Best cruiseline for young adults?

[mnightingale]

Hi all!

 

I've been devouring these boards for about a week now but figured now was the time to venture out and ask my own questions, haha.

 

Some girlfriends and I are in the early stages of planning a cruise for late spring/early summer 2012. We are all in our mid-twenties, and this will be the first vacation for all of us after graduating college and entering the real working world. :) We fancy ourselves to be fairly mature young adults -- while we definitely like enjoying ourselves and having a good time, our days of the wild and crazy spring break days are far behind us (if we even really indulged in them in the first place!).

 

What we're looking for is a reasonably priced (remember, only a few years into the work force here) cruise that has a fair number of people of our age demographic on it. Not that we have anything against kids or older adults, and we'd love to meet some of them, but we'd really like to meet some people around our age.

 

Right now we're leaning toward Royal Caribbean, largely because they have a departure port in Baltimore where I live, and it would save us the hassle of having to get on a plane as well. (Plus not having to pay for airfare = more money for a longer cruise!) Does RC tend to have a variety of ages on their ships, or is there another line we should be exploring?

 

And in a somewhat related question, how early should we book this cruise? It makes me a little nervous not seeing that many options for May/June coming out of Baltimore. We're a group of five, if that makes any difference at all.

 

Thanks so much for your help! I really appreciate it!

 

Marianne

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Carnival

[cb at sea]

RCI will be fine... there will be some younger adults...and since you already ARE a "group", you'll have each other to hang out with.

Remember that everyone on the cruise is out for a good time, so even if some of your fellow cruisers are a bit older, they still want to have fun...and guess what? They KNOW how to have a good time...lots of experience!

No worries....an RCI cruise out of Balt. will fit the bill!

 

I'd call RCI, check prices for the date/sailing you want. If you're comfortable, book then! Other wise, you can contact any travel agency near you, and let them do it for you.

[Marie51]

I also recommend Royal Caribbean. Go on Carnival only if you are desperate.

[paul929207]

To avoid kids, you want to try to sail when kids are in school, so late April to mid or late May would be best. Also, prices are often a little lower then.

[April-in-NC]

Royal will be a good choice, also lines that are less expensive (therefore will have more young adults) will be Carnival and Norwegian.

 

I've sailed twice on RCI and once on Carnival and have always had a good time (I just turned 30) but I personally prefer RCI.

[MCC retired]

There won't be any more choices out of Baltimore next year than you see now.

 

RCI and CCL are great choices . Compare the 2 ships/itineraries , compare the pricing , and book it now unless you wish to gamble and wait for an after final payment , new booking only rates , should they happen at all.

 

Look now at the CCL Early Saver Rates if you can live with the non refundable and change penalty rules.:rolleyes:

[gunnerstahl24]

Your question is something that I recently pondered myself.

 

I'm 25, and will be going on Celebrity with my GF. We looked at all of the major lines and chose Celebrity because we wanted something with a good island itinerary, romantic vacation, not too chaotic and loud, but also wanted to avoid the 50+ crowd at a reasonable price (we paid $770/person for a balcony room). Celebrity is owned by the same company as RCI.

 

For your scenario I would reccomend either RCI, Norwegian or Carnival. Pricing will descend in that order as well. Avoid Princess & Holland America.

 

As others pointed out, time of year, length of cruise, and itineary will definitely determine the age group on board your ship (college/high school vacation times = more families). But with the bigger ships(especially RCI's) they do a good job separating kids from adults (designated pool areas, etc.)

 

If your looking for a lot of onboard entertainment, music, partying, etc. then I would lean towards Carnival. If your looking for a little more touch of class and "mature" (I use that term loosely) crowd, than lean towards RCI. If you don't ever want to have to dress up for dinner, then go with Norwegian.

 

To your other question... it doesn't hurt to book early as long as the price makes sense to you.

 

Being with 4 of your closest friends, you will have fun no matter what ship you end up on. Good luck!

