Cruise demographic / sociopolitical status

[navybankerteacher]

Comparing demographics among various cruise lines is a bit difficult during the current trend of so many first-time cruisers "getting their feet wet". After two or three cruises people are likely to settle on a few favorites; so, once the market becomes more saturated with experienced cruisers, it may be that more distinctions will appear.

 

Then, there will likely be more distinct differences in ambience reflecting the emerging repeater demographics.

[Cyber Kat]

Regardless of "country of origin," most of these folks are well-traveled, cosmopolitan and courteously expect to get that for which they've paid.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

These are the kind of people I want to travel with. Oceania is on my list[emoji41]

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Cyber Kat]

But, you'd be talking about one very expensive research undertaking where I see no one willing to fund it.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

I’d be willing to do the research if someone will fund it! [emoji12]. I will even supply my own clipboard!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[navybankerteacher]

These are the kind of people I want to travel with. Oceania is on my list[emoji41]

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

That thought makes sense.

 

Ambience, reflecting passenger mix among other factors, does contribute to enjoyment of a cruise. Just as you will have different shopping experiences in Walmart, Target, Bloomingdales, Saks, Brooks Brothers or Bergdorf Goodman - based in part on the demographic as well as on the goods - you will have different cruise experiences cruising on Oceania, NCL, Cunard, Celebrity, Princess, HAL, Royal Caribbean, or Crystal.

 

It isn't just the product offered - the customer base purchasing that product also contributes to the experience.

[marktwothousand]

I am sure these big cruise lines already have these demographic stats at hand for their advertising on board and off. It would be extremely surprising If they did not.

[Flatbush Flyer]

That thought makes sense.

 

 

 

Ambience, reflecting passenger mix among other factors, does contribute to enjoyment of a cruise. Just as you will have different shopping experiences in Walmart, Target, Bloomingdales, Saks, Brooks Brothers or Bergdorf Goodman - based in part on the demographic as well as on the goods - you will have different cruise experiences cruising on Oceania, NCL, Cunard, Celebrity, Princess, HAL, Royal Caribbean, or Crystal.

 

 

 

It isn't just the product offered - the customer base purchasing that product also contributes to the experience.

 

 

 

Though I am not a fan of outfits like "air bnb" (primarily because of unscrupulous landlord practice here in the SF Bay Area), one of the reasonable points made in their commercials is their benefit of not having to deal with other guests at hotels, resorts, etc whose behavior et al. may not jive with their own travel experiences, preferences, expectations, etc.

 

A sort of maritime equivalent would be yacht charter vs. cruise line. But, like an "air bnb" cannot provide the attractions, amenities, etc that can be found at a resort, so does a yacht charter have its own experiential limitations. (BTW, we love charters when we just want to get away and relax with a few friends and/or family. With few exceptions, it is the only way we'd ever again do the Caribbean)

 

So, as cruisers start looking at which line to choose, they are faced with the same set of factors/choices the make on a daily basis in other areas of their lives: Communities in which to live, public vs private schools, supermarket vs farmers market, social/special interest clubs, etc. all tempered by their financial circumstances.

 

The big trade off in the mass market cruise line segment is low cost vs an environment trying to be everything to everybody. And, IMO, even with new "ship within a ship" enclaves (e.g., haven, yacht club, etc.), the low end segment fails to do much beyond keeping the cost low. After all, when you exit that enclave, you're still on a ship with thousands of other passengers - many of whom do not share your interests and preferences. Perhaps the only mass market line that defies this reality is Disney and that's because it is striving to deliver Disney to Disney fans.

 

Moving through the other cruise segments from premium through luxury (and expedition), the old adage, "you get what you pay for," reigns supreme. With far less passengers on the ships and usually easier-to-identify commonalities in the passenger base (e.g., the aforementioned "well-traveled/cosmopolitan), it is reasonable to assume that passengers will develop loyalties to certain lines if for no other reason than the predictability of who will be sailing with them. And, catering to a more homogeneous demographic "ain't cheap."

 

Beyond the food, amenities and service (yes, the "ship as destination" is extremely important to us) as well as the interesting itineraries, what appeals to us about Oceania is its nature of its repeat passenger base. Of course with the exception of the occasional butthead, we have found our fellow travelers to share many of our travel preferences, experiences and expectations and do so in a knowledgeable, adventurous and courteous way.

