Age of fellow cruisers has a huge impact on how people enjoy a cruise

[Interestedcruisefan]

Had an interesting chat with a lady last night who is early 60s. Very energetic and active lady. Recently retired school teacher.

 

She's recently cruised Iona and Ventura. With her husband. Also a retired school teacher now aged 66

 

Fjords on Iona. Can't remember where she said on Ventura.

 

She said she couldn't believe the difference In age demographics on the 2 cruises.

 

But Iona felt much much younger and active a cruise. Ventura fell much much older and comparatively inactive cruise. She said she wondered if older people were put off by the fact a fjords cruise might require more physical activities. 

 

(Personally I know many much older people who still want lots of physical activity in their days. I hope me and my wife do as well as we get older)

 

Anyway she said she loved the vibe on Iona but didn't enjoy the vibe on Ventura. 

 

I think it's quite relevant to what we discuss on here. She's not exactly young in cruising terms and almost in the middle to judge perhaps

 

Such noticeable different vibes will explain why some agegroups enjoy a particular cruise ship and others do not

 

And it's all perfectly normal 

 

Perhaps we blame ships too much. It's perhaps more the vibe and energy and approach of the cruisers on a ship that explains some people enjoying and others not enjoying a particular cruise or ship

 

It all makes sense. Quiet and calmer cruises are great for some. But not for all. 

 

Ventura put this lady off cruising. Iona made her want more.

 

She said she actually felt in the wrong place when on Ventura. And like I say she's not that young either 

 

But clearly the exact opposite can also happen for older agegroups often as we read on here. 

 

All makes perfect sense both ways. 

 

I dont think this is a criticism of either ship but it was just an observation about what people are looking for at different stages in life.

 

And obviously there's lots of differences event within the same agegroup.

 

This couple are particularly young and energetic for their age regardless. 

 

It' also must be very very hard for cruiselines to deliver what everybody want at the same time on one cruise ship as well.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[terrierjohn]

The passenger demographic will always affect the ambience on the cruise. But in Ventura's defence the school holiday periods will see a marked difference in the feel of the cruises.

I suspect your lady passenger would feel very different about Iona if she sailed on one of her 35 night Caribbean transatlantic cruises.

[Interestedcruisefan]

11 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

The passenger demographic will always affect the ambience on the cruise. But in Ventura's defence the school holiday periods will see a marked difference in the feel of the cruises.

I suspect your lady passenger would feel very different about Iona if she sailed on one of her 35 night Caribbean transatlantic cruises.

Great point

 

But this very much adds to my feeling that exact same ship can have some people leaving feeling they had the perfect cruise and others not enjoying

 

And it's very much about your fellow passengers on board and vibe as anything else 

 

Same ship. Same cruise. Some love it. Some don't. Nothing actually wrong with the ship or service. But more down to the whole vibe  

Edited December 14, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[lincslady]

Being on an effectively all British ship makes a big difference.  I have cruised more on the sort of US lines which attract passengers from all over the world, although usually probably 50% US, and there are so many different points of view of everything on board that age seems to be the least important part of the 'vibe'.   It is, I have found,  much more interesting to have chats with Canadians, Australians and people from European countries than your fellow citizens, and somehow the things which we Brits. usually complain about do not seem important.  I do have to  say, though, that a cruise on say Carnival or NCL  in the Caribbean, where virtually all the passengers are from the US, is not my cup of tea at all.

[yorkshirephil]

I think people's mindset affects their cruise enjoyment too. We have been cruising for 30 years and were usually the youngest people on the ship, kids apart. That never bothered us and quite a few of our friends were older so we learned a lot from them and their experiences. 

 

Now cruising is much different with bigger ships different demographics many more itineraries and not to forget generally cheaper. We have never had a bad cruise, some have been better than others for lots of different reasons. However we always cruise with an open mind knowing that we will make the best of what we get.

 

We have never cruised with a cruise line and said never again and never made an official complaint and just put some of the little mishaps/issues down to adding to experience. 

