20 Month Old on HAL

[Winesnob]

We are looking at a mexico cruise this february and we are bringing our 20 month old son. The 2 cruises we are looking at are on HAL and Royal. Has anyone brought a toddler on HAL and how was your experience. We are aware he cannot use the pools or kids club. Thanks for the advice.

[jlbl4902]

I took my then 18month old on HAL cruise and had 2 different experiences while on the same ship – We had those people who loved kids and then there were those who thought kids shouldn’t be on a cruise. (And they were more then happy to share those thoughts with us.) We did however still have a great time. FYI - We never received a child’s life vest on that cruise. Let me know if you have any other questions and I will try to answer them. We were in the Caribbean.

[Winesnob]

Thanks for the info, what was the staff like and what ship did you go on? We are looking at the Oosterdam out of L.A. Also how were the rooms and did you bring a pack n play or have them provide a crib?

[jlbl4902]

We went on the Zuiderdam – out of FLL. Some of the staff were great while others not so helpful.... I just moved the couch over to the bed and had them make up a bed that way. I am not sure they really like doing that but it works great for me. I have done this on the last 2 cruises as well. My son would never sleep in a port-crib or a play and pack. :( We had a balcony which is nice – it added some more room for my son to run around in.

Not sure of your age but please remember that the average age on HAL is 50+…. I was with my mom on this one. I will say that I thought the food was really good and after the 3rd night in the dining room they were really quick about getting us in and out of there. Let me know if I missed anything or if you have any other questions. My son is now almost 3 ½ and we leave in 10 days for his 4th cruise.

[louben]

Hi, we are sailing on the zuiderdam at end of March and taking our kids. We are also a little apprehensive after reading reviews about children and HAL - however its now booked and I am determined to look forward to it, as this cruise offers such a fantastic itinerary!

 

We sailed on the Norwegian Star from LA down to Acapulco a couple of years ago, and although it was during the Easter hols here in the UK, there didn't seem to be that many kids onboard. There were just a few by the two waterslides where my kids spent most of their time. Interestingly we were chatting to a number of people onboard who were 50+ and couldn't understand why we had taken our children on holiday with us! Last year, we cruised from La Romana on the Costa Atlantica again during our Easter hols, and there were very few kids onboard - 99% older French guests (probably because it originally departed from Guadeloupe). Even so, my kids had a great time! We have also sailed RCL on the Adventurer of the Seas which was full of kids -found that overcrowded (limited room in the pool). So hopefully this one will just be perfect - I will let you know!!

[c-cruise]

I wouldn't hesitate at all to sail on HAL with a 20 month old. Our 2 year old daughter will be going on her 4th HAL cruise in a couple weeks and we have had nothing but positive experiences with the staff and passengers. She has gone with us on Oosterdam twice, Westerdam once and soon Noordam.

 

You will be able to use the kids club facility although not in an official capacity. Just go up and talk with the staff and they will let you know the times when you can bring your child up there to run around as long as you are with them. At least this has been our experience thus far.

 

We have had no problems getting an infant/childrens life vest. The have always handed us one when we walked on board.

 

They provide a pack n' play in the room, but I must admit the first cruise we did with HAL the pack n' play had seen better days, but after wiping it down it was fine. Second time around we brought our own which was a major pain and I wouldn't do again. Third time around we got a pack n' play which appeared to be brand new.

 

Hmm, just noticed the original post on this was back in Sept. Oh well, I wrote all this might as well post it :)