Young Honeymooners!!

[GregandKel]

Looking at a few cruises for October 2005 for our honeymoon!

 

Just wondering if HAL is for us. We are 32 and 28, like to dance and have fun( but not everynight) but mostly we are there for excurisons and beaches. We are thinking about the southern or sunfarer cruises.

 

My question: is HAL right for us - The age of the average crusier on HAL at that time of year seems to be 60+. Am I right???

[AmyinVail]

You'll probably be just into each other and not pay much attention to the other passengers anyway! I would choose your cruise on the ship and itinerary, not necessarily the age of the clientele JMHO - Amy

[DFD1]

If you're into elegant surroundings, spacious stateroom with luxurious terry robes, wonderful linens and bedding, relatively quiet atmosphere (relative to, say Carnival),

beautiful dining rooms and lounges, HAL is probably right for you.

 

On the other hand, if you're looking for a party on your honeymoon, HAL may be a little too quiet.

 

Whomever you chose, I'm betting that you have a FANTASTIC cruise. Congratulations to you both.

[JoeCruisin]

While I enjoyed my last HAL cruise I would suggest that you go with another cruise line. I'm 32 and just came back from a Western Caribbean cruise on the Oosterdam. The ship was nice, the food was great, but overall it was a very mellow almost boring cruise experience on board. There wasn't much to do on the ship. Even the casino was subdued. The entertainment by the pool was extremely weak - just awful music. I think you'd have a much better time on one of the new RCI or Princess ships. Just my opinion. Check out HAL in a few years - say your 5 year anniversary when you might want a more mellow, classy-romantic type of cruise.

[Charlie2na]

STYLISH , POSH , ELEGANT , REFINED , ROMANTIC , SERENE , PEACEFUL , TASTEFUL , SOPHISTICATED , ELABORATE............... if you think you might enjoy some of these things , Hal is for you !!!!

[jhannah]

Keep in mind that during October schools are in session ... so there will be far fewer families on board that during vacation times. That will hold true no matter which cruise line you choose. I think you'll be able to find enough to do for those times you want to get out and about. Also remember that hurricane season isn't over until the end of November ... so there may be some excitement there for you! ;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

For the most part the Vista class ships are attracting the younger crowd.

BUT

You said that you might interested in a Southern or Sunfarer itinerary. These itineraries are offered on the older ships and are sually 10 days long. Older ships tend to have older people.

[doone]

Also, the longer the cruise, the older the guests onboard will be. This you will find true no matter which cruise line you choose.

 

I am 47 years old and have been sailing HAL well over 20 years now. I find HAL to be a wonderful, cruise line with excellent staff onboard all their ships. I have always enjoyed all my cruises on HAL, and yes, I have sailed other lines, I just feel I am at home on HAL.

[Tatka]

We are 32 + 32 + 12 and we enjoyed our time on HAL Zuiderdam... We did sail during the summer though so there were many people of our age.

[mdobbins]

GregandKel -

 

First of all, please accept my congratulations on your upcoming wedding and honeymoon!

 

We thoroughly enjoy the HAL experience as eloquently described by previous posters in this thread. My wife and I, married 25 years, feel like we're honeymooning all over again everytime we step aboard a HAL ship. Our particular favorite is the "S" class ship line for the romantic experience; our one experience on the Vista-class Zuiderdam was nice, but not as outstanding as the sailings on the Ryndam or Standendam. We have a 14-day trip booked for November 2005 on the Veendam that we're extremely excited about. That being said....

 

Based upon your ages, expressed interests and location (N.J.), I would suggest you check out one of the Celebrity Milennium class ships (Milennium, Infinity, Summit and Constellation). I took the liberty to look up their October 2005 sailing schedules and I noticed that the Constellation is doing a Caribbean run from a New Jersey port (!) twice in October. I was very pleased with our one Celebrity trip on the Summit (we have the Infinity booked for May 2005 to Alaska), and I believe that they (Celebrity) would offer a nice alternative choice for you. Please let me know if you would like additional specifics.

[Orcrone]

It's hard to say if HAL would be good for you without more of a description. If you're mostly interested in beaches and excursions then any ship will give you that. However, HAL is an extremely subdued cruise line. We went as part of a large CC and C@ group last month and we all had a great time. But we all agreed, that if we hadn't gone as a group and had many other people on board, it would have been a little boring.

