Age Ranges for Celebrity Cruises

[KBrowning15]

My boyfriend and I are looking into cruises leaving out at the beginning of January 2010. He is 24 years old, and I am 22 years old. We were looking at the Celebrity Solstice. I have cruised a few times before, and I haven't really been happy with Carnival and Royal Caribbean. We are looking for a laid back cruise, and not really a big wild party atmosphere. I was reading a few places about the average age of a Celebrity cruiser being 50 years old. Would we feel out of place being 22 and 24? I don't mind being surrounded by older groups, I just do not want to be the only ones on the ship in our age range. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Jeanie]

Most cruisers are young at heart and love to have fun. I do not think you will be out of place.. I seen young and old hanging out together and having a time of their life. Would not worry about it. You will be surprise what old folks due on a cruise.

 

[KBrowning15]

Thanks Jeanie! I'm sure it will be a good time regardless!!

 

[BSeabob]

If you were going to do a =X= ship the Solstice or another of their new S class ships would be I suggest right up your alley. We found the Solstice to be a remarkable ship. Great public rooms and cabins and way more activity than their older ships. Classy indeed.!!

I was surprised at the age's. Way younger than we normally experienced. Ship was too big for us but I still recommend it.

 

[George C]

That should not be a problem, we were on the Celebrity Solstice about 5 months ago and they had great mix of people of all ages.

 

[BruinSteve]

My boyfriend and I are looking into cruises leaving out at the beginning of January 2010. He is 24 years old, and I am 22 years old. We were looking at the Celebrity Solstice. I have cruised a few times before, and I haven't really been happy with Carnival and Royal Caribbean. We are looking for a laid back cruise, and not really a big wild party atmosphere. I was reading a few places about the average age of a Celebrity cruiser being 50 years old. Would we feel out of place being 22 and 24? I don't mind being surrounded by older groups, I just do not want to be the only ones on the ship in our age range. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

K,
There will be 2800 passengers onboard...Many of them will be in your general age group...Sure the largest numbers may be in the 40-60 range (Old folks like ME!), but, it's a big ship...and the demographics span a fairly large range...We've met many younger folks on Celebrity cruises...

It's a great cruise line--much better food and service than Carnival, for example, classier and more relaxing...and the ships are much more spacious...I don't think your age will be a problem...Our daughters went with us a few years back when both were in college and enjoyed it just fine--far better than they liked Carnival...

 

[Ryne08Rich47]

We sailed on the Solstice in December 2008 and the aged mix were from the early twenty's (20's) to the early seventy's (70). There was a young couple from Germany in their twenty's and we party with them several nights. We are in our early sixty's.

Enjoy your cruise.

 

[Luci]

I am a senior gal and I always make friends with the young couples too. On my last cruise I made friends with an 18yr.old girl who liked to play Trivia. Then I saw a 8yr.old boy who was planning to watch us play Trivia. I invited him to join my progressive Trivia group. His parents were in another team. They had so much fun playing Trivia in our group.
At the end of the game on the last day we lost by one point. But I had already won a beautiful bronze medal and I gave it to the little boy. His parents took a photo of him in our group.
I usually meet young couples who have never cruised before and I give them advise.
I always meet people of all ages on all the ships I cruise on. I always have fun.

 

[Irish Girl]

I was on the Solstice last February and found that the majority of the passengers were over 60. I'm 56 and the ship was way to quiet for my taste.

The music on the ship, well there were very few places I could find any I really liked. The Martini Bar and the Passport Bar had fairly good music. I couldn't stand the barbershop quartet, if I seen them, I would go the other way.

Many times I would go to the casino and it would be empty.

If you like to lay in the sun on sea days, you will have to get out early to find a lounge chair. I walked from front to back on 2 decks and never found a chair that didn't have a towel on it.

The ship is beautiful, cabins are very nice, drinks are the cheapest I've found, service is very good. But, I wouldn't recommend Celebrity for anyone under 50 who likes to party at all.

 

[Conniemc]

I was on the Solstice last February and found that the majority of the passengers were over 60. I'm 56 and the ship was way to quiet for my taste.

The music on the ship, well there were very few places I could find any I really liked. The Martini Bar and the Passport Bar had fairly good music. I couldn't stand the barbershop quartet, if I seen them, I would go the other way.

Many times I would go to the casino and it would be empty.

If you like to lay in the sun on sea days, you will have to get out early to find a lounge chair. I walked from front to back on 2 decks and never found a chair that didn't have a towel on it.

The ship is beautiful, cabins are very nice, drinks are the cheapest I've found, service is very good. But, I wouldn't recommend Celebrity for anyone under 50 who likes to party at all.

:clap::egyptian:
That was really fun to read...and refreshingly honest.
I'm under 50 and have been partying my arse off on Celebrity for over a decade. My idea of partying is a bit classier than Carnival's wet t-shirt, beer bong contest stuff though. But I can assure you, there is plenty of partying to be had, if you know where to look...

