"Old People" and Bad Reviews

[Gunters Oma]

Before I started my next chapter...I checked the CC Members Reviews…there were two scathing reports about the May 19 Maasdam Cruise.

The first point these two folks made were in reference to the demographics and that it was either a retirement home or the ship was filled with 90 year-olds. (My apologies to 90 year-olds that enjoy seeing the world!)

 

Before we even left Sarasota, FL (a locale enabling us to identify extra-senior citizens) I asked DH to help me judge the average age of the cruisers because of many threads on this board.

 

We are 58 and 63…possibly senior in the eyes of some…DH is not retired.

 

Here is our collective opinion:

*Probably 15-20% were extra-senior (75+). At the 6:15 dinner seating I would say the percentage was less.

*10-15% were young families - there were 10-12 youngsters 4/5 or younger with their parents.

*The preponderance of the demographics we 50- 65. The people we shared breakfast or lunch with; played trivia or name that tune with; shared a table at the Crow's Nest or Lounge with were pretty much in that age group. One extra-senior couple danced better and longer than any other age group.

 

Now granted…the 35-45's were definitely in the minority..but so were the extra-seniors! BTW - the extra-seniors are great conversationalists - they have a lot of interesting things to share and most of the folks we encountered had a great sense of humor.

 

In our humble opinion…the diversity should add to the cruising experience.

 

As to the bad reviews…if you have read what I have written thus far and compare it to the two other reviews - you might get the impression there were two different Maasdam on the St. Lawrence. But - no - it is the same cruise. I called this the "Murphy's Law" cruise and can see the viewpoint they are making.

 

That being said…DH and I have this philosophy on travel - be it by land or by sea. There are some things you cannot change or adjust - weather, is one. Vehicle breakdowns…ships, trains, planes, buses…happen. Rude people exist - in many shapes, sizes, ages, and in every country. Accept this notion! Move along! Look in another directions for something appealing and interesting.

 

If it something in your control or you can change it -- try to do so. We recommend doing this with a smile…persistence and a smile!

 

We travel to see the world…to meet new people…experience new cultures…to have laugh and have fun! This WAS our cruise experience.

 

Were we disappointed we could not see PEI? You bet we were; this was one stop we were looking forward to. After a few minutes - okay, it was at least a half-hour of grumbling we went on to have a fun-filled day. Doing a few silly things we might not have done i.e. "Seal and Bear Droppings!"

 

Were we irritated by the Bar Harbor fiasco? You bet! Do I have any Pollyanna statement about that? NO, I DO NOT! It was a disorganized mess and we joined the general grumbling. We did so with a few folks we had met previously, some of the joking amongst ourselves was amusing…but we were all unhappy! However, once on dry land - we had a great time and by the time we were back on the ship - the morning was long past. As the Hotel Manager said to us, "It will not do anyone on this cruise any good…but we will definitely make sure we have corrected the situation and it won't happen again."

 

We do not invest our hard-earned money and vacation time to look for the bad/irritating things…while we cannot control many things - the one thing we can control is our attitude. We look for the "good times" and usually we find it.

[sail7seas]

:) You are the 'model travelers' and that is why you had a great cruise while someone else here had nothing pleasant to say about their week's cruise.

 

I'll not say we've never complained or grumbled because surely we have. The cruise (years ago) we took on Maasdam and needed a plumber for either the sink, the toilet, the shower or whatever morning after morning, we decided to find the humor and started asking plumber each morning as he was leaving our cabin if he'd like to plan on room service breakfast with us the next day!! I;d wave goodbye as he left and call out "see you tomorrow" as I'd come to expect I would. :)

 

Did I enjoy having the plumber knocking on the door each morning at 8:00? Of course not. But I sure was happy he fixed whatever was broken.

 

DH kept offering him choice of eggs benedict or omelet made to order. :) We had a great cruise and found everything that was wonderful about the ship, the crew, our fellow pax, the weather, the ports.......

 

So Did YOU!!!

 

Thanks for your wonderful reports of the beautiful Maasdam. We can't wait to board for our cruises in June.

