Club HAL on Noordam

[mommybunny21]

Just returned and wanted to write a quick review of Club HAL.. We had 300 kids on board..75 in the 3-7 range that my son attended..Let me first say that unless you were in the Club HAL area or the Lido pool you never would have known so many kids were on board...it was very strange..At first glance I was disappointed with Club HAL it was MUCH smaller than the facilities shown on the website and I was sure it would be a disaster..I was wrong..My 6 year old loved it..There were constant activities..he was always stimulated..the night before you would get an itinerary of the next days events and he would anxiously read it..every night they had a theme night...cowboy carnival..James Bond..Under the sea.. we let him chose 4 nights to go and we then went to the Pinnacle on those nights..He never stayed past 10 or on port days so I don't know how it went then..but I would give it a big thumbs up for a 6 year old boy...

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Mommybunny:

 

I am so glad to know that your son had a good time in Club HAL:) Thanks for letting us know.....

 

Karin

[cprofits]

There are only 77 total children on the sailing and 30 in the 3-7 year age group. I hope the diminished number of children won't be a hinderance to their enjoyment of Club HAL. I'm just going to go with the flow and hope that the more individualized attention will be a positive.

 

I assume from your research, you know the information about Club HAL is minimal here. I would appreciate hearing everything and anything you can share about your Club HAL experience, especially in relation to the 3-7 year age group and anything having to do with sailing with your son. We're experienced cruisers and my children have been on many sailings. This is our first time with HAL.

 

Thanks!

[mommybunny21]

You will be fine with less children.The program is such that there is something scheduled from 9-12,2-5,730-10 then 10-12 on sea days.There are games,crafts,free play,playstation2,movies,painting..everything is scheduled.You will know ahead of time exactly what they will be doing every half hour..try to pack some play clothes for Club HAL bc they do paint and glue and my son only had his Ralph Lauren polos and shorts packed which got paint on them depite a smock..your kids will love it and since they'll be in the same room they'll be comfortable..I was really impressed with the program-we travel all over and it was one of the best my son has ever attended.

[2boyzmom]

Thank You. We are sailing next year the same week and was wondering about club Hal. My boys will be 6 and 8 by then. Do you think the 8 year old will be able to stay with the younger group ?

[Old As Dirt Mom]

...... My boys will be 6 and 8 by then. Do you think the 8 year old will be able to stay with the younger group ?

 

Yes, we put our 8-year-old daughter in with the 3-7 group on our holiday cruise on the Amsterdam. The Club HAL staff had no problem with our decision to do so, and our daughter had a great time with the younger kids. She is small for her age, enjoys the company of younger children, plus we didn't want her to be able to sign herself in and out (as the 8-12 year-old-group can do). She was quite happy with the 3-7 program, and we were, too.

 

Karin

[SusieCruisie]

Club Hal was amazing! My 7 yr old son had me place a wake-up call every day (except port days) for him at 8am Then order room service breakfast the night before for him to be delivered between 8 & 8:30 he was at the club at 9 sharp! By the way, he had pancakes which are not on the room service menu, but if you write it in, they will bring it. The counselors were the sweetest, kindest, loving individuals I have encountered on any ship. They were always hugging and playing with the children and genuinely enjoying their job.

[sailor5552]

anyone on this thread have any info about the Loft for the 13-17 age group...my son is 15.

[megry]

:) we too are going on the noordam during april break. we are traveling with 3 tween/teens and our friends are also bringing 14 and 16 yr old boys. we hope that the teen club is fun for them!

[Coco96]

Just back from the Noordam, and saw the question about the Loft. My daughter is 13, and spent almost every evening there! She loved it - the counsellor, Becca, is great. They have evening activities usually starting at 9:00, and then something else at 10:30. She would often be there until around 11:00, as we gave her curfew. I think older kids would stay there later. They sometimes had food for them - chicken wings, veggies and dip, etc. The activities were age appropriate - movie nights, cranium, battle of the genders, fashion failure hunt, etc. Sometimes they would forego the planned activities and just hang out and talk. They also have activities during the day, but she didn't go to many of those. It was a great way for her to meet other kids her age. Hope your kids have fun!!