Seeking: varied nationalities of cruiser

[FoggyEthan]

Is there a sense that some cruise lines are better at attracting travelers from different countries? I'd prefer a cruise where English is the main, or at least one of the main, languages onboard. But I'd rather not travel with 90+% from one country.

 

I'm thinking about a European cruise, but my question is in-general.

 

Thanks!

-- Ethan

 

[navybankerteacher]

11 minutes ago, solomita said:

Is there a sense that some cruise lines are better at attracting travelers from different countries? I'd prefer a cruise where English is the main, or at least one of the main, languages onboard. But I'd rather not travel with 90+% from one country.

 

I'm thinking about a European cruise, but my question is in-general.

 

Thanks!

-- Ethan

 

I would think P&O and Cunard would head your list of English-speaking lines not dominated by US cruisers -- and Carnival and perhaps NCL as falling into that 90+% category, with Celebrity and HAL possibly attracting somewhat more of an international mix.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, solomita said:

Is there a sense that some cruise lines are better at attracting travelers from different countries? I'd prefer a cruise where English is the main, or at least one of the main, languages onboard. But I'd rather not travel with 90+% from one country.

 

I'm thinking about a European cruise, but my question is in-general.

 

Thanks!

-- Ethan

 

 

The Carnival UK brands (P&O & Cunard) and Fred Olson are English speaking ships, but about 90% of the pax will be British. The US based brands when cruising in Europe (Princess, Carnival, NCL, RCI, HAL, Celebrity) all probably have English as onboard language, but are more likely to have a greater mix of nationalities. With Princess, we have experienced a number of occassions, where announcements were most likely in English, but it was impossible to understand due to accents and poor working knowledge of the language. Have experienced this both from the Bridge & Pursers. I recall one ship our son worked on as 3rd Officer and he had to present all Navigator presentations in the Theatre and Noon announcement, as he was the only officer who spoke good enough English. 

 

With the European Lines - Aida, Costa, MSC, etc you will find multiple languages and a mix of nationalities.

 

In Australia/NZ - P&O Australia uses English, but 90% of the pax are NZ or Aus. 

Edited January 19, 2021 by Heidi13

[whogo]

Luxury line Hapag-lloyd is geared to German speaking cruisers, has some cruises where English is supported.

[shipgeeks]

On our MSC cruises in the Caribbean last year, sailing out of Miami, Americans made up only a small percentage of the passengers.  Many Canadians and British were also aboard, so English was spoken.  The majority of passengers were from Brazil and many European countries.  We thought they handled the languages very well; each major language had a Liaison person to deal with any questions.  Major announcements were made in multiple languages, but, in turn, there were fewer announcements overall, no annoying "Bingo about to start" or "sale in the jewelry shop" announcements.

We thought the crew and officers spoke English very well, as did many of the passengers we spoke to.  We really enjoyed the mix!  And we liked MSC a lot in other respects, too.

[hallasm]

In general you’ll find differences from all cruise lines  when sailing in Europe versus Caribbean.

 

In particularly MSC and Costa are very ‘Italian’ and a lot of Italian speaking guest when sailing in Europe. Also Aida, TUI, and Haag-Lloyd more German. I have no experience with P&O

US cruise lines as RCCL, Celebrity, HAL and others are much more ‘US like’ when sailing in Europe. 
 

Even as an European I do prefer the US cruise lines in Europe rather than the ‘local cruise line’ . Personally I’m avoiding  MSC and Costa in Europe.

 

 

[klfrodo]

19 hours ago, solomita said:

Is there a sense that some cruise lines are better at attracting travelers from different countries? I'd prefer a cruise where English is the main, or at least one of the main, languages onboard. But I'd rather not travel with 90+% from one country.

 

I'm thinking about a European cruise, but my question is in-general.

 

Thanks!

-- Ethan

 

I'm going to assume that you're primary concern is the potential language barrier you anticipate running into while doing a European cruise.

I've done 2 European cruises so far. Both on Royal Caribbean. As an American, we were probably somewhere in the 40%-60% demographic.

Bottom line though,,, English is the go to language in a multi cultural situation. Yes, families or groups from all over the world speak their native languages when speaking to each other, but anytime someone from another nationality joined the group, the language defaulted to English. Almost all activities on the ship were in English.

