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What has happened to older Australians ( cruising related)


bazzaw
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I am an "older Australian" myself (70 this year) and have just returned from the 46 day Indian Ocean cruise on Sun Princess. The ship, itinerary, food, staff, entertainment, etc were all good (IMO). We have now cruised 20 times with 7 cruiselines and think that basically they are all the same (except for the fact that they are all different! :) ) - and we enjoyed all of them.

 

This cruise WAS different insofar as the age of the passengers. I had heard that the Aussie Princess ships are beloved of older Aussies and also of course, that the longer the cruise, the older the passengers :) But - boy - was this home away from home for the nursing home crowd!!! Definitely the oldest demographic that I have encountered before.

 

But anyway so far - so good--- however the cruise eventually revealed what a bunch of whingers older Aussies have become - and I have never seen so many grossly obese people in one place at one time. There was a time when we used to s****** at "whinging Poms" and "fat Yanks" --- but that time is over. We have bettered them!!!! There were so many people who were more than just damn nuisances - they were a danger to themselves and others. Many almost unable to walk for various reasons - instability , weight, weakness - they struggled to walk up and down the stairs in the theatre, struggled to get into and out of shore tour buses, couldn't fit into the seats of shore tour buses!!! I would dread to think of how they would get along and what impact they would have around others during a real emergency!!!

 

I would recommend this Indian Ocean itinerary to anybody interested and the cruiseline and ship were great - but for me from now on, I am going to put a lot more search and research into different demographics that seem to favour different ships

 

Rant over!!! :)

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Anything that returns to and from Australia over 20 days I find skews OLD. I did the 19 day cruise on the Diamond Princess last year and it was a much younger demographic. It was repositioning up to Asia. So basically any cruise were there is no need for a flight or long one you tend to find older passengers. Well thats my take on it.

 

Great itinerary. Its one I hope they repeat. Were the ports good?

Edited by icat2000
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Agree with most of the points made, one thing though if you went on a similar cruise (length and return to same port with no flights) whether out of the US or the UK, you will find that the crowd is even older, fatter and whingier.

That said, I think us cruisers here need to uphold a standard as we cruise for the next 20-40 years, we can't do anything about getting older but we can try to not get as fat or as complaining as the current cohort.

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In fairness it's not just the older crowd who enjoy a good whinge. We met a gentleman (?) on a tender who told us he enjoyed Italian food so much he booked an MSC cruise. Not once did they have pizza or Spaghetti Bolognese in the MDR! He was thoroughly disgruntled[emoji23][emoji23]

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In fairness it's not just the older crowd who enjoy a good whinge. We met a gentleman (?) on a tender who told us he enjoyed Italian food so much he booked an MSC cruise. Not once did they have pizza or Spaghetti Bolognese in the MDR! He was thoroughly disgruntled[emoji23][emoji23]

 

Don't blame him!! We have been on full day (including lunch) ship's shore tours in exotic places like Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka , etc - only to find that the hotels where were taken for lunch served bland western food!! I remember eating spaghetti bolognese in a fancy hotel in Ho Chi Minh City!!! :(

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In fairness it's not just the older crowd who enjoy a good whinge. We met a gentleman (?) on a tender who told us he enjoyed Italian food so much he booked an MSC cruise. Not once did they have pizza or Spaghetti Bolognese in the MDR! He was thoroughly disgruntled[emoji23][emoji23]

 

LOl, pizza is for the buffet.:D

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Don't blame him!! We have been on full day (including lunch) ship's shore tours in exotic places like Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka , etc - only to find that the hotels where were taken for lunch served bland western food!! I remember eating spaghetti bolognese in a fancy hotel in Ho Chi Minh City!!! :(

 

We were in China and part of a tour, we went to a silk factory tour with lunch in the mess. Coca cola (Chinese version) and chicken noodle soup and sandwiches.

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Agree with most of the points made, one thing though if you went on a similar cruise (length and return to same port with no flights) whether out of the US or the UK, you will find that the crowd is even older, fatter and whingier.

