My first cruise at 25: Can cruising truly cater to a younger market?

Eva de JongMultimedia journalist·NZ Herald·23 Aug, 2026 07:00 PM7 mins to read‌Eva de Jong in Alaska's College Fjord, a landscape of icebergs and rippling glaciers.Eva de Jong in Alaska's College Fjord, a landscape of icebergs and rippling glaciers.Having never cruised before, Eva de Jong finds herself one of the youngest guests on her Alaskan HX Expeditions cruise. What will 10 days at sea reveal about ocean travel?I arrive beside the cruise ship exhausted and sweating from the 26C heat in Vancouver.

I’m not in the

My first cruise at 25: Can cruising truly cater to a younger market?

Related reading

A Younger Generation Of Travelers Is Reshaping The Cruise Industry

Better, not bigger: how this newbie cruise line hit the Goldilocks spot

I went on my first adults-only cruise. From a playground to a tattoo shop,…

What’s it like to spend 21 days solo on a cruise ship

I thought I'd feel lonely on a cruise full of travelers in their 60s and 70s.…

The best Alaska cruises for families in 2026