Kids in spa?

[Mary Ellen]

So, how on earth can HAL encourage families to book a cruise on a HAL ship and then say, "but wait ... kids can't be in the aft pool, can't be in the spa, can't be in the Crow's Nest, etc.?" Sorry, can't do it.

 

Oh, yes they can! The Disney ships have a number of 'Adult only' areas. They are enforced. Talk about the 'family' cruise.

 

HAL has 'kid only' areas (Club HAL and Oasis) I see absolutely NO reason why HAL can't have AND enforce Adult areas on the ships.

 

HAL is trying to be everything to everyone. They are failing. Cruises are NOT 'one size fits all'.

[toodycat]

HAL's Steiner spas do have YSpa now, which is a selection of spa services for teens. I bought my son a facial and massage on his last cruise and the therapist let him use the thermal suite as well. He is a quiet, shy boy and I doubt he caused any adults any discomfort. But, I had no idea he had been allowed in the thermal suite until he told me at dinner. Perhaps this could explain some of what you experienced?

[toodycat]

Disney's current ships are similar in size to the Vista class ships with capacity for about 1750 passengers. The adults only rules are enforced around the Quiet Cove pool, Palo which is the adult restaurant, all the nightclubs and the adult beach at Castaway Cay. (There is no casino.) As I understand it, the spa is adults only, but it is also Steiner run, so that may be changing. (On land, Disney resort spas are offering children's services.)However, since the vast majority of the ship is kid-friendly, the temptation to infiltrate these areas is probably not as great.

[hammybee]

In other words, the family cruise market can still flourish even when adults are given some private spaces on the ships. If Disney can do it there is no reason HAL can't, too. It's just a matter of enforcement. Sounds like a good compromise to me.

 

I am an advocate of family cruising and agree with you that it is a matter of empowering the crew and officers to enforce adult only areas, no different than keeping adults out of the HAL Club. I think it's called having a backbone.

[kryos]

HAL's Steiner spas do have YSpa now, which is a selection of spa services for teens. I bought my son a facial and massage on his last cruise and the therapist let him use the thermal suite as well. He is a quiet, shy boy and I doubt he caused any adults any discomfort. But, I had no idea he had been allowed in the thermal suite until he told me at dinner. Perhaps this could explain some of what you experienced?

Look ... I'm gonna be honest here ... I really am not THAT familiar with the thermal suite because I don't use those sorts of facilities. But ... what is the reason why some people are against kids using it? Of course, I'm not talking about hoards of kids running around, screaming ... that sort of thing. But, rather ... a few teenagers whose parents' purchased a pass for them and who want to sit there and enjoy the facilities just the same as the adults around them?

 

I'm honestly curious ... cause it seems like a harmless way for a young person to pass a sea day afternoon without infringing upon the solitude of others. Of course, if things got out of hand, one would hope a Steiner employee would move the teens along to other venues.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[peaches from georgia]

We have only been in the Thermal Suite on the Volendam, but I imagine they are all similar. First of all, it is a small area. The hydrotherapy pool is not large and there are not that many of the heated ceramic lounges- maybe half a dozen. It also was very quiet; people dozing on the lounges or relaxing in the hot tub size 'pool'.

 

If you go to the HAL website and look on the Onboard Experiences section at the Greenhouse Spa there is a picture which speaks a thousand words. It's not that one teenager would be out of place, but when you talk about a number of them in there together without a responsible adult, teenagers being teenagers, it could be conducive to a problem. And don't flame me for saying that; I think most pax would agree it is a haven for adults to totally relax and de-stress and anyone under 18 should be with an adult.

[the2ofus]

Kryos, as the OP described her experience, there were twice as many kids in the thermal suite than there were available thermal lounges. They were taking up space that adults might have liked to use. That many teens can't get together without a lot of chatter, giggling and horseplay, no matter how well brought up each of them, individually, might be.

 

If you were an adult, would you be able to relax, rest and rejuvenate in that situation? That is what HAL/Steiner sells in the thermal suite, a place to relax, rest and rejuvenate.

 

If each individual using the thermal suite was required to have their pass visible on their person it might help cut down on the unauthorized use by teens who are admitted through other doors by their friends.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I agree with Peaches. The Thermal Suite is meant to be a very serene, quiet, contemplative experience. There's a tinkling water fountain, new agey music playing softly in the background, and it is very peaceful in there. My mother and I were whispering together while we were in the Zaandam Thermal Suite, and a couple of other patrons asked us to please refrain, as our whispering was disturbing them. (See, even we grown-ups don't always behave properly :eek: ) It's that quiet in there!

 

I did take my 17-year-old daughter with me, (she's much more quiet than my mother), as I mentioned earlier, and have no objection to teens using the Thermal Suite/Hydrotherapy Pool who understand that these are designed with relaxation in mind. These are not appropriate places for teen socializing! I am not familiar with the Yspa program mentioned by toodycat; that program was not in place in my previous HAL cruises, and I can't find any reference to it on their website. I know that my daughter, as a minor, wasn't allowed to have a massage unless I were present, but we had no interest in a massage, anyway.

 

We purchased a week-long pass to the Thermal Suite, and were required to turn in our cabin key upon check-in each time. In return, we received our Thermal Suite pass, one for each of us. This was on the Zaandam, which in my opinion, is a very well-run ship.

 

Karin

[toodycat]

HAL isn't aggressively promoting YSpa. I didn't find out about it until I had my own massage and saw the brochures for it in the Greenhouse spa.

[kryos]

Kryos, as the OP described her experience, there were twice as many kids in the thermal suite than there were available thermal lounges. They were taking up space that adults might have liked to use. That many teens can't get together without a lot of chatter, giggling and horseplay, no matter how well brought up each of them, individually, might be.

And I will bet in the case of the OP that all those kids DID NOT have passes to be in there. I can't imagine ALL of their parents bought them passes. My guess is 90% of those kids didn't belong there, because they didn't pay to be there ... and in that case, Steiner should have had an employee checking everyone's pass and moving those who didn't have them along. From what my cabin mate was told on the Amsterdam last fall, Steiner will only allow a certain number of people in the thermal suite each day and people with a weekly pass get first dibs. So that tells me that Steiner will not sell a daily pass to anyone if the suite is being used to capacity on any given day. Therefore, if all those kids were in there, as the OP alleges, then there is no way they were all in there legitimately.

 

Sounds to me like Steiner needs to police the area a bit more carefully, and make sure that all those using it are entitled to be there.

 

This unauthorized use, as opposed to a couple of teens using the facilities because their parents got them a pass, seems to be the problem.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

But,