 

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

12 minutes ago, lincslady said:

Being on an effectively all British ship makes a big difference.  I have cruised more on the sort of US lines which attract passengers from all over the world, although usually probably 50% US, and there are so many different points of view of everything on board that age seems to be the least important part of the 'vibe'.   It is, I have found,  much more interesting to have chats with Canadians, Australians and people from European countries than your fellow citizens, and somehow the things which we Brits. usually complain about do not seem important.  I do have to  say, though, that a cruise on say Carnival or NCL  in the Caribbean, where virtually all the passengers are from the US, is not my cup of tea at all.

I agree with that

 

But when we cruised as a family with kids our kids really really loved the Carnivals experience with the US kids far more than the UK experience on azura. Although they did still enjoy azura in the Caribbean

 

And if your kids are really happy on a cruise that's huge of course

 

So again it's also agegroups as well alongside nationality 

[Interestedcruisefan]

17 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

I think people's mindset affects their cruise enjoyment too. We have been cruising for 30 years and were usually the youngest people on the ship, kids apart. That never bothered us and quite a few of our friends were older so we learned a lot from them and their experiences. 

 

Now cruising is much different with bigger ships different demographics many more itineraries and not to forget generally cheaper. We have never had a bad cruise, some have been better than others for lots of different reasons. However we always cruise with an open mind knowing that we will make the best of what we get.

 

We have never cruised with a cruise line and said never again and never made an official complaint and just put some of the little mishaps/issues down to adding to experience. 

 

 

We too. We've  never not enjoyed a cruise with any line.

 

Perhaps enjoying them more than ever now without the kids whereas my wife probably misses the days when we had the kids!!

 

Totally  different holidays of course.

 

 

But with plentiful enjoyable food, drink, entertainment and activities. 

 

What more could you want?

 

if we make some friends on board. Great. If we don't no problem. We don't go looking to do so. But sometimes it just happens. 

 

 

Our kids always made friends quickly on board. The kid clubs made that happen naturally.

 

My daughter (age 23) still keeps in touch with some lovely friends she made on cruises as a teenager on Carnival who live in USA and Puerto Rico. She met up with the  Puerto Rican girl again not that long ago.

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[gsmt47471015]

Interesting point regarding longer cruises, on every one we have done we have always ended up been some of the last people up ,and were talking as the last show finishes (11.15 ish) the only other people who we could talk to were the staff , the upside of that is we have made some long standing friends with quite a lot of them, it does however make for a pretty dull atmosphere. This does not apply to the biggest three ships of course as ,up until now they have never done longer cruises.

[Thejuggler]

New cruisers go for shiny new things as they have more to offer.

 

15 or so years ago when Ventura was launched as the the largest P&O ship that would have been the fun ship (outdoor circus school and trampolines anyone?) with the older now long retired ships offering something completely different,

[majortom10]

58 minutes ago, Thejuggler said:

New cruisers go for shiny new things as they have more to offer.

 

15 or so years ago when Ventura was launched as the the largest P&O ship that would have been the fun ship (outdoor circus school and trampolines anyone?) with the older now long retired ships offering something completely different,

Yes and when Ventura was announced and launched there were many moaners about the ship, funny how things change.

[Interestedcruisefan]

So one day Iona and Arvia will be considered the quiet and calm ships 

 

And something shiny and new will take their place

 

I guess 10 to 15  years from now there will be lots more retired people than ever before to take advantage of these bigger ships for calm and relaxed holidays 

 

And younger families may have moved on elsewhere 

 

Perhaps??

 

Or will it just become multiple generations more happily cruising together?

[Dermotsgirl]

I’m used to being one of the younger passengers.

 

i started cruising when I was 41, at a time when most passengers on cruise ships were 60+. I retired from work when I was 54, so I did the longer cruises that attract retired people when I was in my mid to late 50s.  I’m now 63, and was one of the younger passengers when we sailed with Saga this summer.

 

As my husband and myself keep ourselves to ourselves and do our own thing, it doesn’t matter to us what age our fellow passengers are.

 

The only age related problem I can think of was back in our early cruises, when much of the entertainment seemed to be aimed at my grandmother’s generation.

 

This improved in later years, when most entertainment includes songs from thre 80s and even 90s ! 

