Anyone Cruised HAL with a child ?

[Felizcruiser08]

Hi all,

 

This will be our son's second cruise, the first was the Carib Princess last September, which he loved. We had a great time in all of the ports, however we did not like the crowds, and I swore off large ships for a long time. My son, age 5 and a half, travels everywhere with us, as we believe strongly that travel and learning about other cultures is a great educational experience. He knows how to behave in different settings, and if he ever misbehaves, he is taken immediately away from the situation, as we respect the right for everyone to enjoy their vacation.

 

We chose the Noordam, 10 day Holiday Cruise. However, after reading the posts on HAL forum, there is group of posters who are consistently negative regarding children and families on HAL ships. Then on the other hand, others who I have emailed and posted with say that the Holiday cruise is very festive, school will be out, so many families and a diverse group will be on this sailing.

In your experience, will the pax who dislike having families on board be consumed with watching our every move, shooting us dirty looks ? Not that it will change our plans, just curious about this and want to know what to expect.

 

Ideally, we would like to meet people from all age ranges, my DH and I have had some of our best times on previous cruises meeting a variety of people. We chose HAL because we want a lower key atmosphere, take our son to the amazing ports of call/excursions and enjoy the perks of a smaller ship and our suite : )

 

Any advice on what to expect will be greatly appreciated. Also, have your children enjoyed the Club Hal activities and the cruise in general? Thank you in advance. Carly

[Turtle Girls]

Last October, I took my 3 DD's (ages 4/6/7) on the Zuiderdam. When researching on the HAL board, I started worrying that I made a bad choice because the impression was that they were child haters. They are just a vocal minority. Onboard, the people were very nice and even stopped at our dinner table to say hi to the girls or mention that they had grandchildren, etc. I never felt "looked at".

My girls loved Club HAL even though it wasn't as fancy as some of their other experiences. What was great was the personalized attention they received plus they are still talking about the cold washclothes and lemonade HAL offers when waiting to get back on the ship after a hot day in port!

I'm sure that your family will have a great cruise.

[bateau]

We were on the Noordam in March 06 with our then 6 and 5 year old kids.

 

We were also worried having cruised with Princess before that and the kids had really enjoyed the kids club.

 

They had a great time the staff was great and the fellow passengers were always talking to them and telling them stories about their granchildren.

 

But having said that there was only 17 kids under 18years old.

 

Luckily they made a friend each.

[kaiiak]

We have sailed both C. Princess & HAL Oosterdam w/ our now 12 year old. He liked both cruiselines equally. We sailed HAL during spring (but not a spring break week - there were around 130 kids onboard). You can call HAL before the cruise and request the number of kids onboard.

I too was worried about comments from the HAL board - but honestly the entire trip was positive. We had a great trip and wouldn't hesitate to book again. Go for it...

[MoneyGuy]

My wife says I'm immature. Does that count? :D

[hansolosmom]

We've only done RC & Disney but IMO the people who have problems with children on board really have more an issue with kids are not well behaved. This Aug we did the RC Nick family cruise & I love kids but I was ready to scream over some of the behavior. Even my 10yo made comments & you know if a kid is commenting on anther kids behavior - it's pretty bad! ( & No - my kids are far from perfect & had their own moments on board. )

 

If someone is giving you a dirty look & you feel your child is behaving, then its them that has the problem. So don't worry about it & have fun!

 

I was actually looking at HAL for an Alaskan trip in 2 years, we'll see.

[mmcruise]

We just did a quick HAL 3 night cruise on the Eurodam. We found the kids' facilities adequate, not great. The room was much smaller than on the RC and Carnival ships we'd been on, and activities mostly consisted of board games with a few crafts-not as many structured participatory "learning" activities. It was the first time in 3 cruises that our son declined to go during one of the afternoons we'd planned on having him there. The "un-birthday party" which was supposed to be the big activity for the final night, was a bust when the cupcakes didn't show up. On the whole, it was less fun for him than other lines have been, but it was fine. The adult experiences were great (dining, cabanas, etc.) but we'll probably look at other lines first from now on.

[Felizcruiser08]

Thank you so much for all of your replies! I am so happy that I found this side of the board as the posts are much more positive and informative.

It was great to read positive experiences. I think it will be fine, my son loves being with other children and if there are not that many children on the Holiday cruise, we will be together on shore excursions, so I am sure he will be plenty busy!

I completely understand pax not wanting to be around unruly children, I do not want that either. I will just keep a positive attitude and enjoy our cruise : )

 

Again, Thank you for the feedback. I will be sure to report back, upon our return. Wishing eveyone a great Cruise ! Take care, Carly

[rebeccalouise]

My son and I did Zuiderdam this summer and he loved it. He liked it better than Princess, which we sailed immediately following our Zuiderdam cruise. He liked it better because they had a "talent show" and he liked the kids better on Holland America. It was a good bunch of kids.

 

Have fun. Noordam will have plenty of youth counselors over the holiday. They bring at least 5 extra counselors on for holiday and summer sailings.

[mrszuhwiggins]

Hi -

Thought I'd add my two cents since I was in your shoes two years ago... I found a great deal on a HAL Noordam cruise, but was reluctant to book because of some of the postings regarding children on HAL. I am so glad I did not listen to the (as another poster very aptly called them) "vocal minority". My children (girl age 10 and boy age 8) had their best cruise experience yet - and they have cruised quite a bit. Yes, the room is not as "glizty" as some of the other kids clubs, but the counselors were fantastic - and with a smaller number of kids on board, they can do sooo much more with the group- they rarely spent any time IN the kids club room. The people we met were by and large, very supportive of bringing our children every where we went - whether that was to the shows, to dinner at Cagneys, to a late movie, etc. Most commented on their outfits,their good manners, asked if they were having a good time, and many remembered their names as there were only about 18 kids on board. They felt like celebrities, and they LOVED HAL. So, please - do NOT listen to those who hope to intimidate - the ship is beautiful, and so are the majority of the people who sail HAL.

[nyfamily]

We cruised Noordam for Easter week 10 day cruise last year and our 10 year old DS really enjoyed club Hal. There were approximately 168 children on the ship in her age group. She has been on Carnival as well and she enjoyed Club Hal just as much - just b/c she enjoys being social and really liked the scavenger hunts, talent show, playing games etc. It isn't a WOW program, but she does not need to be wowed. We are looking at HAL again for this winter, so I would say go for it!

[louben]

I was really interested in hearing about your experience! We are taking our two kids 11 & 9 years on the Zuiderdam at the end of March. We decided on this cruise due to the unique itinerary, large cabin and freshwater pools. However, I was beginning to panic slightly after reading various negative reviews regarding HAL & kids. But thankfully you have all put my mind at rest and hopefully we should all have a good time. We do not like overcrowded noisy busy ships, but we do like to see some life and have a chat with others.

 

To be honest, as long as its hot and there is room in and by the pool, my kids and I will all be happy.