Is HAL good for mid 20's ages

[tisue2006]

Hello!

 

I was wondering if you would reccomend this line for my family and my husband and myself. My parents will be along as well, but we wondering if it would be recommended for my husband 27 and myself who is 26. Now we are not your typical mid 20's, we don't need to party hard or anything else like that. We just to make sure there will be fun activities for us on the Noordam.

 

Any advice would be great.

 

Christina

[StarboardCali]

Hello!

 

Im 24 and have been on 4 HAL cruises & just booked another on board Eurodam in August. I love them and always have a blast! Although im usually amoung the youngest on board Ive always had fun meeting the crew, chatting with older couples on the ship (most have INCREDIBLE stories) and just generally relaxing.

Im definitely not much of a partier either and thats why I think this cruise line appeals to me as much as it does!

 

Id be happy to answer any other questions!

 

happy sails!

[dakrewser]

Hello!

 

I was wondering if you would reccomend this line for my family and my husband and myself. My parents will be along as well, but we wondering if it would be recommended for my husband 27 and myself who is 26. Now we are not your typical mid 20's, we don't need to party hard or anything else like that. We just to make sure there will be fun activities for us on the Noordam.

 

Any advice would be great.

 

Christina

 

Age doesn't matter, tell us what you like to do and someone (who likes the same thing) will tell you what that experience is like on a HAL cruise.

[Rhea58]

tisue: while I am a tad older than you, having been on the Noordam

a month ago, they DO have the most energetic fun-loving cruise

staff of 4 young gals (Aga, Heather, Colby & Kyle) who are a hoot

so if you intend on attending any of the activities you can take it to

the bank that you will have a good time...and do say hi for me.

[SHbeaches]

Unless you like a more quiet form of life don't do HAL, you'd have more fun on Carnaval. HAL is a nice cruise line but it lacks in entertainment the young folk seem to flock to.

[Atomica]

I'm 25 and I love HAL!

 

I don't sail on Carnival because it's not really my scene; I personally love all the little touches on HAL & the design of their ships is more to my liking. The crew are all amazing and go out of their way to make you feel welcome. The average passenger isn't as old as some travel agents would have you believe!

 

I've found, being a bit younger, that all the crew and even quite a few of the passengers take an interest in you, and we've even had some passengers stop us on the promenade deck just to chat because they've seen us around the ship and are curious as to how we're enjoying HAL. The most interesting person I ever met was a 90-year old gentleman from England who was on the Veendam; I could have chatted with him all cruise. He may have been 90, but he was as sharp as a 20 year old!

 

I've liked every cruise line I've tried, and I hope to try them all some day, but HAL always holds a special place for me - I know I can always enjoy sailing on a 'dam' ship!

[redrosec]

On my last cruise on the Noordam there was lots of families with kids and teens. I think you will have a blast. There is a lot of entertainment. A casino, nightclub and at least one show every night.

[nates04]

My Wife and I cruised with HAL in December. We are both mid 20's. It was on the Westerdam and there were plenty of young people. I must mention however that this was near the holidays and I also was on one of HAL's largest ships. But, even if you aren't on a Vista ship (forgot which ship you said you are on) or aren't going during the holidays when you may find more young people, I think the thing that matters is your personal interest and taste more than anything.

 

I have previously cruised with RCI, and while I enjoyed cruises with them, I like HAL more. Again it all goes back to your own interest. We would rather take a walk around the promenade, enjoy good food, and visit with others than have a party scene. We also found plenty to do with the swimming pools, casino, movies, shows, trivia, and other activities to keep us more than busy. Even if there hadn't been the unusual increase in young people on our cruise we still would have enjoyed HAL. If you don't need lots of clubs and parties to make the cruise for you, then I would say you would likely enjoy HAL! As for us we will be going out with HAL again.

[Two if by Sea]

Honestly, my biggest worry about our upcoming cruise is that there won't be enough time to do all the things there are to do!

