Noordam, Club Hal, Children under 5?

[shygirl]

Just looking over the new website and under children's club section states: " Children under 5 may attend Club Hal activities; but must be supervised by adult" Is this true? We leave in 2 weeks with a 4 year old and did not see this before. Are adults just hanging around the kid's club with the other children in the 3-7 age group? We don't leave him there too much; but would like to have few dinners and shows without the kids.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Hi Shygirl, I'm not sure where you're reading this on HAL's website. Here's a link to HAL's activities page; click on "youth" for details about Club HAL. (The web site is slow, so give it a minute for the info to appear). Our experience has been that Club HAL offers programs conducted by qualified counselors on all its ships for ages 3-17, with the exception of Prinsendam, which offers programs for ages 5-17. There is a toddler program where toddlers under age three may use the Club HAL facilities under parental supervision for a limited amount of time when the facilities are not being used by the older kids.

 

Enjoy your adult evening time on your cruise:) Our daughter had a blast in the age 3-7 program.

[shygirl]

Just called HAL and the nice operator named Jennifer put me on hold for a long time to check. Looks like it's a misprint. Middleagemom-you're right.

Children under 3 needs adult supervision. Our 4 year old is potty trained and is good to go! Just got really nervous seeing it in writing on their new website. It is in the FAQ section for booked guest.

 

I too hate the new website!

[carosave]

glad you got it cleared up. I do think the Prinsendam has an age limit of 5. FYI, my 4 year old was on the Westerdam in Club Hal, without me:) !

[katyf]

so can kids under 3 go to the kids club w/ an adult? i wasn't aware of that. we board on wednesday w/ my 2yo and just assumed any kids activies were out for us.

[katyf]

so can kids under 3 go to the kids club w/ an adult? i wasn't aware of that. we board on wednesday w/ my 2yo and just assumed any kids activies were out for us.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

so can kids under 3 go to the kids club w/ an adult? i wasn't aware of that. we board on wednesday w/ my 2yo and just assumed any kids activies were out for us.

 

On our past HAL cruises, the Club HAL facilities have been open for a brief period in the middle of the day for parents with toddlers under age 3 when the older kids weren't using the space (Club HAL typically takes a lunch break from noon until 2 pm). This "toddler time" is not a structured program at all, and there are no Club HAL counselors involved. It's just you and your kids under age 3 being allowed to use the emptry play space while Club HAL is closed for the lunch break. You must stay with your toddler while using the Club HAL facilities, and you must get permission from the Club HAL staff. To be a part of the actual supervised Club HAL program, your children must be ages 3 and up, and must be potty-trained.

 

Check with the Club HAL staff when you board. There is usually a Club HAL representative available during boarding in the terminal who answers questions and hands out info regarding the program.

 

So, the short answer is "no", your two year old can't be part of the actual kid's club, but you and your child may be able to use the space for playing together when the Club HAL program is not underway. I'm sorry for any confusion my statement above may have caused.

[sargenet]

My son is 4 years old and we talked to all the cruise lines about their programs. I only wanted to do a 3-4 days cruise to see how my son would do. He is very hyperactive and sometimes does not adjust well to new situations. My sister (42) was going with us so we didn't want to go on Disney, so we found out Holland America was offering a special 3 day cruise to the Bahamas on 4/19. I talked to reservations about their Club Hal, and she told me we could take my son to dinner at the buffet, then he could go to Club Hal we went to dinner and a show. She also told me that the program wasn't open during the day for those 2 port days, but the website said different. It was on a Sunday so she told me to call ship services in the morning to confirm port day Club Hal services. I booked the cruise at 3:30pm, and following up the next morning with ship services only to be told that Club Hal doesn't open till 8pm in the evenings.

 

That really upset me because if the agent told me that, I never would have booked the cruise. My son goes to bed at around 8:30pm. The way she explained it to me was that I could provide dinner for my son, then he could stay in the program while we went to dinner and enjoyed the activiies. She even set us up on "open dining" so we could go as soon as we dropped him off.

