Hal worries!

[frankc98376]

I started on HAL in my 20's. No alternate dining then, only assigned seating in dining room. Lido was staff only at dinner. Now there almost too many food choices. Make sure you try Pinnacle Grill and Tamarind!

 

Loved HAL then and love it now.

 

I'm betting you will love Lincoln Center Stage venue- is amazing (guessing you enjoy classical).

 

Since you are on a 7 day cruise there should be a much more varied age range. Longer cruises have an older crowd.

 

We have met many wonderful people on board and still keep in touch with quite a few.

 

Have fun!!

[OHCruiser]

It sounds like you don't want a raucous party boat and your cruise is port intensive, so you'll be able to have lots of fun. We cruised in the Mediterranean with a 20s something newlywed couple [we were in our mid-50s] and they had a wonderful time. They enjoyed the port excursions, food, evening entertainment, and relaxing by the pool. They had no desire to drink around the clock and with 7am excursion times, dancing in the disco to the wee hours wasn't in their wheelhouse, either.

 

As someone said earlier, cruises are great because you can have as much fun as you want to have.

[goldengirl123]

We have sailed with Holland America a lot. I went the first time when I was in my early 40's.

 

What I found is the very long cruise itineraries have an older clientele (since they are retired and have more time to do lengthy cruises). But... the people are younger on the shorter cruises.

 

Holland America is personally our favorite. The service and the staff have a lot to do with it.

[wesport]

Demographics on HAL Caribbean cruises tend to be younger than most longer HAL itineraries.

[Koali]

We started cruising in the last 5 years when I was in my 20s. Yes we were the youngest people on board, but we typically find that we have more in common with people older than us so having dinner with others was fine. We were more adventurous on the excursions and our dinner mates loved to hear what we did during the day. Now that I am in my 30s, I still like Hal and we are going on another cruise in June.

 

 

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[cruisekmc]

Don't worry about running out of things to do. You may find that you do not have to be occupied every minute. Slow down, relax, gaze at the sea--it can be mezmerizing.

 

 

 

Check HAL's tour offers, or look at the port of call boards to look for things to do in port. If you want active tours, there's plenty of watersports in the Caribbean. If you've never snorkeled, try it. The tour at Half Moon Cay is particularly good. Good equipment and guides who are helpful if you need instruction.

 

 

 

Exactly! My favorite part is gazing at the sea, watching the clouds and sunsets.

 

 

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[sammiedawg]

Lower your expectations on food. My twenty somethings would not care for Holland America.

[Charlie1422]

Nieuw Amsterdam is a wonderful ship. The crew is top notch, the food is very good and the musical entertainment is varied and enjoyable. Relax and have a great time.

 

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[Homosassa]

My daughter has cruised with us since she was a baby. On her first HAL cruise at 24, her statement to me was,"Mom, you have been holding out on me."

 

By the way, she does not like Carnival (has tried two her own). She finds then too noisy and the food inferior.

[EeyoreFan1967]

My DH and I are in our early 50's and will be sailing on NA to Alaska with our 24-year-old daughter and 21-year-old son in the end of May. We chose HAL for the itinerary and price and didn't worry too much about on-board entertainment. We like to go to a live music/entertainment venue after dinner for a cocktail or two while socializing/dancing with each other, and we're not really interested in the mingling or socializing with other passengers on the ship. Some people go on cruises for the nightlife and mingling and meeting people but that is not what we are seeking. If you are looking for a nightclub or disco or many options in those categories, HAL doesn't seem to provide that.

 

That said, we LOVE live music and our son is a musician and music major so is pretty critical about what he sees and hears. I am really looking forward to experiencing all the entertainment venues on NA with him. His only other cruise and comparison perspective is Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas which had too many entertainment options to enumerate here and pretty much blew us away. We will be sure to post a review when we return and will include thoughts on the young-person perspective from our kids, because I know this is a big concerning topic here. Please look for the review in early June.

[chefchick]

Just disembarked NA. She is a lovely ship and her crew are very friendly. That being said, we are in our fifties and were some of the youngest onboard. There is not A LOT to do during sea days or in the evening except for music (which sounds like it might be a good fit). BB Kings was wonderful (if not slightly repetitive) and the Lincoln Center classical musicians were also really great. I was terribly disappointed in the Billboard piano bar area as it was directly across from the casino and had to compete with slot machine noise...location aside, the piano duo was really not to my liking. Their song selection was fine, their voices and playing was not the best...although there seemed to be plenty who enjoyed them nightly. I would say try it out for a 7 nighter, ecspecially if you enjoy the itinerary.

[kevingastreich]

NA is a great ship and you will most likely love it. If you are like a lot of 20 somethings that I know, you rely heavily on the internet. Be prepared for VERY slow internet connections. You may just have to find "old fashioned" things to do. I predict you will love cruising and love HAL.

[3rdGenCunarder]

NA is a great ship and you will most likely love it. If you are like a lot of 20 somethings that I know, you rely heavily on the internet. Be prepared for VERY slow internet connections. You may just have to find "old fashioned" things to do. I predict you will love cruising and love HAL.

 

Actually, the slow internet may be a blessing in disguise for some passengers. "Unplug" and discover that there is life outside of smartphones!

 

I realize that for some people work connections are essential. We do check email every day or two, but other than that we are happy to get away from all the everyday tech stuff.

[ArtyChoke]

NA is a great ship and you will most likely love it. If you are like a lot of 20 somethings that I know, you rely heavily on the internet. Be prepared for VERY slow internet connections. You may just have to find "old fashioned" things to do. I predict you will love cruising and love HAL.

Actually my husband and I are very excited to unplug and be away from everything. A large part of my current job is being a media/Marketing manager so I'm definitely excited to just have some time away from all of that.

 

 

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[Koali]

I found the best part of going to the Caribbean is the lack of WiFi and free cell phone coverage at ports. I am really

Able to unplug from home and work. When I cruised in Alaska, I would still check in when we arrived at port so it wasn’t really disconnected.

 

 

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