I agree you can keep the barbershop quartet ...and the casino issue is a recent thing. Used to be very crowded. I found many dealers quite cranky in recent years, not the way to get a passenger to spend a lot of time at the table.:banana:

 

[Irish Girl]

:clap::egyptian:
That was really fun to read...and refreshingly honest.
I'm under 50 and have been partying my arse off on Celebrity for over a decade. My idea of partying is a bit classier than Carnival's wet t-shirt, beer bong contest stuff though. But I can assure you, there is plenty of partying to be had, if you know where to look...

I agree you can keep the barbershop quartet ...and the casino issue is a recent thing. Used to be very crowded. I found many dealers quite cranky in recent years, not the way to get a passenger to spend a lot of time at the table.:banana:

Thanks for not flaming me. Like I said, it's a beautiful ship, but I was bored so much of the time. I went with a group of about 150 that I have cruised with before and most of them said the same thing. Maybe it was just our cruise, who knows.

My favorite place to hang out was outside by the Oceanview Bar. There were many mornings we would just stay there after having breakfast, talking until it was lunch time. The music there was unique, but very enjoyable...different.

 

[mildavis]

We will be sailing with Celebrity for the first time in April. We are in our 40's and like the post above, we like to have a good time, but not the wet t-shirt, beer drinking contest sort of time. Never sailed with Carnival, but have sailed with Princess, Royal Caribbean, Disney (Long time ago), and Holland America. Love Princess and RCC, but the age on Holland was a little old for us, but loved the trip to Alaska! We can't wait to see how we like Celebrity.

 

[Conniemc]

We will be sailing with Celebrity for the first time in April. We are in our 40's and like the post above, we like to have a good time, but not the wet t-shirt, beer drinking contest sort of time. Never sailed with Carnival, but have sailed with Princess, Royal Caribbean, Disney (Long time ago), and Holland America. Love Princess and RCC, but the age on Holland was a little old for us, but loved the trip to Alaska! We can't wait to see how we like Celebrity.

Well, you have to remember it's not JUST the cruiseline - it's also the destination and length of cruise that determine the age/pax demographic.

Alaska is notorius for an older crowd, double if it's a HAL ship. Take that HAL ship for a week in the Carrib - whole different crowd. Probably why I won't ever see Alaska. If I want to stare at ice and wear coats, I'll stay home
:sunny:

 

[mildavis]

Well, Alaska was nothing like that. We went with 2 other families and our kids and we had a ball. THe older folks didn't like that because they would swim and splash every day in the pool with roof OPEN. It was sunny and would get in the 70's every day, we had terrific weather and we had great excursions. We did the rafting/hiking in Skagway and whale watching in Juneau, but i would opt for something more outdoors next time. maybe the zipline. It was one of our best vacations. Hardly ever wore our jackets, just when cruising in the glaciers. But the sites were the prettiest we have ever seen. Unbelievable! Even the kids still talk about it!

 

[iluvcruzin]

I just recently returned from a 10-night on the Mercury. The average age was over 80. The activites were geared for Seniors. We were bored at times. I've been on most cruiselines the past 20+ years and can say I wouldn't recommend this cruiseline for those in their 20's unless you are going with family and friends.

 

[BruinSteve]

I just recently returned from a 10-night on the Mercury. The average age was over 80. The activites were geared for Seniors.

I am assuming the "over 80" is a bit of hyperbole...
Either that or we are living in some sort of weird alternate universes...
We just came back a couple of weeks ago from a 7 night Southern Caribbean out of San Juan on Celebrity Summit...

We are in our 50s now, but cruising with Celebrity for some time...

On this particular cruise, as always, being social people, we made friends with and hung out with a number of people...of all ages...

When we went each night for drinks at Michael's during the Elite Captains Club Happy Hour, we always drank with the same group of 40- and 50-somethings, though I'd say the club was about 50/50 with the others being older (though not octogenarians)...But you'd expect that of Elite Captains Club members since you'd have to have 10 X cruise points under your belt...

But, on our shore excursions, we ended up with the same couples seemingly every time...and a lot of them were 20-somethings and 30-somethings...and we ended up doing some other things together (we felt a little like the parent-figures at times)...

We seemed to have a large number of young honeymoon couples on this cruise...and, really a wide spread of ages...

It may be that the 7-night on a newer ship gets this...But, over many Celebrity cruises, this has ALWAYS been our experience...

As to activities "geared for Seniors", huh???
The activities are pretty much the same as most ships--entertainment, casino, bingo, piano bar, karaoke, trivia, lectures, etc.
Oh...but, if you are expecting Carnival--with wet T-Shirt contests and belly flop competitions, no, you won't find them...
I do not consider that as geared for a younger age group, I considered those as geard for a more classless crowd...

