Why Boomers (and younger) should go HAL

[SeaBunny]

We just returned from our first HAL cruise. It was a two weeker on the Ryndam in the Southern Caribbean. Being November and two weeks long, we expected the crowd to be older. And, boy, were they!

 

But what a ship! What a crew! What an experience!

 

Everyone worries about the older crowd on HAL. After seeing how great HAL is, we decided that the oldsters were the ones emphasizing the age of the cruisers in order to keep HAL all to themselves.

 

Don't let them keep you away! This line has the best food, outstanding service, and ships that are designed to provide you with the spaces you need for privacy and company.

 

Plus, the oldsters are all well-traveled folks who have a lot of interesting stories, if you listen. And, even our two week fall cruise had a significant number of younger folks (if you consider boomers younger) -- our table for six were all within six years of each other in age. and ther were even some honeymooners on board.

 

So go for HAL. and keep this in mind -- there are significant psychological advantages to not being surrounded by hundreds of bikini clad babes and dudes with six packs.

[BernardNL]

It was indeed a fantastic cruise. We just got home after a long flight to Amsterdam. Hey seabunny, i think we were on the same flight yesterday or not ? Bernard.

[happy cruzer]

I agree the age thing on HAL should not be an issue. I think it can be a bit of a mellow cruise but other than that I don't think anyone should worry about the demographics. I think I was in my 30s the first time I sailed HAL and could only afford the "old" Noordam that was getting close to retirement so it was not quite as upscale as the current HAL vessels but I fell in love with the atmosphere and the company on board - both the staff and fellow passengers.

 

I love to travel with others who ... love to travel. Just keep me away from the nitpickers and complainers which come in all age groups.

 

Great observation!

[SDHALFAN]

[quote name=SeaBunny:

 

Everyone worries about the older crowd on HAL. After seeing how great HAL is, we decided that the oldsters were the ones emphasizing the age of the cruisers in order to keep HAL all to themselves.[/quote]

 

 

 

Darn it - we oldsters have finally been "outed":(. I was in my early 40's the first time I sailed with HAL 20 years ago and was one of the youngsters aboard ship. Now I'm significantly older (er - more mature), and am still happily sailing with HAL every chance I get.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise and welcome to the world of the more mature sailors:D .

 

Valerie

 

p.s. It was a great and well kept secret for a while wasn't it? :)

[Enchanted]

We were in our 20's when we first sailed HAL, and although our first trip was a disaster, we loved our fellow pax.

 

The generally older crowd are a lot of fun and still know how to have a good time. (my mom's the best looking 60 yr old in leather pants!) I enjoy their company more than i do ppl my own age group.

[SDHALFAN]

We were in our 20's when we first sailed HAL, and although our first trip was a disaster, we loved our fellow pax.

 

The generally older crowd are a lot of fun and still know how to have a good time. (my mom's the best looking 60 yr old in leather pants!) I enjoy their company more than i do ppl my own age group.

 

 

Obviously Enchanted you have excellent taste.

 

Valerie:D

[Chelsea_mom]

My husband and I are in our late 30s and we have a 2 year old. On Saturday we leave on the Veendam for our first cruise. I have been really looking forward to it- my husband is a much overloaded seminarian who really hasn't had the time to pleasantly anticipate the trip. :(

 

While we own a house in the countryside, we are currently living in NYC while DH attends seminary. The noise and the over crowding are the worst things about living here. Yesterday we were taking a walk along the river, which you would think would be quiet, however from the traffic and the construction it was far from so! My poor husband looked at me and said, "I sure hope that there is some quiet on this cruise- I feel like I am about to lose my mind from all of this noise!" My response was, "There are some advantages to taking a cruise on a ship where the median age is probably in the 60 or 70s." ;)

 

We can't take any credit for the planning- the cruise was chosen and paid for by my very, very generous parents who will also be on their first cruise, so this will be a family affair. :)

 

Corie

[southerntrouts]

can someone tell me the address for the parking lot @cedar grove in va..as we are leaving thurs.. on hal...maasdam for the carribean..we are coming from nc

mahalo

[NoNoNanette]

can someone tell me the address for the parking lot @cedar grove in va..as we are leaving thurs.. on hal...maasdam for the carribean..we are coming from nc

mahalo

 

I'd suggest that you go to either http://www.yahoo.com or http://www.google.com

 

and click on "MAPS". They'll show you a map and give driving directions.

