No More Club HAL on the Maasdam

[iceman93]

I posted in another thread that my family was disappointed to get an e-mail from HAL announcing that our previously-booked 14-day Alaska sailing on the Maasdam was now an "EXC Voyage", meaning (among other things) they would not offer Club HAL.  I interpreted that to mean that HAL is trying to market these voyages as adults-only without being quite so blunt about it--fair enough (though curious given their huge push over recent years to attract a younger crowd including families).

 

We ended up booking a Veendam voyage instead, and when I was researching the Club HAL facilities on *that* ship, I noticed that the website now includes a footnote that "Club HAL is offered on all ships except the ms Prinsendam and ms Maasdam."  So, I guess it's not only EXC voyages (unless all Maasdam voyages are considered EXC).  Now I wonder what they're going to do with the spaces dedicated to the various kids' clubs?

[VennDiagram]

1 hour ago, iceman93 said:

Now I wonder what they're going to do with the spaces dedicated to the various kids' clubs

 

I can't answer that but I am hopeful that the crew cabin-space that is freed up will be used for more onboard lecturers, guides, etc .... not for more spa or Shops people.

 

1 hour ago, iceman93 said:

I interpreted that to mean that HAL is trying to market these voyages as adults-only without being quite so blunt about it--fair enough

 

Maybe HAL has analyzed their data and determined that Club HAL on the EXC voyages consistently gets little or no usage.  If I was paying for kids to do an EXC voyage, I'd want those kids participating in the actual trip, not in Club HAL.  I really don't think they are trying to market them as adults-only.   But that is just my opinion.
 

[Hawaiidan]

1 hour ago, iceman93 said:

I posted in another thread that my family was disappointed to get an e-mail from HAL announcing that our previously-booked 14-day Alaska sailing on the Maasdam was now an "EXC Voyage", meaning (among other things) they would not offer Club HAL.  I interpreted that to mean that HAL is trying to market these voyages as adults-only without being quite so blunt about it--fair enough (though curious given their huge push over recent years to attract a younger crowd including families).

 

We ended up booking a Veendam voyage instead, and when I was researching the Club HAL facilities on *that* ship, I noticed that the website now includes a footnote that "Club HAL is offered on all ships except the ms Prinsendam and ms Maasdam."  So, I guess it's not only EXC voyages (unless all Maasdam voyages are considered EXC).  Now I wonder what they're going to do with the spaces dedicated to the various kids' clubs?

Best news  I have heard all week....   Kids+ cruise=  bad times aboard for all.

[rafinmd]

I would not take that to necessarily mean that there will be nothing for kids.  Prinsendam NEVER had a Club HAL space but on cruises where there were more than a couple of kids onboard there was a kids program of some kind, usually using something like the Stuyvesant Room.  I remember one cruise (Amazon, 2013) where there were NO kids on board but there was a member of the activities staff there as the youth counselor who ended up helping in other areas. 

It sounds like the Maasdam will no longer have a dedicated Club HAL space but that may or may not mean that there will be no program for youth when they are present.

 

Roy

[Homosassa]

I also don't take it to mean that the cruises are meant to be adult only. Instead, it will attract families that treat a cruise as a family vacation  and expect to spend time with their children on board ship.

 

Too often the presence of a children's area on a ship leads to the expectations by parents that they can dump the kids on embarkation and pick them up on the last day. Or worse yet, just give the children freedom to roam the ship with no supervision. 

[foodsvcmgr]

I don’t think it’s a bad idea to market a couple ships as adult only, P&O does this successfully.

Also I believe the amount and location of kid facilities on ships routinely running longer exotic itineraries and therefore few if any children could be repurposed to better use.

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, Hawaiidan said:

Best news  I have heard all week....   Kids+ cruise=  bad times aboard for all.

 

Maybe you should try Viking. No kids on Viking.

[3rdGenCunarder]

43 minutes ago, foodsvcmgr said:

I don’t think it’s a bad idea to market a couple ships as adult only, P&O does this successfully.

Also I believe the amount and location of kid facilities on ships routinely running longer exotic itineraries and therefore few if any children could be repurposed to better use.

 

I think it's because of the itineraries and length of voyages. The Exc cruises aren't the "usual" family ports, and in my experience longer voyages have fewer kids. HAL probably anticipated that there would be few kids so not worth the cost of having the kid programs. 

 

I agree with VennDiagram, if you're taking kids on an EXC voyage, they should share this experience. I can't imagine taking kids on one of the EXC voyages if they weren't the kind of kids who would be into that style of cruising.

[bcummin]

On ms Maasdam the Club Hal rooms were changed into office space for the EXC In-Depth Presenters / Lecturers.  They are an important part of this special new program.