 

 

 

[grannynurse]

Gunter's Oma,

We had some glitches on our 2004 transatlantic and I can identify with your comment on rudeness, and I agree with your philosophy plus why spend all that money to stay mad. It's counter productive and slightly self-destructive.

Please continue with your great travelogue, and give Gunter a hug for me.

GN

[Len3]

We sailed on a 10 nighter on March 13th from Ft. Lauderdale. Two factors were negatives for us - (1) the age group - mostly over 70 (2) we were confirmed at time of booking for the early dinner seating and actually got stuck with the main seating. To finish dinner at 10:30PM is just way to late. We'll stick to other cruise lines until we're in our 70's.

[babyher]

Beautiful Post :)

 

I agree 100%

 

"Ship" happens :), and yes it can be aggravating , and you are only being human to grumble a little bit . But not to the point of letting it make you crazy and ruin a hard earned vacation.

[Cruise Moose]

I just hate it when all people can do is grumble about the negative aspects of a vacation. I find that some of my most enjoyable memories come from the unexpected, unplanned and uncontrollable circumstances that have popped up when traveling. You meet people you may not have met otherwise, try an activity you would have missed if your plans had worked out or just maybe take a much needed break.....it's all good.

[seaair100]

I appreciate your refreshing perspective on the truth of travel.It sounds "pollyana like", but travel is what you make of it."Stuff" happens.But are we not lucky to be able to financially and time wise have this adventure.

I have been a Ped Int Care Nurse for 30 some years.So though it does not make me a "non complainer", it does make me wonder what people find to complain about on vacation.Food, weather, missed ports.It is a ship ,in an ocean,traveling with a crew that works more days of the year then not,yet it is rare to not get a smile and a hello.

I was in Costa Rica ,this year, on a land tour.It was fine.But I cannot wait to get back to shipboard, this Fall.I can honestly say that there will be no scoprions to shake out of my shoes in the morning. Dee

[Steamboatin]

I think everyone will agree that HAL as the most experience and is the best in the industry at one facet of the cruise industry.

 

That facet is HELICOPTER AIR EVAC.:D

[Dolphins]

Try to understand that some members of the "Greatest Generation" have little patience with some members of the "Pampered Generation." Try to remember that they are an endangered species rapidly becoming extinct and deserving of any respect they have earned.

[nates04]

I am constantly amazed by people who write posts saying how surprised they were by the age on HAL. I read a recent post of someone saying they had done extensive research for their cruise...and then later said they were surprised by the average age on the ship. I am looking forward to my first cruise on HAL this coming winter, so I don't speak from experience of being on the ship. But in my first 10 minutes of researching HAL, I found that it catered to an older crowd more so then other cruise lines. I don't understand how people can be surprised by this, but that is just me.

[sail7seas]

I think everyone will agree that HAL as the most experience and is the best in the industry at one facet of the cruise industry.

 

That facet is HELICOPTER AIR EVAC.:D

 

 

Let's hope we are so fortunate as to never need it. No one is promised to always be hale and hearty and never have an accident or emergency. Those helicopter air evacs save lives. Could be a loved one of me or mine!

[Atomica]

Gunters Oma - thanks for one of the best posts in a long time! :)

[peaches from georgia]

I do agree with you, nates04, but I think a lot of people tend to exaggerate the % of advanced seniors (> 75) on any HAL ship because the # using walkers, wheelchairs, and canes do give the impression of a more elderly demographic average than what is true. You are much more aware of 5 out of 10 pax going past you with a walker or wheelchair than you are the next 10 pax walking by in their 30s or 40s for insistence. And I think more of these seniors are using mobility aids than they would at home because of the amount of walking they do on a ship.

 

You'll know what I mean when you take your HAL cruise, especially if it is 10 days or more. ;)

[dakrewser]

I think everyone will agree that HAL as the most experience and is the best in the industry at one facet of the cruise industry.

 

That facet is HELICOPTER AIR EVAC.:D

 

The only time we've seen a helicopter medivac was while sailing on the Celebrity Infinity.....

