New to HAL

[lfdianne]

Good morning. We are trying to decide on a Baltic cruise for June 2009. We are a family of 6, dh, myself, daughters will be 10 and 18, and our sons will be 13 and 16. We have sailed on RCCL and NCL, the most recent being the Western Caribbean this past January. HAL offers a 10 night on the Eurodam and we are deciding between that and the 12 night on NCL Jewel with 4 sea days. I realize that HAL will be a more formal experience than our last NCL cruise, and I suppose I am mostly concerned about the children on the 2 sea days. What kind of activities does HAL offer on a typical sea day? Our children have always enjoyed the kid's programs, but now that they are getting older, they may want to hang out with new friends. But I am concerned about teens who just roam because there is not enough for them to do.

 

Thanks for any info you have.

[cr1]

lfdianne, I don't have an answer to your question as we have just booked our first HAL cruise. But, I wanted to let you know that we will be sailing the Baltic on Eurodam, embarking on June 22, 2009. We are a family of five, with 3 boys who will be 15, 18 & 21. Since it will be summer vacation I'm sure there will be other teens aboard as well. With such a port intensive itinerary and only 2 sea days, I'm expecting that there will be plenty for the teens to do. Even if there aren't many organized teen activities all my boys need to do is meet a few other teens and they will have a great time going to shows, playing games in the Loft and at the arcade, watching movies, playing basketball, ping pong, etc. They've never roamed a ship before and are always able to find an activity to do.

 

We just got home from an RCL cruise to Alaska. My 20 year old was too old for the teen activities and too young for the casino, but he still had a great time! He enjoyed spending time with his mom and dad at Bingo, Karaoke, lectures, enjoying the scenery from the balcony, shows, etc. All my boys love to cruise and are great travelers, so even if there are no other teens around they will still enjoy the ship and spending time as a family.

 

I'm sure which ever cruise you choose will work out wonderful for your family!

[lfdianne]

Thanks CR1. We are still in the early planning stages, but are considering the June 27 sailing.

[cr1]

Good luck with your planning, I know it's a difficult decision. If you end up on the Eurodam at the end of June you will be on our sailing (June 22). I don't see a Eurodam sailing for June 27th. If you do end up on our sailing at least you will know that there will be some other teen / young adults on board. My kids enjoy meeting other young people on board. By the way, we live in California too.

[NDCruiser]

ifdianne--

 

definitely take HAL. The Baltic is too small & too port-rich for a cruise with 4 sea days! We did the Baltic several years ago on Oosterdam with my daughter & my nephew (then both 16) and they loved it! There were lots of teen activities, but frankly ours were always tired from getting up early for the excursions. I never saw packs of teens roaming the ship, though they often congregated in the Lido to eat desserts!

 

Best advice I can give you--be sure you get 2 days in St. Petersburg, and take the ship tours. There is so much to see in these cities that you will be frustrated trying to do it yourself.

 

Reply if you have any questions & I'll try to help.

[RlrCstr]

I have done a similar itinerary on the Westerdam.

some advice for what it is worth---

do not try to go to Berlin, stay in Rostock and Warnemunde.

You can take the train for an easy ride and see two charming little

cities that you can do on your own with no trouble.

All those that went to Berlin were exhausted and saw very little

as it is a very long trek to get to Berlin and then they were rushed

through a few of the important tourist sites, with no time to really

see or appreciate them. Like all other major world cities, a taste is

good your first time, but the feedback from those that I spoke with

about Berlin was more one of frustration, than having a good time

seeing a few highlights of the city.

In St. Petersburgh, you will not need a tourist visa if you book

a ship excursion or through one of the accredited agencies that

handle ship tours. The port is not near the city, and it will not

be easy on your own. And the red tape to get your own visa is

formidable, and expensive. go with a HAL excursion or look under

ports of call for recommendations of the private tours available.

St. P is a wonderful city, so don't let what I said scare you off.

It will be an amazing adventure for your family there.

The old city in Tallinn is really pretty, and you will be there during

the week, so the markets will be going, etc.

If I were you, I would also plan on at least a day or two extra

so you can stay in Copenhagen and go to Tivoli, etc.

 

I am thinking about doing this one again, and whatever you

do in any of the ports, you will enjoy.

Have a great cruise.

