Silversea advice - first time cruisers

[Jloss]

Greetings!

 

My Wife and I are in our late 30’s/40’s and have a 10 day window to travel to Europe from the Midwest (US).  My thought is that doing a cruise could be the best way to see several sites and have assistance navigating a fun/full trip that allows us to see the sights, enjoy the food and drinks and learn about the culture of several spots without having to figure out what train leaves when, how to jump airports etc. Neither of us have traveled to Europe.  We have our eyes set on a Silversea 7 day cruise that leaves from Rome and ends at Monte Carlo.  I’m not too worried about budget and we like the idea of a smaller ship however I am a little worried that the average age on the ship is going to be 90.  We plan to leave the ship daily for excursions but we are social and like to have fun and wonder if this may not be a fit due to age.  Can anyone provide feedback on whether or not these ships are like floating retirement villages?  

 

Thanks in advance for any insight!!! 

Edited April 23, 2023 by Jloss

[Cruzaholic41]

Silversea is an excellent cruise line. I’d rate them up there with my favorites. Great choice!

 

Regarding age, you will be among the youngest on board. No doubt. But I wouldn’t call it a retirement home. While the crowd will be older, it’s more of an active crowd than it is a nursing home crowd. You will have no problem socializing and having a good time with other passengers. 

[mom says]

No, the passengers won't be in their 90s. However the average age is around 55. As an ultra luxury line, most people in your age bracket haven't yet accumulated the disposable income to afford them.

 

And as a side note, if you are looking for lively entertainment on board, you aren't going to find it on the small ships. They tend to be more laid back in their on board activities.

 

Most people find that the Med cruises are so port intensive that the itinerary is fhe driving factor in picking a cruise. But the ship amenities are likely a close second. You might want to consult a TA who specializes in cruising, who can recommend a line that combines your desire for an upscale cruise with the onboard experiences you would prefer.

 

[Essiesmom]

When is your ten day window, and do you already have passports?  Wait times for passports are insane now, even expedited.  EM

[Jloss]

This is great intel! Thanks for all of the responses.  We are leaning towards moving forward given the ports are Cities I know we would love and great food on-board is more important to us than an active social scene.  We travel extensively in and out of the country - just haven’t made it to Europe yet.  I love the fact that have set up flights, vehicle connections and the pre-arranged excursions look awesome.  We are targeting 1st week of September (it’s based on when we can get support for our 3 kids at home).  Thanks again for the responses!!

[Host Kat]

7 hours ago, Jloss said:

Greetings!

 

My Wife and I are in our late 30’s/40’s and have a 10 day window to travel to Europe from the Midwest (US).  My thought is that doing a cruise could be the best way to see several sites and have assistance navigating a fun/full trip that allows us to see the sights, enjoy the food and drinks and learn about the culture of several spots without having to figure out what train leaves when, how to jump airports etc. Neither of us have traveled to Europe.  We have our eyes set on a Silversea 7 day cruise that leaves from Rome and ends at Monte Carlo.  I’m not too worried about budget and we like the idea of a smaller ship however I am a little worried that the average age on the ship is going to be 90.  We plan to leave the ship daily for excursions but we are social and like to have fun and wonder if this may not be a fit due to age.  Can anyone provide feedback on whether or not these ships are like floating retirement villages?  

 

Thanks in advance for any insight!!! 

 

Hello and welcome to Cruise Critic & the message boards!

 

To help you out, your new topic regarding Silversea has been moved to the Silversea Cruises forum where it will be on topic. The majority of your fellow Cruise Critic members that have sailed Silversea frequent this forum and provide feedback here. Browse through the thread titles on this forum looking for threads of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that may be of interest to you.

 

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I sincerely hope this will be helpful to someone new to posting on our message boards. We are glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic! 

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat 

[Lois R]

There will probably be some folks in their 90s yes, but there are also people in their 80s, 70s, 60s, 50s, and yes, even sometimes in their 30s and 40s too🙂I have seen multi generational families on board as well. 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise🙂 

[SLSD]

While you are looking, take a look at the Seabourn crulseline.  We sail both SS and SB.  There is better entertainment on Seabourn and a very slightly younger age group--but not much younger.  It is certainly worth a look.  We have done a SB cruise from Rome including Monte Carlo and it was great.  Both lines are very good.  Silversea is a bit more formal and staid.  Seabourn is a bit more casual and lively.  For example, Seabourn has Sail Away events on the deck as well as other events on deck which are fun.  Silversea does not specialize in these kinds of activities.  

Edited April 24, 2023 by SLSD

[Jloss]

@SLSD - thanks for the tip! I am such a rookie when it comes to cruises that I hadn’t even heard of that line! I will def check into it! Appreciate the heads up

[Stumblefoot]

10 hours ago, Jloss said:

I am a little worried that the average age on the ship is going to be 90.

Why are you worried?  And, where did you come up with that idea?  

 

Don’t believe everything you read on these forums.  When I started sailing Silversea I was 32-years old and to this day, now in my mid-50s, I would never describe Silversea as being staid.

