young adults

[westmount]

One of life's big deliemas to ponder. My wife is a Seabourn lover, no nickle and diming etc, everything really top notch, and we're planning to take our young (21&25) daughters on their first cruise for Christmas break from university. Azamara looks interesting for a panama canal cruise, as I'm expecting a younger crowd than the seabourn. Anyone have experience with this line vs seabourn, so I can know what not to expect or expect in a good way.

[aussie_nsw]

We like azamara never been on seabourn but have tried crystal which was nice. Even so prefer Azamara and have booked for our daughters 21st present. First time cruisers for them - I am sure your daughters will like it.

[westmount]

I'm sure either would be great, but I'm going with Azamara for now, as ports seem more interesting than simply sailing to a new jewelry store evry day. It sure beats the snow.

 

Thanks

[Susan-M]

With 9 sea days and only 6 ports ... there will be a lot of time to fill in on the ship. I would be a bit concerned about your daughters getting bored, unless they are looking forward to a very relaxing two+ weeks. I'm sure that they'll appreciate some down time after finishing their term at university, but 9 sea days is a lot of time, especially on that size of ship.

[Skeezics]

I have been on both Seabourn (Pride) and Azamara (Quest), I do not know which Seabourn ship you are looking to book. If it is their small 208 passenger (Pride, Legend, Spirit), then your daughters would be bored. The larger ships (Odyssey, Sojourn) have many more activities, but again they are under 500 passengers. And, just my observation, have never seen many young people on Azamara either, and have sailed total of 30 days. Don't know if this is much help....depends upon your daughters'.

[westmount]

If the Oddesey left on the 23rd and not earlier, it would have been an easy choice. The Legend is great, but not this time. For me, going to St.Barts, Saint Marteen, is the same as a sea day. My law student will be very happy with down days on the ship, and my future law student will be happy looking for turtles in Costa Rica etc. I'm hoping that Azamara will have more young people than the Seabourn, which by sheer numbers, dress code, and image should occur. Hey, they got me, there must be at least another yoyo leaving the easy life of Seabourn for the unknown?

 

westmount

[Susan-M]

I I'm hoping that Azamara will have more young people than the Seabourn, which by sheer numbers, dress code, and image should occur.

 

Yes, probably at Christmas time when there will be families with children of various ages. But if your daughters don't connect with others (either due to lack of numbers of lack of compatibility) hopefully that won't be a problem for them. I don't think it's as much of a concern when you can get off the ship, but when you're stuck on it, it's a different story.

 

If there's an active roll call, you might be able to find out if others are bringing young adult children with them.

[westmount]

They're not kids anymore, only kids to me. They will certainly figure it out.

[sf4ever]

They're not kids anymore, only kids to me. They will certainly figure it out.

I worked on Celebrity. I will let you know what I observe on an Azamara cruise during the summer (leaving 7/24). My experience as a crew member is that the twenty-somethings find each other quickly and form a small friendly gang. If there is late nite music, they are quite satisfied making new friends and dancing. Then walking the upper decks and enjoying the view. A great and memorable time, even if you just meet a few new friends!

Again, I will let you know what I see on Azamara.

Nice of you to include them!

[Susan-M]

They're not kids anymore, only kids to me. They will certainly figure it out.

 

Yes, they'll have a routine in place by the 2nd or 3rd sea day and will have it down pat by the 9th.:)

[Redtravel]

I like Azamara. My kids and grandkids would hate it. When I sail with them, it's Celebrity or Royal. They prefer Royal. I prefer Celebrity. There are never many kids on Azamara. On my last cruise, I did see a child. On the previous cruise there was an extended family with 3 kids. We did have a young honeymoon couple on one cruise. John Howell made lots of jokes about them. They were really good sports about it. Azamara caters to a much older crowd. Leave the kids home or book a different cruise. Years ago, when I was in my 20s, we went to a resort that had mostly old people. We stuck out like a sore thumb. To this day, that vacation was my all time worst vacation.

[vikielynne]

I’m currently planning on cruising on the Quest in October solo. However, this post concerns me a bit. I’m in my mid 30’s, have cruised quite a bit mostly on RCL but have been on smaller ships before as well. I don’t need all the bells & whistles of the big ships but don’t want to be the only young person on board especially as a solo. What are your thoughts?

