Alaska cruise with small children

[Vacation2010]

I am considering taking an Alaskan cruise on June 6 with a 3 year old and a 4 year old on the Amsterdam. Does anyone have any insight or experience as to how suited this cruise is for children of this age? What about the hours and programming for young children in Club HAL? I spoke to Holland America representative today, and she told me that the hours of HAL are dependant on the number of children on the cruise, but she was unable to tell me how many children in this age group (historically or currently) typically go on the Alaskan cruise in June. If Club HAL is open, is their programming for 3 and 4 year olds worthwhile? Do the care providers really engage the children, or is it more just a room to let the children do what they want. Also, I saw that there is one pool on the ship - is it really warm enough to swim in? Do they allow children? Is the pool filled with fresh water or salt water? Also, can anyone tell me what might be some good excursions for a 3 and 4 year old? We would be going to Sitka, Ketchikan, and Juneau. Does the ship have babysitters that will come to your room if the parents want to go out after the kids go to sleep? Thanks so much! I appreciate any insight and information anyone can give me!

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I am considering taking an Alaskan cruise on June 6 with a 3 year old and a 4 year old on the Amsterdam. Does anyone have any insight or experience as to how suited this cruise is for children of this age? What about the hours and programming for young children in Club HAL? I spoke to Holland America representative today, and she told me that the hours of HAL are dependant on the number of children on the cruise, but she was unable to tell me how many children in this age group (historically or currently) typically go on the Alaskan cruise in June. If Club HAL is open, is their programming for 3 and 4 year olds worthwhile? Do the care providers really engage the children, or is it more just a room to let the children do what they want. Also, I saw that there is one pool on the ship - is it really warm enough to swim in? Do they allow children? Is the pool filled with fresh water or salt water? Also, can anyone tell me what might be some good excursions for a 3 and 4 year old? We would be going to Sitka, Ketchikan, and Juneau. Does the ship have babysitters that will come to your room if the parents want to go out after the kids go to sleep? Thanks so much! I appreciate any insight and information anyone can give me!

 

Hi, I've been away from HAL cruising for a while, and it's been two years since I cruised with a young child, so I'm not the most qualified to answer you. I'm sure others with more recent experience will chime in.

 

In my experience, Club HAL does its best job with the youngest group, ages 3-7. My own daughter loved Club HAL at this age. HAL offers a structured, organized program for this age group. On sea days, there is a morning, afternoon, and evening session. On port days, there is also a program, but you need to sign up for it the evening before, and it's much less structured, in my experience.

 

In early June, a lot of schools are already on vacation, so there should be other children onboard, but not huge numbers. Alaska cruises don't have the high numbers of kids you would find in Europe or the Caribbean, regardless of cruiseline. In early June, on HAL, I'm going to guess maybe around 75-100 kids of all ages, at the most?

 

You can call ship's services a little closer to your cruise, and in my experience, which may be obsolete by now, you can indeed verify the number of children in each age group. No other information is divulged, simply the numbers. I have done this with each of my HAL cruises in the past.

 

I think ages 3 and 4 may be a little young for Alaska, but I would say go for it. Your children may be good little travelers. I think you could find excursions that would interest them. Check with the Alaska ports of call forum here on Cruise Critic, there's plenty of good info there. We did some pretty exciting excursions in Alaska, but my youngest was seven, then.

 

The Lido pool is kept covered in inclement weather and it gets quite toasty in there. As I recall, it's fresh water. I've seen plenty of kids in that pool, even on the Alaska cruises. It does depend on what they're used to. Living as we do in Washington state, my children are used to cool and cold waters.

 

If there are staff members onboard who would like to make some extra money, in-cabin babysitting is available. These staff members are ladies, as I recall, not gentlemen. Check with the front desk upon embarkation to make arrangements. I can't help you with the specifics here, because I brought along a grandmother to assist us:) and we didn't need babysitting.

 

If you have any more questions, I'll be happy to try and answer them, but there are gaps in my middle-aged memory. It's time for another cruise......