 

Good luck and have FUN!:)

[WeLoveCruising]

Here is a link to the website for parking:

 

http://www.cruisenorfolk.org/parking.html

[SeaBunny]

Hi, Bernard!

 

Yes, we were on the same flight. I hope the next leg of your flight was as smooth as the first.

 

See you on the promenade of another Dam ship soon!

[Seago2]

My husband and I are in our late 30s and we have a 2 year old. On Saturday we leave on the Veendam for our first cruise. I have been really looking forward to it- my husband is a much overloaded seminarian who really hasn't had the time to pleasantly anticipate the trip. :(

 

 

Where is he in seminary?

[serendipity1499]

We just returned from our first HAL cruise. It was a two weeker on the Ryndam in the Southern Caribbean. Being November and two weeks long, we expected the crowd to be older. And, boy, were they!

 

But what a ship! What a crew! What an experience!

 

Everyone worries about the older crowd on HAL. After seeing how great HAL is, we decided that the oldsters were the ones emphasizing the age of the cruisers in order to keep HAL all to themselves.

 

Don't let them keep you away! This line has the best food, outstanding service, and ships that are designed to provide you with the spaces you need for privacy and company.

 

Plus, the oldsters are all well-traveled folks who have a lot of interesting stories, if you listen. And, even our two week fall cruise had a significant number of younger folks (if you consider boomers younger) -- our table for six were all within six years of each other in age. and ther were even some honeymooners on board.

 

So go for HAL. and keep this in mind -- there are significant psychological advantages to not being surrounded by hundreds of bikini clad babes and dudes with six packs.

 

Hey Rikki...Welcome Home...It was nice meeting you & Bill..Unfortunately we did not get to see more of the CC group, but so glad you enjoyed your cruise as did we..(We're in the older crowd, but still don't feel it!;) ) Hope you had a wonderful time meeting us old folks, but please don't tell too many boomer's about your great cruise..(only kidding)..

 

You forgot to tell everyone that you were "Miss Ryndam".. Congratulations! Hope you received some nice prizes..Did you play Trivia? We listened to one game up in the Crow's nest & knew some of the answers, but not all..

 

One thing I didn't like, was when they put us off the ship in Tampa! :( All I asked for was another week, but the Dutch are so stubborn! (DH is Dutch as was my Grand Dad, so I can say that!) I fought like the blazes to stay aboard but they just would not give..:mad: Tried to figure out how to become a stow-away..LOL

 

We're unpacked & the laundry is done & put away..Thank goodness Christmas should keep me from going into withdrawal mode for a while..

 

Happy cruising all..:) Betty

[Chelsea_mom]

Where is he in seminary?

 

Gerneral Theological Seminary in NYC. Ah, we are soooo looking forward to the quiet.:)

 

Corie

[SeaBunny]

Hey Rikki...Welcome Home...It was nice meeting you & Bill..Unfortunately we did not get to see more of the CC group, but so glad you enjoyed your cruise as did we..(We're in the older crowd, but still don't feel it! ) Hope you had a wonderful time meeting us old folks, but please don't tell too many boomer's about your great cruise..(only kidding)..

 

It was great to meet you guys, too! I wish I could say we were unpacked and put away. The process is underway. However, DS returned to town the same day we did and his apartments won't be ready for three more days, so his stuff is everywhere. And the Christmas decor is pulled down from the attic. It's a madhouse here. Get me back on that ship!! I need some serious time on the promenade in a teak deck chair.

 

My Dad was from Holland -- making me half Dutch. It was so cool being called "Hendrika" (my legal name) by all the wait staff. It's a totally Dutch name.

