Alaska Cruise - Families and Ages

[kiwigirl]

I'm considering a second cruise to Alaska next year for our 10th anniversary. When we did this cruise for our honeymoon we took Princess. One thing we noticed was that there were a lot of multi-generational families on board.

 

I'm wondering if this is true with HAL? This really isn't an issue of to many kids or misbehaving kids. It's more that we felt a bit out of place. We were in our early 30's at that time and it seemed that everyone on the ship was either much older or traveling in their own larger groups. We didn't really get a chance to connect with any of the other passengers.

 

I'm not necessarily looking to make lifelong friends but our last 2 cruises were much more enjoyable. Maybe it was due to CC and the roll calls that we had.

 

I've always wanted to try HAL and thought this might be the chance.

[Gonzo70]

One option would be to go in May (although the weather is a little colder, the prices are cheaper). I went on the Noordam this past May and am near your age group (I am mid 30s, girlfriend is 30). There were not a lot of families as children are still in school. The average age was quite a bit higher than on my Royal Caribbean cruises, but there still were a fair number of people in their 30s and 40s. There are not quite as many activities on HAL for people in their 30s as on Royal Caribbean, but there was plenty to keep us busy and on an Alaska cruise, a lot of the cruise experience is taking in the scenary rather than being in party mode. The Noordam was definitely a classy ship and we had a wonderful Alaska cruise on HAL.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Kiwigirl, you will find multi-generational groups on HAL, as well as older cruisers. I have taken two cruises to Alaska on HAL. The first one was in August, and we had 140 children/teens on board. The second time was in June, and there were about 200 youngsters. That's not a very high number of young people for the major summer school holidays. As Gonzo said, if you go in May or September the number of kids drops.

 

If you choose one of the Vista-class ships, which comprise the Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, and Noordam, the demographics tend to skew a little younger. I think next summer, 2008, the Oosterdam and Westerdam are the Vista ships cruising Alaska.

 

I have found my fellow passengers on HAL to be mostly friendly and sociable. You may even meet a Kiwi or Aussie or two......:)

 

I would strongly advise you to join a CC roll call, or start one if there isn't one already. It does help.

 

Karin

[kiwigirl]

I have found my fellow passengers on HAL to be mostly friendly and sociable. You may even meet a Kiwi or Aussie or two......:)

 

Karin

 

Karen - Thanks for the info. I would love to meet a Kiwi or an Aussie to learn more about their countries. I'm just a regular So. Cal gal. My dog (pictured) is Kiwi. :D

 

As I said, I'm not concerned about misbehaving kids. We just found that after our last 2 cruises where we were involved in the roll calls, our cruises were much more enjoyable. It was nice being able to walk around the ship and have people wave and say hi. Or maybe already "know" someone on an excursion.

 

What we found on our first Alaska cruise was that because there were so many family groups, we were a bit by ourselves. Our table seating wasn't very good either. If I recall, we were with a couple from Israel in their late 60's who were very nice but didn't speak much english. Also another couple who were a bit older - I don't even remember much about them.

 

This was also before I knew about changing tables and there weren't alot of other dining options. Also, since it's now 10 years later and we're now in our early 40's we'll probably fit in with the crowds a bit more.

 

Our anniversary is the end of July so May/September wouldn't be an option for my husband. It's either Alaska in July or a Canada/New England cruise in the fall.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Denyse:

 

Obviously, I'm biased but I think HAL would be a good fit for you, especially if you choose an itinerary of 10 days or less, as shorter cruises usually mean a younger median age. I agree with you, that joining a roll call and "meeting" some of your fellow passengers ahead of time is very helpful. Just be aware that HAL roll calls are typically much less active than other cruise lines.

 

I am 48 (old enough to join AARP;)), and I find that I fit right in on HAL:)

 

Good Luck!

 

Karin