Please tell me about HAL and offerings for Children

[MisterFidgetpants]

As some of you may know, I am always looking to try out HAL. I think the ships are beautiful and I'm at the point where I am looking for a bit more "refined touch". We have a young child and I know all the cruise lines offer kids clubs, but they don't all offer the same amenities.

 

can anyone shed light on personal experiences in what HAL has for infants/toddlers? Do they offer family play time? Do they have a night time babysitting service and if so what are their fees?

 

It's not as important to me that there be hundreds of kids, I'd actually prefer less over more, but do appreciate and find it important for facilities to be offered for all ages. On a 7 day cruise, for instance, we might use the baby sitting once or twice depending on the evening entertainment schedule, but it would be helpful to know it is there.

[dakrewser]

Club HAL is open from 7 to 10 PM, and offers an extra 2 hours ('til midnight) for $5 an hour. Nothing like a "family play time", although parents are welcome in the Club. Our 5 YO granddaughter enjoyed it last week. The 9YO not so much and the 12 YO was bummed that he had to hang with the 8-12 crowd rather than the "cool kids" in The Loft (13-18).

[CGYCruisingFamily]

Age of you little one?

 

Our kids are seasoned HAL cruisers. We love the line. Club HAL is a good program with lots to do.

 

Ask away if you have questions.

[kazu]

Club HAL and HAL's programmes for children are one of the best kept secrets out there I always think.

 

My DS was very impressed.

 

I hope 1of4 sees your post and I know she has taken full advantage of it.

 

If you google Club HAL Progarm - Maasdam - August 2015 and

Club HAL Program - Westerdam - April 2015

 

you will find the programs for those cruises all listed. Hope this helps.

[sprockie]

Much fewer kids than other kids clubs. My son likes HAL and Celebrity for that reason.

[msmayor]

I can't tell you anything about the kids clubs...but as a passenger who has encountered the group I can tell you that they all seemed to have a lot of fun! We bumped into them one evening during their 'pirate' excursion, a small group of youngsters dressed as pirates and roaming with the counselors. All well behaved with smiles on their faces.

 

One of the joys of us sailing on HAL has been seeing the children. Most seem to be with larger family groups enjoying extended visits with aunts, uncles and grandparents. On our Bermuda trip, an active toddler (with both parents never more than 2 feet away) really entertained all the passengers on the pool deck.

[boulders]

We cruised HAL when my daughter was 13 and 15 and my son was 7 and 8. HAL is my daughter's favorite cruise line and it's my son's second favorite (after Royal Caribbean). Both spent the vast majority of the time either in the club (my son) or with the friends they made there (my daughter). On our first cruise, there were 300+ kids and on our second, there were 35. Both were during school breaks. Their programming starts at age 3, except for Prinsendam where it starts at age 5. They do appear to have babysitting, but I've never used it. There is no family play time. You can see more info at HAL youth programs

[MisterFidgetpants]

At this point he is too young to use any of the facilities or amenities.

 

On carnival while too young for scheduled programs they did offer family play time (parents in the play room to supervise the child) and also they offered baby sitting services each night on a pay by hour basis. On HAL it looks like our child couldn't utilize the play area at all and the baby sitting is on a maybe/maybe not basis. We would only want baby sitting 1 or 2 nights on a 7 night cruise, but the availability and access is important.

 

I know HAL is not what comes to mind for younger families, but I think we would overall enjoy the cruise. Carnival was a bit too loud and rambunctious for my tastes; though a longer itinerary or bigger ship might alleviate that.

 

Thanks all; we'll get on a HAL ship sooner or later.

[Megsie1000]

I would definitely consider HAL after your child is 3 and potty trained. Our kids absolutely LOVE Club HAL and one of the things they love most is the amount of attention they get because there are less kids on board.

 

But I have also traveled on a HAL cruise with an under-3 and I have to admit it was not ideal and I doubt I would do it again. It was hard to find places for a toddler to "roam" (like they want to do). And the babysitting situation was not ideal because we never knew who would be available when.

 

You might want to try RCI. They have a babysitting service (for a charge) in their club facilities. They also do a playtime for parents and babies/toddlers.

[littlebug]

I can only comment on the 8 - 12 group and I can say my kids love it. We have been on several different lines and by far HAL is their favorite. They both prefer the smaller number of other kids on board and think they get to do more.

[Kris74]

So can a parent can be with the child in the club all the time. ( Because of language issues)