What cruise line for our demographic?

[cebee123]

My daughter ( 24 and in grad school ) and I are planning a cruise over her spring break ( mid/late march ) and want to avoid hoards of small children and any and all " Spring Break College Students" ( she see's enough of those on a daily basis! ) We are thinking of Bahamas or Caribbean cruises.

I assume Carnival would be filled with the College Spring Break crowd. Any suggestions on what other cruise lines we should avoid? Which would be good? We are pretty open as far as which islands... our big concern is avoiding the drunken spring break crowd! ( not prudes.. just not how we want to spend our vacation!)

Suggestions?

Edited October 12, 2014 by cebee123

[Floridiana]

Any of the premium and luxury lines don't attract spring breakers. My personal favorite is Oceania. Cruises longer than a week are also good. Holland America usually attracts an older crowd. I haven't seen drunken revelry on Princess either. Royal Caribbean new behemoth ships are family oriented.

[Essiesmom]

The shorter the cruise, the more children and spring breakers. I suggest Princess or Celebrity. If you are not looking to 'party hearty', and just want to get away to pretty islands, lay out on a beach and do a little shopping, be fed good food, meet interesting people at dinner (albeit they might be your grandparents age), Holland America would be a nice choice, too. EM

[Cuizer2]

My daughter ( 24 and in grad school ) and I are planning a cruise over her spring break ( mid/late march ) and want to avoid hoards of small children and any and all " Spring Break College Students" ( she see's enough of those on a daily basis! ) We are thinking of Bahamas or Caribbean cruises.

I assume Carnival would be filled with the College Spring Break crowd. Any suggestions on what other cruise lines we should avoid? Which would be good? We are pretty open as far as which islands... our big concern is avoiding the drunken spring break crowd! ( not prudes.. just not how we want to spend our vacation!)

Suggestions?

 

Avoid Carnival, NCL and Disney. Look at HAL, Celebrity or if you can afford it, one of the luxury lines (Regent, Silversea, Crystal, Seabourn or Azamara). Princess is a possibility, however, Princess is more likely to have families with kids than HAL or Celebrity.

[mickiemac]

We were on the Carnival Freedom 3/22 sailing this year. After I booked I realized it was spring break. This was an 8 day sailing and I was very happy to say there was no problem with "spring breakers". I do believe the longer cruises are not as popular with that age bracket.

[leaveitallbehind]

Most of the mass market cruise lines will attract families over spring break - Disney, Carnvial, Princess, NCL, RCI, etc. Most of them target - along with most other demographics - families with their ships. As to "hoards of small children", hard to say (other than perhaps Disney) and the amount will depend on ship, itinerary, pricing, date, etc.

 

The shorter itineraries - 3/4 night - will certainly likely attract more of the spring break crowd and Carnival seems to lead in that demographic. I would avoid those and look for 7-night or longer to reduce that impact.

 

But keep in mind with even the smaller ships typically holding 2,500+ passengers of all demographics, avoiding one group or another is virtually impossible. And somehow I doubt that your daughter is ready for the Crystal or HAL crowd!

Edited October 12, 2014 by leaveitallbehind

[cebee123]

Does anyone know if it makes a difference where the ship embarks from as far as the crowd it attracts? Or if some islands/ itineraries are less popular with the college crowd than others?

Appreciate all the responses!! Thank you all!

[leaveitallbehind]

Does anyone know if it makes a difference where the ship embarks from as far as the crowd it attracts? Or if some islands/ itineraries are less popular with the college crowd than others?

Appreciate all the responses!! Thank you all!

 

Not that I am aware of. If someone is looking to party on a ship over spring break where it departs from or where it goes would have little bearing IMO. The key driving factors are price and length of itinerary - which tend to go hand in hand. That is why you should look first to avoid the short 3 / 4 night itineraries. Reputation for that kind of cruise also is a factor which again IMO leads back to avoiding Carnival as one of the leading candidates.

 

Maybe look at Celebrity 7 nights as one that was mentioned previously - likely very few college crowd and possibly fewer families than some of the others at that time.

Edited October 12, 2014 by leaveitallbehind

[Marie51]

Does anyone know if it makes a difference where the ship embarks from as far as the crowd it attracts? Or if some islands/ itineraries are less popular with the college crowd than others?

Appreciate all the responses!! Thank you all!

 

I think spring breakers would avoid leaving from Puerto Rico because the airfare is expensive and there's no way to get there but fly. Also I would avoid short cruises.

Look at Holland America and Celebrity.

[cb at sea]

Just remember, even Puerto Rico will have local "spring breakers"....you can't avoid them, and so far, our cruise experience has never been negatively impacted by sailing in the spring!

 

From March to May, there will be "break times" for all different levels of schools, in every state, in every county.....there is no one specific time!!!

[Flatbush Flyer]

Any of the premium and luxury lines don't attract spring breakers. My personal favorite is Oceania. Cruises longer than a week are also good. Holland America usually attracts an older crowd. I haven't seen drunken revelry on Princess either. Royal Caribbean new behemoth ships are family oriented.

 

 

Oceania for sure. Demographic is generally well educated (many folks with advanced and professional degrees) and polished. There will be families at spring break time. But you will not find find much college break partying. With the right TA and itinerary, you'll find the value of included amenities (e.g., air credit, beverages, OBC, all restaurants, etc,) makes O affordable. Add what most agree is the best food at sea and you can't go wrong.

 

 

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[Lerin]

Do keep in mind that while your daughter may want to avoid partiers, she may want to be around some people at least from her generation.

Of some of the suggestions given, the next youngest person will be twice her age and MANY will be pushing over 3x her age. Does she really want to spend her spring break with a bunch of retirees?

 

ANY cruise line over spring break that is 7 days or longer is not going to be a "party" ship. Partiers can only drink so much, 3-5 days is about their limit. Not just from a hangover standpoint, but eventually their bank account takes a hit. ;)

 

Aside from Disney, lines have programs for small children so they will not be all over the place either.

 

As someone who has sailed both luxury and budget lines, I think you will be making a mistake to rule out Carnival and NCL.

But if you are dead set against them, then give RC and Princess a look.

For that area you may also want to give the MSC Divina a try. It's an Italian line that has been in the US only a few years. Their prices rival that of CCL and NCL, but the service is more on par with Princess and Celebrity. And most importantly to you: the drunk partiers haven't heard of it yet. ;)

[Cuizer2]

And most importantly to you: the drunk partiers haven't heard of it yet. ;)

 

That is until they read your post. :eek:

[OCruisers]

Don't think I've completely lost my mind BUT consider a Disney Cruise.

My niece & DH who want to be as child free as possible while cruising say they enjoy Disney most because there are areas that are for Adults Only which are strictly enforced. Disney is not at all popular with college spring break crowd. ;)

LuLu

[TeaBag]

I would go with Oceania or Celebrity.

[skandls]

I think the Oasis or Allure will have a lot of things for both of you. Yes there maybe a lot of families but the ships are so big and well laid out you won't have a lot of interactions with the kids. Do not book a really cheap cruise - those will attract the spring breakers.

 

I really like Oceania - great food - more expensive and not a lot of entertainment. But your 24 year old might be really bored as there are not a lot of activities for that age group.