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Thougts on Carnival for 55+ Solo Cruiser?


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I had really enjoyed family cruises on Carnvial 20 years ago. Any 55+ Carnival loyalists here? What do you think about them as a cruiseline for older passengers? I'm not sure whether I'm still in their passenger demographic (solo, mid-60s, widow). Carnival leaves from convenient ports, and has reasonable prices.

 

Our family cruised on RCL (10+ times). We also cruised with NCL (2X) and Celebrity (1X). I didn't care for NCL. I might try Celebrity again. I will also try HAL next week in Alaska with a kid. I wouldn't cruise in summer or during Spring breaks. I typically book junior suites or balconies, and am not interested in solo cabins

 

I've had solo cruises on RCL, with another one coming up at the end of the summer. I'm also going to check out HAL with a kid next week. I'm starting to shop for my 2018 cruises now - could be retired by then. Whooo hooo.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have cruised solo before, it was fun. I plan on cruising solo when i retired , i am a balcony snob , so i am saving my pennies already. I have about 7 yrs until i retired . Maybe i will be married by then..:)

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I have traveled many lines solo. I have no problem with Carnival, have probably sailed solo on them the most, but have a lot of time in Celebrity, too. Going solo on any line is better than not going at all. EM

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  • 2 months later...
I had really enjoyed family cruises on Carnvial 20 years ago. Any 55+ Carnival loyalists here? What do you think about them as a cruiseline for older passengers? I'm not sure whether I'm still in their passenger demographic (solo, mid-60s, widow). Carnival leaves from convenient ports, and has reasonable prices.

 

Wife and I did not start cruising until she was 47 and I was 49. Since then we have been on 12 Carnival cruises and loved everyone of them. We are now 61 and 63 and have cruises booked from now through January 2019 all with Carnival.

Carnival is a great cruise line for all ages. I cannot speak to solo cruising but for us it's always been a blast. Just stay away from Holidays, Summer and Spring Break (any time kids are out of school) and you should not find a lot of children on board. You always have some on Carnival but you can limit them with when you sail.

Hope this helps in your decision making. Have a great cruise.

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I was on my first cruise last month, a 4 day Long Beach, Catalina, Ensenada cruise on Carnival. I am 65, went solo and had a great time. There were mingles every night for singles, I would guess the demographic was pretty heavy to the under 50 crown with maybe 15% over 60 just by visuals.

 

I was basically on the ship to see if I liked the general experience, got sea sick or didn't enjoy it.

 

I met people and had fun. I think the shorter cruises probably tend to the younger set just because of price points.

 

I happened to choose this cruise as I traveled to near the port for a wedding so when I RSVP'd for the wedding I decided to take a short cruise.

 

I have already set up my next cruise to Alaska and am looking for more that are longer.

 

I went in middle of summer so lots of families. I think if you wanted to be in a larger "older" demographic cruising when school is in session would be better.

 

 

A-

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I had really enjoyed family cruises on Carnvial 20 years ago. Any 55+ Carnival loyalists here? What do you think about them as a cruiseline for older passengers? I'm not sure whether I'm still in their passenger demographic (solo, mid-60s, widow). Carnival leaves from convenient ports, and has reasonable prices.

 

Our family cruised on RCL (10+ times). We also cruised with NCL (2X) and Celebrity (1X). I didn't care for NCL. I might try Celebrity again. I will also try HAL next week in Alaska with a kid. I wouldn't cruise in summer or during Spring breaks. I typically book junior suites or balconies, and am not interested in solo cabins

 

I've had solo cruises on RCL, with another one coming up at the end of the summer. I'm also going to check out HAL with a kid next week. I'm starting to shop for my 2018 cruises now - could be retired by then. Whooo hooo.

 

Yay for retirement! I've enjoyed it for a year now!

 

On my last Carnival cruise in May, it seemed like 50% of the passengers were bachelorettes and bachelors partying to the extreme. If you're eliminating summer and spring breaks, you might want to eliminate May also....other than that I think Carnival is a great bargain and I would have no problems cruising solo with them.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Depends to some extent on what kind of shipboard experience you desire. Carnival usually has a relatively young demographic and often loaded with young adults and families during spring break and summer. They have more late night entertainment than some other lines.Holland America would be at the other end of the range, older, very experienced demographic.Not much to do after 11PM. However, HAL often very interesting destinations If you wanted meet other seniors, HAL is a better choice.

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  • 1 month later...

I have only done one (1) Carnival Cruise, a short one with my son. So take this post with a grain of salt. It was fine with the exception that I felt like I was the designated chaperone:cool:.

 

Carnival demographics seems to be targeted towards a younger age group and/or families. I did a Princess 5 night and had a totally different experience. I sure my experience with carnival would have been different had it been a longer cruise. As it stands now, Princess would do again, not sure about Carnival.

 

For anyone who cares... My girlfriend and I (56/63) respectfully, enjoy traditional dining with 8 people we don't know. We both like meeting new people. Looking at a 3-4 week Med Cruise in 2018.

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  • 2 weeks later...

As you can see by my signature, my greatest amount of cruise experience is on HAL. But, I have also enjoyed my Carnival cruises, 3 of them being solo. My first Carnival cruise was aboard Carnival Freedom, a 6 day Western Caribbean cruise from Fort Lauderdale. The cruise was during the Spring Break time period; my friends thought I had lost my mind booking such at that time. It was an excellent cruise; I saw nothing inappropriate; I saw many people of a large variety of ages having a good time. (I was not the only solo Senior Citizen aboard this cruise, either.)

 

I enjoy the Carnival cruise experience for how it differs from my HAL cruises. And, I have been surprised to learn that the Carnival experience is superior in some ways to my HAL experience, i.e., their Steakhouses blow away any Pinnacle Grill dinner I have had and really good music in a variety of lounges.

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I was wondering the same thing. Hubby and I were thinking about cruising the Carnival Dream out of NOLA, which is an 11-hour drive from St Louis, where we live. Don't have to mess with the airlines. We've cruised Norwegian for our first 3 and are ready for something different. The NCL Western Caribbean cruises always seem to go to the same places. I love Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize but are ready for something different.

I hear that Carnival has much roomier cabins than the older Norwegian ships. Looks much cheaper, too. My husband and I could get a nice roomy balcony cabin for less than a Norwegian interior.

Lord and our budget willing, I'm looking forward to going next year.

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I've taken solo cruises at many times on several different cruise lines. I am 64 and have stopped trying to spark interest in cruising to the "non-believers" so I go by myself and always have a great time. After cruising on mostly Carnival for the past several years, I guess I am growing up and yearning for a quieter, sophisticated ship with the older crowd. For the price, Carnival is the best, but I would rather seek the experience of a slower pace and great conversation with seasoned sailors.

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  • 1 month later...
After cruising on mostly Carnival for the past several years, I guess I am growing up and yearning for a quieter, sophisticated ship with the older crowd. For the price, Carnival is the best, but I would rather seek the experience of a slower pace and great conversation with seasoned sailors.

 

I'm the opposite. I enjoy watching the crazy kids having a good time.

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We have taken seven Carnival cruises over the past nine years, starting at ages, 66 and 70. We have enjoyed them all. We've made new friends, enjoyed the ports, enjoyed the activities and never felt we were "too old." There are plenty of things to enjoy for all ages.

 

Our last cruise was on Princess which we enjoyed, too. Definitely an older crowd but still had fun at 75 and 79. Next one in 2019 will be on Princess with a group of our Carnival cruise buddies. I'm always readyfor another Carnival cruise if one comes up we want to take. Go for it and enjoy.

 

 

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