Ages of passengers on HAL

[sapper1]

Seriously??? We had you pegged for a decade or a decade and a half younger. (That's the same in Canada, right? Or is it 2.2 English decades? I can't keep track.)

 

Regardless, you guys look great.

 

Why, thank you---compliments are in short supply these days. 😊 We've been metric here since the 70's (I think), but a lot of us oldies never could wrap their brains around it and still think in inches, pounds and Fahrenheit.

[1of4]

I do not post much these days but I could have been one of the first to reply to this thread. But I just couldn't do it. I admit I find the discussion of age tiresome. I turned 53 in July but was too sick to notice.

 

I admit that I have not read this whole thread. I am not able at this time. But since the thread is still active I thought I would log one more post (:rolleyes:) and share my point of view.

 

when I booked my family onto our first family cruise in 2011 I chose HAL because after reviewing websites and colour brochures I decided it best met our needs. We like dressing for dinner (all 4 of us, not just DH and I), we liked the thought of a library and full wraparound promenade deck, we liked that Club HAL was not just babysitting. I could go on but you get my point. We made our decision based upon what the cruise line presented us as their best features.

 

It is not, and has never been about age for me. I thought talking about age was a social no-no. I have never cared, obviously, but I just don't get why so many people hook their vacation enjoyment on the age of the people around them. I tend to be a tad blunt but honestly "who cares"!!

 

On our last cruise, 20 days, I was one of the oldest onboard if you go by actions. My illness was starting I think. Maybe I was discussed as being a social failure but somehow I think not as everyone I saw was too busy having fun to notice.

 

All this just to say that age has nothing to do with it. If you like what you see then book HAL. If you like/want what the other lines offer book them. My age should not be your deciding factor in deciding what cruise you book as I don't want to be responsible for your enjoyment

[Cruzaholic41]

HAL has had some marvelous entertainers perform in the past---but none of them would attract a young crowd. It has nothing to do with quality. It has to do with style.

 

No, I'm going to stick with the word quality. I just got off the Oosterdam. The main shows were terrible. One night, the main show was a movie. There is no longer an acoustic player in Crows Nest. The HAL Cats are gone. The show band played in the Ocean Bar, but they had no singer and their eyes were glued to their iPads the whole time they played. The piano singer was the worst I ever heard. Even the BB King band was meh. They spent more time patting themselves on the back than they did singing. It was a fabulous cruise but for entertainment, it was the worst I had ever seen.

 

That's how I read it, too. When someone asks about entertainment on a ship, I think of performances--the shows in the theater/showroom and the smaller groups or individual performers in bars. It wouldn't occur to me to lump in rock climbing or bumper cars as entertainment. That's just padding the argument.

 

Who did that? :confused: I certainly never mentioned those things.

Edited November 24, 2015 by Cruzaholic41

[SetAnOpenCourse]

 

You don't see it? Think about it. Why do you think it is that HAL doesn't attract the family crowd that is typical of lines like Carnival, NCL or even RCI? One of the many reasons HAL attracts the demographic it does is because of the entertainment. They don't have action packed ice shows or high dive acts. They don't have 90 minute to 3 hour long Broadway shows with intermissions. They don't have the wild poolside games or late night white hot parties. Heck, they're blowing their nest egg just with the BB King band. The shows on HAL are not to the liking of folks in their 20s to 40s (yes, of course there are exceptions). My response about quality was to the OP, who asked the original question, not to the general HAL populous who prefer this line. I firmly believe he will not find the entertainment quality to be on par, especially since the premise of his entire question was a concern about demographics.

 

 

Now you're saying the demographic is because of the entertainment (reverse of what you wrote earlier).

 

I get your drift, though, and I'm sure there's some truth in it, as to why a younger demographic, to some extent, can be attracted to other cruise lines.

 

Different strokes for different folks. I'd probably enjoy an ice show, but I wouldn't expect it to be a major draw with the 20-somethings (guys at least).

[RuthC]

No, I'm going to stick with the word quality. I just got off the Oosterdam. The main shows were terrible. One night, the main show was a movie. There is no longer an acoustic player in Crows Nest. The HAL Cats are gone. The show band played in the Ocean Bar, but they had no singer and their eyes were glued to their iPads the whole time they played. The piano singer was the worst I ever heard. Even the BB King band was meh. They spent more time patting themselves on the back than they did singing. It was a fabulous cruise but for entertainment, it was the worst I had ever seen.

You don't explain what this has to do with the age of the passengers.

[cbr663]

According to a 2015 CLIA survey of North American cruisers, the average cruise passenger is 49 years old. I think that we can all agree that the average passenger on HAL is above 49. Yes, there are some who are 2 years old and some who are 92 years old, but the average would be above that. It would appear that the average age of those responding to this post are above that. :)

 

When you are 20, you feel that 25 is old. When you are 30, you think 50 is old. When you are 40, well, 70 is starting to look older. I think that when people inquire about the age of passengers, what they are actually seeking is sameness. We all know that the world loves sameness - we wouldn't have so much strife and conflict if we didn't desire it so much.

[gpb11]

According to a 2015 CLIA survey of North American cruisers, the average cruise passenger is 49 years old.

 

Is that figure based on number of cruises or number of cruise-days?

 

It'd be interesting to see the distribution of average passenger ages across different cruise lengths. I'd expect a substantial difference between the demographics of three-day weekend getaways and 10+ day journeys.

[Cruzaholic41]

Now you're saying the demographic is because of the entertainment (reverse of what you wrote earlier).

 

That's because I mean it both ways. The 2 go hand-in-hand.

 

For what it's worth, I used to be a partner in a major Miami travel firm. We used complex algorithms and matrices for target audiences. I know people have varying opinions. I get that. But the data our advertising firms produced was almost always spot on. In 55+ communities, especially Florida retirement communities, HAL, Princess and Celebrity gained the most interest. At colleges and in the military, Carnival gained the most interest. To young families, RCI and NCL gained interest. In recent years, Celebrity has actually gained more interest from middle-agers. The most consistent reason for these results, other than with Carnival, was a link with entertainment. The cruise lines who commit the most money toward their shows and who contract with Broadway and Tony winning stage plays are not typically the lines most attractive to the retirement community (of which I am by the way).

 

So to sum it up, yes, I agree quality is in the eye of the beholder. And I'm sure someone will pick on some specific word used in this post and spin it, but I think it's very fair to say that most will agree a million dollar contract with the copyright holders of Mama Mia is higher quality entertainment than singers and dancers doing cover music.

 

I get your drift, though, and I'm sure there's some truth in it, as to why a younger demographic, to some extent, can be attracted to other cruise lines.

 

Thank you for understanding. I'm not saying everyone needs to agree with me. What baffles me is that so many can't even understand what I'm saying.

[POA1]

According to a 2015 CLIA survey of North American cruisers, the average cruise passenger is 49 years old.

 

Do you have a link? My data says 58 - and we pay dearly for the detailed surveys. Thanks.

[cbr663]

Do you have a link? My data says 58 - and we pay dearly for the detailed surveys. Thanks.

 

Here it is: http://www.cruising.org/about-the-industry/press-room/research/2015-state-of-the-industry

 

As noted in the survey, today's average cruiser is 49 years old, married, employed full time, college educated, and has an annual income of $114,000.

 

70% of cruisers use a travel agent to book.

 

And while not mentioned in the survey above, I did read an interesting stat that more travel vacations are being booked using phones and tablets than computers. Sorry, I cannot find the actual link right now. I remember reading it thinking HAL had better overhaul its website quickly.