 

Ship services suggested that since Club Hal would not meet my needs and it was not what the agent had quoted me, I should talk to reservations and ask for a refund since it was less than 24 hours since I booked.....

 

After an hour and a half talking with 2 lead supervisors and the head supervisor in reservations, they refused to cancel my reservation and refund any of my money. Basically I stood to lose $759.13, plus additional fees to change airfares to match up with another cruise line (like Carnival, which does offer their program... they'll even feed my son, starting at 6pm).

 

Even though they knew that I never would have made this reservation had the agent provided me with this info, they refused to give me any money back. They said that just because I now had a "dinner conflict" that did not constitute a reason to cancel.

 

I tried to talk to the "Director" who made this final decision and was told that she does not talk to customers. They did tell me that they would write up a request that would go up to the president on my behalf, but it would take 6-8 weeks to get an answer and they did not think I would get a refund. That didn't help me out because I have $800 in non-refundable tickets.

 

I would love to hear of anyone who went on a Holland America cruise and was able to use their children's program before 8pm in the evening. If not, then were they informed this by reservations before they booked their trip.

 

If they did take a small child into the formal dining room, how was the experience?

 

This will be my 12th cruise, but the first with a small child, and the first on Holland America.

Thanks

Kelly

[Two if by Sea]

I wish I had any useful advice or anything other than sympathy and hope that it will eventually be resolved.

 

You could try disputing the charges on your credit card statement, but as the issue is HAL's refund policy that may not help either.

 

The one thing I can think of is that if it was really less than 24 hours since you had made the reservation, there may be some sort of state law in your state that provides for recission of a contract. But that could take longer than the 6-8 weeks they're talking about at HAL.

 

I guess my one other thought is that perhaps you could get a one-on-one babysitter for the time after your child's dinner and during yours. That is of course not what you had in mind, but if they're a fun person maybe your son will enjoy the attention and you could have some time for a nice meal.

[Zeta3]

Sorry you didn't get good information about Club HAL. It is true it is generally closed between 4 or 5 pm and 8 pm in the evenings. I think many parents do feed their kids and then take them to Club HAL at 8pm and enjoy a late dinner. When we sailed in December we ate together in the Lido and my nephew went to Club HAL after dinner and my daughter did not. It worked for us but we were a family group of 10 so we all took turns watching the kids in the evenings.

[sargenet]

I was told that they would give me $50 credit on board and they would work with me to find staff to babysit my son while we had dinner. My concern was they were talking about watching him in my cabin. Not only do I feel uncomfortable with a stranger being alone in my cabin with my son ... there would also not be much to do inside the cabin for a very active 4 year old.

 

I just wish the HAL agent would have given me this information, and I would have booked on Carnival instead. The agent that booked me said I could take my son to the buffet at 5:30pm when it opened, then bring him to Club HAL so we could go to dinner and see the show. We talked about how wonderful it would be not to take him in the dining room, because he is very hyperactive and would not be able to sit still during the meal.

 

I honestly cannot see why they would not work with me to cancel this. Especially since it wasn't even 24 hours. It is not like they won't rebook the cabin. They have months to do so. I makes me feel very disappointed in the cruise line and I haven't even sailed.

[sargenet]

And I wanted to add that my sister NEVER would have agreed to come with me if she had to sit through a long dinner with her nephew. She's been out to eat with us and doesn't want to experience that again!! Here I told her we would have long, nice dinners all by ourselves!

 

We did cruise as a big group when my son was 9 months old (on another cruise line). Our family did take turns watching him, and someone always had to leave the table before dessert and take him for a walk....

 

Someone might say we should have gone on Disney (which I love and have sailed on twice).. however I was saving that for my husband (military guy) when he was available. My sister had no desire to go on Disney.. her kids are grown!

[Two if by Sea]

Another thought: how about booking a late dinnertime, and shifting your son's awake hours while onboard? Cruises probably will shift all your schedules anyhow, so maybe he can get up an hour later and use Club Hal from 8pm to 9:30pm while you eat?