Canada/New England for younger people?

[lovesublime]

We're thinking about booking an Oct. 10 Canada/New England on CB. We have cruised with NCL, RCI and twice with Carnival-never been on Princess. Aside from some service and food issues on RCI, we have enjoyed all of our cruises. We especially like Carnival. Here's what we're worried about-I've read that Canada/New England cruises mainly cater to an older demographic and that the atmosphere onboard is extremely subdued.

 

We are early forties and our son who is early twenties will likely be joining us. While we are not exactly looking for a party-we don't mind one as well, we're concerned about being bored. BTW, we've been on two Alaskan cruises and had a great time on both (similar demographics perhaps?)

 

Just in case anyone is wondering why we're not looking at Carnival for this cruise-we prefer the Princess itinerary (Newport!!) over Carnival and the price is right. I appreciate any insight.

[Clutterlady]

We did the Carnival 5 day cruise to the Maritimes in July 2 years ago and although there were some children on board, the demographics leaned toward the 40's on up. We had a great time, and this year booked the CB for the Canada/New England cruise. I'm expecting an older demographic, but being a "older demographic" myself will have a fun time as we always do on our Princess cruises:)

[mii]

You really might not see that many children on board is they have just re-started school for the fall and also I have been on that cruise with princess twice and frankly I never saw that many kids. I have heard though that Princess has a great Kid area.

 

Marilyn

[jrw]

We did the Canada/New England cruise on the Crown in Oct 2007 and loved it. Hubby was 39 and I was 38. There were some younger people on the cruise (almost no children, due to school as someone else mentioned), mostly older than us...but I've done Alaska twice and found that to be a bit older group than the Canada/New England itinerary...just my own experience. I think you will really enjoy it, there will be plenty of people in your age group and it doesn't sound like you are looking for a "party crowd" anyway. There is plenty to do on the Grand Class ships, so even late at night you will find a good time. Hubby enjoyed Club Fusion, so you might want to check that out.

 

Also, this is a port-intensive cruise, and you might be more tired after each day's activities. There is only 1 sea day and I know we had each of our days fully booked, plus late seating for dinner. With the early mornings for excursions, we didn't have a lot of time to hang out at night. If you have early seating (or anytime), you would have more time on your hands at night. However, again with the long days in port, we wanted late seating so we didn't feel we had to rush back to the ship and get ready right away.

[ourturn]

We did the CB last October. What a fabulous trip. It is the only time we have ever said that we would do that cruise again. As another poster said it is very port intensive. We were busy everyday all day. We did anytime dining, caught the early show & went to the casino every night. It was whirlwind! We are 52 & 59 and felt the group was a good mix. We were sorta in the middle of the spectrum. There were several families but not many. I think you will all enjoy this cruise very much and so will your son.

[Live4Vacay]

We booked Canada/NE on CB for 9/5 sailing. My DW & I are 34 and the other couple we are going with are 40 & 41 yrs old. We figure the kids are back at school;) & most of the older folks go to see the foilage later into October. So we're guessing that September will be a lot more of younger, child-less couples, who aren't concerned with seeing leaves change colors. Otherwise, maybe this will be a less-than-full ship:confused:

[JJPacer]

We haven't done this cruise. However, our son moved to Maine 18 mo ago. We have been to Maine to see him, and visited Bar Harbor, then went into Canada. I see your from Texas. It is a very long drive. Maine is very rural. So if you were to drive, even just through the state, you don't see much. Lots of trees, beautiful fall color, blueberries! There is nothing more spectacular than New England fall colors. We did a whale watching tour in Bar Harbor and had a fabulous time. If you were to go to the Bay of Funde or Prince Edward Sound, you would be driving for days. IMHO a cruise is the least hassle to cover a large area well worth seeing. Even though we haven't been on this particular cruise we have been on a few. Age has never been an issue with us. We have enjoyed every one of them, no matter the age of the other passengers. There is always music and dancing. We've seen every age dancing and having a good time. So, if you want to go. Please go and have a fantastic time.

[arizonaperson]

We're thinking about booking an Oct. 10 Canada/New England on CB. We have cruised with NCL, RCI and twice with Carnival-never been on Princess. Aside from some service and food issues on RCI, we have enjoyed all of our cruises. We especially like Carnival. Here's what we're worried about-I've read that Canada/New England cruises mainly cater to an older demographic and that the atmosphere onboard is extremely subdued.

 

We are early forties and our son who is early twenties will likely be joining us. While we are not exactly looking for a party-we don't mind one as well, we're concerned about being bored. BTW, we've been on two Alaskan cruises and had a great time on both (similar demographics perhaps?)

 

Just in case anyone is wondering why we're not looking at Carnival for this cruise-we prefer the Princess itinerary (Newport!!) over Carnival and the price is right. I appreciate any insight.

 

I think any cruise is what you make of it. With that being said- I took the Crown Princess in 2007 with a "girlfriend", we are both married with kids. We are in our 40's. The only place we did not end up going was Bar Harbor as it was too foggy to tender in. Newport was foggy too, but we did tender in. There was so much to do on and off the cruise ship. It probably won't be pool weather, but there is plenty to do I think on a cruise. Don't worry about the ages of people and enjoy your cruise.:) I have a review under member reviews, look for it under my screen name.