That said, I think us cruisers here need to uphold a standard as we cruise for the next 20-40 years, we can't do anything about getting older but we can try to not get as fat or as complaining as the current cohort.

We are of the older gen. weight 72ks and 66 ks, not admitting age, but would probably be classified as the very old, cruise around 3 times a year. We don't complain, enjoy every cruise accept that not everything is perfect. Know how annoying it can be getting caught behind some very slow passengers, but our thoughts are " there but by the grace of God go us"

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Don't blame him!! We have been on full day (including lunch) ship's shore tours in exotic places like Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka , etc - only to find that the hotels where were taken for lunch served bland western food!! I remember eating spaghetti bolognese in a fancy hotel in Ho Chi Minh City!!! :(

Such a shame when there are so many little places in Ho Chi Minh City where you can get really good local food. I try and avoid those tours that include lunch cause I know they take you too a large hotel type and serve you western style foods because you get people on their who don't want to eat the local food. :eek:

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We are of the older gen. weight 72ks and 66 ks, not admitting age, but would probably be classified as the very old, cruise around 3 times a year. We don't complain, enjoy every cruise accept that not everything is perfect. Know how annoying it can be getting caught behind some very slow passengers, but our thoughts are " there but by the grace of God go us"

 

Great work, we can change the image of aussie cruisers if we all try to enjoy the experience without sweating the small stuff.:D

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Such a shame when there are so many little places in Ho Chi Minh City where you can get really good local food. I try and avoid those tours that include lunch cause I know they take you too a large hotel type and serve you western style foods because you get people on their who don't want to eat the local food. :eek:

 

Likewise, I prefer to get my own eats and also not to waste a lot of time eating.

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In fairness it's not just the older crowd who enjoy a good whinge. We met a gentleman (?) on a tender who told us he enjoyed Italian food so much he booked an MSC cruise. Not once did they have pizza or Spaghetti Bolognese in the MDR! He was thoroughly disgruntled[emoji23][emoji23]

 

 

I was thinking about booking a costa cruise to Rome based on the food ideology.........

 

I've been watching to much Cruise Ship Diaries....

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I might just add that I get jealous of the older cruisers whom get to party the night away whilst I'm in my cabin with my 6yr old by 8pm

 

Those grey haired party animals out until at least 10pm.

 

LOL, I have grey hair and stay up until at least 11pm or later.

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My best friend & I did our first cruise on Dawn Princess in 2009 for 14 nights around NZ.

I was 23, she was 25. The average age of our fellow cruisers was 72 & there were less than 25 of us under 30yrs old- (including small children!!!)

We still had a LOT of fun & it meant we were always first off the ship & front of lines cos we could beat everyone there!!! Lol!!!

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We found the oldest demographic so far was on our Voyager cruise to NZ - seems the cooler climate cruises bring out the older generation as other family members have found the same. Lots of scooters parked in the hallways.

 

I'm hoping our Ovation cruise in Jan 2017 isn't the same, I'm thinking probably not due to it being very popular & well known to lots of cruisers, as well as quite expensive compared to the same cruise on the other ships.

 

I didn't find the elderley people outright rude or overly grumpy just inconsiderate - for example they would hog all the lounges near the windows in the Sky Lounge all day when sailing through the NZ sounds, then promptly sit & read or fall asleep without looking at the view.

 

On a tour to Hobbiton one elderly man insisted on blocking the aisle at every stop whilst his slower wife got out of her window seat, since they sat at the front of the bus they held everyone up constantly. That is selfish IMO, if you are slower for whatever reason then just wait until the bus clears at least some of the time.

 

I remember being at breakfast one morning & looking up to see only seniors - it did feel a bit like being in a retirement village at the particular moment.

Wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to look at so many 3/4 length pants with homyped shoes, with short no style undyed hair on so many of the ladies.