[Harry Peterson]

In our experience it’s not really the ship that makes the difference - it’s where it’s going. And it’s a lot more than the age profile that changes. The difference between, for example, our Iceland cruises and the sunshine cruises was enormous. Very, very different dynamics.

[zap99]

15 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I’m used to being one of the younger passengers.

 

i started cruising when I was 41, at a time when most passengers on cruise ships were 60+. I retired from work when I was 54, so I did the longer cruises that attract retired people when I was in my mid to late 50s.  I’m now 63, and was one of the younger passengers when we sailed with Saga this summer.

 

As my husband and myself keep ourselves to ourselves and do our own thing, it doesn’t matter to us what age our fellow passengers are.

 

The only age related problem I can think of was back in our early cruises, when much of the entertainment seemed to be aimed at my grandmother’s generation.

 

This improved in later years, when most entertainment includes songs from thre 80s and even 90s ! 

We are 74&68. Young is in the mind. Most folk of our age were listening to things like Led Zeppelin and Spandau ballet in our youth. The entertainment on the ships seems to be fine with us. Not a Mat Monroe fan .

[Selbourne]

3 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Had an interesting chat with a lady last night who is early 60s. Very energetic and active lady. Recently retired school teacher.

 

She's recently cruised Iona and Ventura. With her husband. Also a retired school teacher now aged 66

 

Fjords on Iona. Can't remember where she said on Ventura.

 

She said she couldn't believe the difference In age demographics on the 2 cruises.

 

But Iona felt much much younger and active a cruise. Ventura fell much much older and comparatively inactive cruise. She said she wondered if older people were put off by the fact a fjords cruise might require more physical activities. 

 

(Personally I know many much older people who still want lots of physical activity in their days. I hope me and my wife do as well as we get older)

 

Anyway she said she loved the vibe on Iona but didn't enjoy the vibe on Ventura. 

 

I think it's quite relevant to what we discuss on here. She's not exactly young in cruising terms and almost in the middle to judge perhaps

 

Such noticeable different vibes will explain why some agegroups enjoy a particular cruise ship and others do not

 

And it's all perfectly normal 

 

Perhaps we blame ships too much. It's perhaps more the vibe and energy and approach of the cruisers on a ship that explains some people enjoying and others not enjoying a particular cruise or ship

 

It all makes sense. Quiet and calmer cruises are great for some. But not for all. 

 

Ventura put this lady off cruising. Iona made her want more.

 

She said she actually felt in the wrong place when on Ventura. And like I say she's not that young either 

 

But clearly the exact opposite can also happen for older agegroups often as we read on here. 

 

All makes perfect sense both ways. 

 

I dont think this is a criticism of either ship but it was just an observation about what people are looking for at different stages in life.

 

And obviously there's lots of differences event within the same agegroup.

 

This couple are particularly young and energetic for their age regardless. 

 

It' also must be very very hard for cruiselines to deliver what everybody want at the same time on one cruise ship as well.

 

 

 

 

I agree that different ships tick different boxes for different people, but I don’t think it’s as simple to say it’s age related.

 

Like the lady that you spoke to, we have been on both Iona and Ventura very recently.  We are younger than the lady in question, yet our views are the polar opposite of hers. We didn’t particularly enjoy the passenger demographic on Iona but, by contrast, felt entirely at home on Ventura.

 

We started cruising with P&O when we were in our early 30s when it was a very different experience to now and we have been on all the P&O ships bar Arvia, many of them multiple times, so feel able to make comparisons. In the days when Freedom Dining didn’t exist, we got on famously with some table mates who were much older than us and equally we have have had table mates who were a similar age or younger who were not conversationalists and every meal felt like hard work. These were on the largest ships in the fleet (as they were then). Two or three bad experiences in a row pushed us to Freedom Dining. 

 

On our recent Ventura cruise we tended to share tables at lunchtime if we used the MDR and we got on well with everyone that we dined with, but our favourite couple, who we dined with twice, were old enough to be our parents, were great fun and shared loads of great tips with us for our upcoming Caribbean cruise. 
 

