Carnival-too young for 50's/young 60's?
 

Hi:
We are a group of 10 trying to book a Caribbean cruise to suit all ages in our group. We range from 53 to a young 70 yr. old. Some of the group have travelled with Celebrity in the past and loved it, but I'm (the 53 yr. old) not thrilled with such a formal cruise.
Any input is appreciated.

During my Carnival cruises I've seen and talked to people of all ages and didn't hear too many complaints. Go for it, just avoid old small ships and short 3-5 days cruises.

You might enjoy HAL which caters to an older clientele; or perhaps the informality of NCL.

I, my family & friends have been on several cruises. Carnival kind of rates at the lower end of the scale. I highly recommend Royal Caribbean and do a 7 day Caribbean Cruise. You can get some great deals and the price difference (small) would be worth the nicer ships and amenties (vs. Carnival). RCI is the sister of Celebrity (the upscale version). Going from Celebrity to Carnival... your friends will surely be quite disappointed!! You don't need to to go formal if you don't want to on RCI. On a 7 day cruise there'd be 2 formal nights but you have other dining options. Some people dress to the nines and others go super casual so you can all be comfortable! I just did a RCI Caribbean cruise last December ages 31-65 and we had a blast!

I love Celebrity and did not enjoy any of the three Carnival cruises I took; so for those that are used to the service levels, food quality and subdued Celebrity environment, I cannot imagine that Carnival will make them happy.

We were never going on Carnival again until my husband found 8 days on Carnival Legand for $379. Could not pass that up so we went. What a surprise from older Carnival ships! We enjoyed it so much we booked New Years Eve on her and had a blast! Also on board then was Bob Dickeson and his family. He is CEO and president of Carnival and chose the Legend. He chose the Legend of all Carnival ships for his family cruise. Since then we have been on the Glory and Valor- newer than the Legend. The newer ships are completely different from the older ones. We are now looking forward to carnival cruise #9! I think of Celebrity of a more country club cruise, more men in Tuxs, everythinbg a bit more formal. We are not 'young', we're both 63, but have been known to go TO the disco at 2AM. At home we're in bed often before 9 and up at 5-6AM but on a cruise we like to just have fun -and we don't really drink. Carnival has passengres of ALL ages so give them serious thought!
Royal Carribean would be my next choice. But everyone will have a ball on almost any ship!

I would suggest HAL. I find it has everything with nothing to excess. I especially like the Formal evening option to eat the same meal on the Lido deck in shorts and tee shirt.

It all depens on types of people. My girlfriend went on HAL and she said it was way to older for her. She is in her middle 50's. She laughed when the comment was made. She said she liked Carnival better, more lively, and the food was great. It all depends on the ship. Make sure it is a newer ship in all instances. I personally like royal caribben, it usually has a nice mix. Carnival can be "In your face" to much, but I must say I totally enjoyed the food on my Carnival cruise.

I do not think the age of the ship changes the overall experience.

My last Carnival experience was on a new ship. The decor was garish, the crowds unbearable, the ship smoky, food and service mediocre and the dining room antics still the same.

Most lines have an ambiance fairly unique to them - though it chnages with time - and for me my last Carnival cruise was no more enjoyable than my first in 1991.

And my three cruises were on ships new at the time I sailed.

All of the above are good answers. Go to cruisecritic.com and spend some time reading comparisons of the different lines. After awhile, you'll have a good idea of what each cruise line has to offer and general opinions of them--which as the best food, best kids' probrams, best excursions, biggest rooms, etc. I'm thinking service is great on all of them, from our experience (13 cruises since 2004).Some threads are separated by cruiseline and the posters are often partial to that line, but there are general interest threads also. We've been on several different (mass market, not luxury) lines, and frankly don't find the differences to be major. They all push jewelry sales, bingo, and drinks, some more than others. A longer cruise (7+ days) will have more older folks. Five days or under will have young party-goers and more kids. Norwegian and Princess give you choices of when and where to dine (although the others have buffet options if you don't like formal dining rooms with all the silverware, etc.) Costa has lots of Europeans and has a more cosmopolitan feel (which we like). Have a great time! The nice thing about a cruise is that everyone (various ages) can do what they want each day and just get together in the evening.

I forgot to say we have NOT sailed Carnival, so can't comment on it, but it's the owner of Costa, which we have enjoyed.

More senior citizens sail Carnival compared to any line out there - probably mostly because they have tons of ships and tons of people sail them.

I didn't like my experience with Carnival but to answer your question - you will find plenty of people your age on a Carnival ship.

Actually I have heard the opinion B4 about the newer Carnival ships being superior to their older ones. We were on a fairly new ship in 2003, the Destiny and had a blast. I think Carnival suffers from image perceptions from the days of its inception decdes ago. So often reputation outlasts reality. We enjoyed out CCL cruise and would go w/ them again, esp. on one of their new ships. I have read that CCL spends more money of food than RCI and IMHO the food was better on CCL. However I must say the RCI Voyager class ships look fantastic too. I would luv to try them one day. Would the guests on a CCL ship be too young for your group? No but only if your group likes things more casual and less formal. I agree w/ Kfusto that if the majority in your traveling group prefer the Celebrity style then CCL may not suit them. I sort of think older people on CCL, esp. for the Caribbean prefer that style age not withstanding. Hve fun and good luck. :-) Larry

Hey,

I started taking my mom on cruises when i was in my late 20 and thirties and now i am 40,
i still take her on all carnival cruises out on new orleans, she is 76 and acts like she is 50. the younger the crowd is the younger they feel. You will have fun on any cruise, To avoid kids, just don't stay on the bottom decks.

A lot has to do with the month when you cruise. If you want to avoid hordes of teens, skip summer and spring break. We prefer Sept-Oct and Jan-Feb. I might cruise a new Carnival ship, but would prefer RCCL in a heartbeat, especially the Navigator, Mariner and Freedom. I like the big ships and the modern amenities plus the scores of different activities. Some people like smaller ships, but that's a personal thing.