New to River Cruising- need suggestions

[eyeeye]

Just trying to get an idea of which European River Cruise caters to more middle aged people (50-55). I am a well experienced ocean cruiser but am trying to attempt a river cruise next summer. I just want the right fit for myself and SO.

[notamermaid]

I would go with an itinerary that calls itself "active". The demographic appears to be slightly above that age group. Viking has no gym onboard and has expressed catering for the ages above yours.

 

Themed cruises might be an option.

 

Overall, past cruisers have expressed sentiments like "the river cruisers were not young in years but more agile than one might think".

 

A few have mentioned that the regular cruise itineraries on Uniworld have a slightly younger age range than other lines. The ships "A" and "B" of Uniworld are designed for the young, originally for those under 45, but they scrapped that number...

 

A European line like Arosa is also looking towards the younger population but while the average could be 55 you will still find folk over 70 travelling with them.

 

The range on my cruise was 30 to 80.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited January 16, 2019 by notamermaid
missing word

[Hoyaheel]

I agree that looking at an "active" itinerary, a cruiseline that has bikes & Nordic walking sticks on board and/or offers cycling tours in port is a decent indicator they expect their passengers to be more active (which of course does NOT equate directly with being younger, but are you really looking for age or activity level?? People seem to use age as a proxy, so....)

 

Very few ships/itineraries are going to be marketed to families - most ships just aren't set up for that, cabin-wise or with activities. There are a few, so you can avoid or choose as desired (Disney has some partnerships, Uniworld has some Family Cruises etc) 

 

Make sure you read the River Cruising overview threads that are stickied at the top of this forum - will give you decent background information as you start to research this travel that is VERY different from ocean cruising 😉

 

(side note- my first few ocean cruises were on HAL and my first river cruise was at age 41, so I've often been the youngest or among the youngest on board - never a problem for me as I don't care about age, just what my travel options are.....)

[Roz]

I don't know that there's a river cruise line that "caters" to the 50-55 age range.  I would look more at the itinerary and the types of excursions you want to do - walking, biking, hiking, etc.  

 

I've done 3 river cruises on Uniworld, and the age range varied quite a bit, but overall it skewed more towards the 60s and 70s.  I attribute this to the cost of river cruises vs. ocean cruises.  All 3 cruises had very active senior cruisers (me included!).

 

Roz

 

 

[Cary Cruiser]

For me - the itinerary is more important than who my fellow passengers are.  For the most part you are going to get somewhat of an older crowd on river cruises.  Then again there are some "seniors" that are much more active that I am.

[Got2Cruise]

Amawaterways has an active excursion in every port (hiking and/or biking). Plus if you go during the summer there is always a younger demographic than during other times of year. 

[Fletch1]

12 hours ago, Cary Cruiser said:

For me - the itinerary is more important than who my fellow passengers are.  For the most part you are going to get somewhat of an older crowd on river cruises.  Then again there are some "seniors" that are much more active that I am.

 

I would agree with this. We go for the itinerary as well. The river cruises we have done have been with Viking and had a vast range of ages on board. We even had a young couple on their honeymoon on one cruise. 

 

[Hoyaheel]

10 hours ago, Got2Cruise said:

Amawaterways has an active excursion in every port (hiking and/or biking). Plus if you go during the summer there is always a younger demographic than during other times of year. 

 

Really? I found our Christmas markets cruise  to have quite a few families/multigenerational guests on board and have read here that's quite common for the holiday season....

[Got2Cruise]

2 hours ago, Hoyaheel said:

 

Really? I found our Christmas markets cruise  to have quite a few families/multigenerational guests on board and have read here that's quite common for the holiday season....

I guess Christmas skews families also. Since the OP is traveling during the summer I just wanted to give her assurance she wouldn’t be only one younger than 65.