lsedels

We are 3 single guys in our 40s-50s considering a cruise at either end of July or end of August out of NYC. The cruises are:

Norweigian - Bahamas
Norweigian - Bermuda
Carnival - Eastern Carribean, including Nassau, Bahamas, Grand Turk
Celebrity - Bermuda
Holland America - Bermuda
Princess - Bermuda, San Juan, St. Thomas, Grand Turk

While we don't want wild partying 20 y/o's, we also would prefer to choose a cruise that might attract other like minded singles and people as opposed to something more family-oriented. Any suggestions or advice in this regard ... either with relation to the cruise destinations or even with relation to the cruise line?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Luv2travel15

You are probably going to be cruising w/ children during July or August because of family vacations, etc. If it were my choice, I would go the end of August because most of the kids will be gone back to school or almost gone back!

You didn't say whether you have cruised before. We cruise all the time and I would suggest Princess or Celebrity for you. Carnival is definitely more kid oriented and Holland America will have more "seniors" onboard. BTW, we are seniors so I can definitely validate this! LOL

I think that I would narrow it down to Princess, which has stops at other ports than Bermuda or do Celebrity. If you have not been to Bermuda b4, you are going to love it there! We have been to San Juan, St. Thomas and Grand Turk also. If you just want to spend all the time in Bermuda, then go w/ Celebrity.

You will find a mix of age groups on both of these cruise lines and would also find others such as yourself to "hang" with. We have met such an interesting variety of different types of people on all cruises we have been on. No matter what cruise line you select, you will have a great time! Good luck. Feel free to ask for any other info.

doug_stallings

My best guess is that NCL and Princess will have the most kids, HAL and Celebrity the fewest. In general, I think fewer kids go to Bermuda than the Caribbean. Carnival usually has a broad mix, but both NCL and Carnival do get a lot of partying singles in their New York departures, so I think you'll certainly find a mix of people regardless of which line you choose.

One question I have is whether you guys are planning to share a cabin or not. That may have certain problems given that most cabins are pretty small and the single supplement on most cruises is 100% or nearly so. In that case, you may want to choose one inside cabin for one person and one balcony cabin for two so you can have a larger place to hang but also some additional privacy.

If you don't want to dress up, then NCL or Carnival is the best choice as the most casual cruise lines. HAL and Celebrity are the least casual. Princess is in between.

Luv2travel15

Good response, Doug. Things I had forgotten about! How about the 3 guys getting a suite? I had a friend that I helped plan her first European cruise to Europe and she and her 2 friends booked a suite. They had plenty of room and a butler to tend to their needs. They loved it. Even though it was Carnival, because it was a European cruise, there were few, if any, children aboard.

We cruise Europe a lot so don't find many children aboard. We did a repositioning cruise out of Boston this past October and there were not many children aboard, some babies. So guess it's the luck of the drawer and the itinerary. In any event, if you go to have fun, that's what you'll find on a cruise.

doug_stallings

Suites are great, but they very rarely have 2 beds. Someone would have to sleep on the couch.

NCL does have some family suites in its Jewel-class ships. These suites have a second, separate bedroom with bunk beds. Though it doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would appeal to three adults.