Posted on 09/01/2018 10:03:00 AM PDT by Simon Green
When Virgin Voyages announced last year that the cruise line’s first ship, to debut in 2020, would be for adults only, it surprised many in the industry. Cruises are typically marketed to families and boomers. Recent years have seen cruise ships add wild theme park-like attractions onboard, ranging from multi-story in-suite slides to go-kart tracks to indoor skydiving. Families are big business in the industry.
Marketing the no-kids move as “Adult by Design,” Virgin Voyages, a joint venture between Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and private investment firm Bain Capital, looked to fill a void in the market. Virgin Voyages CEO Tom McAlpin wasn’t shy about saying why the company made the move, pointing to their own market research showing demand for such offerings. But it now looks like McAlpin might’ve been a bit too loud in pointing to the adult-only designation as a key point the company would use to distinguish itself.
Viking Cruise Lines recently confirmed that all of their cruises are now limited to those 18 and older. When the luxury cruise line known for their river cruises launched ocean cruises in 2015, it adopted the 18-and-older policy, but river cruises remained family-friendly with guests 12 and older welcomed on the ships. The new rule covers all Viking cruises.
On the Terms and Conditions section of the website, Viking lays out their new policy and any explains it may be some time before the ships become entirely adult-only. “Due to the nature of our cruise and travel itineraries, the Carrier does not maintain facilities or services on our Ships for individuals under the age of 18 years. For all cruise/cruise tours booked after August 1, 2018 (regardless of departure year), you must be 18 years old on or before the day you are scheduled to embark on the cruise tour. Cruises through the 2019 may still have passengers under 18 as the cruises were booked prior to August 1, 2018.”
Speaking to Travel Weekly, Viking senior vice president of marketing Richard Marnell explained that while the cruise line previously had some “flexibility” with the minimum age rules, guests on the ships, which are typically marketed to those 50 and older, appreciated a child-free environment.
Viking ships are typically smaller than the those of family-friendly cruise lines like Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Instead of merry-go-rounds and zip lines, Viking’s sleek Scandinavian-designed ships offer a more subdued cruising experience with educational lectures, afternoon tea service, and live classical music.
Other cruise lines have dabbled in the adults-only cruise option for some time. P&O Cruises, owned by Carnival, announced earlier this year that it would soon roll out its third adult-only ship, a refit of the formerly family-friendly Aurora.
U by Uniworld, a new river cruise line focused on millennials that launched last year, had age restrictions on both minimum and maximum ages, banning anyone over 45. The maximum age restrictions have since been removed, but the no-minors policy remains.
Viking’s new age policy is now one of the strictest in the industry, but with so few children on their ships already it’s unlikely the company will see in any negative financial repercussions due to the move.
Not true. There is the same percentage of overweight people on cruises as in society. Most people who cruise are athletic seniors who love tours that include lots of walking.
Casino more likely.
If it isn’t good enough for kids it isn’t good enough for me.
We just took an Alaskan cruise.
A few days ago we received an email from the Cruise line that they discovered that a passenger on our had measles.
You know I was told the buffets were a big thing on cruise ships. Dawg and I did not see one single deck shuffleboard, that’s what I’d wanna do on a cruise while watching the waves.
which is why people don'the want to have children As much Anymore...children are a nusince,inconvenient.
i'do rather spend time with kids ..exciting and energetic and fun loving get kids then with a bunch of smell the olfactory farts who talk about their gout and their bladder leakage and their skin cancer on their faces.
we either accept and rejoice in children or we don't....
A Democrat.
Same here.
I want to relax and enjoy some peace and quiet if I vacation.
Loud noise, big crowds, out of control brats I don’t want around.
I have heard nothing but good things about Alaskan cruises until now.
Oh well.
Why would I want to sail on a ship that would have somebody like me as a passenger?
Tip of the hat to Groucho.
it’s a good idea. Adults should be able to spend time without children, period.
there are many family cruise ships out there.
then knock yourself out, cherry. Go spend tomorrow at a Chuck E Cheese.
Nothing wrong with adults having time without children. I had 2 little girls and gasp! sometimes i wanted to amongst adults for a few hours. Maybe even days.
Especially when they have their faces glued to an iPhag screen all the time.
When we could cajole our parents, trade with other parents, or actually afford overnight sitters, the last thing we desired was listening to other people’s kiddies.
While I adore families and kiddies, especially when well behaved, fewer fit that category today.
Even at very expensive restaurants, late into the evening, kids have the run of the place!
I really don’t envy the wait staff, who have to dodge and weave, carrying large trays of hot plates and when cleaning up the table areas, it looks like pigs were slopped rather than human beings. Of course, some adults’ table areas are just as bad, so that only adds to the once fine dining experience, a thing of the past.
If I now want to spend my precious dollars without the little ones, I’m happy to find a company that would cater to my desire and should I desire the company of families with children, I know where to find them.
Now if I could only find a cruise line that excluded boorish “adults” that have yet to grow up!
learned all i ever needed to know about kids on cruises the first night at dinner as we were assigned first seating, WHAT A ZOO!!!
soon as we finished we changed to second seating, very few/almost no kids...
what a difference
Wall-E bump. Really interesting movie. Almost like several movies in a movie.
I certainly don’t.
A cruise without children and rude, impolite, teens would be great.
Mr. Inspectorette and I took the Viking Paris to Normandy cruise in 2012. It was the experience of a lifetime, particularly visiting the solemnity of Omaha Beach. The entire cruise was steeped in history, but definitely not geared to kids.
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