[Alaskabound77]

We did an Alaskan cruise in July with a 1 year old and a 4 year old. Honestly, I would not recommend this at all. No need to discuss the difficulties of a 1 year old, but the 4 year old really did not enjoy the trip. I found Club HAL to be a real disappointment and we used it for about 15 minutes. Maybe your kids would do better since they have each other but mine was not interested in being left there alone at all. And he goes to daycare full time so it's not like he doesn't spend time away from me. I also found the excursions to be difficult with small children. We did the horse ride in Victoria and the children froze. We also did the Whale watching trip in Ketchican and the 4 year old slept through the whole thing. We thought it was great but would have been better without sleeping kids. We swam in the pool in Juneau and it was pretty cold. It was a nice day so they opened up the roof but it wasn't nice enough to really be swimming outside. Finally, the dinners are very hard with small kids. You should expect your meal to last at least 1.5 hours and that is a very long time with small kids. Honestly, I would delay this trip, if I was you. It's expensive and they won't remember a single thing (mine has already forgotten most of it). And you simply can't relax with small kids around. There is a poster on here who always used to post something like, "no kids on HAL ships." Before the cruise, I thought his posts were sort of rude. Now I see the wisdom in his words. We will not do another HAL cruise with kids (but would consider it when they head off to college). We are considering a Disney cruise but I will not do that until the little one is at least 5 years old and probaly will do 6 years.

[carosave]

I think if you have reasonable expectations, you will be fine. By that I mean: as Alaskabound indicates--don't expect your kids to make incredible memories of a vacation not many get to have. Don't expect, for yourselves, you will get to see everything and do everything you want.

 

But, to answer more specifically--we have a 5 year old dd, who at 4, loved Club Hal. (We did two 10 days in the Med--there were not many kids aboard. The second ten days she was about the only kid there most times) She did, this summer, when we were at a hotel, ask if Club Hal was upstairs...:) She does, though, love to color, draw, be crafty, and play games. She is also an only child, who was not in daycare--just started kindergarten this year, so her expectations about being entertained may have been different. (She was in pre-school for two mornings a week prior to our cruise). Middle aged mom is right about the hours--that was our experience. I do think numbers make a difference in how structured the experience is--higher means more structure--lower means the kid(s) get to dictate more.

 

We typically have only taken her to the main dining room a few times throughout each cruise. This is in part due to dh, not completely dd, though. BUT--even with a good kid, it generally is a long time to sit, and wait for food. We did usually take something with us for dd to do-Color Wonder or similar. We go to Lido alot (lots of choices for our dd as she generally like some type of noodle, although no specific menu for kds there) and also order room service.

 

We did not do ship organized shore excursions. We felt that they were, in general, too long for her, and, didn't want to inflict a frustrated/tired kid on a bus full of HAL passengers. We were able to organize private tours (again, this was the Med) so did that instead. We might have chosen some "shorter" ones if we had been unable to plan for ourselves.

 

I am not sure about the pool--dh and I did an inside passage cruise about 6 years ago, now, and I don't remember how well utilized the lido pool was--but I do seem to remember it being fairly cool a couple of years ago when I had dd in it. (She was toilet trained and not wearing a swim diaper)

 

All that said--we are going this summer on a cruise tour with dd. Our planned ship excursions will still be minimal, I think, although we haven't made final decisions. I do think, that if still offered as it was in the Med, dh and I may do something (ie,glacier trek) while dd stays in Club Hal. We try to balance with family time--like a trip to the dog sled/kennels.

 

Hope that helps--but ultimately, you know your kids best in terms of what they can handle and like.

[Alaskabound77]

I just spent some time reading the misbehaving children post and I started to realize that part of what made our trip so stressful is that we worked really hard to not have our children impact other passengers. I really don't think that HAL and small children is a good fit. I wrote up a long review of our trip which might give you more insight into cruising HAL with small children and I can post a link if you are interested. I spent a lot of time on cruisecritic before our trip and learned how special the HAL cruises are to the people that love their ships. The HAL people on cruisecritic are generally seeking a sophisticated vacation that includes fine dining, formal wear and a general air of elegance. And that frequently does not include young children.

[cruisecrasy]

Perhaps u might consider researching RCCL and Princess also for the family-type cruise u require as I tend to agree with Alaskabound77 regarding HAL. I am off in May on HAL on my 11th cruise to Alaska, so have a bit of experience..

 

One major consideration is that it is usually a bit too cool in June (earliest cruising in June shld be the last week) for swimming on an Alaskan cruise & might be better to consider July or August to have a better chance at warm enough weather to swim..or even to go 'decking' (walking around the outside decks...) Then there is the rain to consider when on excursions which is much more likely before the mid to end of June..

 

Hope my suggestions are helpful.