When you order an excursion, sometime during the order they ask you for your language preference.

 

That does not absolve you from trying to learn some of the local language. Yes, please, thank you, excuse me, good morning, hello,,,, just some basic nicities will go a long way. Google Translate app on your smart phone will help tremendously.

 

Side Note: As I learned in the early 80's in the military. Always remember that you are a guest in their country and that you are an ambassador representing your country.

[FoggyEthan]

3 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

I'm going to assume that you're primary concern is the potential language barrier you anticipate running into while doing a European cruise.

Not at all. As an American, I've had two vacations with significant bad memories from being surrounded by other Americans who can't shut up about politics. I'd rather not talk about it at all when on vacation, but if I have to hear it I'd much rather hear about some other country's politics than mine own. i.e. "Oh, the collapse of the Conte government in Rome is stressing you out? Tell me all about it." 8-)

 

But to be honest, I'd also rather meet fellow travelers from around the world, USA included. Variety / spice of life.

 

 

[klfrodo]

39 minutes ago, solomita said:

Not at all. As an American, I've had two vacations with significant bad memories from being surrounded by other Americans who can't shut up about politics. I'd rather not talk about it at all when on vacation, but if I have to hear it I'd much rather hear about some other country's politics than mine own. i.e. "Oh, the collapse of the Conte government in Rome is stressing you out? Tell me all about it." 8-)

 

But to be honest, I'd also rather meet fellow travelers from around the world, USA included. Variety / spice of life.

 

 

I apologize for the assumption then

I agree with you 100% regarding fellow Americans spouting their personal politics.

 

This has not been my experience on my 2 cruises. (1 was an Eastern Med out of Venice, the other was a Baltic). What I've found more surprising is when people from other countries would ask questions about our political situation. It would seem they were more informed about American politics than I was. 

It goes both ways though sometimes. I had some friends fly over for a cruise. They were Brits. As much as I didn't want to talk about 45,,, they didn't want to talk about Brexit. We all still had a wonderful time. I'm hoping to visit them this summer.

[sydbarrett]

21 hours ago, solomita said:

Is there a sense that some cruise lines are better at attracting travelers from different countries? I'd prefer a cruise where English is the main, or at least one of the main, languages onboard. But I'd rather not travel with 90+% from one country.

 

I'm thinking about a European cruise, but my question is in-general.

 

Thanks!

-- Ethan

 

I did a med cruise with NCL and there was a good mix of passengers from all around the world. It was very cool. Seemed to me like most people spoke English (and often other languages as well), the language of the cruise line is English so we didn't have a problem communicating with the staff.  

[clo]

Two years ago we did a Norwegian coastal cruise on Hurtigruten's Lofoten. Now mostly retired she carries only 100 pax. We were the only "Americans" which we loved. There were English, German, Scandinavian (can't remember from where) and Norwegian (of course). Oh, and an Australian. IIRC almost everyone spoke English except perhaps for a few men traveling together who were really into photography and they were super nice. We loved everything about it. And as someone mentioned, Europeans seem to all speak a little or a lot of English. Taught in schools.

[shipgeeks]

A couple of years ago, several posters complained about MSC Caribbean cruises, saying the crew and passengers were "cold" or "unfriendly".  My theory is that none of them immediately know what language I speak, so it's up to me to make the first move, with a Thank You or Good Morning.  If crew, they probably speak English (as well as other languages); if passengers, if someone replies Bonjour, you both know where you stand.

We did this on our Seaside cruise, met interesting people from all over the world, and received excellent service.

I'm curious whether you are considering a cruise from a US port, or elsewhere?

[FoggyEthan]

4 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

A couple of years ago, several posters complained about MSC Caribbean cruises, saying the crew and passengers were "cold" or "unfriendly".  My theory is that none of them immediately know what language I speak, so it's up to me to make the first move, with a Thank You or Good

 

That makes a lot of sense to me. It's always awkward when you don't know what language you have in common, if any. Flight attendants often where a flag pin to show which languages they speak, which is helpful.

 

I was thinking about a Europe cruise. Viking Ocean / Norwegian Fjords in particular. My understanding is that Viking is mostly USA, but I thought a non-river cruise on an unusual itinerary might draw some variety.