We are not party types, so don’t enjoy crowded and ‘lively’ atmospheres, as was the case on Iona. We also dislike the ‘look at me’ types who feel that everyone in a bar or restaurant needs to be aware that they are enjoying themselves, hence why we tend to prefer the ships with the older passenger demographic, where this is less likely. 
 

We like the facilities and choice of eateries on the bigger ships and we have never felt that a ship was too big, but we very much prefer the passenger profile on the smaller ships. However, there are plenty of regulars on this forum who are older than us but prefer the newest ships and all that goes with them and consider the older ships to be too stuffy. Just goes to prove that there’s no right or wrong, nor can you generalise by age. It’s just different strokes for different folks. 

[Ardennais]

On our 35 night Ventura Caribbean cruise in January/February, we were among the youngest passengers, and it was a fairly quiet cruise. The previous August, again on Ventura, it was lively, noisy, busy and full of young families. Very different experience but both brilliant! 
 

On our one and only FO cruise back in 2016, we really were the youngest couple, but the atmosphere was great. The older passengers were a great bunch and some of the more energetic ones were on the dance floor non-stop. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

21 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I agree that different ships tick different boxes for different people, but I don’t think it’s as simple to say it’s age related.

 

Like the lady that you spoke to, we have been on both Iona and Ventura very recently.  We are younger than the lady in question, yet our views are the polar opposite of hers. We didn’t particularly enjoy the passenger demographic on Iona but, by contrast, felt entirely at home on Ventura.

 

We started cruising with P&O when we were in our early 30s when it was a very different experience to now and we have been on all the P&O ships bar Arvia, many of them multiple times, so feel able to make comparisons. In the days when Freedom Dining didn’t exist, we got on famously with some table mates who were much older than us and equally we have have had table mates who were a similar age or younger who were not conversationalists and every meal felt like hard work. These were on the largest ships in the fleet (as they were then). Two or three bad experiences in a row pushed us to Freedom Dining. 

 

On our recent Ventura cruise we tended to share tables at lunchtime if we used the MDR and we got on well with everyone that we dined with, but our favourite couple, who we dined with twice, were old enough to be our parents, were great fun and shared loads of great tips with us for our upcoming Caribbean cruise. 
 

We are not party types, so don’t enjoy crowded and ‘lively’ atmospheres, as was the case on Iona. We also dislike the ‘look at me’ types who feel that everyone in a bar or restaurant needs to be aware that they are enjoying themselves, hence why we tend to prefer the ships with the older passenger demographic, where this is less likely. 
 

We like the facilities and choice of eateries on the bigger ships and we have never felt that a ship was too big, but we very much prefer the passenger profile on the smaller ships. However, there are plenty of regulars on this forum who are older than us but prefer the newest ships and all that goes with them and consider the older ships to be too stuffy. Just goes to prove that there’s no right or wrong, nor can you generalise by age. It’s just different strokes for different folks. 

Fair comment

[enjoysailing]

3 hours ago, lincslady said:

Being on an effectively all British ship makes a big difference.  I have cruised more on the sort of US lines which attract passengers from all over the world, although usually probably 50% US, and there are so many different points of view of everything on board that age seems to be the least important part of the 'vibe'.   It is, I have found,  much more interesting to have chats with Canadians, Australians and people from European countries than your fellow citizens, and somehow the things which we Brits. usually complain about do not seem important.  I do have to  say, though, that a cruise on say Carnival or NCL  in the Caribbean, where virtually all the passengers are from the US, is not my cup of tea at all.

 

I expect the age of fellow passengers would make quite a difference to the overall ambience of a cruise, but also believe the nationality is a big thing too. I have sailed various cruise lines out of USA and European ports as well as Southampton for 25+ years. On all of them there has been a good mix of nationalities. Sailing from the States probably 60-70% are passengers from North America. I love the chat and uncovering cultural differences. 

 

I have booked my first P&O cruise. Until I started exploring the itineraries and reading social media posts I hadn't expected them to be totally Brits on board. Or possibly a few people from elsewhere. I am really intrigued to see how it will differ from my previous cruises. I wonder if there are many cruisers who have only ever sailed with P&O and know no different. 

