Luring Those Baby Boomers to Sea

No longer are cruises just for retired people. More and more, cruise companies are attracting the 40-ish “baby boomer” crowd that has leisure time and disposable income to spend, “thirtysomething” couples with two incomes, affluent young singles and families.

Before the recent flood of ship-company mergers, companies could be loosely divided into those that targeted active young passengers--such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise lines--and those that were dedicated to the older, more conservative passengers--such as Royal Viking, Holland America and Royal Cruise lines.

Kloster Cruises, the parent of Norwegian Cruise Line, bought Royal Viking several years ago and changed one of the line’s four ships, Royal Viking Star, into a “ship for the young,” expanding spa and gymnasium facilities while adding a table-tennis court and a jogging track. Also, Kloster enlarged its nightclub and casino, and, more importantly, shortened the length of cruises and lowered prices.

At the same time, Kloster retained traditional RVL niceties such as the one-meal sitting instead of two an evening.

To jazz up the appeal of its seven-day Bermuda cruises from New York City, it’s offering major blues and jazz musicians, well-known guest chefs, and is cashing in on the latest rage among the under-40 crowd, tee times at Bermuda’s top golf courses.

As a result, on a recent sailing from New York City to Bermuda, several upscale Royal Viking Star cabins had to be furnished with baby cribs for the young families that had signed up for the cruise.

When Princess Cruises merged with Sitmar Cruises in 1988, it converted a partially built ship then under construction in France into the Star Princess, which made its debut in the Caribbean in 1989.

Although Princess and Sitmar had always attracted passengers of all ages, including, in Sitmar’s case, families with young children, both carried a preponderance of middle-aged and older couples.

The Star Princess, however, made a strong appeal to young vacationers with an entire deck dedicated to sunbathing, swimming, lounging and socializing.

Thus, passengers can wear bathing suits all day, and, only steps away, partake of a self-service restaurant offering breakfast, lunch and tea, a pizzeria and two bars, one with swim-up service, the other with a variety of colorful drinks with or without alcohol.

As a result, within 12 months, the median age of Star Princess passengers dropped seven years from its fleetwide average.

Holland America, purchased by Carnival two years ago, brought its Westerdam back home this year from a German shipyard after being stretched 130 feet. It added 195 cabins and enlarged its public rooms.

The ship also was made more accessible to younger passengers, adding such trendy touches as late-evening karaoke in the nightclub. Popular in Japan and now making inroads into West Coast cities, karaoke enables amateur singers to select from a menu of songs and perform them in public. Using prerecorded orchestration, participants sing into an amplified microphone while following the lyrics on a TV screen. Almost anyone can end up sounding like a favorite pop or rock star.

At the same time, the Westerdam offers music that appeals to its older passengers. Each evening a lounge features big-band music for dancing, another light classics in a quiet setting. A pianist plays and sings show tunes in a third and a quartet plays amplified pop and rock in a fourth.

So far it seems as if the policies resulting from the industry’s many mergers and acquisitions are broadening the appeal of the larger ships.

One notable exception is Kloster’s most recent acquisition, Royal Cruise Line, known for its successful programs for older travelers.

Royal’s two ships, Golden Odyssey and Crown Odyssey, appeal strongly to women traveling alone or with other women, because they provide guest “hosts” for dancing, bridge and escorts for shore excursion.

In addition to the host program, the ships offer low-fat, low-salt diets and various types of seminars with subjects designed for the over-55 travelers.