[Travalerie]

I thought Club Hal was a little chaotic for my 4 year old. At times there was not adequate staffing in my opinion. They had no limits to how many kids they could take and sometimes it was like one person for 12-15 kids. My daughter just wanted to play so we just stayed close by. There was no one to take kids to the bathroom and stuff like that because they had to stay with the other kids. At HMC it was just dangerous. One staff person with many kids; its hard to know how many because the sign up sheet got wet so she just said, don't worry about signing them in. Meanwhile she is getting buried in the sand and kids are just running around up around the slide, etc. I don't know how someone did not get hurt or lost that day. If you use Club HAL like we did, just as an activity for the kids and not really a babysitter, you will be fine. When we go to Alaska we will just make it a family trip and pretty much keep our kids with us.

[CC Help Michell]

<caveat -- I love children (though I couldn't have my own) -- I have five nieces and nephews, and teach ages 8-10 every day>>

 

Disclaimer aside...

 

I think Alaska is all about the ports and the scenery. When passengers too young to appreciate those things (like the little ones here) are included in the party, I think the adults in charge have 2 choices. Either the "dog wags its tail" -- the adults book the ship/itinerary/port times they choose, and hope that the cruise ship will have activities for the younger set............or................the "tail wags the dog" and decisions are made with the younger folks in mind, trying to make sure they will be happy on the trip.

 

Note, in either scenario it's extremely unlikely those youngsters will remember the trip/efforts made in their behalf. That doesn't mean those so inclined won't find a value in making that the priority -- it's just an observation.

 

My personal view is that if the focus of the adults on the trip is on the children and their satisfaction, Alaska is the wrong itinerary. Book a garden variety Caribbean cruise on any mainstream line serving pax of all ages, and save Alaska for later, when one can travel with those who appreciate what the Great Land offers and couldn't care less about the kid's club, bowling alleys, rock walls, etc.

[cruisecrasy]

<caveat -- I love children (though I couldn't have my own) -- I have five nieces and nephews, and teach ages 8-10 every day>>

 

Disclaimer aside...

 

I think Alaska is all about the ports and the scenery. When passengers too young to appreciate those things (like the little ones here) are included in the party, I think the adults in charge have 2 choices. Either the "dog wags its tail" -- the adults book the ship/itinerary/port times they choose, and hope that the cruise ship will have activities for the younger set............or................the "tail wags the dog" and decisions are made with the younger folks in mind, trying to make sure they will be happy on the trip.

 

Note, in either scenario it's extremely unlikely those youngsters will remember the trip/efforts made in their behalf. That doesn't mean those so inclined won't find a value in making that the priority -- it's just an observation.

 

My personal view is that if the focus of the adults on the trip is on the children and their satisfaction, Alaska is the wrong itinerary. Book a garden variety Caribbean cruise on any mainstream line serving pax of all ages, and save Alaska for later, when one can travel with those who appreciate what the Great Land offers and couldn't care less about the kid's club, bowling alleys, rock walls, etc.

 

I'm in agreement - Alaska isn't the best itinerary for young children..

 

Have happy cruisin'!

[Alaskabound77]

I agree on the Club HAL stuff. We walked in a few times and overheard the only staff member who was completely overwhelmed saying "come on, guys, you are supposed to be having fun" in a very exasperated voice. That might be okay for 7 years and above but it simply scared our 4 year old. Also, the weather was tough. We had a large suite and expected the kids to be able to play on the deck a little. We had one nice day (Juneau) and the rest of the days it was rainy and cold.

[kryos]

I really don't think that HAL and small children is a good fit. I wrote up a long review of our trip which might give you more insight into cruising HAL with small children and I can post a link if you are interested.

I agree with you 100% about HAL not generally being a good fit for kids, but that said, I think Alaska sailings could be different. I think HAL runs special programming for kids on those sailings, things that provide for age-specific activities that let them get acquainted with the wildlife. The OP's kid is very young, too, and that makes a difference. I actually think HAL's children's program could be better for younger children than those of other lines. Since you don't get anywhere near as many kids on a HAL sailing, the younger ones don't become overwhelmed by having a counselor they have to share with hundreds of other kids. They get lots of one-on-one time and I think younger children tend to thrive in that sort of environment. A June cruise should have a decent number of kids on it, so I can't imagine the children's program won't be fully staffed.