[ANSalberg]

In answer to the OP -On AGE of passengers. One of the things we've noticed is that ALL cruiselines have mostly older passengers on MANY cruises -and depending on the season/the length of the cruise/ the cost/itineray etc - the younger/working/school-age-kids.....By and large are locked out of those cruises [ON ALL LINES]

And people with too much time and with no ability to entertain themselves -get crabby on longer cruises. Also the "Its ALL about me- so I can do as I please" crowd factor into the rudeness. In Mexico college students throw up on the beach; on cruise ships people complain about everything. The reality is -you get out of a vacation what you put INTO it.

Anne

[Illiad]

Speaking as a member of the 35-45 bracket I like being on a cruise with older folks, the gents and ladies who are in their 60s and up. Quite frankly they're darn sight more interesting dinner companions, and classier too.

[cruiserking]

I love your attitude Gunters Oma, good for you. It's a pity more people do not consider these notions when they cruise.

 

There is always this feeling in the days prior to a journey that we will enter this perfect, stress free environment where everything will be joy filled and rapturous, but, that's just not the case.

 

For every Ying of fine adventures and new friends there's an equal Yang of missed ports and botched excursions, so what. We're all very fortunate to take these sorts of vacations at all.

 

Happy Sails,

Jonathan

[hammybee]

Thank you for saying what needs to be said. One of my favorite things about cruising is the diversity of pax and crew. We left the Noordam this past Sunday, and at age 54, I was a part of the older demographic, on this particular cruise. I have also sailed on Carnival and been a part of the younger demographic. The intinerary, time of year and duration of the cruise is the driving force behind demographics.

 

I feel bad that anyone takes too much of what they read on any CC board as fact. No two cruisers have the same experience. No two sails of any ship are the same. Crew and pax dynamics change sailing to sailing.

 

I board every cruise, regardless of cruise line or accommodation, knowing I am going to have a great time and ta-da, I do. How is this possible? Does it perhaps have something to do with realistic expectations and attitude, when boarding? You betcha.

[babyher]

Speaking as a member of the 35-45 bracket I like being on a cruise with older folks, the gents and ladies who are in their 60s and up. Quite frankly they're darn sight more interesting dinner companions, and classier too.

 

I don't know , call me weird , but I can have a good time wherever I go :)

I'm 43 and can have a great time sitting with a bunch of older teens and 20 somethings (my kids and their friends), I can have a great time hanging out with a group of seniors . I can have a great time hanging out with my own friends my own age. Now and then I have a great time just hanging out with myself. *LOL*

 

Nice people come in all ages , shapes and sizes. They aren't hard to find if you look close enough, especially on vacation.

 

Sure, I come across wild unruly kids, and crabby old people and obnoxious people around my age. I just walk away from them and leave them to their miserable selves :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Seal and Bear Droppings!!!! We only had Bear Droppings when we were on the Maasdam. Now I am upset!!

 

But I am enjoying reading everything you have written.

 

We have also had tours cancelled for various and we just went with the flow and did our own thing.

 

[Nancyquilts]

Rude children turn into rude young people turn into rude seniors. I was raised to be polite to all, I hope I've done as well by my children and they, their children. Altho' I have been known to make not-so-kind remarks when I have people being rude around me, usually I can just laugh (and make them more angry - gotta have fun where you can!). :D I said I wasn't rude, I didn't say I was nice. Nancy

[u4ea]

If your brazen, you could post on a “complaining thread” something snide like:

Would you like some cheese with that whine?”;)

 

As said, it’s all about attitude.

What was that stereotype? If your on a cruise your either overfed, a newlywed, or nearly dead….;):D:cool:

Mark….

[RuthC]

There are tourists, and there are travelers. It's up to each of us to decide which one we are.

Personally, I prefer being a traveler. :)

[fcorey]

There are tourists, and there are travelers. It's up to each of us to decide which one we are.

Personally, I prefer being a traveler. :)

 

Well said Ruth. This has been a really great thread, Gunters Oma, thanks for taking the time to post.

[Copper10-8]

Gunther's Oma, I take my hat off (when outside) for you! You've said it all, Great job!:)