 

Oh, and you were asking about what line? HAL, of course.

[NDCruiser]

I respectfully disagree with the previous post regarding a trip to Berlin from Warnemunde. My sisters and I, all late 40's, did the trip with my teenage daughter and nephew. Yes, it is a long day, but we felt that we had a good taste of Berlin and did not feel rushed. The train pulls up 30 yards from the ship, and it is very comfortable with 1st class cabins and refreshment cars. Several of us slept on the return, but none of us were exhausted. We were back on board in time for the deck cookout that HAL does on Berlin days. Our mother stayed in the Warnemunde/Rostock area and said that she was so bored that she finally just went back to the ship--she did not feel that there was much there beyond the 3 hour ship's tour that she took.

 

I fully endorse the previous poster's comments about St. Petersburg, Tallinn & Copenhagen. Tallinn in particular is a hidden gem, with fabulous medieval architecture and great buys on handmade woolen items.

[kalliekae]

We did the Baltic cruise with our two kids (ages 19 & 21 at that time) in 2003. St. Petersburg was great. However, we spent one day there; and on the second day, we flew to Moscow. If this excursion is still offered, I would highly recommend it as it was the highlight of the whole trip. Our kids were fascinated with the Kremlin tour, Red Square and the KGB tour. It was a 14 hour day and totally worth it.

 

As for Berlin, we did not find it to be a tiring day at all. Our excursion gave us a "taste" of Berlin and that was just fine. The train ride was relaxing and many of us slept on the way home. This cruise had only 2 days at sea and very early days so our kids relaxed on the sea days; but were never bored. There are plenty of things to keep kids busy so I don't think you need to be concerned. I am sure your family will enjoy this cruise!

[Susie51]

I would choose HAL with As You Wish Dining. The flexibility will probably work well for your family.

[CRUISELDP]

We have been cruising HAL for the past 6 years now with our son. He was about 11 years old when we started bringing him on this cruise line. He loves the HAL teen programs. From the first night on board he goes down to the meetings and has made so many friends on each and every cruise that there seemed to be times we did not even see him. We would joke around and beg him to come to dinner with us at least one night.

 

We have also taken him on RCCL a number of times and he says that he much prefers HAL's teen program over the other ships. I don't think you need to worry in the least. Plus the newer ships in their line, like the Eurodam and vista class ships are not that formal and cater more towards families.

[cr1]

Thanks, CRUISELDP, for posting some positive comments about the HAL teen programs! It's good to hear!

[sunshinemullins]

Good luck with your planning, I know it's a difficult decision. If you end up on the Eurodam at the end of June you will be on our sailing (June 22). I don't see a Eurodam sailing for June 27th. If you do end up on our sailing at least you will know that there will be some other teen / young adults on board. My kids enjoy meeting other young people on board. By the way, we live in California too.

CR1,

 

We are also looking at booking the June 22nd cruise on the Eurodam. We "will have" an 18 year old son (turns 18 in Feb) so we are thrilled there will be other kids his age. We have cruised RCCL and Carnival before and he absolutely loves to cruise.

 

We are in Dallas and have never been on Holland American before so don't really know what to expect but thought the "Gems" ports looked fabulous!!

 

The only thing is the rate we were quoted was for an inside cabin so I need to research how much more a larger cabin would be. We don't really have a good TA so I guess I will investigate on HAL's website.

 

Maybe we will see you in Copenhagen!!

[CelebrationFamily]

We just sailed HAL's Eurodam (first HAL cruise, 11th cruise overall) for New Year's. We're booked for the July 2nd Baltic-London cruise this summer.

 

To answer the OP's question...there will be plenty to do for your teens during your two days at sea. There is a basketball court, a screening room, an xbox lounge, explorations cafe with books, dvd's, games and computers, ping pong, putting contest, "walk for the cure" and an enclosed pool. We have a 19 year old daughter and were very concerned that she would be bored on board...but that wasn't a problem at all.

 

Enjoy!

 

Lisa

[HALFans]

Don't have any teen aged children, but 'discovered' there were some 3-4 days into our Oosterdam cruise.

 

The Vista & Signature (Eurodam) class ships have plenty of interesting things for the under 21 crowd. So much so that other PAX (like us) may not realize for several days that they're even onboard. ;)

 

IMHO, Perfect for all concerned! :p