 

In essence, we pay a premium to avoid surprises that could derail our comfort and enjoyment. And I trust that other folks choose specific cruise lines that clearly meet their own preferences (in far more than just economic areas) often in large part based on the passenger demographics.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[calliopecruiser]

Well, the med cruise was with NCL, but I am still expecting a different demographic on the US cruise.

 

I appreciate the thoughtful responses, and I understand why some people feel “it’s just vacation, who cares”. I was just raising it as a point of interest and discussion, bc b4 I was a cruiser, I was mainly an urban traveler (capital cities and the like) so the cross-section of people I would run into was EXTREMELY varied. I find there is less of that dynamic on cruise ships, and expecting even less so on the US cruise.

 

I do think it would be a good study for marketers and advertisers, but they probably already have done extensive studies on who their markets are on these cruises.

 

OK, I'll go out on a limb and say I think your original ideas are going to be right the majority of the time for Caribbean cruises leaving from Florida and Texas. Not necessarily for other cruises out of the US, but for those I think you're right for a couple of reasons:

 

There will be more local passengers (i.e. from close to the embarkation ports) because of the cost savings, and because of the competitively low prices of Caribbean cruises. And Florida and Texas are both states with a preponderance of conservative and/or Christian residents. As for wives doing the majority of the on-line planning, I think that will apply to the vast majority of couples doing any kind of vacation planning....and I agree that the wages of the cruise employees has nothing to do with it. While I agree that most of those cruisers (Texans and Floridians cruising the Caribbean for a week) do not want an all-inclusive, I suspect it has more to do with the cruise lines chosen (for their low cost and variety of cruises to choose from) than any specific love of tipping -- they're looking for an easy, inexpensive getaway. I met one woman on a luxury, all-inclusive 3 week cruise who also often took quick and cheap cruises to Mexico for "girls' weekends" with her friends -- knowing it was a totally different experience, but suited their needs at the time.

[Travelcat2]

IMO it is not possible to generalize the "Cruise demographic / sociopolitical status" as the statistics would differ based on whether you are on a mainstream, premium or luxury cruise line as well as the itinerary and length of the cruise.

 

We have cruised a good portion of the world on premium and luxury cruise lines and the demographics listed by the TS made no sense to me. For instance, short cruises tend to have younger people, more children and more people from the U.S. while long cruises to places far from the U.S. (Asia, Australia, South America, Africa for instance) have few children and an older demographic that are from various places around the world - not just the U.S.

 

Not sure what religion has to do with anything. While I'm sure that there are people from all religions on cruise ships, most of us know that this is a private matter - not to be discussed on vacation or with anyone who you do not know well.

 

Wish that "we" (i.e. all of us) would get beyond pigeon holing people and defining them by "sociopolitical status".

[buchhalm]

Can't we just all go back to discuss tipping ???

[CrossBluePerchance]

Can't we just all go back to discuss tipping ???

Rodney? Rodney King, is that you? :D

[sanger727]

I’m not sure what interactions have left you with these impressions but they are very over generalized. I’ve been on several cruises; some Caribbean, and don’t meet any of the demographics you stated. And I don’t feel out of place.

 

I do agree with two of your points however; the people who prefer the ship to venturing out on their own and the wives doing more of the organizing. Though I doubt that will hinder your ability to socialize on the cruise.

 

I would suggest you go into it with the open mind you say you have and don’t judge a book by its cover based on a few posters. I don’t think you’ll find many of your assumptions to be true.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Flatbush Flyer]

I’m not sure what interactions have left you with these impressions but they are very over generalized. I’ve been on several cruises; some Caribbean, and don’t meet any of the demographics you stated. And I don’t feel out of place.

 

I do agree with two of your points however; the people who prefer the ship to venturing out on their own and the wives doing more of the organizing. Though I doubt that will hinder your ability to socialize on the cruise.

 

I would suggest you go into it with the open mind you say you have and don’t judge a book by its cover based on a few posters. I don’t think you’ll find many of your assumptions to be true.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

I'd disagree with both of your agreed upon points.

 

Many of us use cruises, in part, as scouting trips to identify future extended land journey locations and add extra pre/post days in different start/end ports to make the most of international air fare. Plenty of adventure that way.

