We are a couple in our early 40's. I want to try HAL, but hubby is worried that this cruiseline caters to retirees. Seriously, will we feel out of place on this line? We are not the party till dawn type, but we do like casino gambling as well as bingo, shows, pool activities and active shore excursions such as kayaking, snorkeling and hiking. We don't have kids, but don't mind them so long as they don't out number adults or are too rowdy. We've sailed on Celebrity, Princess and Carnival. Would NOT do Carnival again, and prefer Celebrity so far.

The longer the trip, the higher probability of having retirees on board. Many of HALs trips are longer.<BR><BR>On their 7 day trips the ages of passengers is not much different than the population.<BR><BR>So...at 40 something, you are not too young on a 7 day trip...on a 35 day trip in which the average age is in the 70s, yes.<BR><BR>The other thing to consider is socio-economic class. HAL tends to draw from the more affluent in the population. How you see yourself in this respect will determine your enjoyment.<BR><BR>As to kids, HAL has their camp program which keeps them both out of sight and well controlled.<BR><BR>All of your likes are well representated on HAL...

Hi Lenore,<BR><BR>Holland is attracting more younger passengers and families which started with the Maasdam with its expanded children's facilities and family reduced prices.<BR><BR>Their new ships are definitely being constructed with families in mind.<BR><BR>The casino will stay open late if it is profitiable to do so. Bingo is good. The shows may put you to sleep. The pool activities and shore tours are getting to be more age appropiate in the past year.<BR><BR>Retirees still predominate but times are changing.<BR><BR>The ambiance and service has not changed one bit.<BR><BR>Paul

Just pray to the gods that the ship doesn`t run out of prune juice.

If you like Celebrity, you'll love HAL

I would assume that the longer the cruise the older the passenger base, regardless of the cruiseline. Younger people generally can't afford the longer cruises and/or can't take that much time off work.<BR><BR>If you were to compare the 6 mainstream lines (Carnival, NCL, RCL, Princess, Celebrity and HAL) how would you rank them age-wise from oldest to youngest? Is it safe to assume the youngest lines will also be the most crowded with kids?

Lenore:<BR>Do yourself a favor and choose another line. We are about your same age and cruised the Volendam on a back to back last year (approx. 20 days). The first 10 the av. age appeared to be about 70, the second 10 days that was the average age of the children of the seniors! That was our first HAL cruise and of course there were many wonderful things about it and we had a good time but would I go again NO! We are NOT party animals either and like the same things that you described but consider an environment with predominently people in their 80's.

Sherri<BR><BR>You need to get over your age prejudice.<BR><BR>No different from a race prejudice...both suggest a weak mind and even weaker spirit.

Nothing in my reply to Lenore was mean spirited - only my opinion to someone who asked for it! I would suggest you examine your own mind and spirit if one can't freely express their opinion. Surely I'm not alone in my view!

Thanks for your two cents Sherri. I think "Age" is a little off base. Just because someone doesn't want to vacation with people twice their age, doesn't mean they are prejudice! It's a matter of compatibility. I would feel just as uncomfortable with a cruise full of Spring Breakers as I would with one loaded with retirees.

Thanks Lenore. At our age we also tend to ignore vacations that cater to the early 20's booze crowd so to imply this is a prejudicial attitude is ridiculous. All of the activities you mention are available on HAL - just remember that the majority of the passengers also participating will be old enough to be your parents and grandparents. Think of what that means logistically. Obviously, this is not a slam on the aged just a simple fact.

I love everyone wondering about HAL, the age group is really about your point of view not age. If you like to do your own thing, spend time with your spouse and read a few books-go to some interesting ports. You can do that and not be totally stressed that someone(s) are too loud all the time. This is for you!<BR><BR>The shows and some activities are geared to the WW11 crowd. We are pre-baby boomers but love talking to the people who lived thru the history we (hopefully) will not know.<BR><BR>If you are hesitant about going on HAL, please don't. The rest of the very satisfied cruisers don't want to hear the complaining.

You will not feel out of place on any HAL ship. I have sailed with them 5 times and have experienced all ages on each ship. I am a retiree, but have shared dinner tables with a mix of younger and older folks, and have always enjoyed their company -- whatever their ages. You will encounter older people, middle aged folks and even a few babies ( who have always been well behaved in the dining rooms). Can't agree with the person who said you will encounter people all in their 80's. I've always found there is a good mix of ages, which I prefer. If only old folks cruised HAL, I wouldn't be among one of them. I have sailed on other lines and have been terribly disappointed with the rowdy crowds. You will not find this with the HAL line.

Have to agree with the person who said that HAL has representatives of all age groups. We've been going with them since we were in our 40's and always found a mix of younger and older than ourselves. We're now in our 50's and have no problem with the ages. I did find their Alaskan cruise was older people but not the Caribbean ones.

Hi Lenore. We are in our mid-40s and were on a HAL cruise this past January. It appeared that the age was older than our previous experiences had been, but in the end this was no drawback. The 'seniors' were very active for the most part, and fun & interesting to be around. We were seated at a table of 6 for dinners, and the other 2 couples were older & retired. Yet they were fun & interesting. Service was excellent. The activities good, as others have said. My only 'real' complaint is that I found the shows to uninspiring and unexciting. I think Paul mentioned something about that. <BR><BR>The disco on my ship seemed to go very late, as did the casino. <BR><BR>I'm sure you will enjoy HAL. Give it a try.

Well, there certainly is a wide variety of opinions regarding HAL. I think we'll consider them only if they have the right itinerary, price, departure city and date for any of our future cruises. Thanks everyone!

Just be careful about which table is chosen for you for the dinners. Many of the HAL guests are unable to feed themselves and expect their more vigorous table mates to cut their food for them.

You also need to be very careful when crossing the pool area lest you trip over those dialysis equipment cords.

Lenore, ignore those last two posts. They weren't worth reading, being entirely silly.<BR><BR>

The new HAL Zuiderdam, which will sail 7 night cruises in the Caribbean winter and summer will be geared to active young adults and families. the Oosterdam and the Westerdam will follow.<BR><BR>Paul