MYTHBUSTER - SENIORS

Age Appropriate
If you think cruising is only for seniors, think again.

By Robert McGarvey

What a difference 20 years — and billions of dollars in new ship construction — make. Go back a generation and what you’d hear in travel circles was that only senior citizens cruised, and there actually was a good amount of truth to that statement. Today, it’s a whole new world on cruise ships.

“I spend half of my time talking to clients trying to debunk this myth,” says Tim Joseph, a Long Island–based travel agent. “Of course, this notion only exists among people who have never cruised before.”

In fact, hard numbers — developed in research for Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the world's largest cruise association dedicated to promoting and growing the cruise industry — clearly debunks this myth. Case in point: 24 percent of cruisers are 30–39; 23 percent are 60-plus. The average age of a cruiser is 48, just one year older than the average age of a non-cruise vacationer. Analyze the numbers any way you wish, but the picture that will emerge is of a diverse group, with good representation in just about every demographic.
 
Nancy Schretter, founder of the Family Travel Network, offers more stats: “More than a million children cruise each year. Approximately 670,000 children and teens sail on Carnival ships each year. Royal Caribbean, Disney, Norwegian, Princess, and other lines also carry large numbers of families with kids. And, according to a study conducted by Ypartnership, 77 percent of kids want to go on a cruise.”

Another reality: Different lines and different cruise itineraries appeal to different age groups, which is no different than land-based vacations. A 10-plus day Panama Canal cruise, which involves few and typically brief port calls, skews older. A Disney cruise in the Caribbean draws families. A short Princess “Love Boat” cruise out of Los Angeles to Mexico will attract many young adults.

This is an excerpt only. To read this article in its entirety, pick up the current issue of Porthole Cruise Magazine.