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

So one day Iona and Arvia will be considered the quiet and calm ships 

 

And something shiny and new will take their place

 

I guess 10 to 15  years from now there will be lots more retired people than ever before to take advantage of these bigger ships for calm and relaxed holidays 

 

And younger families may have moved on elsewhere 

 

Perhaps??

 

Or will it just become multiple generations more happily cruising together?

As far as the UK is concerned future pensioners, with defined contribution pensions, will not have anywher near the same amount of disposable income as today's, who are on defined benefit pensions.

I rather think that we are in the last decade or so of the golden age for the leisure industry.

[kalos]

We have used a few cruise lines and have no gripes with any .

Going on our recent cruise the Ventura our most used, we got to chat with

lots of people of all ages.

Some told us they had been on the newer ships and loved it , some disliked

the newer ship as some the Ventura .We even had a couple who had done

Iona followed by the Ventura and they had decided "cruising was not for them ."

 

Folk are all different as are the ships but to try and "peg hole" folks by age to

a ship is pure folly . As said It’s just different strokes for different folks. 

[Dermotsgirl]

2 hours ago, zap99 said:

We are 74&68. Young is in the mind. Most folk of our age were listening to things like Led Zeppelin and Spandau ballet in our youth. The entertainment on the ships seems to be fine with us. Not a Mat Monroe fan .

Exactly - it’s nice to have entertainment that interests you.

 

When I started going on cruises back in 2001, there was still a ‘Good Old Days’ vibe going on, as I said, more for my nan’s generation! 

[yorkshirephil]

1 hour ago, enjoysailing said:

 

I wonder if there are many cruisers who have only ever sailed with P&O and know no different. 

 

There definitely are, and they can be the worst moaners, "we don't like the big ships". "Have you ever been on one?" "er no"

"We don't like foreign ships with all the announcements in 10 different languages and all the foreign food" "Have you ever been on one?" "er no"

 

An old mate of mine once said to me "nah then lad, gud times dunt allus come nockin at thee door, sometimes thas to meet em haif way. I never have of will forget what turned out to be wise words, even if I did sometimes think he was a silly old sod.

[Megabear2]

52 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

As far as the UK is concerned future pensioners, with defined contribution pensions, will not have anywher near the same amount of disposable income as today's, who are on defined benefit pensions.

I rather think that we are in the last decade or so of the golden age for the leisure industry.

And hence the push for the younger cruisers.  

 

Interestingly worldwide there is a new desire to offer long world cruises and there must be a call for them.  The answer probably lies with the entrepreneur age who work very hard and then retire exceptionally early.  However that may be a problem for the mainstream like P&O as the quality of the offering will need to be very high to attract these guys.

[Selbourne]

39 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

As far as the UK is concerned future pensioners, with defined contribution pensions, will not have anywher near the same amount of disposable income as today's, who are on defined benefit pensions.

I rather think that we are in the last decade or so of the golden age for the leisure industry.

I’ve often said this. I am frequently amazed at the number of cruises that many retired people can do and wonder where on earth they get the money from, given that many that I talk to haven’t had particularly senior jobs. I’ve always put it down to the golden era of generous defined benefit pensions and inheritances - or both.
 

I am fortunate that I have an excellent pension provision and was able to retire comfortably at a relatively young age (54 at the time), but I am acutely aware that I am in a minority for my age group (all my mates of the same age are still working and have to) and those that are younger than me won’t have anything like the same level of income in retirement and will probably be working well into their 60s. Whilst those who work in the public sector will still enjoy pensions that those in the private sector can only dream about, even these are now eroded from their heyday, with higher contributions required and / or lower pensions based on career average rather than final salary. 
 

This is, I am sure, a major driver in why companies such as P&O are changing tack and targeting a much younger generation of cruisers. In years to come, a much smaller percentage of retirees will be able to cruise regularly compared to the current day. 

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

As far as the UK is concerned future pensioners, with defined contribution pensions, will not have anywher near the same amount of disposable income as today's, who are on defined benefit pensions.

I rather think that we are in the last decade or so of the golden age for the leisure industry.

A very good point, John!