[Essiesmom]

Since you have a particular line in mind, you might want to visit the forum here for Viking Ocean.  I'm sure they can give you a good idea of what it will be like.  EM

[clo]

43 minutes ago, solomita said:

It's always awkward when you don't know what language you have in common, if any. F

My first time in Barcelona I didn't know if they mostly spoke Catalan or Spanish. I needed a direction and approached a young man and ask "habla ingles?" and he replied "how may I help you?" 🙂 

[FoggyEthan]

1 hour ago, clo said:

My first time in Barcelona I didn't know if they mostly spoke Catalan or Spanish. I needed a direction and approached a young man and ask "habla ingles?" and he replied "how may I help you?" 🙂 

 

He was probably a Catalan speaker and preferred English over the language of the oppressor. 8-)

[Ashland]

We as Americans have been in a very small minority onboard an RCI ship for Exotic Asia.

English was still the first language noted as were the meals and currency onboard.

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, solomita said:

 

That makes a lot of sense to me. It's always awkward when you don't know what language you have in common, if any. Flight attendants often where a flag pin to show which languages they speak, which is helpful.

 

I was thinking about a Europe cruise. Viking Ocean / Norwegian Fjords in particular. My understanding is that Viking is mostly USA, but I thought a non-river cruise on an unusual itinerary might draw some variety.

 

With Viking Ocean in Europe, you can probably expect 60 to 75% of pax are from US.

[FoggyEthan]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

With Viking Ocean in Europe, you can probably expect 60 to 75% of pax are from US.

Thanks! That's more variety than I was expecting.

[neverbeenhere]

Setup your rules... Ours are: 

 

1) no politics

2) no religion

3) no how much did you pay for your cruise.

4) no talk of how many cruises you have been on.

 

 

 

[clo]

7 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

Setup your rules... Ours are: 

 

1) no politics

2) no religion

3) no how much did you pay for your cruise.

4) no talk of how many cruises you have been on.

 

 

 

We've only done about ten cruises and the first seven were on big ships. I found #4 THE most annoying. I wanted to scream "get an effing life."

[George C]

52 minutes ago, clo said:

We've only done about ten cruises and the first seven were on big ships. I found #4 THE most annoying. I wanted to scream "get an effing life."

Totally disagree, love hearing about people doing way more cruises than us, was playing trivia with someone a few years ago and they had done about 70 cruises on just QE two, this pandemic as screwed up my goal of having the number of cruises to exceed my age hopefully will do this in next few years, I will be 72 in June. When asked most people seem interested in our cruising experience.

[clo]

3 minutes ago, George C said:

Totally disagree, love hearing about people doing way more cruises than us, was playing trivia with someone a few years ago and they had done about 70 cruises on just QE two, this pandemic as screwed up my goal of having the number of cruises to exceed my age hopefully will do this in next few years, I will be 72 in June. When asked most people seem interested in our cruising experience.

With all respect I'll say YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If that's all I have to talk about I hope I lose my voice 🙂  

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, George C said:

Totally disagree, love hearing about people doing way more cruises than us, was playing trivia with someone a few years ago and they had done about 70 cruises on just QE two, this pandemic as screwed up my goal of having the number of cruises to exceed my age hopefully will do this in next few years, I will be 72 in June. When asked most people seem interested in our cruising experience.

 

Wow, I hope you make it.  We have over 30, mostly in Europe.   I will never approach a count of cruises equivalent to my age but hope to do several more cruises with Mrs Ldubs some time in the future.    I assume you have been doing cruises for quite a few years and would have a great feel for how things have changed over the years.   I would find that very interesting conversation.  Take care.   

Edited January 21, 2021 by ldubs

[George C]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

Wow, I hope you make it.  We have over 30, mostly in Europe.   I will never approach a count of cruises equivalent to my age but hope to do several more cruises with Mrs Ldubs some time in the future.    I assume you have been doing cruises for quite a few years and would have a great feel for how things have changed over the years.   I would find that very interesting conversation.  Take care.   

I started cruising in my 20’s while still single and have done at least one cruise every year since 1977. Totally correct on how things have changed, back in 70’s men dressed in a suit and tie every night, ships were tiny compared to today, no specialty restaurants, paid every thing with cash, no ships had balconies, but lots of fun , food and service was definitely better. But overall some things now are better some not, still love being on a ship.