 

We are taking a port-intensive cruise, though. If you have 7 sea days it might be different.

[newmexicoNita]

I am going to disagree with most. Can you have a good time on HAL in your 20s? Yes, if you want a very subdued experience and don't expect any night life or many activities. Would I recommend HAL for your age group? Nope. Now if you are planning on cruising during a time when the ship may have families that would be a little different, Even then you are going to have a larger number of 60 pluses than 20 pluses.

 

I love HAL except for the lack of energy displayed by both the crew and the passengers. Of course much of your decision will lie with what you call A"fun activities"

 

good luck; advise check RCI< Princess and even NCLs newer ships as well as Celebrity.

 

Nita

[Fblack]

I would check out Princess or RCCL if I was in my twenties. There will be far more people your age. I am not a fan of Carnival, but if I was under thirty and looking for lots of noise and glitz, I suppose Carnival would be an option.

[dakrewser]

Now if you are planning on cruising during a time when the ship may have families that would be a little different,

 

I can't for the life of me figure out why a couple of 20-somethings would want to cruise on a ship filled with "families" (i.e., tons of rugrats). I know it wasn't something I wanted to do at that age. I'd rather have sophisticated 50- or 60-year-olds than a hoard of pre-teens!

[nates04]

I completely agree with dakrewser. My wife and I would rather be the only 20 somethings on the ship with lots of 50's, 60's, or whatever age.... then have the hoards of screaming 4-12 year olds running around on the "family" cruise ships. That is just us, but HAL is perfect for us again for this reason.

[NoNoNanette]

As much as I ADORE HAL in my 40's, I just can't picture myself enjoying the line when I was in my twenties.

 

On the other hand, I've only been on the smaller "R" class ships... the Volendam and Amsterdam.

 

I might be in for a surprise on the Noordam. :) *hoping there's not alot of kids, but will continue to smile, anyway*

[newmexicoNita]

I can't for the life of me figure out why a couple of 20-somethings would want to cruise on a ship filled with "families" (i.e., tons of rugrats). I know it wasn't something I wanted to do at that age. I'd rather have sophisticated 50- or 60-year-olds than a hoard of pre-teens!

I probably agree but was thinking more of the age thing as that is what the OP asked us. I also am thinking about them traveling with their parents who are probably in their 50s.

 

Nita

[SarahQ]

Just to give my humble opinion, being in a similar situation...

 

DH and I (both 30) were on the Westerdam in 2006 in LOVED it - had a total blast...and, most of the people on our cruise were 60+. Still, it was a port-intensive itinerary, we enjoyed the onboard activities, we loved the Entertainment staff - it was great.

 

Last year we were on RCCL's Liberty of the Seas with my parents and our son (2 years old at the time)...didn't like it at all. Too...glitzy, too party-ish, too family-oriented (even though we had our son with us, he was too little too participate in the kids programs etc.). Honestly, if we had been on that cruise alone, I would have hated it completely.

 

No matter your age, it comes down to the kind of people you are, what you enjoy etc. We cruise to see the ports, to relax, to spend time together as a family (or a couple, depending on the situation) - we enjoy doing the activities, we enjoy the disco etc., but it doesn't bother us at to be with older passengers...in fact, I prefer it (for the same reason dakrewser mentioned). We like the classy atmosphere on HAL, the service, the little touches, the true maritime feel (rather than "Las Vegas at sea").

 

We couldn't wait to book on another HAL ship and get back to "real" cruising - Eurodam, here we come!

 

I would urge you to think of it less as having to do with your age, and more as having to do with your interests. If you're into rockwall climbing, surfing, parades etc., then yes, maybe HAL isn't for you. Otherwise, I'd urge you to try it if it seems like the kind of atmosphere you'd enjoy. Don't let the misconceptions, rumours etc. put you off! :)

[Jenna1983]

This thread is of interest to me because I'm currently booked on two different Carnival ships for January 09, but I saw the Westerdam Itinerary and liked it.

