How Golfy are the golf voyages?

[Daveywavey70]

Hi all, I'm hoping to take my first Azamara cruise and I'm stuck between the 2 South Africa cruises in January 22 (3rd and 15th). Same itineraries but one is a golf voyage. The one that works best for me date wise is the Golf voyage but I'm just worried about how golfy the golf voyage will be. I've no interest in golf at all and worry that lectures and conversations might be all about something I've no interest in. Have any members of the boards been on a golf voyage when they have no interest in it? Thanks in advance for any advice.

[donaldsc]

I was on a golf cruise in New Zealand once.  The only way that you knew it was a golf cruise was when a bunch of people got off the ship with bags of golf clubs to go to a golf club.  It was not a problem.

 

DON

[Daveywavey70]

Fantastic, thank you Don. That's just what I needed to hear.

[ChucktownSteve]

I had the same experience as Donaldsc. We did a 12 nite to the Baltics that was a Perry Golf cruise and didn't even know there were golfers on board unless we looked down at the port to see them getting off the ship very early for their rounds.

 

I suspect the cruise price may be higher than others because of the demand for cabins.

Edited October 25, 2021 by ChucktownSteve

[excitedofharpenden]

I've had similar experiences, probably from two or three. Not "golfy" at all and very discreet. The Perry Golf employees I've seen have been very nice people. 

 

Phil 

[uktog]

Unlike many groups who might come on board to look after traveller interests and alter the ambience of cruises, the golf cruises are really great to be on for non golfers.  The organisation (Perry Golf) works very hard with the cruise line so there is no disruption to other guests.  In fact there is a lot of socialising and mixing with other guests.  Often you have golfers with non golfing partners who get involved with other guests in excursions and activities during the day.  We are non golfers but if we had a choice between a Perry Golf cruise and another cruise we would choose the Perry Golf voyage

[donaldsc]

3 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Fantastic, thank you Don. That's just what I needed to hear.

 

I will add that better a golf cruise than some of the other theme cruises you might be on.  Imagine being on one of those red Hat cruises or one with a bunch of those Anti Everything Groups.

 

DON

[norn iron]

4 hours ago, donaldsc said:

I was on a golf cruise in New Zealand once.  The only way that you knew it was a golf cruise was when a bunch of people got off the ship with bags of golf clubs to go to a golf club.  It was not a problem.

 

DON

New Zealand sounds like the perfect location for my ideal cruise, golf one day then watch some rugby on the alternative days, bliss.

[Crossing7Continents]

We were on Perry Golf "Shamrocks, Kilts & Golf" cruise in 2018. Other than an increase in golfing attire onboard, we experienced little impact on the cruise ambiance. Cruise departure times might have accommodated golf tournament schedules, but that was not impactful to us. On a positive note, when a large number of passengers are off playing golf, there is reduced crowding at port destinations for non-golfers.

[Daveywavey70]

2 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

I will add that better a golf cruise than some of the other theme cruises you might be on.  Imagine being on one of those red Hat cruises or one with a bunch of those Anti Everything Groups.

 

DON

 

What on earth is a red hat cruise?

 

[Daveywavey70]

Thank you all so much for the reassurance. The difference is only a couple of hundred GBP so not an issue. 

[donaldsc]

17 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

 

What on earth is a red hat cruise?

 

 

Check out this site - https://redhatsociety.montonton.com/site.  I have been on a couple of cruises w women from this group.

 

DON 

[uktog]

6 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

Check out this site - https://redhatsociety.montonton.com/site.  I have been on a couple of cruises w women from this group.

 

DON 

I do not believe these groups use  Azamara though I have seen them on more mass lines like Celebrity and NCL.  Luckily I aim for smaller lines nowadays

[manc]

The Perry Golf people did their own thing on shore and in the ship  joined in with us all. A great group of fellow cruisers 

Edited October 25, 2021 by manc
Spelling mistake

[oddjob16]

There are several advantages. Golfers are usually great people. They are early off the ship and spend the whole day away, which makes the ship lesser crowded during lunch and around the pool.

I love being on a Perry Golf Cruise.😁😁

Edited October 25, 2021 by oddjob16

[norn iron]

1 hour ago, manc said:

The Perry Golf people did their own thing on shore and in the ship  joined in with us all. A great group of fellow cruisers 

There are quite a few options for the 19th hole on a cruise.

[Vineyard View]

I am so glad you asked this question!  I was looking at a golf cruise in 2023 that focuses on the islands in the Mediterranean- which would for us bring some new port experiences. I noticed the designation and thought ‘maybe that isn’t the one for us’. This was very helpful for me. Thank you

[Merly]

We are on the 15 Jan and are not golfers. 

[Daveywavey70]

On 10/26/2021 at 7:26 PM, Merly said:

We are on the 15 Jan and are not golfers. 

 

I'm just putting the finishing touches to the trip and will be booking in the next few days. Hopefully see you onboard!

 

Thank you everybody for the replies.

[hiccups]

We've done three of the PerryGolf cruises with another coming up.  My husband golfs, I do not.  With the exception of the British Isles cruise, the golfing contingent is fairly small--maybe 25-30 golfers and spouses/partners.  The British Isles cruise is usually about 75 golfers plus spouses/partners.

PerryGolf organizes some on-ship gatherings like the orientation, cocktail hours and dinners, so sometimes a venue may be closed to the public.