 

There is very little music around the pools; 5 hours of live music during a ten day cruise, and the band had a very limited selection. Pretty much the same set each time. One night I was walking through the ship a little after midnight and there were very few people around. One day, for a total of 15 minutes, they had pool games. Typical daily activities consisted of trivia contests and board games.

 

If you'd like to grab a couple of chairs by the pool and just relax during the day, then HAL is for you. If you're looking for a little more activity then you may want to look elsewhere. And if the ship doesn't matter since you're mainly interested in the destinations, then book based on price and itinerary.

[iluvcruzin]

Congrats on your upcoming wedding! A cruise is an excellent way to honeymoon. My son is getting married on Saturday and then heading on a cruise to celebrate. I couldn't think of a better gift. :D

 

Yes the average age of cruisers are older on HAL. But on a Honeymoon.. well it depends on what you plan on doing ;) . Some of the other lines have special parties and such for Honeymooner's and they try to seat you together in the dining room. My son and is bride will be dining alone as they really are both quiet and shy type of people.

 

Check around. Don't rule out HAL though by age. I personally think it's a good line if you want to play it low-key, hang out by the pool occasionally, and more relaxing atmosphere. If you want action and sailing with more honeymooner's, I would suggest RCCL or Celebrity.

[bonnyweed]

If someone had asked me which cruise lines would be best for relatively young honeymooners, HAL wouldn't be anywhere near the top of my list. Royal Caribbean (not the big megaships) or Celebrity come to mind. Of course, on any cruise you can't know what the median age will be. However, on HAL you can also bet that it will be 60+ (at least) with entertainment geared to that demographic.

Before folks get upset, I enjoy people of all ages. Yet I think HAL is just too sedate as a first recommendation for a young honeymooning couple. Sure, they could still have a great time in spite of that but why not get seek out an environment more active and celebratory? Many other lines have elegant, romantic, relaxing (or adventurous) environments without the limited musical entertainment and uninspired activities of HAL.

Congratulations on your wedding and I am sure you have a fine cruise no matter which line you use.

[CanadianMAG]

Well, we are going on a cruise as well for our honeymoon (as you can tell by my signature) we were having a hard time deciding to go on Celebrity or HAL for our honeymoon.

 

I am 27, he's 33 and we both like to have a good time, however in saying that we also like our quite time. Drinking a nice bottle of red wine, and relazing by the pool on the balcony seems perfect. Maybe going to a lounge watching a live band, or going to a club and dancing the night away....

 

I read on a site (can't remember which one) it basically said if you were looking for ____________ then go here, and if you were looking for _________ go here. Basically what changed our mind, a celebrity write up said, you can expect to have up to 700 children on a ship at once, mainly young families and young singles... As much as I love children I just couldnt imagine tonnes of them running around on my honeymoon... so we choose HAL. I know there will be children but by the sounds of it not that much....

 

Plus we aren't going there for the company, we are going there to celebrate our new life together and the beginning of a new journey so really who cares who else is on the boat as long as you have one another!!! (just as long as there isnt lots of kids screaming!!! ) :eek:

[DFD1]

Have a great time. HAL will not disappoint. Very best to you both.

[Mary Ellen]

I'd say it depends on what the two of YOU are looking for. As I just mentioned on another thread, DH and I were 30 & 26 on our first HAL cruise, 20+ years ago. We frankly don't care that a number of passengers will be older than our ages. We've found enough others to hang around with when we want. Even on (the late) Royal Viking Line we had enough 20-30 something’s to have water volleyball games (some years ago :rolleyes: ).

 

Some people do need to be surrounded by many others of the same age. If that is you, you may want to consider a different cruise line. Obviously we’ve been happy with HAL, but different people have different tastes.

 

Best wishes on your upcoming marriage and I hope you have a wonderful honeymoon - whatever you decide.

[barefootguy]

The honeymoon will be what YOU make it! It's better, perhaps to be on a mellow ship & seek out a few friends to do the islands with vs. having a "frat party" going all night long next door...

 

Stop by my O'dam site below & don't hesitate to hit "HOME", there's a bunch of other laid back places to check out...:D

What ever you do, enjoy!!