A couple questions for a newbie traveling with kids

[pumpkinpatch4]

Hello all, I've been reading this forum for a bit and still have some questions about traveling with kids. I have two school aged kids coming with us on the Koningsdam in a week. Here are my questions:

 

1. My youngest (5) isn't a very strong swimmer. How deep is the ship pool, will she need a flotation device? Do they have devices on board or should I bring my own? Same with the Half Moon Cay?

 

2. Has anyone stayed in the Quad occupancy A Vista Suite? I'm wondering exactly where the bunk comes from, the wall or the ceiling?

 

I might have more questions as I'm preparing, we have less than a week before we go! :) Feel free to pass on any advice for traveling with kids!

[Krazy Kruizers]

HAL does not supply any floatation devices for children either on the ship or on HMC.

The pools are deep -- she can not just walk into the pool. Children are only allowed in the Lido pool.

The pull down bed is over the main bed -- where your husband and you would be sleeping -- over your heads.

[RMLincoln]

Welcome to Cruise Critic! I haven't cruise on K'dam so can't be specific. On other ships the mid-ship pool has a less-deep end and a deeper (over most people's heads) end. I think the whole pool would be over a 5 yr old's head. I've seen children swimming with flotation aids that their parents brought aboard. The aft pools are all over my head but i"m a short woman.

 

I have not seen any flotation aids provided by the ship, either for use on the ship or HMC - Bring your own.

 

HMC is a beach with gentle wave action. there is a children's play area in the water and a playground area on shore. Maybe others have photos of these that would help... stay tuned! m--

[pumpkinpatch4]

Thank you for your quick responses! I'll make sure to pack her floaties, although I am glad to hear that the HMC has a children's play area.

 

I have another question about HMC. Should we bring our own sand toys or are they available on the beach?

[Spunky946]

If I can figure out how to post pictures later, I have a few funny ones from our last cruise. Different ship, but it will give you an idea.

[HALrunner]

We cruise all the time on HAL with our two school aged kids. The Koningsdam pool is significantly smaller and shallower than other HAL ships. There are steps leading into it on what is considered the deep end, my nine year old reports it is just barely over his head in the deep end. On the shallow end, which is accessible by ladder, it is only up to my 7 year old's knees. If you bring a flotation device, make sure it isn't very big as there won't be room for it in the pool!

 

We stayed in a verandah on the Konigsdam, I remember looking at the room configuration of the quad vista suite and wishing we had that instead. I can't remember what the exact configuration is though.

 

My best tip to you would be to sign up for the unlimited laundry package. You can pack less and never worry about running out of clean cloths! We send a bag or two out every day. It is the best money spent at sea to come home with a suitcase full of clean laundry instead of dirty!

 

Let me know if you have any other specific questions.

[Spire2000]

We've been on two HAL cruises with our daughter and about to go on our third. I guess her ages was 3 and 5 on the two cruises? She's 8 now. Here are some points you might find interesting about HAL (but not specifically your ship):

 

The Lido pool is over your daughter's head. She'll need floaties. We used this style: https://www.lifejacketadvisor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/best-childrens-swim-vest.jpg Very secure. Note that when the ship is moving, the pool water can really sway so be vigilant.

 

Half Moon Cay is almost always very calm. As others have noted, there is a kids area, and the HAL Club (kids' club) staff will be there to watch your daughter if you let them know in advance. The kids area has a slide and various water features. They don't take the kids into the ocean.

 

You didn't ask, but I'll volunteer these other items anyway:

 

HAL Club - This is the kids club. It is far smaller than similar Clubs on Royal or Carnival, simply because there are far fewer kids usually. On our Zuiderdam cruise, there were 3 kids under the age of 10! Despite that, the kids get a lot of attention and our daughter never wanted to leave. She would get close to the other kids and really enjoyed her time.

 

For the production shows, try to get in the front row. The performers will notice your daughter and focus on her, making her feel special.

 

While every child is different, our daughter loved the dinners in the dining room, being able to try new things and feel like an adult. The servers would sometimes not offer her the adult menu unless we asked, or would rush her plate out first. If you intend for her to sit with you in a civilized manner, you may want to let your server know.

[Spunky946]

Here is our room with my daughter in bed on the Oosterdam on 12/23. Not sure if the cabin is the same, but probably similar.

 

 

 

[pumpkinpatch4]

This is great information, thank you so much!

 

I had read that there are often only a few children onboard, at least my girls will have each other. :) I'm thrilled to hear that HMC has a slide and water features. Do you know if they also have sand toys? I'd love to save the space in my suitcase but would hate to not have them if there aren't any.

 

And thanks for the tip on the front row of the shows. I'm not sure if the timing on those will work (are they all late at night?) but we'd love to try.

 

My oldest will love sleeping above us in the bunk, I mentioned it this morning and she was pretty excited.

[Spire2000]

This is great information, thank you so much!

 

I had read that there are often only a few children onboard, at least my girls will have each other. :) I'm thrilled to hear that HMC has a slide and water features. Do you know if they also have sand toys? I'd love to save the space in my suitcase but would hate to not have them if there aren't any.

 

And thanks for the tip on the front row of the shows. I'm not sure if the timing on those will work (are they all late at night?) but we'd love to try.

 

My oldest will love sleeping above us in the bunk, I mentioned it this morning and she was pretty excited.

 

If you book the HAL Club for the day at Half Moon Cay, they bring the sand toys, if I remember correctly. What I remember us doing is buying a set real cheap at a dollar store in Fort Lauderdale and then leaving them on the ship at the end of the cruise.

