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Young couple—best luxury cruise line for young professionals?


tingalex
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Hello all! Hoping for some insight into a topic I’ve pondered for a while...

 

I am a gay partnered man in my late twenties — both of us are high income earning professionals and fortunately travel budget isn’t much of a concern for us.

 

I was fortunate to grow up traveling with my parents (only child) and developed a fondness for cruises. My partner did not grow up cruising, but has enjoyed the handful of Caribbean cruises we’ve done in the winter to escape the northeastern cold. He enjoys them not only for the weather, but for the gourmet food (also my biggest priority), entertainment, and meeting other young couples—mostly gay couples in their 30s, but young straight couples as well. 

 

We’ve been doing Celebrity, which we enjoy for the lack of children, emphasis on food (especially in the specialty restaurants), decent quality of entertainment, and the fact that we can find other people close enough to our age range — several couples in their 30s. Thing is, I’d really like to try a luxury line for the better service, guest-to-crew ratio, more deck space, etc. My partner is (justifiably so) concerned that luxury cruise prices make them non-conducive to most people our age, and those ships will just be filled with even more people in their 50s and 60s. Nothing against this age range to be clear!! It’s just that we enjoy the social aspect of cruising and find things in common when we meet other young professionals close to our age. 

 

With that, any recommendarions in which luxury lines could be the best fit for us? We’d love to give one a try next February—I was thinking Seabourn, guessing that it’s a younger crowd that Crystal or Silversea ... but I may be wrong. I’ve enjoyed Oceania cruises with my parents but age-wise that crowd is too old for us.

 

Any thoughts welcomed!!!!

 

 

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You may be right  with the age  wise on Luxury lines

 You might try Seadream   but they may not have the  entertainment  you are looking for

Windstar  ?  not luxury but might have a younger vibe

Enjoy

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It's difficult to find a ship that combines your requirements. I was going through the options in my mind.

 

Europa 2 of Hapag Lloyd has the top gourmet food and many younger passengers, but the majority speak German. They offer included bike tours for the athletic set.

 

We had many younger passengers on our Galapagos Islands cruise. It was a Celebrity ship, food (and crew) were high quality Ecuadorian. Barely any evening entertainment since people were out swimming, snorkeling and hiking in nature all day. Everybody met at the bar and "living room."

 

The freighter/passenger ship Aranui5 has a younger clientele and the Paul Gauguin probably does, too. I haven't travelled on the Gauguin. Both ships are located in French Polynesia (Tahiti and islands). Limited entertainment but gorgeous scenery and a relaxing vibe.

 

What I am trying to say is that younger people tend to choose more adventurous ships, destinations, and itineraries.

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SeaDream my suit you as a starter. Fabulous service, younger demographic, International clientele, great for the Caribbean. Otherwise, I would stick with Celebrity and go with higher end Suites.

If French Polynesia is a possibility, nobody does it better than Paul Gauguin.

 

 

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I think either Seabourn or SeaDream would work great depending on what you're looking for.

 

Both have amazing food and service. Absolute luxury. Both are all inclusive, meaning no added gratuities, no alcohol fees, etc. Seabourn's basic level suite is a little bigger, but at that level it doesn't really matter much to me. They both go to smaller ports where you're less likely to find the town invaded by Royal/MSC/Costa/Carnival. 

 

SeaDream does not allow children at all, whereas Seabourn does, but they don't have a children's program so you tend not to see lots of kids - there was ONE five year old on our most recent trip. 
 

On both Seabourn cruises we met more than one gay couple, and found a group of folks in our age range to hang out with (we probably end up making friends from 30-60, we're in our 40's). Our most recent Seabourn cruise last week had an LGBTQ meet up on the first day as well, which we've never seen listed in the program before. That cruise also skewed slightly older than our previous cruise in the Mediterranean with Seabourn, probably more average 60's than 50's that we've seen previously. 

 

I also rather enjoy the entertainment on board 🙂 they're not huge big shows, but they're perfectly suitable for the hour or so they occupy between dinner and bed. There's more than enough other stuff to do anyway...I'm always surprised how busy we end up being on board.

 

SeaDream, while AMAZING, is much more of a private yacht experience. There's no trivia, no shows, people are much less social in general, and much more into enjoying the company of the people they're on the trip with. There's one pool, one bar, two restaurants. And 150 people max on board, which means you truly are waited on hand and foot - you can ask for anything you want and they'll make it for you. It's a whole other level of service beyond "luxury." I haven't been on SeaDream in about 10 years due to the lack of socialization - we've wanted that as much as anything else lately - but we're definitely due for one soon..it's a very special experience.

 

SilverSea and Oceania are both on our to-do lists - Silversea for the service, and Oceania for the food, but the overall age seems to run older, so we're probably holding on that for a few years. 🙂 We did a Regent cruise with my family this past summer and did not enjoy the crowd on board. They were older and rather grumpy, which was just weird for families traveling to Alaska. Regent and SeaDream both were majority American, whereas every Seabourn cruise we have been on has been majority European...which we also enjoy a great deal.

 

Really, you can't go wrong with either Seabourn or SeaDream. You will be welcome, and as long as you're ok adding about 10-20 years to the range of "your own age" (age is a mindset more than a number, right?) you'll meet a whole slew of like minded couples. 