 

We played trivia and every other game they offered. Won often enough to cause a murmur when we walked into the room. DH loved that!

[Barbara Hornblower]

If you like old movies, you will feel like I did on my first HAL cruise...half expecting Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr to appear on the promenade any moment. There was a level of sophistication on HAL that I certainly did not experience with RCL (with their much bally-hooed "who has the biggest belly" contest on the pool deck).

 

Unlike a lot of cruises out there, HAL will not give you the "floating fraternity party". And I'm only 31, and want to get far far away from that kind of experience. Can't wait until December 30 when DH and I sail away on the Veendam!!!

[ANSalberg]

To be perfectly honest- We've been on Carnival/Celebrity/Princess/Cunard/ and MOSTLY HAL -I do not see much overall difference in AGE -EXCEPT as determined by the length of the cruise/ itinerary. Now that we're retired we prefer the longer [ MUCH longer cruises] and NOT Alaska or Caribbean - on these cruises the majority are younger on ANY cruiseline. I prefer Asia and the far East [ Australia/NZ] and Europe -and those become almost cost-prohibitive when you add on airfare plus cruise plus tours b/c of language differences.........At least this WAS our experience "then" when we were younger -and "now" that we are retired.......Anne

[fireofficer5]

Like ANS said it depends on the time of year, length of cruise and destination.

[bethcollins]

Reading these comments makes me feel like we really made the right decision for our New Years' cruise on the Veendam--our first time on HAL. We're certainly not the "frat party" type (no offense to my son who's in a frat!) on vacation. DH and I are in our early 40's and have been cruising with our kids since 1998. The kids are now 21, 18 and 13 and even they say they don't like the megaships of RCI anymore. Our daughter is looking forward to the cooking demos and doing some crossword puzzles by the pool, the older son wants to sleep in every day and play blackjack in the evenings, and the 13 year old just wants to order everything he's seen on the room service menu. Even the youngest is looking forward to dressing up in his tux for formal nights. HAL seemed like the perfect fit for where we are in our lives at the moment.

 

Beth

[bdcbbq]

Reading these comments makes me feel like we really made the right decision for our New Years' cruise on the Veendam--our first time on HAL. We're certainly not the "frat party" type (no offense to my son who's in a frat!) on vacation. DH and I are in our early 40's and have been cruising with our kids since 1998. The kids are now 21, 18 and 13 and even they say they don't like the megaships of RCI anymore. Our daughter is looking forward to the cooking demos and doing some crossword puzzles by the pool, the older son wants to sleep in every day and play blackjack in the evenings, and the 13 year old just wants to order everything he's seen on the room service menu. Even the youngest is looking forward to dressing up in his tux for formal nights. HAL seemed like the perfect fit for where we are in our lives at the moment.

 

Beth

 

My wife and I were in our late 40's on our first cruise, the Veendam New Year's cruise. We loved it and have never regretted the decision to go with HAL. Plenty of activity for us.

[Enchanted]

If you like old movies, you will feel like I did on my first HAL cruise...half expecting Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr to appear on the promenade any moment. There was a level of sophistication on HAL that I certainly did not experience with RCL (with their much bally-hooed "who has the biggest belly" contest on the pool deck).

 

Unlike a lot of cruises out there, HAL will not give you the "floating fraternity party". And I'm only 31, and want to get far far away from that kind of experience. Can't wait until December 30 when DH and I sail away on the Veendam!!!

 

We're in our early 30's and feel the same!

[Willsot]

I'm a history buff, particulary WWII. I have felt honored and awed by the number of veterans I have met on HAL cruises, usually when we eat breakfasts and lunches in the dining room. Many are near my late father's age and are interesting, humble, and truly exemplify the greatest generation.

[Barbara Hornblower]

I'm a history buff, particulary WWII. I have felt honored and awed by the number of veterans I have met on HAL cruises, usually when we eat breakfasts and lunches in the dining room. Many are near my late father's age and are interesting, humble, and truly exemplify the greatest generation.

 

Ditto for me and my husband. What a much better dynamic to experience on vacation than wild toga party-goers!