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Middle aged and “boring” - but love to cruise.

TrinaLC

By TrinaLC,
in Virgin Voyages

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GUEST71919

GUEST71919

Posted
Posted (edited)
9 hours ago, perditax said:

They are literally promoting Richard Branson’s 70-somethingth birthday cruise as one of the early cruises that can be booked. I think people are getting way too hung up on this age thing. 

 

That said, I think there’s an ongoing underestimation of a few things about Millennials, including the fact that the older ones are now in their mid 30s, and a sizable chunk are entering or moving up in high-paying STEM fields. And those people are mostly not on this particular site, which can give one a skewed idea of who can and can’t afford to cruise.

 

(I work almost exclusively with millennials and almost all of them have been on at least one cruise.)

 

The wheel never stops turning.

I can only speak for my own comments – but I wasn’t suggesting that all millennials (and younger) have no  money, but I would hope that readers of these comments would understand that I was referring to the average (and average 25-year-olds are not rolling in cash and while some people live to 90 drinking and smoking daily, we can’t say that is typical). I don’t think that you need to be overly concerned about taking up for the young ones, they weren’t attacked by anyone here; however. it would be dishonest to suggest that there aren’t vast differences in both cash flow and life responsibilities across age different groups.

 

As to the ads for Richard’s birthday,  those may actually make our point most clearly - many of them show a man of 70-year-old in tight jeans dancing (rather badly) with people much younger individuals almost exclusively (I did see that they have very recently added one or two people that seem to be age 50-70 in the ads, although they don’t look to me like any 50+ that I have ever seen on a cruise ship!). Enjoy your Virgin journeys, I will be interested to see your review.

 

PS I do get their emails, see their insta posts, and frequent websites where they advertise, so I am well acquainted with their advertisements across time. This is also not a criticism of the cruise line but fair commentary on their advertisements (and whether they will be beneficial to them in the long run). 

Edited by 2Beeze
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wwcruisers

wwcruisers

Posted
Posted
18 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

63 and 61 here. 

Ah yes -- but you guys are a YOUNG 63/61, Patty! 😎

 

8 minutes ago, RMS Olympic said:

Wow, many over the age... maybe VV should dedicate one bar for the over 50 crowd🤪

They could call it the 'Early-Bird Lounge' -- featuring half-price drinks before 6 pm! (and yes, I would easily fit in, there!)😜

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Oville

Oville

Posted
Posted (edited)
8 hours ago, RMS Olympic said:

Wow, many over the age... maybe VV should dedicate one bar for the over 50 crowd🤪

Age discrimination for sure but a better idea would be an all suites areas and bar.  My guess would be the average age will be in excess of 50.😉

Edited by Oville
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RMS Olympic

RMS Olympic

Posted
Posted (edited)

My comment on a dedicated bar was being funny. Dedicated does not mean restricted, Discrimination is serious. Myself, I don’t care for segregated areas on ships restricting where you can go based on what cabin you paid for. 

Edited by RMS Olympic
Incorrect word
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crazycatlady11

crazycatlady11

Posted
Posted
On 4/22/2019 at 9:09 AM, RMS Olympic said:

My comment on a dedicated bar was being funny. Dedicated does not mean restricted, Discrimination is serious. Myself, I don’t care for segregated areas on ships restricting where you can go based on what cabin you paid for. 

 

I think some people would like to go back to the days when people who book a lowly inside or window-only cabin would be confined to steerage lol.

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eneq

eneq

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 4/17/2019 at 11:29 PM, fshagan said:

 

The average age where I work is less than half my age, about 30 years old. Many of them live in shared housing and don't own cars, but have been to Australia, Japan, Europe and southeast Asia. If they see a sale on flights to Vietnam, three or four of them will get together and take a long weekend.  Five of them go to the Tommorrowland music festival in Belgium every year. About half have been on at least one cruise.