[scseas]

My wife and I are just a tad n older than you. We were among the youngest on our cruise last summer but still had a blast. We tended to be the last people on the dance floor. The excursions, even the very active ones, were pretty tame for us. But otherwise, we had a blast. We got dressed very smartly each night for dinner and usually ate later than most people, so things were not crowded. We met some really nice people too, but most were older. We were mostly looking for away time for the two of us, so not having a lot of similarly aged people was not a big deal to us. The food, bars, rooms and service were all top notch. Feel free to be more specific with your concerns and I’ll chime in.

[julmops]

I'm in my late forties and my husband and I had the best time onboard the Silver Moon in February this year. The demographics are definitely on late fifties / early sixties average but as mentioned earlier, it's super easy to socialize and people were very nice and friendly. We met people from across the world and it was really good. The food is top notch.

As you mentioned earlier, as the ports will be the main attraction for you, you will spend a large part of your time ashore and September would be the perfect time to go as the temperatures will have gone down a bit but still very enjoyable. Very happy to help if you have any other specific concerns.

[david63]

9 hours ago, Jloss said:

I love the fact that have set up flights, vehicle connections

If by that you are referring to SS door to door then before booking I would read some of the topics in this forum as it would appear that some folks have serious problems/issues with that service

[Rothko1]

I went on my first Silversea cruise in my mid-40's.  We were definitely among the younger people onboard.  But the rest weren't geriatrics; they were active older people and quite friendly.  We've been doing Silversea ever since.

[labrasett]

10 hours ago, david63 said:

If by that you are referring to SS door to door then before booking I would read some of the topics in this forum as it would appear that some folks have serious problems/issues with that service

..... and lots dont.

[highplanesdrifters]

Find a good Travel Agent.  The most important advice.  Consider an Expedition Ship.  It will be more active.  Seabourn and Silversea are at the top of the food chain. You sound like you could have fun wherever you go. You'll find fun and interesting people no matter what their age.

[JSR]

On our first SS cruise last summer, the people we spent the most time with were a couple in their late 30s. We are in our early 60s. They were traveling with one set of parents who were in covid quarantine. I booked our own excursions which in many ports were more interesting to us then the cruiseline offerings. The 30 something couple enjoyed joining us on some of our adventures. I would suggest dig a bit deeper into what you want to do in each port. With 3 kids at home you may enjoy a quieter experience then you would have on a cruiseline like Virgin which caters more to your age demographic but is not luxury. If you decide to do a more mainstream cruiseline for access to more people your age, always consider the benefits they offer for suites, these ships now a days do have a tier structure which can sometimes provide a cruise within a cruise. 

[MuseCruiser]

When I first traveled on Silversea I was in my mid 40’s and my husband was in his late 30’s—that was 20 years ago. We never felt an age issue with the other passengers. Rather my standing comment about the other passengers was “you had to have an interesting story to be on Silversea.”  I, of course, didn’t mean that in a literal sense but everyone I met had an interesting story to tell about their lives and how they got to this point. Just the “ordinary person” seemed to never make it to the ship. I think you’ll enjoy it immensely. Twenty years from now remember this story! Haha

[drron29]

On a Mediterranean cruise it is certain that you will not be the youngest on board in September. There are some countries with school holidays that extend into December.

On our current cruise the segment from Barcelona which corresponded to Easter holidays there were many under 10s and quite a number in the 10 - to 20 age group. The media age was probably in the 40s.

[Vineyard View]

1 hour ago, drron29 said:

On a Mediterranean cruise it is certain that you will not be the youngest on board in September. There are some countries with school holidays that extend into December.

On our current cruise the segment from Barcelona which corresponded to Easter holidays there were many under 10s and quite a number in the 10 - to 20 age group. The media age was probably in the 40s.

Sailing with ‘many under 10s’, or even ‘10-20’ is surprising to me. That is not something I would expect.. ..

[Lois R]

4 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

Sailing with ‘many under 10s’, or even ‘10-20’ is surprising to me. That is not something I would expect.. ..

There were a  few families on my cruise last week.. Not ALOT but I did see a few kids and there were some younger couples with babies/toddlers.  And they all seemed to be very behaved. I don't expect to see "lots" of them but I have seen  multi-generational families on several of my sailings. 

[Vineyard View]

Good to know. Thank you. I sincerely love kids but I prefer to vacation without. I have to believe that with thin cabin walls, it might be impossible to not hear. It seems some lines attract multigenerational more than others. I think that is a wonderful thing to be able to do - but knowing ahead whether it is common is a good point for deciding. 

[Rothko1]

I've seen children on Silversea cruises, and they've always been very well behaved.

[Vineyard View]

Sounding  fairly common. Thank you. I know timing can certainly impact when families can travel. We always try to do so in shoulder season. But this is good information to have. 

[Jloss]

Great intel all - I am truly appreciative of the fast/quality feedback.  My Wife and I determined we are more than comfortable what sounds to be a broad, active mix of possible neighbors.  In fact we'd much rather interact with 55's than 25's so we went ahead and booked the trip!  As mentioned earlier, we travel a lot throughout North America/Caribbean but this will be the first "across the pond" and we couldn't be more excited! Thanks again to all!