{"id":7056,"date":"2015-03-10T10:12:21","date_gmt":"2015-03-10T09:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.traveleurope.com\/en\/?p=7056"},"modified":"2015-03-10T10:17:06","modified_gmt":"2015-03-10T09:17:06","slug":"cruising-vacations-not-just-for-retirees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.traveleurope.com\/en\/cruising-vacations-not-just-for-retirees\/","title":{"rendered":"Cruising Vacations – Not Just For Retirees"},"content":{"rendered":"

A cruise ship holiday<\/a> might pull to mind images of Pina Coladas, pool side deck chairs, 24 hours buffets, Jack and Rose, broadway style musicals, a jogging track that nobody seems to use and of course plenty of retirees.<\/p>\n

Cruises have a pretty dim reputation among the 20\/30 somethings, who often expect them to be full of the recently divorced on a hookup-fest, empty nesters adjusting back to life before without kids or at worst – just one huge floating retirement home.<\/p>\n

The things is all of these generalisations aren\u2019t that far from the reality, as a 20\/30 something cruiser you are definitely going to be a minority. On an typical cruise I\u2019d put the average age at 50, on some cruises particularly the 5 and 6 star ones – the average age is even higher.<\/p>\n

\"Norwegian<\/p>\n

My wife Annie and I recently went on a brilliant 7 day Mediterranean cruise, on the Norwegian cruise line<\/a>.\u00a0We boarded in Barcelona then went onto Malta<\/a>, Naples, Florence and Nice before returning to Barcelona. While it sounds like a relaxing trip it was far from it, with 4 out of 7 days being \u2018shore days\u2019 we were up at 6am to be ready for a full day exploring in each new city.<\/p>\n

We flagged the overpriced shore excursions in favour of getting off the boat and making our own way around the cities. We charging around like maniacs on a grocery grab shopping spree. Searching for authentic Italian spaghetti bolognese in Rome<\/a>, snapping our hold up the leaning tower photo in Piza, exploring the shops of sleepy seaside fishing villages in Malta and ferreting out gelato and nutella crepes pretty much everywhere.<\/p>\n

On the at-sea days and when the sun goes down there are plenty of activities to get involved with – pool parties, mini golf competitions, basketball shootouts, first class comedy shows, themed dinners and art auctions just to name a few.<\/p>\n

\"Annie<\/p>\n

One of the biggest issues for 20\/30 something cruisers is the lack of social interaction with other travelers \u00a0their own age. During our 7 days, Annie and I saw no more than 10 other couples of similar age on our ship of 3000+ people. So if you\u2019re looking to make a bunch of new friends in the same age bracket, you might be hard pushed.\u00a0It\u2019s not a bad idea to bring your own party, organize a bunch of friends and take a cruise holiday together<\/strong>. Ask your booking agent about a volume discount.<\/p>\n

In tIhe US – spring break cruises<\/strong> are hugely popular with the college kids, while we know you\u2019re probably not wanting to be partying with students. There\u2019s an interesting party event which takes place in January\/Februay each year in the US, so if you are into big name DJ\u2019s and like the sound of an Ibiza on a boat vibe, you won\u2019t want to skip out on the next section.\"Holy<\/p>\n

Holy Ship!<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

It’s the party cruise<\/strong> you’ve been waiting for your whole life, 3 days of electronic festival mayhem with 2 private island beach parties. Cruise the Bahamas on the Italian built MSC Divina which boasts an infinity pool overlooking the ocean, a sweeping Swarovski staircase and a broadway sized theatre.\u00a0The 2015 lineup included DNB legends \u2013 Knife Party, USA based house veteran Armand Van Helden. As well as a few suspects who need no introduction \u2013 Skrillex, Basement Jaxx and Fat Boy Slim.\u00a0If this isn’t enough to make you want to jump onboard \u2013 then check out their 2014 official promo video<\/span><\/strong><\/a> \u00a0for a guaranteed quick sell.<\/p>\n

It’s certainly a pricey 3 day affair with 2015 tickets priced from US$709pp for a quad share inside cabin right up to US$1634pp for an Aurea Suite complete with balcony (all fees included)\u00a0Even at these prices there isn’t a shortage of punters, with the party being sold out in just 28 hours and a waiting list into the 5 digits leading up to the sail date.<\/p>\n

\"Monaco\"<\/h3>\n

Money saving tips for cruises<\/h3>\n

Alcohol<\/h4>\n

Cruise lines make a big proportion of their revenue on drinks, which is not hard to understand when you are forking out $10 for that fancy Kamakazi.\u00a0Be on the look out for evening happy hours and daily drink promos\u00a0A better, though obviously \u2018illegal\u2019 option is to sneak alcohol on board using undetectable plastic flasks – products like Rumrunners<\/strong><\/a> will get your booze through cruise xrays and save you a tonne of money if you are planning on doing some serious drinking.<\/p>\n

Food<\/h4>\n

If you are in foreign cities, sampling the local fare is always one of the highlights, though if you are cruising to familiar cities or on a tight budget<\/a> it\u2019s good to have a money saving lunch option in your back pocket\u00a0What to pack before you head on your cruise<\/p>\n