I figure you know you're old when comfort & simplicity become your focus 24/7!! :D

 

Also quite a few obese people & whingers as well. People complaining about having Type 2 diabetics when they waddle off for another buffet plate of bad choices.

 

Although a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands was the most obese with young people aged in their 30's at a guess who where using walkers & scooters to get around. Sad for them, lives less lived due to immobility.

 

But people ignorant of basic healthy principles of eating abound everywhere, seems the rise of the internet with all it's knowledge just waiting to be absorbed runs of some people like water on a duck's back.

 

I wouldn't sail on Princess though or HAL as a first choice as they do have a reputation for older demographics & more morgue spaces on board! However, they do have some great itineraries Sydney to Sydney that appeal, although the ships they mostly use out of Sydney do not.

 

My 82 year old Father In law cruised on Cunard & was complaining about so many old people on board! :eek:

 

We do enjoy our cruises no matter what though as we are the self sufficient types - but it does add that extra dimension to your holiday if you feel like you fit the demographic. :)

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We have cruised mostly with Carnival, we were thinking of trying Princess but after reading many posts about the age demographic on Princess I think we will stick with Carnival, besides every cruise so far has been fantastic.

 

Unfortunately health is like religion & politics, everyone has an opinion, just do what works for you.

Edited by lagoon380
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Hi Bazzaw

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise - was following via various Shipcam pics etc posted by others on here - it sure looks a great itinerary - when things settle hopefully you can round it all up in a post - I am interested in doing this cruise after the RTW next year - on reading the posts here - I shall stop :) - ohhh well - it should be a fantastic RTW - its what we make out of it and take out of it

 

Welcome back :cool:

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We have cruised mostly with Carnival, we were thinking of trying Princess but after reading many posts about the age demographic on Princess I think we will stick with Carnival, besides every cruise so far has been fantastic.

 

Unfortunately health is like religion & politics, everyone has an opinion, just do what works for you.

 

Sorry lagoon380, not being unkind, but I just can't agree with that - what is good health is not an opinion based thing - it's medical fact.

 

Why it matters beyond the cost to the individuals quality of life, is because lifestyle induced health problems related to obesity alone are costing developed countries literally billions of dollars every year, calculated in fact to be around $130 billion last year in Australia, a jump of 84% in the last decade (according to The Fairfax-Lateral Economics Index of Australia's Wellbeing.)

Dollars that could be better spent fighting diseases that we have no control over, or improving other aspects of society, or paying it off the national debt.

 

If peoples choices regards health only affected the individual then it would be sad for them they are not functioning at their best, but less of a concern to anyone else - however when it affects the bottom line of the country & therefore all of us it's annoying at the very least. Making obesity acceptable as a mainstream option is not the answer.

 

So people just doing what 'works for them' can mean doing what doesn't work for everyone else who isn't adding a unnecessary burden on the economy.

 

Self maintenance is a personal responsibility is how I see it - I'm big on people taking responsibility for their own actions (or inactions) within their control, whatever they are, & I hold myself to the same standard. :)

 

I'm helping an obese friend at the moment with small lifestyle changes to start, to help her lose weight & change her mindset, as she suffers badly from weight induced pain, ever increasing mobility issues, high blood pressure etc, so I do have empathy for those in that situation, even if I sound like a hard task master. :D

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Strangely enough - I can't say that I saw people overeating to the extreme in the buffet - but what I did see was some very heavy and constant drinking. Not to the point of obvious drunkenness or anything like that - some of these oldies are obviously well practiced - however constant heavy drinking does cause excessive weight gain.

 

Anyway - I guess that is their business. I still see people smoking in spite of the warnings and information about smoking. Just don't expect the slightest sympathy/empathy from me when the inevitable happens:)

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They may have fled to Celebrity Solstice. Sun not the best. OR, they may have done their annual trek to ASPEN. They come here every ski season, happiest bunch of folks I ever saw .I found out hotels store their ski gear in their basements so its easy.

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