[jrw]

We booked Canada/NE on CB for 9/5 sailing. My DW & I are 34 and the other couple we are going with are 40 & 41 yrs old. We figure the kids are back at school;) & most of the older folks go to see the foilage later into October. So we're guessing that September will be a lot more of younger, child-less couples, who aren't concerned with seeing leaves change colors.

 

Huh? :confused: I (and many younger people I know) love the fall foliage. As a matter of fact, my husband is from north of Boston and everyone we know has always loved the foliage. There is nothing quite like New England foliage (when the weather is just right to produce optimal colors), which brings "leaf peepers" of all ages and from far distances. Age has nothing to do with the attraction to and appreciation of the foliage. However, many are equally attracted to the port cities themselves -- history, architecture, food, etc.

 

The primary reasons for people choosing sailings prior to peak foliage tend to be their schedule (when they can get vaca time), the weather (unpredictable up there even in September, but some fear October would be much too cold -- though it "can" be quite warm, as it mostly was when we did this cruise), and cost (the cruise lines know that they can charge more during the peak foliage window).

 

Otherwise, maybe this will be a less-than-full ship:confused:

 

Almost all cruises these days sail fully booked...especially the Canada/New England itineraries, as they are very limited (few ships and short season). Zero chance of the ship sailing less-than-full.

[DGSFlorida]

We have done this itinerary twice on Princess and found basically a typical Princess crowd. Not as old as you find on the 10+day cruises but few children as school is in session. Plenty of port time to keep you busy and certainly a lot to see for your first or 2nd visit to each port. Don't miss the jet boat ride in the Bay of Fundy. Enjoy the mansions in Newport. There is always something interesting to do in Boston.

[Iamcruzin]

If you have never been to the Northeast during the fall you will really enjoy this experience regardless of the passenger demographic. Especially knowing that you won't be the one who has to rake up all of the foliage when it hits the ground. I prefer to be on the fall reposition cruise towards palm trees and beaches and I wouldn't care if Princess charted out to a day care center or a nursing home.

[CMM]

We sailed this itinerary September 2008 on the CB and sailed Sept 2007 on the Crown which was out of New York stopping at Grand Turke, Bermuda, San Juan, and St Thomas. Prior to that we did sailed on Carnival's Victory Sept about 5 years ago on the New England Itinerary.

 

We are in our early 40's and were younger than most people on our CB cruise. When sharing a table others would comment how they loved to sit with the young people! We found everyone very nice & friendly and had a great time.

 

The Crowns sailing the year before on a tropical itinerary clearly had a significantly younger crowd than the New England one. Carnivals New England itinerary had an older crowd too, even more scooters/wheelchairs about.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to go on another Princess New England/Canadian itinerary just because of the age demographics. People were nice & friendly and we did a lot.

 

My guess is that in the summer there will be more young families sailing verses Sep/Oct, but I think you will have a great time. We loved the comedians, ports, dinning, casino etc.

 

If your 20 year olds are looking to meet a lot of people their age to hang out with, they might be disappointed. We went to the disco one evening and the only person dancing the whole time was an adult mentally challenged person. We aren't into dancing so this wasn't an issue for us. Had the dance floor been packed we wouldn't have joined in anyway. If you plan to spend a lot of time together anyway it really shouldn't make a difference. The crew is all young too. We were never bored and wished we had more time to do all we wanted to.

[spongerob]

At the time of year you plan to travel there won't be a lot of younger families with you. We went on a similar itinerary several years ago and I think we were the second-youngest couple on board. We still had a great time. The ports are very interesting and it's a lot of fun to meet people who have traveled extensively and get their ideas about future places to visit.

[Solstice23]

We are thinking about this cruise too On Aug 22nd,

 

We hated Carnival, but Enjoy RCCL, and LOVE Celebirty, We just wanna try Canada New England before my wife goes back teaching. And we will not sail Carnival, Awful service tacky ships, and we do not like only 5 night on Explorer, or any cruise on HAL, So we are thinking of trying Princess one more time

[shopperwhite]

many years ago did the regal princess 10 day and at midnight we were the only people in the casino. never saw anyone younger than 40. two years ago did explorer of the seas. 9 days and again not a young crowd at all.

[lovesublime]

Thanks everyone! We're still unsure about this one. October is still a good way down the road. We have time to think about it.

[shancan911]

I don't know if what I have to say is any different than that of the previous posters, but I did want to reiterate. My DH and I sailed CB Oct'08. We are 35, and sailed with 2 other, slightly older couples. We prefer late seating, and had it on this sailing as well. I have to say it was so strange to head up to the disco, which BTW, is a rockin' cool disco up there in the shopping cart handle, only to see crew members, and maybe ( no exaggeration) 2-10 other pax. Really:confused: On the last evening, I as used to being elbow to elbow in the gift shop for last minute souvies. Not on this sailing, they were actually stocking the shelves for the upcoming sailing. Wow. There was a band from Michigan that played in one of the smaller lounges each evening. I think we watched them 4 or 5 nights. There was never more than 20 of us in there, and these guys ( and gal singer) were good!! We still had a great time. If you like seafood, you'll get your ticket price in that alone. I've never been up to NE, and what a great way to sample it. We missed peak color, were early by 1-2 weeks, but saw some beautiful color in Bar Harbor. No guarantees for that, luck of the draw. Go for it, you won't regret it!!