Typical age range for a Baltic cruise?

[FSU Girl]

What is the typical age range for a Baltic cruise? Does the ship make a difference. I'm 28 and don't want to pick a ship that will have only people my parents age and above. I'm looking at Disney, Princess, Norwegian, or Celebrity. Of those lines which ones will have more young people? Does the length of the cruise matter. We are considering either a 7 night or maybe 9-11 night. It's for 2019 so itineraries aren't out yet.

 

[Pens Fan]

Disney will usually run younger than other cruise lines, just because it caters to families. Of the the other three, my guess (and it's just that, so take it as such) is that Norwegian would be next in line, age wise. I say that due to NCL using an -Away class ship for the Baltics in 2017 and 2018, and under the assumption that they will continue that in 2019. I would imagine that those ships would entice a somewhat younger crowd as they have lots of things for teens to do (rock climbing, ropes courses - though not sure how important that would be in the Baltics just due to weather), as well as plenty of bars to keep the young adults happy.

Any time you sail when most schools are on vacation, you will have a younger crowd, no matter the cruise line. When school is in session, you're going to find an older crowd, even on Disney.

 

[FSU Girl]

Disney will usually run younger than other cruise lines, just because it caters to families. Of the the other three, my guess (and it's just that, so take it as such) is that Norwegian would be next in line, age wise. I say that due to NCL using an -Away class ship for the Baltics in 2017 and 2018, and under the assumption that they will continue that in 2019. I would imagine that those ships would entice a somewhat younger crowd as they have lots of things for teens to do (rock climbing, ropes courses - though not sure how important that would be in the Baltics just due to weather), as well as plenty of bars to keep the young adults happy.

Any time you sail when most schools are on vacation, you will have a younger crowd, no matter the cruise line. When school is in session, you're going to find an older crowd, even on Disney.

Thanks this is helpful. I don't mind there being older people on the ship, but when its majority older the activities on the boat will skew that way.

 

[mab2012]

What is the typical age range for a Baltic cruise? Does the ship make a difference. I'm 28 and don't want to pick a ship that will have only people my parents age and above. I'm looking at Disney, Princess, Norwegian, or Celebrity. Of those lines which ones will have more young people? Does the length of the cruise matter. We are considering either a 7 night or maybe 9-11 night. It's for 2019 so itineraries aren't out yet.

Well, there will certainly be plenty of "young" people on any Disney cruise, but that's probably not what you're aiming at (unless you're particularly fond of the preschool set).

Thanks this is helpful. I don't mind there being older people on the ship, but when its majority older the activities on the boat will skew that way.

What activities are you interested in? My husband and I took a cruise with HAL when I was 26. HAL's clientele does tend to skew older, and I only recall running into one or two other couples our age. There were some kids on board, probably mostly travelling with their grandparents. Didn't matter to us. This was some time ago, so I don't remember all the specifics, but outside of ports we spent time eating, hanging out at the pool, reading, using the gym, watching the shows. All the usual things we would do on any cruise; all perfectly age-appropriate. "Entertainment" for adults doesn't really change all that much with age. If you're looking for social interaction with people your age, you might want to be more careful about what ship / line / itinerary you choose, but I wouldn't worry about the activities being "too old" unless you have something in particular in mind.

Aside from Disney, which is a bit of an exception, you'll probably find that average age on a cruise tends to correlate loosely with cost. The more expensive lines tend to attract an older clientele, because there's just not that many younger people who can afford to pay for "luxury". Same probably applies to longer cruises, for the same reason, plus younger people usually have work commitments, or kids in school. I'd agree with the PP's guess that of the three you mentioned, NCL is more likely to have the younger crowd, but the others probably won't be wildly different. Timing and itinerary probably matters more than which line you choose.

 

[FSU Girl]

Well, there will certainly be plenty of "young" people on any Disney cruise, but that's probably not what you're aiming at (unless you're particularly fond of the preschool set).



