Re: Navigator of the Seas ship
Realspeed, I am glad you enjoyed your cruise. I've learned to be very savvy about considering all the parameters involved:
Itinerary: Warm weather cruises will always be much more casual. On this side of the world, West Caribbean and Mexico tend to attract families, young couples and a more of a t-shirt crowd. Formal nights tend to be less formal - men in summer suits and women more likely to be in chiffon than long-sleeve sequins. Going to Alaska, I am breaking out the black, low back, velvet gown that would be absurd to wear in the Turks and Caicos. Bahamas cruise that include the cruise line islands? You are going to be cruising with a tsunami of kids and the beer-bellied guys who bought the all-you-can-consume alcohol package before they paid their cruise tickets in full
.
Point of departure: People tend to leave out of the ports closest to them. If you leave out of Puerto Rico, the clientele and entertainment will be more Latino. I meeting people and learned quite a bit by meeting the PR locals when departing from there. If you leave from New York, you are going to get the Jersey crowd. My last cruise was ruined by Big-Loud-Hairy-Gold-Chain-Guy who would walk into every venue - including the find dining restaurant- and shout, "Let's get this party started!" Unfortunately, he was also on every excursion I chose. (This fact still disturbs me no end because we apparently have more interests than I would like
).
New York departure? Never again - reference to BLHGC guy. That said, this crowd is more likely be on point for formal nights than those out of Galveston or Port Canaveral. Leave for Mexico during March out of Los Angeles, and the spring break college kids are going there in force. You will recognize them as the ones who are half-naked, woo-hooing, with umbrella drinks being waved over their heads and swearing like sailors while their parents are slamming down tequila in the lounges playing trivia games
. My BIL says you get what you go for - meaning where you leave and where you are headed. Ok, that's admittedly all an exaggeration. Most college kids and teens I've seen behave just fine.
Cruise line: Of course, you also get what you pay for and the cruise ship lines are starting to understand that demographics do matter. We took the kids on a RC cruise on a new ship several years ago. It had a climbing wall, tube slide, an ice skating rink, basketball courts, etc. It was perfect for two teenagers and a mid-class size so it it didn't feel like a herd ship. No way that I was going to force my son into a tuxedo on a warm-climate cruise, so we opted for private dining and steered clear of the more formal events that night. RC is smack dab down the middle for middle and upper middle class demographics. It a far better experience than we expected but I wouldn't want to do this cruise in my seventies. Celebrity is for the middle age and older demographic, but even it isn't quite what it used to be, and they too are sailing mega-fleet ships.
Carnival has figured out to split their lines into the more party/family/casual Carnival crowd with Holland that tends to attract the latter (and calmer) of the "newly wed and nearly dead" crowd. While they do have activities for kids, Holland has none of the garish colors and kid-revving-up on activities on Carnival. Cruise with Holland and you will see a lot of people using wheel chairs, walkers, and "Hardly Ablesons
". Kids and teens will tire of this demographic. Formal nights on this cruise are usually women in sparkly tops and pants. If elegantly dressed men and women are what you are looking for, budget-friendly Carnival is not for you.
Time of year: If you don't like kids, keep an eye on the school calendar. That said, one of the best cruises I ever took was during Spring school holidays, and it was loaded with middle class families with their children. Cruises during that time of year are more expensive, which meant that there were plenty of moms and dads unafraid to rein in kids going bonkers. More, the cruise had so many well-planned activities that the kids were actually rarely seen or heard during fine dining and the formal events. Dress is always more formal in the cooler months.
Ship: Some are horribly dated and worn, while others are sparkling new and massive. The new size-of-a-small-European-country-class ships have balconies are so small that three, let alone four, could never order room service and dine outside, but they offer a wider range of amenities. I have never cruised on a mega-ship, but I am astounded at how well the ships sort and manage people on the mid-size ships. I don't think I've ever felt overwhelmed by the numbers, but then again, I tend to get up early to run, dine late, prefer the less popular strenuous excursions, and am generally contented to be off on my own (not at the pool belly flop contest) in my own little corner with a good book in a quiet corner of the ship just watching the ocean. Odd little duck am I.
Some absolutely love vast ships and the feeling of being in a crowd. The mega-ships are for them. Others, including a man who wrote my all-time favorite cruise review wrote, "There were 5,000 cattle in the adults-only pool and 1,800 were kids." Haha, I loved that - and heeded the warning.
Size matters: These days, I thoroughly enjoy the smaller ships - and have one planned on Windstar at the end of the year. I've graduated and enjoy the elegance of the smaller class of ships since I am more about the experience of the actual sailing and ports than the ship experiences. The downside is that some of the smaller ships don''t have balconies which is probably the number one must-have on a cruise for me.
As my favorite cruise reviewer wrote, "If you are having a really bad time on any cruise, it's probably your fault." I think this is probably true. Sort yourself according to your likes and dislikes, try not to let loud-hairy-gold-chain-guy sear into your neurons, ignore the worn spot on that chair, and you'll have a fine time of it.
While I miss the days of teak and formality, I'm just happy to be at the rail with a breeze an a moon on the water.