[mnightingale]

This is great! Thank you so much everybody for all your advice. You guys are awesome. :)

[sjcruiser]

I've only been on Carnival and Royal, so I would say either of those.

 

Happy Sailing!!!!!

[xhasox]

Your question is something that I recently pondered myself.

 

I'm 25, and will be going on Celebrity with my GF. We looked at all of the major lines and chose Celebrity because we wanted something with a good island itinerary, romantic vacation, not too chaotic and loud, but also wanted to avoid the 50+ crowd at a reasonable price (we paid $770/person for a balcony room). Celebrity is owned by the same company as RCI.

 

For your scenario I would reccomend either RCI, Norwegian or Carnival. Pricing will descend in that order as well. Avoid Princess & Holland America.

 

As others pointed out, time of year, length of cruise, and itineary will definitely determine the age group on board your ship (college/high school vacation times = more families). But with the bigger ships(especially RCI's) they do a good job separating kids from adults (designated pool areas, etc.)

 

If your looking for a lot of onboard entertainment, music, partying, etc. then I would lean towards Carnival. If your looking for a little more touch of class and "mature" (I use that term loosely) crowd, than lean towards RCI. If you don't ever want to have to dress up for dinner, then go with Norwegian.

 

To your other question... it doesn't hurt to book early as long as the price makes sense to you.

 

Being with 4 of your closest friends, you will have fun no matter what ship you end up on. Good luck!

 

 

Nice to hear that me and my BF are not alone in this thinking. We are 28 and cruising for the second time and reason just as you when chosing Celebrity Cruises. Romantic, interesting ports and hopefully not too many children, but hopefully not the youngest on the ship. I hope we did the right choice! :)

[crzycick]

I'm 25 and my husband will be 28 in a couple of weeks. We cruise carnival because it meets all of our needs and is really cheap. This allows us to take cruises when we wouldn't normally be able to afford one and spend a little more once on board. I'm not saying another line couldn't be better, but I honestly can't think of anything I would want different if that makes sense.

 

 

We're getting ready to book another cruise in January for my 26th birthday/5th wedding anniversary. It will be my 4th Carnival cruise and his 3rd. We live in DC and are cruising out of Baltimore on the Carnival Pride for less than $1000 total after taxes and fees. 3rd and 4th passenger rates are cheaper. We will take a bus or train to get there.

 

 

Some other options to think about are Boston, New York, New Jersey, and Norfolk. The first 3 would be easy to take a bus to save on parking fees.

 

 

I pretty much go by price though. If RCI was cheaper I'd take them, same with any other company. The cheaper the rate the more I can spend on excursions, shopping, etc.

 

Don't totally dismiss flying to Ft Lauderdale or Miami though. I found some round trip flights to FLL from DCA for about $200 a person and cruises are so much cheaper from there. With the exception of the ONE cruise I found for so cheap out of Baltimore, any other cruise we looked at was cheaper from Florida with airfare included.

[weltek]

 

Don't totally dismiss flying to Ft Lauderdale or Miami though. I found some round trip flights to FLL from DCA for about $200 a person and cruises are so much cheaper from there. With the exception of the ONE cruise I found for so cheap out of Baltimore, any other cruise we looked at was cheaper from Florida with airfare included.

 

Ditto to this. The "hassle" might be worth it financially. Especially as there are several discount carriers along the coast.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Royal makes sence for you

[ohxrapture]

We are in our late 20s and have cruised Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, both out of Baltimore and New Jersey. I agree that it would be nice to have a cruise line that caters to young urban professionals.

 

Our first cruise was Celebrity during the spring to Bermuda (7 nights). It was a good mix of people of different ages and families with kids. The crowd did skew a bit older (50s, 60s), but it was still pretty easy to find people our age, especially honeymooners.

 

Our second cruise was Royal Caribbean during the fall to the Caribbean. Again, it was a mix of people, but the vibe was definitely more low-end. We got spoiled with Celebrity's food and abundant daily activities.