 

They are much more into experiences than they are into possessions. They don't participate in either forums or Facebook groups. When I handed over the social media duties to the marketing people, they had to sign up for Facebook. They had long abandoned that platform.

 

VV advertising is much more experience orientated, and they are trying to snatch up some of those travel dollars going to land vacations instead of houses, cars and expensive stereo equipment (what I spent my money on in my youth). They are mostly great people, too, hard working and driven ... but not for the stuff we bought. They want to experience things.

 

Millennial here. I can echo just about all of your observations. I very much prefer to spend my money on experiences. I think a lot of share the same "experience-driven" mindset, so it drives our choice to spend money on trips, concerts, events, etc instead of a car or a house. That's a big reason why VV has appealed to me so much because Virgin has always been so focused on the experience of using their services. Everything VV has released has shown they are striving to set themselves apart from the rest of the pack. Maybe they're not trying to be better than everyone else, but they're definitely trying to be unique. Personally, I am digging it, and I cannot wait until 2020

Edited by eneq
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fshagan

fshagan

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, eneq said:

 

Millennial here. I can echo just about all of your observations. I very much prefer to spend my money on experiences. I think a lot of share the same "experience-driven" mindset, so it drives our choice to spend money on trips, concerts, events, etc instead of a car or a house. That's a big reason why VV has appealed to me so much because Virgin has always been so focused on the experience of using their services. Everything VV has released has shown they are striving to set themselves apart from the rest of the pack. Maybe they're not trying to be better than everyone else, but they're definitely trying to be unique. Personally, I am digging it, and I cannot wait until 2020

 

Yep, and I can't say that you're wrong about seeking experiences over possessions. I don't cherish any of my possessions as much as I cherish my memories of the experiences I've shared with family and friends.

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HolsAddict

HolsAddict

Posted
Posted

I agree with all the comments above! The ads say the cruise is aimed at the "18-35 year old's that have never cruised before"! I'm booked on the Dominican Daze in October 2020 with some friends that I made on my first solo cruise at Christmas on the Epic. The average age of the 4 of us is 50 (i'll be 55!!) and we intend to give the younguns' a run for their money!!!! 😀 Bring it on!!!😀

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  • 3 months later...
LandlockedCruiser01

LandlockedCruiser01

Posted
Posted
On 5/31/2019 at 3:07 AM, HolsAddict said:

I agree with all the comments above! The ads say the cruise is aimed at the "18-35 year old's that have never cruised before"! I'm booked on the Dominican Daze in October 2020 with some friends that I made on my first solo cruise at Christmas on the Epic. The average age of the 4 of us is 50 (i'll be 55!!) and we intend to give the younguns' a run for their money!!!! 😀 Bring it on!!!😀

Well, butter my butt and call me a buscuit!  I missed their target age by 1 year and 3 cruises. 

 

As I mentioned in another thread, I doubt they're actively aiming to deter any customers.  Money is money.  However, sex sells!  So they're going for the "young, attractive, and glamorous" vibe, because that attracts more customers than it deters.  Which is just business, nothing personal.  They're not going go for a "dive bar" look, because that brings in less revenue.

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3HrTourist

3HrTourist

Posted
Posted
On 5/31/2019 at 1:07 AM, HolsAddict said:

I agree with all the comments above! The ads say the cruise is aimed at the "18-35 year old's that have never cruised before"! I'm booked on the Dominican Daze in October 2020 with some friends that I made on my first solo cruise at Christmas on the Epic. The average age of the 4 of us is 50 (i'll be 55!!) and we intend to give the younguns' a run for their money!!!! 😀 Bring it on!!!😀

I have been on the Epic twice and in contrast I really hope this new ship is modern, sophisticated and has a logical design.  In regards to the demographics, one's mental age is more important  than chronological age when considering fitting into a social setting.  My guess is that VV will be creative and will not be requesting their guests to do the chicken dance during the middle of dinner.  I look forward as well to sailing on her.

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