[Susan-M]

On our Azamara cruise in the Med in Oct. '08 there was one couple in their 30's, maybe one or two in their 40's ... the rest were mainly mid 50's through to 70's. However, with the recent offers of excellent singles supplement, I wouldn't be surprised to find more singles @ a younger age on those cruises.

[westmount]

My girls are not 6&14 year old types, actually 25 and 21, and very resourceful and easy going. This is Christmas time, whereas most cruises go when young adults are in school, thus none of them are around on the ships most of the year. I was on a Seabourn Cruise in the summer with 10% of the ship under 22 years old, and 50% under 55. I expect no hardship for them at any time.

westmount

[ikelmay]

We travelled recently on the Journey (early to mid Jan) and met a lovely family from Australia. Their two late teen daughters and friends were almost the only passengers between the ages of 18 and 28 - they enjoyed the cruise but were definitely conspicuous by being almost alone in the age group. Your daughters might need to bear in mind that the demographics seem to skew away from young adults on Azamara.

[Redtravel]

If your 2 young adults don't mind being the only young folks on the cruise, then they will be fine. Azamara doesn't have much of a night life. John Howell did make jokes about the 3 people who were in the nightclub for the late night fun. In reality, it wasn't a joke. After the evening show, there isn't much to do except for the casino or a drink. On those nights when we did stay up past 10pm, the ship was very quiet. Maybe you found a few people at Cova or aft deck near Windows Cafe. Most of the time, we were alone. I didn't mind the quiet. If quiet isn't your thing, then Azamara may not be for you. Celebrity or Royal Caribbean have a much more lively nightlife.

[surus68]

We just came off Med cruise on Quest. We couldn't believe how many kids there were. Yes, it is summer time which is the only time we can cruise, so I know there will be some kids, but I estimate there were at least 30 or more. I am talking from several in strollers up to college age. Most were well behaved but still the sound of ping pong by the pool, several tantrums and ten year olds racing up and down the corridors was not what I had in mind. Our only other cruise was on Oceania with very few children so thought maybe it's just an Azamara thing. To the OP's question about young adults, there were probably a dozen who all made friends and danced to the DJ everynight in the Looking Glass. They seemed to be having a lot of fun.

(Disclaimer: I am a mother of 3, grandmother of 4 and a school teacher, so yes I like kids.)

[maryann ns]

Azamara is starting to go after European customers for the mediterranean which may explain what you saw. last november in the Mediterranean there were some young European families, including a few kids in strollers. There were no kids running around.

 

There were also several younger couples. We met a lovely young couple from Mexico and another from Quebec. The interesting ports I think were part of the attraction.

[GeorgeL]

One of life's big deliemas to ponder. My wife is a Seabourn lover, no nickle and diming etc, everything really top notch, and we're planning to take our young (21&25) daughters on their first cruise for Christmas break from university. Azamara looks interesting for a panama canal cruise, as I'm expecting a younger crowd than the seabourn. Anyone have experience with this line vs seabourn, so I can know what not to expect or expect in a good way.

 

We sailed on Azamara and found that there were very, very few people of your daughters' age onboard. Also, the ship didn't offer many activities and with 9 sea days I would find the ship extremely confining. We only had 4 sea days and even that was too many.

[quivet c]

Never been on Azamara before, my wife and I are contemplating trying it out in September in the Med though. That said, I have been on Oceania (which is supposed to be similar) before which for a Caribbean holiday cruise and we will be on Oceania again this year for their Holiday cruise and there were very few people my age (20-30 range). That said it was still fun and I found plenty of things to do on the cruise but there were very few sea days.

[DiamondPlusDan]

I'm their age and currently in accounting school. My school days are jammed packed with homework and projects - no different than your daughters I'm sure. Sometimes, the best thing is just to have nothing going on. Personally, I spend every day with about fifty things going on, so to have the opportunity to do nothing sounds just so appealing. I've done 6 sea days before on a cruise and they were my favorite part, and many times, the "older crowd" (sorry guys :D), more so than the "younger crowd", are fun to get to know too. I would go with Azamara.

[westmount]

Thank you everyone for your comments, but we've been doing these family trips since the girls were in the baby club at Club med. If the ports are as interesting as they look, and the sea days have maybe a cooking class, a few good speakers, a cool spot to read a book, and a great martini bar, my crew will be just fine. Rock climbing and macarena dance lines were never our thing, so hopefully good food, rest, and family time is all that is needed for a great holiday. In comparison to Seabourn, I'm expecting Azamara to be a bit less snobby and a bit younger, so it's all relative.

Thanks