College students, first week in January

[niborHS]

We have cruised with our children for the last 13 years. 10 were with both boys, the last 3 our older son was in college. This year, both are in college and we would like to take them with us during the first week in January. We have never cruised on HAL before. Celebrity is our favorite, but their 7 day Carribean itineraries are poor. My husband does not like Personal Choice on NCL, but we have been happy with other aspects of our cruises with them (we have a suite, so service is different). This past year we tried Princess, and were not that pleased for various reasons. We were going to consider Royal Carribean, thinking there would be more college kids on board, but their itineraries are so boring. Does anyone know whether we can expect other college students on board then? Our sons are 18 & 21, and we will probably go with friends who have a daughter 22, and a son who is 20.

[tammyp5]

We were on the Westerdam January 3 - 8 this year. I did not notice many teens or college-age on board - maybe 25 young (but not children) people max in the dining room (out of a few hundred people in the late seating). Most were in the company of what looked to be their parents. There were several gathered in the sports bar one night during the college football game, so they may have kept a low profile (we also didn't frequent the disco or pool much since we had a port every day but one). There were lots of young couples who looked to be recently married, though (early to late twenties). While it isn't a "party ship", there was still so much to do that we didn't see half of what we had planned. The mood on board was somewhat subdued, but everyone was always in great spirits - I never heard a complaint during our entire cruise.

[kryos]

Does anyone know whether we can expect other college students on board then? Our sons are 18 & 21, and we will probably go with friends who have a daughter 22, and a son who is 20.

I don't know what part of the country you are in, but out in these parts (Northeast) I think most colleges go back into session pretty much right after the New Years holiday. A better time to find lots of college kids on a cruise would probably be mid to late December since most colleges are out for the Christmas break during that time.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kitty9]

We've cruised during the first three weeks in January on various cruises and we've not seen many, if any, college age kids on the ships---for that matter, not many school age kids at all, just the occasional infant or toddler. That time is generally quite older in terms of average age.

[AlexandNessa]

We sailed the week of Jan 4 for my DH's birthday two years ago on the Oosterdam. I really don't remember any young adults at all....

[niborHS]

Rita, I am in the Northeast, although one of my sons goes to Emory. I don't know which school calendars you have looked at, but Emory begins its second semester after Martin Luther King Day, and Cornell, the week later. Most of my son's friends are also out until mid-January. This dates back to my years in college in the early 70's when oil prices started to go up and the school in the northeast wanted to conserve fuel.

Thanks for all your responses though. I guess we will have to decide which ship to go on.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We sailed on the Westerdam in January of 2004 - there were only a couple of teenagers and a couple of small children.

[kryos]

Rita, I am in the Northeast, although one of my sons goes to Emory. I don't know which school calendars you have looked at, but Emory begins its second semester after Martin Luther King Day, and Cornell, the week later. Most of my son's friends are also out until mid-January. This dates back to my years in college in the early 70's when oil prices started to go up and the school in the northeast wanted to conserve fuel.

Thanks for all your responses though. I guess we will have to decide which ship to go on.

I went to Catholic colleges, so maybe they work different ... but I seem to recall going back right after the New Year. But then maybe I'm mistaken. College was quite a few years ago.

 

I still don't think you'd get many college-aged kids on a first week of January cruise, though. Even if they aren't actually back in school then, they are still recuperating from the holidays and getting ready to head back to school. As soon as the holidays are over, their parents are wincing in anticipation of the post-holiday credit card bill, and aren't likely to plan a cruise with the kids then.

 

Personally, I think any families with college-aged kids are likely to cruise during the actual holiday weeks, not thereafter ... but again ... what do I know?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita