Ms Noordam 11day Mediterranean with kids this July

[AlexOntheCruise]

Hi there,

 

We are a family of four with two kids ... 14 yo girl and 9 yo boy. Would our kids get bored for 11 days on this ship? There seems to be little on board activities compared to some of the other cruise lines.

The itinerary and the sail dates work well for us, but we cannot decide because we do not know much about this ship.

Thanks for your inputs.

 

Alex

[CruiserBruce]

Med cruise are VERY port intensive. I doubt your kids will get bored.

[epixx]

I suspect the kids might be bored, but I really think it depends on whether they like Club HAL enough to spend their evenings there. We sailed HAL last summer Dover to Barcelona 11 days with our teenagers (19 and 15), and we were all bored when on the ship. However, we expected this, as we had sailed HAL twice before in Alaska. We chose both the Alaska cruises and the Europe cruise for their unique and interesting itineraries. I don't think HAL would be my first choice with kids, unless the itinerary is something not offered by other cruise lines. If, however, the kids like Club HAL, they should be okay because it will give them something to do in the evenings. Our teens were very bored because the whole ship basically shut down at 9:30 pm.

[AlexOntheCruise]

Thank You for the quick replies. Are there any shows in the evening?

Thanks.

 

Alex

[epixx]

Yes; there were shows, but (1) the small stage on the Ryndam could not accommodate the number of singers and dancers that appeared on other lines, (2) the shows were significantly shorter (total 45 minutes maximum) when compared with other lines (but perhaps that was a blessing!), (3) the music generally reminded us of elevator music, (4) the comedians were anything but funny, and (5) the shows all ended by 9:30 pm. Although we went every night for lack of anything better to do, we only found one show that "grabbed" us. This was the night we were in Cadiz, when the staff brought on board a famous local Flamenco group to perform one show.

 

Now having said all that, I'd do the cruise again because the itinerary was really excellent, and I do like the layout of the HAL ships better than any others. I just know what to expect with the lack of entertainment.

[ol3]

we did Norway last summer with Eurodam, girl 12 and boy 8

first family cruise and they LOVED it!! for a Norway cruise there where many kids (180) DD was bit disapointed because the was not allowed at The Loft and The Oasis for teens which start at 13 (she's very mature) but she had a great time with books reading, enjoy things at culinary art center etc…

DS had a great time and met friends from all over the world!

 

we enjoyed it so much we booked the Noordam for august this year! Love the itineary and they kids can't wait to make a cruise again!

I think your kids like mine kids (this summer 13+9) have a perfect age for the nice destinations! We sometimes do split; for example; we visit Naples; I alreadey been to Pompei, I know that this is not the place for my son (to warm and to long/boring) so my DH and DD will make this trip and I stay at the pool with my son, so everybody enjoys his day and we meet for dinner :-)

 

for the evenings: we had 2nd seating, after that we went to a show. I love dancing with my DS in the disco!! and we all loved the Karaoke :-)

Edited January 27, 2014 by ol3
language mistake

[3ssn]

Our kids, same ages as yours, had 2 great cruises on Noordam and 1 on Nieuw Amsterdam. They go to the first night in Club HAL to get to know the other kids. The other 10 days they join us in port and when back on the ship they hang out with their friends. They are looking forward to this summers cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam. Don't worry, they'll have a blast