What activities are you interested in? My husband and I took a cruise with HAL when I was 26. HAL's clientele does tend to skew older, and I only recall running into one or two other couples our age. There were some kids on board, probably mostly travelling with their grandparents. Didn't matter to us. This was some time ago, so I don't remember all the specifics, but outside of ports we spent time eating, hanging out at the pool, reading, using the gym, watching the shows. All the usual things we would do on any cruise; all perfectly age-appropriate. "Entertainment" for adults doesn't really change all that much with age. If you're looking for social interaction with people your age, you might want to be more careful about what ship / line / itinerary you choose, but I wouldn't worry about the activities being "too old" unless you have something in particular in mind.

Aside from Disney, which is a bit of an exception, you'll probably find that average age on a cruise tends to correlate loosely with cost. The more expensive lines tend to attract an older clientele, because there's just not that many younger people who can afford to pay for "luxury". Same probably applies to longer cruises, for the same reason, plus younger people usually have work commitments, or kids in school. I'd agree with the PP's guess that of the three you mentioned, NCL is more likely to have the younger crowd, but the others probably won't be wildly different. Timing and itinerary probably matters more than which line you choose.

The cruise will be for a honeymoon, so the less children on board would be nice. But I'd like to be around people somewhat close to my age. I've done Mediterranean twice and there were a lot of people around my age. I remember when I had decided back then we didn't do Baltic because we thought it would be a lot of older people. I know on cruise lines that have a lot of seniors on board the activities are more to their speed. My parents who would fall into that age category are very active so they avoid cruises that are mostly their age or above. I've made a lot of friends on previous cruises which would be nice to do on this next one.

 

[GPaLarry]

We did the Baltic Capitals DCL cruise two years ago. Of the eight DCL cruises we have taken, this one, like most, seemed to have a good mix of adult ages and kids, not overpopulated by 50+ aged passengers. School was out, so there were a number of younger families. By contrast, our WBTA a year ago, had only 200 kids (school in session), with a somewhat older crowd aboard. When we (2 of us) were seated for dinner on the 3 cruises that we did without kids/gkids, DCL put us at a table for 10 with people about our age. Perhaps they will do that with you folks...maybe you could put in a request to make this happen.
We have found that when you are a kid at heart (we are in our 70s), it doesn't make any difference if you are 2 or 102, you can make friends on and enjoy a DCL cruise no matter where you are going...and I love Mickey Bars, too.

 

[mab2012]

The cruise will be for a honeymoon, so the less children on board would be nice. But I'd like to be around people somewhat close to my age. I've done Mediterranean twice and there were a lot of people around my age. I remember when I had decided back then we didn't do Baltic because we thought it would be a lot of older people. I know on cruise lines that have a lot of seniors on board the activities are more to their speed. My parents who would fall into that age category are very active so they avoid cruises that are mostly their age or above. I've made a lot of friends on previous cruises which would be nice to do on this next one.

You're probably overthinking this a bit... maybe more than a bit... but I'm often guilty of that myself, so I get it.

If you look at the really high end or specialty cruise lines (think Regent, Crystal, Oceania, Cunard), then maybe. I think those lines do cater overall to an older crowd, and possibly you'll see the impact of that on those lines. But the cruise lines you've mentioned are in a completely different category. All are what I would consider to be "mainstream", and the demographic differences between them are going to be minimal (except on Disney, where you will definitely see more kids and families). Those lines might see an older skew on certain itineraries, but they're not going to significantly change their activities just for those particular cruises. If you've sailed on them before and were happy with the activities offered, it's not going to make a difference if the average age is 5-10 years older on the Baltic cruise. Much the same activities will be available.

If you want to avoid kids, don't sail during school vacation times. It's really that simple. But if you do that, you should certainly expect an older crowd overall, no matter which cruise line or itinerary you choose. That's just the way it works. 20-somethings really aren't a big cruise demographic, because most of them don't have the time or the resources to cruise frequently. Of course there are some, but if you take out the families with kids and the seniors, there just aren't that many people left over to fill a ship. So you'll kind of have to pick your poison.

If you really want a younger, non-family crowd, the closest you're likely to get is probably Carnival, at least by reputation (I haven't sailed with them, so can't say firsthand). But that wasn't one of the options you're considering.

