Veendam Childrens Facilities

[MalNZ]

We are booked on the Veendam from Vancouver to Seward on the 17th May 2009. We are travelling with 2 children aged 6 and 7.

 

Would appreciate hearing from anyone whom has travelled with children on this ship, as I have heard that there is not a specific area for children.

 

Look forward to your comments

 

Mal NZ

[Krazy Kruizers]

There is Club HAL -- as to how many children will be on your cruise that early in the season -- it is hard to tell.

 

We have been on cruises when there were but a handful of children and a a result Club HAL didn't do much.

[Jemima]

My child is grown, but I've observed that Club Hal operates even when there are just a handful of children. On our Veendam cruise in April 2007, there were about 7 kids and Club Hal was operating. I also talked to a couple of parents and their kids were enjoying Club Hal.

[MalNZ]

Gosh I did not realise that this cruiseline is not so popular with families!

 

Do they have a special area for the activities?

 

I hope the club is running when we are on board.

 

Can children go to see any of the shows and are they allowed in the main dining room?

 

What did you think of the Veendam?

 

We were going to go on the Sapphire Princess but we were able to get a good price with HAL, with our girls at only US$99.00 each, so saved about $1200.00 NZD.

 

Hope we have made a good choice, we wanted this to be quite a high light of our trip.

 

Look forward to your comments.

 

Mal NZ

[pipedreams62]

Gosh I did not realise that this cruiseline is not so popular with families!

 

Do they have a special area for the activities?

 

I hope the club is running when we are on board.

 

Can children go to see any of the shows and are they allowed in the main dining room?

 

What did you think of the Veendam?

 

We were going to go on the Sapphire Princess but we were able to get a good price with HAL, with our girls at only US$99.00 each, so saved about $1200.00 NZD.

 

Hope we have made a good choice, we wanted this to be quite a high light of our trip.

 

Look forward to your comments.

 

Mal NZ

 

 

We were on the Veendam this summer for 2 weeks. The ship is gorgeous. Your kids will have a ball whether there's kids clubs,or kids on the ship. The scenery and the excursions will be memories they will never forget. have fun.

[MalNZ]

Were there many kids on board?

 

Did you see any in the main dining room or show room?

 

We are booked on an inside cabin on Main Deck.

 

Which excursions would you recommend, and what was the weather and sea condition like.

[penelope42]

Were there many kids on board?

 

Did you see any in the main dining room or show room?

 

We are booked on an inside cabin on Main Deck.

 

Which excursions would you recommend, and what was the weather and sea condition like.

 

 

We certainly saw kids in the main dining room on our Veendam Alaska cruise. I don't know much about the shows as we ended up skipping most of those as this was a very port intensive trip. There were kids just hanging out around the ship but I also heard there were many at Club Hal as well. The kids were about the only ones who braved the solarium pool.

[RuthC]

Mal, at that time of year you should find few, if any, kids on board as school is still in session in most areas of the US and Canada. But your kids can still have a good time. The scenery in Alaska is grand, and there's things to do on shore that will get and keep their interest. The cruise has a nice balance of sea and port days, so there's always something to look forward to.

Kids are welcome in the dining room and show lounge, although it's expected they will understand they aren't on a playground and act accordingly. Families typically eat earlier, so if there are other kids aboard it will be easier for yours to meet up with others if they do, too.

I always take an inside cabin, on Main Deck on the R-ships and Lower Promenade on the S-class ships. I'm happy in either location.

This will be a great treat for you and your kids. I took my (then) 15-year old grandgirl there two years ago. She's still talking about it. Not to mention planning our next excursion!

[MalNZ]

Can the sea get rough, is sea sickness a problems on the smaller ships?

 

Have you ever had a cabin upgraded?

 

Excursions - As we will be on quite a tight budget, at some of the ports is there things to do which will not cost so much?

 

Any MUST DO's. As we will be spending a week on the mainland, maybe some things will be cheaper then.

 

Yes, we are definitely looking forward to this trip. Were wanted to see the Canadian Rockies prior to the cruise by RV, but those plans will have to change.

 

Thanks again

Mal NZ

 

Many thanks again for your input.