I'm sure this will make me unpopular but I'd like to know if anyone knows any general rules to predict the general age population on particular cruises. I am middle-aged but took a cruise on the Holland America Maasdam to the Baltic in August - 95% of the passengers must have been over 75 yrs of age. I'd prefer to be either with a younger group in general or a group with all ages represented. I'm also not interested in casinos or the type of entertainers they had on board. I'd enjoy lively conversation with well-traveled people, good food, and energetic excursions to interesting places - anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

<BR>Hi Joann, <BR> <BR>It would stand to reason that Holland to the Baltic would have more elderly passengers. Holland is attempting to change to more family friendly by reducing prices to the Caribbean and therefore losing their "geriatric" moniker. <BR> <BR>You still would experience the same type of entertainment and casino. <BR> <BR>You best bet for a mix of passengers along with no casino and limited entertainment would be the masted saiing ships such as Windstar or Clipper. Rather adventurous. <BR> <BR>Another choice would be Special Expeditions to Alaska. Very adventurous, no casino, no kids. no entertainment. <BR> <BR>Try KD River Cruises in Europe who utilizes barges. Or how about freighter cruises. <BR> <BR>See your travel agent. That's what we are for. <BR> <BR>Paul <BR>

You may also look into Orient Lines. We sailed the Marco Polo in Europe and found very well traveled passengers (most all were repeat). There was good education regarding the ports as well. Our itinerary was very port intensive.

We also sailed on the HAL Maasdam Baltic cruise in July and were actually pleasantly surprised that on our sailing there was such a wide age range. We had quite a few honeymooning couples. There were lots of passengers between 40-50 (the vast majority I'd say). I guess it can really vary from sailing to sailing. I was expecting older and found us to be the norm.

Joann, <BR> <BR>Here's my two cents.... Longer cruises and more expensive cruises usually have older passenger - it makes sense since they are more likely to have 2 or 3 weeks and $3500+ to spend on a cruise. Historically, Alaska cruises have had older passengers but cruise lines are now focusing on families, so they have a wider age range. <BR> <BR>Caribbean cruises generally have the youngest median ages on board. However, you're looking for "lively conversation with well-traveled people...and energetic excursions to interesting places". Maybe you should forget the mainstream cruise lines and think about Lindblad or some of the other "adventure" cruises - they're smaller, not as fancy ships where the focus is on the ports and the passengers tend to be world travelers who are interested in more than casinos and shopping. You do get a range of ages, but then again, these trips aren't cheap so you're back to where we started. <BR> <BR>Also, some of the cruise guidebooks have a section like "who goes on these cruises" that is helpful too. I find that most travel agents are not the best source of info on which cruise is right for you - since only you know what you like, you need to do your own research and study the brochures/videos closely. (For example, the QE2 brochure doesn't show 20 or 30 year olds in their pictures.) Hope this is helpful!

You really should consider Windstar. The ships don't have elevators, which rules out passengers who have difficulty with stairs. I'd agree with the poster who said that the median age is older on the longer/more expensive cruises. On Windstar's Caribbean cruises, I'd say the typical passenger was in the 30-50 range. On the Euro cruise I was on, the age range was more like 45-60 (but still with good representation in the 30-something range).

There are plenty of opportunities to strike up interesting conversations as you can sit with someone different every night at dinner. And the ships are small enough that you start to get to know people.

It really depends on what ship, how long you're cruising and where you are going. I went on a 10 day Holland on the Zaadam to the Southern Caribbean March 02 and it was a mix. I'd say between 35 and 75. I am in the middle. I would suggest going on a much more upscale ship rather than the mass market types. The longer and more expensive the trip the older the passengers and the shorter and cheaper tends to have a younger passenger (and rowdy) I might add.