 

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2 hours ago, flyerstef said:

SeaDream does not allow children at all, whereas Seabourn does, but they don't have a children's program so you tend not to see lots of kids - there was ONE five year old on our most recent trip. 

Actually, SeaDream does allow children and best to not go during Holidays. We like early Nov. and less than 100 on board. My SD cruise had a lovely International mix of passengers. Heading back to SD Nov. 2020

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2 hours ago, flyerstef said:

That’s great to know - I’m not sure why we’ve all assumed sea dream is out until my niece is older, she handled regent like a champ, maybe we do need to head back there as a family!

Just make sure you warn the regulars on the SD Board about the dates. Kids and SD are really not a good mix and the other clientele need to have time to make alternative plans. 

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The Contessa is correct.  SeaDream is the “adult pool” of a swimming complex, cruise-wise.  Even one child instantly ruins the atmosphere.  And there is nothing for children to do but to bother adults seeking peace and quiet.  They are not welcome, and you will feel that from the other pax.

 

Now in fairness, I always warn the CC boards when I will be on a cruise too, so that the other pax can make alternative plans...

Edited by Ragnar Danneskjold
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Thank you all for the thoughtful replies. I feel like a trial run on Seabourn is in order for one of our upcoming trips! We will need to brace ourselves for an older crowd but on a one week cruise may be able to find some people of a closer vintage 😉

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While this may change in the future, "young professionals" tend to have less vacation time and also may have young families.  Retirees (some are younger but not "young") can take the longer (30+ night) cruises and their children are grown.  So, if you take shorter cruises - perhaps during the summer when school is out, the age typically skews lower.  Some luxury cruise lines have children programs during the summer which helps since luxury cruise lines are really not set up for kids.   I mention children in case you would prefer a more adults experience which typically occurs on luxury cruise lines when school is in session.  

 

Even on "active" sailings such as the Amazon, there were few passengers onboard under the age of 40.  

 

Virgin Voyages is coming out with a ship next year that is all adult and while not luxury (probably premium-plus) - some of the previews of their first ship (Scarlett Lady) shows some over the top suites, dining venues, etc.  It just might be the thing for young professionals.  

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Please come back and let us know what you decide. We're the same demo, slightly older by a few years, but cruise for the same reasons with the same expectations. We have struggled to find a line that currently fits us better than Celebrity. Royal and NCL, even The Haven, are completely out of consideration. I would consider the MSC Yacht Club but I still want to try a much smaller ship. With Celebrity's increasing prices, the difference in cost versus a more luxury line is becoming less of an issue for us. There's a lot to learn and it's a bit overwhelming at first. 

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Being in the under 50 crowd and having cruised 60+ times I have similar interest in a cruise. Food and entertainment are at the top of my lists. We just completed our 1st Seabourn cruise and we were the youngest onboard. The entertainment is geared to anyone over 65, and daytime activities are non-existent. Food is below Oceania. Which brings me to Oceania. The larger ships tend to attract a younger crowd (especially in Europe). We have sailed on the Riviera 3 times, and the pax mix has varied with time of year and where the ship is sailing.


The Entertainment on Oceania is superior to Seabourn, but a notch below Celebrity. I would rate the food on Oceania the best of the best (over Seabourn or Regent). The specialty dining is top notch (make sure to try the La Reserve special events, they are some of the best meals we have ever had at sea).  We are booked on Silversea in June; hoping it's better than our Seabourn trip we just took.

 

I would highly suggest trying one of the two larger ships with Oceania. It should check off most of the boxes.

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38 minutes ago, Accessor said:

Being in the under 50 crowd and having cruised 60+ times I have similar interest in a cruise. Food and entertainment are at the top of my lists. We just completed our 1st Seabourn cruise and we were the youngest onboard. The entertainment is geared to anyone over 65, and daytime activities are non-existent. Food is below Oceania. Which brings me to Oceania. The larger ships tend to attract a younger crowd (especially in Europe). We have sailed on the Riviera 3 times, and the pax mix has varied with time of year and where the ship is sailing.


The Entertainment on Oceania is superior to Seabourn, but a notch below Celebrity. I would rate the food on Oceania the best of the best (over Seabourn or Regent). The specialty dining is top notch (make sure to try the La Reserve special events, they are some of the best meals we have ever had at sea).  We are booked on Silversea in June; hoping it's better than our Seabourn trip we just took.

 

I would highly suggest trying one of the two larger ships with Oceania. It should check off most of the boxes.

 

Wondering why you haven't considered Crystal? The entertainment is top notch as is the food. Sea days are filled with activities for every interest.

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9 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

Wondering why you haven't considered Crystal? The entertainment is top notch as is the food. Sea days are filled with activities for every interest.

 

Crystal is on our radar too. The only downside is the smaller cabins on some ships. Will try them out sooner or later...thanks for the suggestion, it's on the lists 🙂

 

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Our AMA river cruise in Africa was 50% gay couples.  I'm not sure if I can mention the name of the agency because it seems like a specialized travel agent, but it relates to the solution of a rodent problem in Hamelin plus Travel.  It was a wonderful group of guys [and nobody was happier than the wives of the other couples, since this was the first time the lines were all for the Men's rooms!].

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