of reasons including tremendous value for a quality experience. Though different O itineraries draw a wide age demographic (e.g., families to Alaska; college alumni groups to the Med; retirees on TAs/TPs), we have noticed one set of common elements across passengers we've met onboard who are multiple repeat O cruisers. Regardless of "country of origin," most of these folks are well-traveled, cosmopolitan and courteously expect to get that for which they've paid.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We don't cruise, we use ships to get to where we want to go, or back from where we've been; we eat exclusively in the buffet, never read Rick Steves' guide books, take elevators or go on organized tours, and would likely be considered quite conservative. .....(oh, and have been to about 80 countries, hitchhiking overland in many cases.....and we SURE don't attend Meet and Greets.)

 

Are we outcasts?

Edited by CrossBluePerchance
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What do you guys think?

 

Demographics and other social groups vary greatly depending on the cruise line, itinerary and port of embarkation.

 

On your Caribbean NCL cruise, the majority of the people on board might fit the criteria you listed but most are there just to relax and have fun. Your views of the world might differ but as long as you don't try to force your opinions on them (and vice versa of course) you'll be fine. Most people don't go on vacation with an intent to meet or avoid others due to liberalism or conservatism. Most people want to get away from that crap.

 

And I know I might regret asking this...but what does crew salary have to do with this? In my opinion, it's none of our business.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ya, I expect some cruise lines or sailings have a more sophisticated clientele who courteously expect what they pay for. While on the other hand, there are probably routes/lines out there which attract a clientele more apt to feel entitled. Not sure which tho, Carnival maybe?

 

 

 

"Entitled" and "naive or unrealistic expectations" are vastly different things.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We don't cruise, we use ships to get to where we want to go, or back from where we've been; we eat exclusively in the buffet, never read Rick Steves' guide books, take elevators or go on organized tours, and would likely be considered quite conservative. .....(oh, and have been to about 80 countries, hitchhiking overland in many cases.....and we SURE don't attend Meet and Greets.)

 

Are we outcasts?

 

I think you must be my long-lost cousins :evilsmile: We are the people that other cruise passengers tend to avoid, usually by pleading a subsequent engagement ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And I know I might regret asking this...but what does crew salary have to do with this? In my opinion, it's none of our business.
I agree it’s none of our biznatch. Many conservative folks believe that the industry’s wages should be tip or gratuity-based though. Liberals, in my opinion, are more likely to support a non-gratuity system with fair wages paid.

 

_Especially_ millennials with college degrees who’ve grown up in the age of things like Uber where tipping is included in the price.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think as a person with a Master's Degree (4.0 GPA) - and some coursework in an MBA program - who is from the South, but lives in one of the most liberal areas of North Carolina and works at a very liberal college, who loves to tip those who deliver good service, is married with no kids, hates politics, has only cruised with my sister or my husband, and has cruised the Caribbean and Alaska, been to resorts/organized my own excursions ----wait, where was I going with this? Oh I know - how can you put people in categories? And I only trust science. If you've done some double-blinded studies with both quantitative and qualitative research that's been published in peer-reviewed journals, then let's see what those facts were.

 

Any way.....I'm not sure why all of this is important has many other posters have said. Go have fun. That's one of the great things about the ship - no one forces you to be with people who you don't like or do things you don't like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your original post, unless I missed something, sounds like you have not yet been on a US cruise and are basing all your assumptions and generalizations on people you have been interacting with "somewhere". Who are these people? If you mean here on Cruise Critic, you have to remember that only a small percentage of cruisers have heard about Cruise Critic, let alone actively post on a regular basis. We've been on cruises all over the world, including Europe, Great Britain, the Caribbean, Australia/New Zealand, South Pacific, Mexico, Scandinavia & Iceland, as well as both the East and West Coasts of the United States and Canada. The demographics, personalities, expectations, and 'mood' of the passengers was different on each one. On two of our Australia/New Zealand trips, one trip went from Sydney to Perth 'over the top'; the 2nd B2B went from Perth to Sydney by the southern route; the passenger mix and 'collective personality' was entirely different on the 2 cruises.

 

There is always a percentage of passengers who love to complain, brag & boast & generally seem to love to incite disagreement with other passengers. This same group sometimes loves to expound their own superior opinions about everything from the quality of food/service onboard to religion and politics. These people are vastly in the minority and easy to avoid. (And, of course, that's not only true on cruise ships!) The majority of people are cruising to enjoy themselves, explore new places and cultures, and to enjoy the company of new acquaintances. Why bother forming generalized opinions on what kind of people you are going to find? Why not just meet each person as an individual and expect the best from each opportunity? If it turns out to be unpleasant, let it go and move on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...