 

We chose Celebrity again for our last cruise. We went for a 12-night to the Caribbean in December. BIG MISTAKE! The price was awesome (only about $800pp). But literally there were 6 people under age 50 on the cruise ship -- my hubby and me, and two other couples we met and befriended. A large majority of people were above 70. The entertainment seemed to be designed for them (lots of Sinatra type music, old fashioned production shows in the theater). I think the longer cruises draw the retirees, and early/mid-December is not a big time for families to cruise.

 

My sister is in her 30s and went on a Carnival ship. The big trade off there is that there will be tons of kids. My sister also said it was not nearly as nice as Royal Caribbean when it came to service or food. I don't have children and like to relax in the quiet on vacation, so I don't think I'll go on a Carnival cruise.

[tampamomoftwins]

Also, try to use Cruise Compete to find the lowest price! Do your homework and it'll definitely pay off.

[Hyuaul]

Younger crowds travel on Carnival and Disney. Lots of families and kids. But younger crowds. Loud kid noises. Only problem with kids is that they get in the elevators and push all the buttons and you then have to use the stairs. That is a pain no matter how fit you are! The ship is BIG. Eleven flights several times a day gets old fast.

 

You will have a younger crowd just because you are in a port city. Should be a good mix. AND you have your own group, so it is NOT going to make any difference. Too much to do and see.....

Enjoy

[tracyanns]

I would say either Carnival, Royal or NCL would fit the bill. Neither are really any better than the other but CCL is usually cheaper. I, however, would be more concerned with the ports of call than the cruise line...cruising out of Baltimore kind of limits you, as does Bayonne and NY...we have cruised from all 3 and travel to all 3 easily...I would look at those 3 as I know that CCL and RCCL cruise from Baltimore, but if you are with friends, than Celebrity, which also sails from Baltimore usually has a better itinerary, they are usually more expensive than Carnival but usually still come in under RCCL.

[arpie05]

Hi all!

 

I've been devouring these boards for about a week now but figured now was the time to venture out and ask my own questions, haha.

 

Some girlfriends and I are in the early stages of planning a cruise for late spring/early summer 2012. We are all in our mid-twenties, and this will be the first vacation for all of us after graduating college and entering the real working world. :)

 

Marianne

 

Marianne-

I would recommend that you avoid this time because once you hit March you are into Spring Break and the country varies on it's dates. The midwest tend to be mid-March whereas east coast go for early April. THEN you run into Easter. Catholic schools around here tend to wrap SB and Easter together into a long break. Then mid-May Mid-west Schools get out (May 10-15 don't be surprised).

 

If you can go the first week of May - that is a good week. 2nd week of May not bad either. September-October are also great weeks because everyone is back in school.

 

Look at Prices. I personally like Carnival because there are not a bunch of extra charges. When you are on a budget - you don't want to have to spend $5 to eat Johnny Rockets or pay for ice cream. Royal Carribbean offers a lots of included food options but a lot of their perks are extra.

 

NCL does the same thing. They say we have 11 different food option but 6 cost $10-40 more pp. The teppanyaki on NCL is more than it costs me at home!

 

(I found this OLD post! To give you an idea

The following prices were in effect on the NCL Spirit as of 9/20/08:

La Trattoria-$10/pp

Shogun Asian-$15/pp

Teppanyaki- $25/pp

Sushi- $15/pp

Cagney's- $20/pp

Le Bistro- $15/pp)

[jaycooker]

1. Avoid children: don't cruise in summer (mid may thru august) or on the christmas holidays. Late Sept/Oct and late April/early May are best and also among the least expensive times.

2. Unless you want to relive college days, avoid spring break late Feb/March.

3. I find Carnival has the younger people...also the most drinking and partying!

Have a good cruise!

