Anyone here with younger kids on HAL?

[iceman93]

Don't worry about it, @exm, this is a longstanding point of discussion here at the HAL board on Cruise Critic.  While there are some vocal opponents of children on HAL at all, the vast majority of HAL passengers range from tolerant to exuberant to see well-behaved kids on board.

[dwc13]

37 minutes ago, exm said:

 

People with children love to cruise like me & my family: my kids are well behaved but they are still kids. If you want a child-free experience, travel on a cruise line that doesn't allows children. To say that the HAL crew at times re "surrogate parents" is preposterous: most parents just want a break from raising children and booking a cruise is a great option.  For me, getting my kids into a "kids club" and being able to spend with my DH is priceless. You mentioned that HAL's base is for an older demographic but then you mentioned that revenue is important. What do you want? Adults only with the chance that HAL (and maybe the parent company) goes bankrupt, or accept the fact that raising children and vacationing with them is actually okay?

 

I guess I should cancel my HAL cruise? Another notch onto bankruptcy though. Pick your poison.

 

Perhaps you should re-read my post. Clearly there is a disconnect. 

 

1. Where did I state I wanted a "child-free experience" on a HAL cruise in my post? Hint: I didn't. Not even close. The position I stated is selling more rooms to families with children on certain cruises could actually help HAL (and CCL). I also stated HAL regulars with flexible scheduling are able to book longer cruises and those scheduled when school is in session, thereby reducing the likelihood of large numbers of children being aboard. Those who prefer fewer children aboard a HAL cruise often consider those 2 parameters in their decision making. It's a preference, not a matter of being right or wrong about a position. FWIW, I would love having a somewhat younger overall mix of passengers aboard HAL, but that's not the company's target demographic. 

 

2. Where did I state there was an either/or proposition (e.g., either families with children sail on HAL or possible CCL/HAL bankruptcy without them)? Hint: I didn't. Sounds like it could be your position, though. What I did state is HAL needs top-line revenue. Sailing at or near capacity is the best way for the company to generate top-line revenue. Therefore, an unsold cabin on a sailing ship is bad news from a revenue standpoint. That being said, while onboard a HAL cruise, children under 18 can't gamble and under 18/20/21 (depending upon cruise) can't drink alcoholic beverages. All other things being equal, from a potential revenue standpoint the financials are arguably better with, say, 3 adults in a room versus 2 adults + 1 child (under 18) or 1 adult and 2 children (under 18) in the same room on the same cruise. However, right now the passenger mix is a less important consideration relative to sailing at/near capacity. Some revenue for a cabin is better than none because there is always potential for additional revenue once the passengers are onboard (internet, ship-offered excursions, specialty dining, professional photo op sales, spa, cabana rental, souvenirs, etc.).

 

3. I stated proper parenting starts and ends at home. Hopefully we're in agreement on this one.  

 

4. I also stated at times HAL crew have been forced to act as surrogate parents on a cruise. Are you disputing this and/or taking issue with my use of 'surrogate'? I have witnessed this happening on a few occasions. The parent(s) was(were) nowhere to be found and the HAL crew believed the situation warranted intervention because it was beyond "kids being kids" and potentially very dangerous. If you take offense to my use of the word surrogate, well that's your issue; but I'm open to another description if it accurately conveys the manner in which the crew was forced to act in the absence of a parent(s) to ensure the safety and welfare of other passengers. 

 

Finally, I can appreciate parents traveling with children wanting some alone time to enjoy during the cruise. It's a good break for the kids, too. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruisegirl06]

9 hours ago, ScottishMaid said:

Please can you give as much information as possible about sign up. Is it embarkation day for the week? or on embarkation day for certain sessions? or? Our grandson is 5 and looking forward to Club HAL.

 

We are on the Koningsdam for the 17-22 December cruise and it has been booked out for weeks. Kids cruise free and it is school vacation for most. The cheapest fare of $299 per adult totals to $1098 for a family of 4 for 5 days, including port taxes, and for a while there was a private fare of $209 making a total of $918.

It seemed to change…the first night I think they let everyone in and it was chaotic, then apparently corporate said they had to limit it to 20 in 7-12s and 10 in 3-6s at a time…

 

At first you could sign up for any sessions the next day (e.g. on Monday you could sign up for Tuesday). This resulted in me going down every day at 9AM to try to sign my 5YO up for the next day.

 

Midweek I head them confirm to some other man that his kid was signed up for future days, and they let me sign up for future days then too (not sure if this was then standard protocol?)

 

I did go try to get her to drop in for a session where we didn’t have a space - they had 4 no shows in her age group and it was about 1.5 hours into the session. They hesitated to let her in, but eventually did.

 

In short - I think they were figuring it out as they went and it could be totally different, but I would ask at the kids club early and often to know what’s going on. Also be advised that they may be mixing age groups…

 

We sailed a holiday cruise that had a KSF in 2018 and had no issues getting kids into the club at that time. They may have alluded to that the club could be full, but there were no signups and we were never turned away. They also were running separate clubs then for 3-6 and 7-12.

[ScottishMaid]

7 hours ago, cruisegirl06 said:

It seemed to change…the first night I think they let everyone in and it was chaotic, then apparently corporate said they had to limit it to 20 in 7-12s and 10 in 3-6s at a time…

 

At first you could sign up for any sessions the next day (e.g. on Monday you could sign up for Tuesday). This resulted in me going down every day at 9AM to try to sign my 5YO up for the next day.

 

Midweek I head them confirm to some other man that his kid was signed up for future days, and they let me sign up for future days then too (not sure if this was then standard protocol?)

 

I did go try to get her to drop in for a session where we didn’t have a space - they had 4 no shows in her age group and it was about 1.5 hours into the session. They hesitated to let her in, but eventually did.

 

In short - I think they were figuring it out as they went and it could be totally different, but I would ask at the kids club early and often to know what’s going on. Also be advised that they may be mixing age groups…

 

We sailed a holiday cruise that had a KSF in 2018 and had no issues getting kids into the club at that time. They may have alluded to that the club could be full, but there were no signups and we were never turned away. They also were running separate clubs then for 3-6 and 7-12.

Thank you so much for all your comments. Now I know what to expect but will hope the Koningsdam has learned from Thanksgiving and is more organized for the two/three cruises over the Christmas school break. We are two grandparents and two parents traveling with one 5 year old in connecting balcony cabins so we can take turns to do things with him if necessary.