In the end, I think you'll be fine on any of the lines you mentioned. Best of luck to you, whatever you choose!

 

[FSU Girl]

You're probably overthinking this a bit... maybe more than a bit... but I'm often guilty of that myself, so I get it.

If you look at the really high end or specialty cruise lines (think Regent, Crystal, Oceania, Cunard), then maybe. I think those lines do cater overall to an older crowd, and possibly you'll see the impact of that on those lines. But the cruise lines you've mentioned are in a completely different category. All are what I would consider to be "mainstream", and the demographic differences between them are going to be minimal (except on Disney, where you will definitely see more kids and families). Those lines might see an older skew on certain itineraries, but they're not going to significantly change their activities just for those particular cruises. If you've sailed on them before and were happy with the activities offered, it's not going to make a difference if the average age is 5-10 years older on the Baltic cruise. Much the same activities will be available.

If you want to avoid kids, don't sail during school vacation times. It's really that simple. But if you do that, you should certainly expect an older crowd overall, no matter which cruise line or itinerary you choose. That's just the way it works. 20-somethings really aren't a big cruise demographic, because most of them don't have the time or the resources to cruise frequently. Of course there are some, but if you take out the families with kids and the seniors, there just aren't that many people left over to fill a ship. So you'll kind of have to pick your poison.

If you really want a younger, non-family crowd, the closest you're likely to get is probably Carnival, at least by reputation (I haven't sailed with them, so can't say firsthand). But that wasn't one of the options you're considering.

In the end, I think you'll be fine on any of the lines you mentioned. Best of luck to you, whatever you choose!

I'm sure I'm over thinking this. I don't normally plan trips so far in advance, so with all the extra time I'm thinking about a lot of the little details. I would consider Carnival, but I don't think they sail in Europe unless it's a brand new ship.

We did the Baltic Capitals DCL cruise two years ago. Of the eight DCL cruises we have taken, this one, like most, seemed to have a good mix of adult ages and kids, not overpopulated by 50+ aged passengers. School was out, so there were a number of younger families. By contrast, our WBTA a year ago, had only 200 kids (school in session), with a somewhat older crowd aboard. When we (2 of us) were seated for dinner on the 3 cruises that we did without kids/gkids, DCL put us at a table for 10 with people about our age. Perhaps they will do that with you folks...maybe you could put in a request to make this happen.
We have found that when you are a kid at heart (we are in our 70s), it doesn't make any difference if you are 2 or 102, you can make friends on and enjoy a DCL cruise no matter where you are going...and I love Mickey Bars, too.

I think most of the European cruises fall within the summer so kids will probably be on a lot of cruises. I think Disney does a great job separating them I hardly noticed any on my Christmas cruise.

 

[olafLover]

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[FSU Girl]

We're a couple in our early 30's, we're also getting married next year and are planning a Baltic (or Norwegian and Iceland) cruise for 2019. We're definitely going with Disney because we loved the Magic and have a placeholder. We're really curious what they're going to offer in 2019, we'd like a longer cruise, so we're hoping for a 10-day one.

We may very well be on your ship. Disney is my first choice and we are going to book a placeholder when we sail in a couple weeks. It just depends on the dates and price. For 2018 they only offered really one sailing that would have worked, whereas other cruise lines do this every week so there is more room to fit it to our schedule.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

I did the inaugural in June 2010 and the ship was empty as it was (1800 ppl) but the people that were on there, were all 60+
The kids clubs were empty, for the friendship rocks on the last afternoon they had 12 kids on the stage... characters had nothing to do. It was my favorite cruise ever.
Adult pool area: overcrowded, family pool literally empty.

 

[rcchello]

If you find cruises you are interested, you can look up the fellow passengers on www.cruisecritic.com. For each ship they tell you the makeup of the passengers, such as upper middle class in their 50s.

 

[FSU Girl]

If you find cruises you are interested, you can look up the fellow passengers on www.cruisecritic.com. For each ship they tell you the makeup of the passengers, such as upper middle class in their 50s.

Oh that's cool. Thanks!