[baltogirl]

I'm 25 and my husband will be 28 in a couple of weeks. We cruise carnival because it meets all of our needs and is really cheap. This allows us to take cruises when we wouldn't normally be able to afford one and spend a little more once on board. I'm not saying another line couldn't be better, but I honestly can't think of anything I would want different if that makes sense.

 

 

We're getting ready to book another cruise in January for my 26th birthday/5th wedding anniversary. It will be my 4th Carnival cruise and his 3rd. We live in DC and are cruising out of Baltimore on the Carnival Pride for less than $1000 total after taxes and fees. 3rd and 4th passenger rates are cheaper. We will take a bus or train to get there.

 

 

Some other options to think about are Boston, New York, New Jersey, and Norfolk. The first 3 would be easy to take a bus to save on parking fees.

 

 

I pretty much go by price though. If RCI was cheaper I'd take them, same with any other company. The cheaper the rate the more I can spend on excursions, shopping, etc.

 

Don't totally dismiss flying to Ft Lauderdale or Miami though. I found some round trip flights to FLL from DCA for about $200 a person and cruises are so much cheaper from there. With the exception of the ONE cruise I found for so cheap out of Baltimore, any other cruise we looked at was cheaper from Florida with airfare included.

 

Where did you eve find a round trip for that fare. I've been looking, as we're sailing out of Ft Lauderdale, and as of now, direct fights in both directions is $420. I'd be interested to know where to find those rates.

[K4Windy]

I am 30 and have been sailing on RCI with my family and now girlfriends since I was in high school; once every few years we take a cruise. My college friends and I took an NCL cruise during a spring break and I kept comparing it to RCI. Just wasn't the calibur I expect from an RCL but I was also over Spring Break....

 

Needless to say my friends and I found an affordable option for cruising this summer in the Mediterranean. And I have accrued some cruise points for some perks.

 

So, I recommend RCL and regardless of the line you actually pick, make sure you sign up for their loyalty club as it helps as you have the ability to travel more once more settled in your careers.

 

Have a fabulous time!!

[seacat65]

1. Avoid children: don't cruise in summer (mid may thru august) or on the christmas holidays. Late Sept/Oct and late April/early May are best and also among the least expensive times.

2. Unless you want to relive college days, avoid spring break late Feb/March.

3. I find Carnival has the younger people...also the most drinking and partying!

Have a good cruise!

 

I agree with this poster 100% :)

 

RCCL is the very Best.

 

Have a great cruise and enjoy yourself!!

[beachparty]

I always told my cruise clients this as general guidelines: If you prefer nightlife (dance club, music, etc) go with Carnival. If you prefer a physically active cruise, go with RCI - they have lots of sports activities. Food is probably a tossup. Late spring is better than early summer - Carnival will have lots of kids, but so will all of the contemporary (mass market) cruise lines during the summer and holiday periods (that's when I stay home). If you prefer a quieter cruise, then Princess, then Celebrity. All these cruise lines now have a variety of ages on board, but generally the more expensive and/or longer the cruise, the older the crowd. Go with the itinerary that you like if it's a tossup between two lines. Have fun!

[IanK]

I would recommend either Royal Caribbean or Celebrity (they are both part of the same company anyway). I'm now 35, but have been on a few cruises with Celebrity and have met plenty of people my age and under.

 

In addition, you may want to look at the duration of the cruise as this will impact the crowd mix as well. Cruises of about 5 days will generally have a much younger crowd (late teens - early 20s) and if you go on Carnival for 5 days or less, it will be almost non-stop partying, so you may want to avoid that.

 

For a good combination of younger crowd, but relaxation time when you want it I would recommend 7 to 10 days duration, anything over this and you will get an older crowd. Recently did a Panama Canal cruise which was 15 days and approx 75% of passengers were over 50, so the ship was pretty quiet after 10pm.

 

To help save money, you may want to look at independant shore excursion, particularly if you have a group. This will depend on the actual ports, but you can usually find plenty of options on line, or when you get to the pier.

 

Good luck with the planning and have a great cruise !