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

[daiB]

2 hours 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 matWe are considerably older than you but es 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. 

We are considerably older than you but enjoy a lively atmosphere as well as peace and quiet. We enjoyed Aurora and Iona on our last two cruises although I find Aurora is less accessible now, Iona is brilliant. My wife and I have a saying, 2000  passengers on this ship and there are 2000 different holiday's. We were on Aurora at the time, 20 years ago.

[Eddie99]

I think you’re right Dai

Imagine the ‘different cruises’ enjoyed by, eg

 

early risers v late birds

quizzers v readers

deck gamers v sunbathers

keen excursion takers v port strollers

foodies v buffet fans

theatre goers v footie in Brodies fans

solo cruisers v multigenerational family groups

older couples v young families

gym bunnies v library & talk aficionados 

inside cabiners v midship balcony-ers 

drinkers v teetotal

table sharers v “table for 2”

 

 - all on the same cruise, on the same ship

And that’s not even all the possibilities 

 

It is what you make it.  I don’t think the ages of fellow travellers is a major factor.

That’s just me though

 

 

 

 

 

[Fionboard]

My first cruise was on Celebrity Constellation in 2011. I thought it was massive!   Two weeks Caribbean. Cost £4000. My Arcadia Xmas cruise this year cost nearly £6000. It is sold out, so small, adults only, still popular.

[Megabear2]

11 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

My first cruise was on Celebrity Constellation in 2011. I thought it was massive!   Two weeks Caribbean. Cost £4000. My Arcadia Xmas cruise this year cost nearly £6000. It is sold out, so small, adults only, still popular.

In fairness Arvia's 14 night Barbados Christmas cruises are also sold out, together with Britannia's and most of Azura's.  Most of the other Christmas cruises have room - even your Arcadia cruise currently has a couple of insides and balconies.  

 

This is a good year for Christmas cruises selling, not just on P&O as a great many actually over the Christmas period on other lines have also been sold out for months.

[Fionboard]

Just now, Megabear2 said:

In fairness Arvia's 14 night Barbados Christmas cruises are also sold out, together with Britannia's and most of Azura's.  Most of the other Christmas cruises have room - even your Arcadia cruise currently has a couple of insides and balconies.  

 

This is a good year for Christmas cruises selling, not just on P&O as a great many actually over the Christmas period on other lines have also been sold out for months.

Looked this morning on P&O site.  All cabins sold out. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

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.

On some of the longer cruises it's potentially cheaper than living and feeding yourself at home

 

There's a possibility remote working from cruise ships will start to happen more and more

 

Currently people tend to go and remote work in land based resorts. But like I say prices are so attractive at entry level now. 

 

4 young people sharing a cabin and working  remotely whilst travelling could be cheaper than the more traditional options for remote working

 

 

[Megabear2]

18 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Looked this morning on P&O site.  All cabins sold out. 

J320?  A42 and A38 balconies along with guarantee outsides currently available. 

[jeanlyon]

We sail on either Aurora or Arcadia and also with Fred sometimes.  We like smaller ships and adult only.  We tried Azura and did not like her at all.  It felt bland and not like a ship.  We loved Adonia.  Fellow passengers make no difference to us really apart from whether you have a good table for dinner which we normally do.  We are always up late, enjoy the shows, mostly.  Obviously our hearing isn't going, because everything is usually too loud.

[Megabear2]

12 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

On some of the longer cruises it's potentially cheaper than living and feeding yourself at home

 

There's a possibility remote working from cruise ships will start to happen more and more

 

Currently people tend to go and remote work in land based resorts. But like I say prices are so attractive at entry level now. 

 

4 young people sharing a cabin and working  remotely whilst travelling could be cheaper than the more traditional options for remote working

 

 

I've been in an Arvia inside cabin ... no way can I see 4 young working people making that work!  Maybe a suite but absolutely not on any P&O, or for that matter any mainstream line unless at suite level.

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

I've been in an Arvia inside cabin ... no way can I see 4 young working people making that work!  Maybe a suite but absolutely not on any P&O, or for that matter any mainstream line unless at suite level.

Think you might be surprised MB.

 

Young people working remotely and travelling sleep in less space than that

 

When my sister first started working at a bank in London on leaving school - 6 girls shared a 1 bed flat together so they could afford to live in a nice part of London

 

Young people make sacrifices for things they couldn't otherwise afford

 

They only need to sleep and shower and change in the cabin. 

 

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

When we had family rooms with teenage kids we often had insides and although not ideal it allowed us to enjoy Xmas and new year cruises without breaking the bank

 

Yes not ideal.

 

Workable though

[Fionboard]

36 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

J320?  A42 and A38 balconies along with guarantee outsides currently available. 

Which website was this? Looked today and sold out. Prices are ridiculous. 

[Megabear2]

1 minute ago, Fionboard said:

Which website was this? Looked today and sold out. Prices are ridiculous. 

P&O's own.  I noticed them lunchtime when I did a quick check on my own cruise which was showing sold out but they have now put an upgrade bid from £0 to £1,357pp on a suite into my planner.

 

Crazy pricing as you say.  At least the 7 night Arvia one has dropped in price, at one point starting price was £3,500 for an outside!

[Megabear2]

36 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Think you might be surprised MB.

 

Young people working remotely and travelling sleep in less space than that

 

When my sister first started working at a bank in London on leaving school - 6 girls shared a 1 bed flat together so they could afford to live in a nice part of London

 

Young people make sacrifices for things they couldn't otherwise afford

 

They only need to sleep and shower and change in the cabin. 