 

I think I'd be okay because I'm fairly quiet, but for one of the weeks my brother is going to be with us (almost 22). And I don't think he'd enjoy his time. My almost 85 year old grandmother keeps saying, "Don't do it. I found myself to be bored, but that's me."

 

Would I be best to stick to my current plan?

[twinkletoes4445]

This thread is of interest to me because I'm currently booked on two different Carnival ships for January 09, but I saw the Westerdam Itinerary and liked it.

 

I think I'd be okay because I'm fairly quiet, but for one of the weeks my brother is going to be with us (almost 22). And I don't think he'd enjoy his time. My almost 85 year old grandmother keeps saying, "Don't do it. I found myself to be bored, but that's me."

 

Would I be best to stick to my current plan?

 

 

 

We're in our 50's and we love HAL. However, I will say that my kids, who are all in their 20's, would be bored. But that's just our family. We took them on Carnival a few years back and although after that cruise they said they prefer land-based vacations, they said they had a good time. There was always something going on on Carnival. Our kids have said they'd cruise with us again, but they have said they'd want to try Princess or RCCL.

 

I will add that if you are cruising before the middle of January, there's probably a good chance there will be more college-age kids on the ship. We cruised in early Feb., and we were some of the youngsters. :)

 

Whatever you do, have a fun time! :)

[RuthC]

My almost 85 year old grandmother keeps saying, "Don't do it. I found myself to be bored, but that's me."

Your 85-year old grandmother was bored on HAL? :eek: I want a play-date with Grandma! :D

[traveler1980]

We took our first cruise last summer and it was on HAL. We were 27 and 30 at the time and loved it. We have booked again on HAL for this summer. It was perfect for what we wanted. A relaxed vacation without having to go go go, activities that my husband and myself both wanted to participate in, a spa, great food, decent shows, did I mention relax....We are not party animals, enjoy our beer and margaritas, but don't need a huge group to have a good time. We actually really enjoyed having the older crowd as we don't have children yet and like a quieter atmosphere. It was the perfect vacation for us to actually relax, enjoy the ship, the ports of call and each other.

[tbdbarcb]

My only recommendation is to participate in the meet and greets. You will meet the experienced cruisers whose ages range all over. This group will have relaxed cruisers, party cruisers, and all the types in between. We always go, meet great people and have a great time. Our daughters go (23 and 18) and meet the same folks and have a great time.

[newmexicoNita]

My only recommendation is to participate in the meet and greets. You will meet the experienced cruisers whose ages range all over. This group will have relaxed cruisers, party cruisers, and all the types in between. We always go, meet great people and have a great time. Our daughters go (23 and 18) and meet the same folks and have a great time.

Meet and greets are great but our HAL cruise only 7 people showed up or maybe it was 8. Every other one we have attended has had 15 to 50 fun lovers.

 

Nita

[Homosassa]

We took our 24 year old daughter on her first HAL cruise.

 

She loved it and plans to cruise again on HAL.

 

By the way, she disliked Carnival (Glory) when she cruised with some friends.

 

She thought the food was bad and felt that she wasn't a big enough drinker to have much in common with many of her fellow cruisers.

 

Although we are in our 50's now, HAL would appeal us as much in our 20's as now.

 

We started cruising in our 20's and find that HAL matches the ambience and cruise experience that we fell in love with 30 years ago.

[RuthC]

Meet and greets are great but our HAL cruise only 7 people showed up or maybe it was 8. Every other one we have attended has had 15 to 50 fun lovers.

Big numbers don't matter if the people are right. My second-ever HAL Meet & Greet was one other person.

We've become forever friends.

[Golfette]

We took our 1st HAL cruise on Oosterdam, one of the larger Vista ships, in December. We liked HAL a great deal and the service and ship were wonderful, but it was definitely a more sedate ambiance even though there were a mix of ages. Undoubtedly people of all ages would enjoy the HAL, but if I were in my 20's again, I would probably cruise another line.