 

There are two showings of the production shows. The early one is to allow people to attend their late dinner seatings and the late show for the reverse. I suppose late depends on your family. We would have dinner at 6:00pm or so (open seating) and then attend the show at (I think) 8:30pm.

 

"Late" is relative on Holland America. They roll the carpets up at 11:00pm :)

[HALrunner]

Club HAL staff will bring sand toys over, but they generally pack them back up and after their hours are over for the day. I could be wrong, but the Club HAL hours are only 9-10:30am or something silly. Great advice someone else gave about picking up some cheap ones along the way and ditching before flying home.

 

Koningsdam has three show times. We used to sit in the front row, but on the Koningsdam the literature in room advised that children are not allowed in the front three rows. I have only ever noticed this on the Koningsdam, and I'm sure no one would kick you out, but be advised.

 

By the end of our sailing on the Koningsdam, our kids were the only ones left in Club HAL. Two other were crew kids that disembarked at various ports along the way and one other passenger was excluded from activities due to a health issue. It was the only ship/sailing that the Club HAL staff took kids to the shows. We typically sail off season and longer voyages, so there are rarely more than a few other kids on board. This was still a first for us.

[Avery's mom]

As far as sand toys on HMC, I didn't see any that could be used, nor purchased there. We bought a cheap set in Grand Turk for use during the entire cruise. They were a great purchase! We would have liked to pass them along to another family, but didn't know a process to do that. I guess we could have donated them to Club HAL?

 

We did bring our own flotation device for our 3 year old son, and he wore it in the pool daily. I did see other kids with vests that were brought from home and some wore water wings.

 

We found HAL to be a great choice for our family, and hope you like them as well!

[pumpkinpatch4]

I'll plan to bring some sand toys that we can leave behind. Thank you!

 

I thought of another question: Do you bother bringing booster seats? My youngest (age 5) still needs one but the only place that I know we'll be driving is from the airport to the hotel/hotel to the dock. I'm guessing we'll have a hotel van or a uber. As of now we haven't booked any tours that require transportation. What have you done?

[HALrunner]

I'll plan to bring some sand toys that we can leave behind. Thank you!

 

I thought of another question: Do you bother bringing booster seats? My youngest (age 5) still needs one but the only place that I know we'll be driving is from the airport to the hotel/hotel to the dock. I'm guessing we'll have a hotel van or a uber. As of now we haven't booked any tours that require transportation. What have you done?

 

We use RideSafer Travel Vest for this purpose (you can google). We travel all the time, cruising or otherwise, so we have definitely got our money's worth out of them. They might be kind of pricey for just one trip, though.

 

One time at FLL the curb side agent would not hail us a taxi until we produced a child restraint/car seat. There was a sign on his podium that he kept referring us to until we pulled the vest out of our luggage as "proof". I don't think it would be an issue at all with hotel shuttles as child restraint laws do not apply to buses. We haven't used Uber at FLL, but just thought it was worth mentioning about the taxi situation.

[Avery's mom]

I'll plan to bring some sand toys that we can leave behind. Thank you!

 

I thought of another question: Do you bother bringing booster seats? My youngest (age 5) still needs one but the only place that I know we'll be driving is from the airport to the hotel/hotel to the dock. I'm guessing we'll have a hotel van or a uber. As of now we haven't booked any tours that require transportation. What have you done?

 

We were considering leaving our car seat at home, as were "planning" to only have the car ride to/from the airport/port as you are. We decided to bring it and was really glad we did. FL law requires Uber/Lyft drivers to transport kids who need car seats/boosters in them. You can pay a $10 surcharge each way to have one provided for you, if you select that option in the app.

 

When we were delayed in FLL (for 2 nights) because of last week's shooting and related delays, we rented a car, drove to the keys, etc...and was really glad we brought our car seat.

[pumpkinpatch4]

Gotcha, we have a Bubble Bum booster so I'll plan on bringing that. It's inflatable and folds up relatively small. Better safe than sorry!

 

Thanks again everyone. Just a few more days until we leave and my kids are getting pretty excited! While starting to pack I discovered that my youngest has outgrown all her sandals. Winter tropical travel problems. ;)

[pumpkinpatch4]

We're in FL and excited to board tomorrow! I used the bubble bum (inflatable booster seat) for her uber ride to the hotel. Super easy and glad to have it.

 

Any last minute advice for our boarding tomorrow? Hotel check out is at 11 so I'm planning on us heading to the Pier after that (another uber).

[HALrunner]

We're in FL and excited to board tomorrow! I used the bubble bum (inflatable booster seat) for her uber ride to the hotel. Super easy and glad to have it.

 

Any last minute advice for our boarding tomorrow? Hotel check out is at 11 so I'm planning on us heading to the Pier after that (another uber).

 

 

When checking in shoreside, sometimes the agents need to be reminded that the kids need lifeboat wristbands. These can be put on wrists or ankles. Always check to see that the muster station on the wristband matches what is printed on your key card. More than once they have not matched for us (usually due to a last minute upgrade/upsell).

 

Don't waste any excitement with the masses in the Lido Buffet/Market at embarkation lunch. Pack swimsuits and sunblock in your carryon so you can get straight to the pool (sometimes the luggage doesn't get delivered to your room for a couple of hours). Enjoy lunch poolside, but get a table early, from the Dive In or NY Pizza.

 

Also, don't bother dragging the kids out of the pool to go to Club HAL open house this afternoon (usually 1-3, I think). Skip it and let the kids meet the staff and you can fill out the paperwork this evening if you go after dinner.

 

 

 

And don't forget to report back after your cruise and tell us what you thought of the Vista Suite with a family. Pictures would be an added bonus for us:)

 

Enjoy!!

Edited January 15, 2017 by HALrunner