 

 

Yes at 16 I shared a flat in Chelsea two roads down from Stamford Bridge so I do know about sharing. However safety regulations and council rules wouldn't allow that now - we were 10 who rotated in and out rapt weekends when work colleagues joined us for the football and nights out in the King's Road.  Happy days but we certainly wouldn't have been able to work under those conditions!

[Fionboard]

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

Yes at 16 I shared a flat in Chelsea two roads down from Stamford Bridge so I do know about sharing. However safety regulations and council rules wouldn't allow that now - we were 10 who rotated in and out rapt weekends when work colleagues joined us for the football and nights out in the King's Road.  Happy days but we certainly wouldn't have been able to work under those conditions!

Did you frequent the Chelsea Drugstore, Markham and Chelsea Potter? My hangouts in the 70s. As you say, happy days! 

[Gettingwarmer]

13 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Yes at 16 I shared a flat in Chelsea two roads down from Stamford Bridge so I do know about sharing. However safety regulations and council rules wouldn't allow that now - we were 10 who rotated in and out rapt weekends when work colleagues joined us for the football and nights out in the King's Road.  Happy days but we certainly wouldn't have been able to work under those conditions!

I don’t think @Interestedcruisefan means they work in the cabin. They would do this out and about around the ship. 
I still wouldn’t like 4 adults in an inside room. 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Gettingwarmer

[Fionboard]

10 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

P&O's own.  I noticed them lunchtime when I did a quick check on my own cruise which was showing sold out but they have now put an upgrade bid from £0 to £1,357pp on a suite into my planner.

 

Crazy pricing as you say.  At least the 7 night Arvia one has dropped in price, at one point starting price was £3,500 for an outside!

Strange how things can change within hours! I looked at about 2.30. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

14 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Yes at 16 I shared a flat in Chelsea two roads down from Stamford Bridge so I do know about sharing. However safety regulations and council rules wouldn't allow that now - we were 10 who rotated in and out rapt weekends when work colleagues joined us for the football and nights out in the King's Road.  Happy days but we certainly wouldn't have been able to work under those conditions!

Yep I'm thinking they would be in the cabin the least time possible

 

Bit like us!!

 

That's how you became a Chelsea fan then??

[Megabear2]

11 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Did you frequent the Chelsea Drugstore, Markham and Chelsea Potter? My hangouts in the 70s. As you say, happy days! 

The best.  The amount of times you'd walk in and find Stevie Winwood and his mates having an impromptu jam session were my favourites with added bonus of some very inebriated Chelsea footballers.

 

I used to love the Parrots Perch on Friday nights when your new togs used to have to be on display, and shopping in The Garage, especially for crazy hats!

 

Surprisingly so many of these places still exist and we do drop in when we go to football but the new crowds are very tame compared to us.  

[Megabear2]

6 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Yep I'm thinking they would be in the cabin the least time possible

 

Bit like us!!

 

That's how you became a Chelsea fan then??

No, been a fan since I was 5.  My uncle used to take me to a match in London every Saturday from the age of 4.  The day he took me to Stamford Bridge on my 5th birthday i fell in love with Peter Bonetti and Jimmy Greaves.  We were relegated but I refused to go to any other ground if Chelsea were at home.  I'm completely the person Suggs describes in his Chelsea anthem Blue Day - every other Saturday was spent at the Bridge until the advent of the Premier League.  To this day I get a huge thrill when we leave West Brompton and I catch my first glimpse of Stamford Bridge, I'm a very sad individual!

[yorkshirephil]

22 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

No, been a fan since I was 5.  My uncle used to take me to a match in London every Saturday from the age of 4.  The day he took me to Stamford Bridge on my 5th birthday i fell in love with Peter Bonetti and Jimmy Greaves.  We were relegated but I refused to go to any other ground if Chelsea were at home.  I'm completely the person Suggs describes in his Chelsea anthem Blue Day - every other Saturday was spent at the Bridge until the advent of the Premier League.  To this day I get a huge thrill when we leave West Brompton and I catch my first glimpse of Stamford Bridge, I'm a very sad individual!

A true fan, stick with their team through thick and thin

[Presto2]

5 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 .

Love this post.

Our generation grew up in  the 60s, 70s etc. Alice Cooper, Status Quo, heavy rock, Punk Rock etc etc. We may have grey hair but we've had the best music and still do !!!

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Think you might be surprised MB.

 

Young people working remotely and travelling sleep in less space than that

 

When my sister first started working at a bank in London on leaving school - 6 girls shared a 1 bed flat together so they could afford to live in a nice part of London

 

Young people make sacrifices for things they couldn't otherwise afford

 

They only need to sleep and shower and change in the cabin. 

 

 

But where do you propose they would do this remote working?

[Windsurfboy]

4 hours 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.

 

Agreed

[zap99]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Think you might be surprised MB.

 

Young people working remotely and travelling sleep in less space than that

 

When my sister first started working at a bank in London on leaving school - 6 girls shared a 1 bed flat together so they could afford to live in a nice part of London

 

Young people make sacrifices for things they couldn't otherwise afford

 

They only need to sleep and shower and change in the cabin. 

 

 

A 4 berth touring caravan ,or tent is smaller than a standard cabin. Lots of folk have brilliant holidays and even make do without the services of Geeves.