Planning interest/skill favors no particular sex or marital status. Some folks are more into/better at it than others in and the modern concept of "breadwinner" (at least where we live) is a working couple with equal demands on their professional time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[sanger727]

I'd disagree with both of your agreed upon points.

 

Many of us use cruises, in part, as scouting trips to identify future extended land journey locations and add extra pre/post days in different start/end ports to make the most of international air fare. Plenty of adventure that way.

Planning interest/skill favors no particular sex or marital status. Some folks are more into/better at it than others in and the modern concept of "breadwinner" (at least where we live) is a working couple with equal demands on their professional time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

I’m not suggesting that that is ALL cruisers. But I see a lot more of that on cruise critic than trip advisor. There are a substantial portion of cruisers that are there just to be on the ship, take a shore excursion or two, but not really venture out.

 

And sorry, reference the wives vs the husbands. Just calling it the way I see it. That’s true for my family and several others I know. I know many dual income families and as a generalization, women still tend to be the ‘organizers’ of the relationship. I actually can’t think of a single family I know that this wouldn’t hold true for. Again not ALL cruisers.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[calliopecruiser]

Planning interest/skill favors no particular sex or marital status. Some folks are more into/better at it than others in and the modern concept of "breadwinner" (at least where we live) is a working couple with equal demands on their professional time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I disagree -- I think there is a very strong lean towards the detail-planning in women more than men. Whether they're married women or working women or breadwinning women doesn't matter, but I think it's usually the women who take planning to the detailed level. Men often plan, but most are big picture (and let the details sort themselves out later) types of planners.

 

 

As for venturing out on one's own as scouting for future vacations vs taking just a few ship excursions -- I think that varies by location, but there's also a third type of cruiser.....Someone like me who cruises to be on the ship and doesn't really worry about the port stops for more than a meal out a beach walk. If I want to see places (on land), I take a land vacation. When I cruise, I want the ship and the sea.

[grandmarnnurse]

I disagree -- I think there is a very strong lean towards the detail-planning in women more than men. Whether they're married women or working women or breadwinning women doesn't matter, but I think it's usually the women who take planning to the detailed level. Men often plan, but most are big picture (and let the details sort themselves out later) types of planners.

 

 

As for venturing out on one's own as scouting for future vacations vs taking just a few ship excursions -- I think that varies by location, but there's also a third type of cruiser.....Someone like me who cruises to be on the ship and doesn't really worry about the port stops for more than a meal out a beach walk. If I want to see places (on land), I take a land vacation. When I cruise, I want the ship and the sea.

I agree with you. When my hubby and I worked, we were both professionals in our field, he was a Director of Operations at a corporation for over 40 years, planning all aspects of how their company ran, but ALL planning of every vacation (short or long) ALWAYS fell to me! I’m the organizer of our family. Not only did I manage a very busy cardiac floor during my nursing career, I raised 5 children and managed ALL aspects of our home life, including budget and finances. I tried ONCE letting him plan a getaway for my birthday several years ago. The man looked for most economical rather than good hotel and experience, and we ended up at a Days Inn! Worse 2 days of my life! Lol! Not really, but he will NEVER be allowed to book anything again! And once on the ship, I would be happy to STAY on the ship, because short of just a walk in port, I prefer the ship. Doesn’t make me less classy or unsophisticated. Just my preference. And there are plenty of us out there that feel the same.

[Sekhmet]

When my hubby and I worked, we were both professionals in our field, he was a Director of Operations at a corporation for over 40 years, planning all aspects of how their company ran, but ALL planning of every vacation (short or long) ALWAYS fell to me! I’m the organizer of our family.

I tried ONCE letting him plan a getaway for my birthday several years ago. The man looked for most economical rather than good hotel and experience, and we ended up at a Days Inn! Worse 2 days of my life! Lol! Not really, but he will NEVER be allowed to book anything again!

 

Had it crossed your mind that maybe this was a deliberate ploy so that he didn't have to be responsible for planning - I'm sure my father used to do stuff wrong deliberately so my mother wouldn't ask him again:D

[grandmarnnurse]

Had it crossed your mind that maybe this was a deliberate ploy so that he didn't have to be responsible for planning - I'm sure my father used to do stuff wrong deliberately so my mother wouldn't ask him again:D

Lol! Maybe! Well, it worked!