As to a cruise full of Octogenarians, I've only encountered that once in all my close to 30 cruises on 7 different lines: my 2001 Baltic cruise on the old Crown Princess...

So, I guess the answer is that it happens...
It probably has something to do with length of cruise, destination, time of year, group bookings, age of ship and other things...not necessarily the cruise line...I certainly wouldn't mark an entire cruise line as such...certainly not Celebrity...
HAL does tend to cater to an older crowd...but moreso, the "luxury" lines (Seabourne, Regent, SilverSeas, etc.) because they price out most younger people --who tend to still have some money concerns...

Carnival gets that "younger crowd looking for a party"...but, to some of us, it's not the age, it's other aspects of the demographics...Carnival advertises "Fun" and "Low Prices" and tends to attract people looking for the lowest price, the most noise and activity and willing to compromise on service, comfort, roominess and overall quality...It gives its customers precisely what they want...and expect...so, that's a good thing...there's a cruise line for everyone...

For me, having done three on Carnival, I am never going back there...and it is not about age...It's about being able to discern the differences in service, to realize that Carnival crams too many on their ships...and to see that they confuse "Fun" with "activity"...Trying to whip people into a drunken frenzy while crowding them onto crowded areas of the ship is just not "fun" to me... Not now when I've reached my 50s, but it wasn't really either in my 20s or 30s...

If someone really wants a great deal of fun and a ship that better caters to a younger crowd, a strongly recommend Royal Caribbean--where the amenities (Rock Climbing, Roller Blading, Golf, Ice Skating, Surfing, etc.) blow away Carnival...

But, if one--of ANY age--wants a relaxing vacation with great food and service, you simply cannot beat Celebrity...

And I have yet to cruise on a Celebrity ship where the age demographics did not evenly span the various age groups...

 

[iluvcruzin]

BruinSteve. We can agree to disagree. I have 20+ years of cruising experience on 8 lines. My opinion was based on my experience. I stand behind what I said. I wouldn't recommend Celebrity to my 20 year olds.

 

[BruinSteve]

BruinSteve. We can agree to disagree. I have 20+ years of cruising experience on 8 lines. My opinion was based on my experience. I stand behind what I said. I wouldn't recommend Celebrity to my 20 year olds.

Have you only been on the one Celebrity cruise? I would suggest you likely just got unlucky on an anomaly...
My 20-something daughters have cruised Celebrity and loved it...The large number of 20-somethings we met on our Summit cruise a couple of weeks back all seemed to be enjoying themselves...

Not every 20-something is the same, of course...Like everyone else, they too have differing criteria and standards...Some may want to drink, make noise and party until dawn...For those, I'd say go take Carnival...For the ones who want to surf and ice skate and rock climb and enjoy great physical amenities, I'd recommend Royal Caribbean...But, even some 20-somethings just want to relax, be served and treated like royalty, fed well and to visit ports and not hassle with crowds...and for them, I WOULD recommend Celebrity...

I do not believe that ALL 20-somethings are the same...

The OP (go back and re-read the thread) characterized themselves as "We are looking for a laid back cruise, and not really a big wild party atmosphere."

Based on their self-description, I'd say a recommendation of Celebrity is entirely appropriate...
YOU may love Carnival, but the OP has already stated that they DO NOT LIKE IT...("I have cruised a few times before, and I haven't really been happy with Carnival and Royal Caribbean...")...

I stand behind what I said.

 

[Parrot Mom]

Many years ago on one of our first cruises we sat at a table with OLD PEOPLE to us..and one couple was really,really old..We tried to change tables, but nothing was available.. Well, my dear friend.. this man was the hit of the ship..dancing and singing to his lovely wife, Alice.. the stories he told of his adventures.. and he was a pilot too.. kept everybody rapt..Another elderly couple we met in 1986 in Lima to see Machu Picchu and I said to Parrot Pop I want to be like them when we get old...Do you know.. people say that to us now.. we want to be like you...lol Don't judge a person by their age..meet them.. I might look old and be old, but I've traveled and am traveling the world and I just don't mean cruising.. Of course we don't party the way we used to..but we enjoy all the things in life. If you go on a two week Celebrity cruise or any line you will find an older group.. who else can take that time off or who has the extra $$..

 

[CRUZINQUEEN]

BruinSteve. We can agree to disagree. I have 20+ years of cruising experience on 8 lines. My opinion was based on my experience. I stand behind what I said. I wouldn't recommend Celebrity to my 20 year olds.

We all have opinions, and our own experiences, and sharing them is the most important thing about this board. Maureen, I can understand your experience on a 10+ day cruise to find folks way older, many of us cannot take that much time off. I also have taken 20+ cruises and recently went on a 5 night Celebrity and the crowd was YOUNG, I am 48.

I think the length or the cruise has way more to do with it than the cruise line.