I have been on 6 Holland cruises, and have always had a terrific time. I am ready to try something new. I felt Holland was a much older crowd. This showed with the music selection, and some of the shows. Although we are 50, we are still rock and rollers. We are considering Princess, Royal Carribean and wanted your thoughts
Would suggest that you switch over to Celebrity where you will get a more varied age group and in particular the week long cruises.You should see the change in the music selection in the pool area.You will not give up anything in the service area and will like the food even better and a real improvement in pastries and desserts.The next choice might be RCL where the entertainment much more varied and a much younger crowd and many families.
We have been on NCL. RCCL, and Celebrity. We will be going on our first HAL cruise this November on the Westerdam. We are in our mid thirties and have found a great deal of fun on all of our cruises! I agree that Celebrity is a great choice. We have been on Celebrity twice and have found both trips to be our favorite. I chose HAL this time because of the itinerary and the great price. I have been told that HAL has some of the same good qualities as Celebrity. If you are looking for more Rock and Roll or partying mixed with some refinment then perhaps RCCL is a good choice. We have sailed them three times and found them to be a great vacation with a good balance of activities and night life! I can't speak for Carnival, my wife refuses to go on one of their cruises unless we have the kids with us! We have found NCL to be a great value, but we prefer the other brands for a variety of reasons!
We just cruised HAL Oo...and found a great mix of adults. This was out of San Diego to Mexico.
So...that being said..it might have been just your itinerary. The longer the cruise, the older the passenger mix. We are middle agers...and personally enjoy the older crowd, etc.
You can't beat HAL for service and class...and we loved food too. Celebrity does have GREAT food...but we'd give it up in a minute for HAL's great service, classy staff and crew and their good food.
Because you want to try something a little different I suggest Princess: the reason: personal dining. This is similar to NCLs freestyle but not quite as unstructured. Actually Princess offers both, personal dining and traditional You travel agent should ask you which you prefer. It is really nice not to be constricted to the same dining time and with the same people every night. Princess will offer the age mixture you seem to want. As for Celebrity, we are in the minority I know, though the if you reads the boards the numbers are growning, that don't see what the big deal is about them. We have sailed on both the Connie and Zenith. neither time have we found the cabins any better than NCL, nor have we enjoyed the crew any better. The food was a step up, but the cost of the specialty restaurant was much higher than any other line and maybe not even as good. This is just our experience. would we sail Celebrity again? yes, we really enjoyed both cruises, we just didn't see it was that special. 8)
NMNita
Hi
We're due to go on our second HAL cruise in October on the Noordam. We've previously been on the Zuiderdam and loved it. Tried Royal Caribbean (Europe) Splendour in May and liked that too. Would go with them again, but trips a bit of a rip-off and you pay for shuttles. Finishing touches not as good as HAL, but lovely ship, plenty of room, good entertainment. Also done Celebrity, which are very good, Ocean Village (P&O) which was too 'freestyle' for us and Norwegian Spirit, which was very good, but the queuing for dinner each night got a bit tiring, few other restaurants to try though. For now HAL our favourite. We're (young!) 56, but like you still like the more modern music. We've always made friends we keep in touch with on the cruises. We tend to alternate between the cruises and seeing other parts of the world e.g. South Africa, Japan, Maldives, Australia and would love to do the HAL cruise from New Zealand to Australia. May leave that till we retire and see some of the Far East on the way.
We have enjoyed HAL also and highy recommend them.
Now you can move up to WindSurf. Once you try the smaller ships and personal service you will be hooked. Several great cruised from Rome and Venice.
[/quote]
We've been on Carnival valor and yes lots of children on that cruise and young people. Party atmosphere for sure. I found the 20 something friendlier than the older 30's ,40, year olds who were just rude. I got in the pool with two ladies, in this age range, and they acted like it was a private pool. Water was cold so I wasn't in there very long. 50 and older were friendly and more open to talk. Lots for the children to do on Carnival valor and didn't see them much. So they must have been busy. There were some in a room by us, and I only heard them before they shut the door. They really like the slide on that ship.
We are also in our 50's and getting ready for our 23 & 24th cruises this week. You should try Celebrity, Oceania, and Princess. I would stay away from some of the very large boats of Princess like the Golden & Grand Princess as you will be walking all the time.
The first 2 you won't go wrong with in your age group.
If you really like the formality of HAL but want a little younger crowd, yes, Celebrity would probably be your best choice. Of course I am looking at the date you originally posted, so, by now you have probably already made your choice. Oh well, maybe this will help someone else with a similar question. NMnita
Not quite 50, HAL since '87, sailed most of the line and many now gone from the line
HAL traditionally older, especially Alaska and longer cruises, but average age has come down over the last 20 years. Princess and RC are on target with what you are looking for - shorter cruises will also bring youngerish crowds.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rblank28
I have been on 6 Holland cruises, and have always had a terrific time. I am ready to try something new. I felt Holland was a much older crowd. This showed with the music selection, and some of the shows. Although we are 50, we are still rock and rollers. We are considering Princess, Royal Carribean and wanted your thoughts
All of the other lines I have traveled were more hospitable and offered better service--Definately take your business elsewhere!
We have had nothing but exceptional customer service and attention on our HAL cruises. I would hate for someone to make their decision based upon what appears to be someone's personal cause.
All of the other lines I have traveled were more hospitable and offered better service--Definately take your business elsewhere!
We have had nothing but exceptional customer service and attention on our HAL cruises. I would hate for someone to make their decision based upon what appears to be someone's personal cause.
We know from your post 'unhappy cruiser' that you aren't happy with HAL...but your experience is the exception rather than the rule.
Connect with Facebook
Holland or another line?
Linear Mode