Children were welcome on our recent ms Maasdam cruise, but they were the responsibility of their parents.

It is my understanding that all of her future cruises will be EXC In-Depth.  A lot has been poured into this evolving endeavor. 

Barbara  

[Fouremco]

7 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Maybe you should try Viking. No kids on Viking.

Or stay at home and do us all a favour.

[ithaca gal]

On 4/24/2019 at 9:25 PM, Fouremco said:

Or stay at home and do us all a favour.

Wouldn’t be doing me a favor. 

[CDP Cruiser]

On 4/24/2019 at 12:33 PM, Hawaiidan said:

Best news  I have heard all week....   Kids+ cruise=  bad times aboard for all.

I’m sorry but this was truly an inappropriate comment to make on a board. Have your parents never taught you that “if you have nothing good to say, don’t say anything at all”?? The subject of the thread is clearly marked that it is about Club HAL and therefore related to kids and cruising with HAL so if you don’t like kids, then as others have mentioned before, there are adult only cruise lines out there for you. If you can’t afford those cruise lines and want to stick with HAL, then please keep your anti-kids comments to yourself!

 

We have been sailing HAL since 2006, even before we had kids. My 8 year old son has done more than 130 days at sea with HAL. Although, yes, there can be some rowdy kids on-board and some parents who chose to let their kids run around, cruising is still a vacation for all ages! We’ve used club HAL on several occasions but there have been cruises where my son simply wanted to stay with us the whole time and we had great experiences every time.  I think if HAL advises their passengers that the EXC voyages will not have Club HAL open during that voyage, then it is acceptable.  At least then, parents can make a choice to either continue with the same trip or chose another voyage where Club HAL would be open.

[Hawaiidan]

On 4/24/2019 at 11:01 AM, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Maybe you should try Viking. No kids on Viking.

There are much better lines than Viking   for not running into kids.   I used to own a pair, I fulfilled my contract!    Should not Kids have something to aspire to when they grow up and achieve ?     Giving them what was once an adult experience mys please the adults but it distorts a kids value system.    Many many times its the parents showing off to their kids on how cool the parent is.    .

I wealthy CEO took his son on a flight to europe,   The son asked " Dad why do you always go to first class have steak and lobster and I have to sit in the very back and eat pretzels."    The father looked at him and said"  Thats because you don't have any money yet"   !     

[cruisemom42]

3 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

There are much better lines than Viking   for not running into kids.   I used to own a pair, I fulfilled my contract!    Should not Kids have something to aspire to when they grow up and achieve ?     Giving them what was once an adult experience mys please the adults but it distorts a kids value system.    Many many times its the parents showing off to their kids on how cool the parent is.    .

I wealthy CEO took his son on a flight to europe,   The son asked " Dad why do you always go to first class have steak and lobster and I have to sit in the very back and eat pretzels."    The father looked at him and said"  Thats because you don't have any money yet"   !     

 

What a strange belief system you've espoused...

 

My parents took my sister and I cruising starting about 48 years ago, when we were mere kids. (I was about 8, my sister older.) Even then, we were not the only kids or teens onboard the ships we sailed (mainly Sitmar). My grandparents were the same. Far from thinking about travel as something that would "distort our value system" (what????), they regarding it as an unparalleled learning opportunity. My mother and grandmother were both educators, and my father is a PhD, so I have to give them at least a little credence.

 

We cruised about once a year, and took other trips too, including to Europe and Asia. 

 

These days, let's see:  my sister got an advanced degree and did well enough in business to retire before age 50. She and her husband own two homes, a boat, and have been on over 100 cruises. As for me, I'm still working but could retire if I wished. I am near the top of my profession and actually enjoy my work. Also put my son through college at a top engineering school without racking up a single dollar in debt for either of us....

 

(Oh, and by the way, I took him cruising also, as a kid and even as of last year.)

 

So, what exactly is the problem with kids cruising? 

[3rdGenCunarder]

I hope some parents will chime in here, but I have to say that my impression of kids on a cruise is that they're part of a family vacation. I don't see how a cruise vacation distorts a kid's values. A week on a ship is not going to make them feel "entitled" and thus too lazy to "aspire" unless it's part of an overall pattern of the way the family lives and raises the kid.

 

I also believe it's important for kids to experience situations where they are with adults. They should know that there's more to eating out than running around in a Mickey D's and that they can learn how to eat at the "grownup's table."

 

[freestyling]

One of the things I like about cruise critic is the ignore feature. 😉

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

What a strange belief system you've espoused...

 

2 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I don't see how a cruise vacation distorts a kid's values.

Given so many of his past pronouncements, I'm not in the least bit surprised by this gratuitous advice on child rearing.