[calliopecruiser]

Had it crossed your mind that maybe this was a deliberate ploy so that he didn't have to be responsible for planning - I'm sure my father used to do stuff wrong deliberately so my mother wouldn't ask him again:D

Deliberate or not, they still don't do it and women still usually do.

[TravelinGert]

On these boards, and I include myself, people are more apt to express a varying opinion. On the ship, people are more discreet in expressing their opinion.

 

Socio/political groups?

Again, my experience, if you sail out of Galveston, you’ll have a lot of Texans. Sail out of New Orleans, you’ll have a lot of Missippi Valley and Delta people. LA? A lot of West Coast. New York or Baltimore? Northeast. South Florida? You’ll experience people from all over the world

 

We've cruised out of two states and two countries. I'd say the above is mostly so but you also get a difference in demographic depending on time of year and length of cruise. We've done one short Bahamas cruise out of Florida and it was definitely the youngest and least conservative crowd. I've been told by friends who cruise much more often than we do Spring Breaker cruises out of Texas and Louisiana are very much the younger, hipper crowd as well while summer is honeymoon and anniversary cruising.

 

I don't really care much who I cruise with for the most part, either, but for some activities I guess it might pay to consider some of this.

 

Of course then you have the special interest cruises. I'd love to try one of those sometime just to see the comparison. Unfortunately haven't been able to convince my spouse we should give it a whirl. I think a one of these Star Trek or comics cruises might be fun just to see the costumes.

[paulh84]

To bring it back to First Time cruisers - my advice would be...don't read too much. The board for our preferred line is absolutely miserable to read. There is quite literally no useful information posted anymore. I honestly question the mental capacity of some of these people and am slightly baffled how some of them manage to travel abroad and make it home safely. The positive side is that I find once you are onboard, it's a totally different environment. The ones that do 90% of the commenting are probably at guest services complaining most of their cruise so you never have to encounter them.

[grandmarnnurse]

To bring it back to First Time cruisers - my advice would be...don't read too much. The board for our preferred line is absolutely miserable to read. There is quite literally no useful information posted anymore. I honestly question the mental capacity of some of these people and am slightly baffled how some of them manage to travel abroad and make it home safely. The positive side is that I find once you are onboard, it's a totally different environment. The ones that do 90% of the commenting are probably at guest services complaining most of their cruise so you never have to encounter them.

Sorry, but I beg to differ. I am a frequent poster in these boards and I am not a complainer, and I have never gone to guest services in all of my 10 cruises.

[marktwothousand]

A theme I’m sensing in these responses is that this message board isn’t necessarily an appropriate sample of people to base the general population of who attends cruises. I didn’t really realise that. I figured since most people on here are cruise experts, they’re a good reflection of the cruise population in general.

[GlamorousGirl]

I don’t think you are giving shipboard diversity enough credit. A lot of these “city travelers” you refer to are the same people who love travel in general, and do a wide variety of vacations, including but not limited to cruising.

 

I have never heard political discussion on a ship. And I don’t fit your demographic well. I engage in a variety of travel forms, not just cruising, am from the big city, am Buddhist, and am 40-something but my interests have more in common with 20-somethings, like video games and k-pop. Please be careful not to stereotype “cruisers.”

[klfrodo]

A theme I’m sensing in these responses is that this message board isn’t necessarily an appropriate sample of people to base the general population of who attends cruises. I didn’t really realise that. I figured since most people on here are cruise experts, they’re a good reflection of the cruise population in general.

2 thoughts come to mind

 

1st is that only about 2% of cruisers even know about cruise critic so our opinions are a small sample.

 

2nd, this is the Internet. I’m sitting behind a keyboard not standing in front of you. On this board, I may feel more free to express how my opinion is right and yours isn’t even close to reality.

On the other hand, if we were having drinks and conversing with each other on deck and our conversation went out of sorts, I just chuckle or smile and continue on or steer the conversation in another direction. In other words, more civilized.

[Aquahound]

A theme I’m sensing in these responses is that this message board isn’t necessarily an appropriate sample of people to base the general population of who attends cruises. I didn’t really realise that. I figured since most people on here are cruise experts, they’re a good reflection of the cruise population in general.

 

I think the majority of people don't care about sociopolitical status on a cruise. Therefore, I think this board has been good sample.