 

Now, if the OP's kid was a pre-teen or teen, I would agree that HAL wouldn't be a good fit ... especially if this was, say, a longer, more exotic itinerary, such as Europe or South America.

 

But in the OP's specific case, given that her child is young and the cruise is a seven-day Alaska itinerary, I think HAL might actually be a great line for her cruise.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[cruisecrasy]

I agree with you 100% about HAL not generally being a good fit for kids, but that said, I think Alaska sailings could be different. I think HAL runs special programming for kids on those sailings, things that provide for age-specific activities that let them get acquainted with the wildlife. The OP's kid is very young, too, and that makes a difference. I actually think HAL's children's program could be better for younger children than those of other lines. Since you don't get anywhere near as many kids on a HAL sailing, the younger ones don't become overwhelmed by having a counselor they have to share with hundreds of other kids. They get lots of one-on-one time and I think younger children tend to thrive in that sort of environment. A June cruise should have a decent number of kids on it, so I can't imagine the children's program won't be fully staffed.

 

Now, if the OP's kid was a pre-teen or teen, I would agree that HAL wouldn't be a good fit ... especially if this was, say, a longer, more exotic itinerary, such as Europe or South America.

 

But in the OP's specific case, given that her child is young and the cruise is a seven-day Alaska itinerary, I think HAL might actually be a great line for her cruise.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

My experience tells me that in early to mid June there aren't as many kiddies as in late June thru the summer months of July & August (when children are out of school) and u have got to admit the weather isn't usually as good then either..

Since the cruise features 3 port days on a 7 day inside passage cruise, it cld mean the cruiser might not have such an enjoyable time trying to keep themselves & 2 (not just 1) little kids occupied & dry..As for swimming, forget it - much too cold usually unless they get very lucky in early June... Besides, as another poster suggested quite correctly, nothing much for such young children to see, do or remember even..

 

I wld consider at the very least a different date...

 

Whatever is chosen, I do hope the trip is enjoyable!! :)

[kryos]

My experience tells me that in early to mid June there aren't as many kiddies as in late June thru the summer months of July & August (when children are out of school) and u have got to admit the weather isn't usually as good then either..

The weather is gonna be the OP's biggest challenge, that's for sure. I think late May/early June can be iffy, just like late in the season (September). That's why these Alaska sailings are priced lower during these time periods. The weather could really make for a not so nice vacation.

 

When I boarded the Statendam on September 20 in Vancouver, it had just returned from its last Alaska sailing of the season. Many of those passengers had stayed onboard to make the coastal sailing to San Diego, after which the ship was heading to Hawaii. Well, we heard a lot of grumblings. Apparently that Alaska sailing was a bust ... it pretty much rained every day. It was raining cats and dogs the day we boarded in Vancouver. Many of those people said "never again." They would never take an Alaska cruise so late in the season despite the lower fares. It just wasn't worth it.

 

So, yes, as for the weather, I agree with you. Perhaps the OP should consider something a little later in June ... when there will be more kids on the ship, plus the weather is likely to be a bit better for Alaska.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[hammybee]

Last I sailed in Alaska was in mid May. There were plenty of pre-school aged children, onboard. The casual dining, LIDO was jammed with strollers in the early evening as families with young children sought a more casual and relaxed dining experience than that is offered in the main dining room.

 

Back in the day, my daughter loved CLUB HAL. Experiences vary.

 

Young children cannot appreciate Alaska or any destination travel. At that age, it's all about them and their routine. A 4 year old might pick up on parent's excitement, seeing a whale but then again, they like gold fish in a bowl. Know what I mean?

[Alaskabound77]

 

Young children cannot appreciate Alaska or any destination travel. At that age, it's all about them and their routine. A 4 year old might pick up on parent's excitement, seeing a whale but then again, they like gold fish in a bowl. Know what I mean?

 

And goldfish in a bowl is so much cheaper. I felt like I worked so hard on our cruise. Much harder than I do at home. I really needed some downtime at my desk upon our return.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

In my initial post (post #2 in this thread), I responded more positively because I didn't wish to discourage the original poster, Vacation 2010. Some families travel together, to a variety of exotic destinations, and do very well. Others are happiest in an environment that more closely resembles their own. I guess it's a matter of knowing yourself and your children. Personally, my observation has been that young children are perfectly happy with a wading pool, swimming pool, or a beach in a warm climate, and some playmates. They don't need much (gold fish in a bowl). It's we grown-ups who always seem to need more (whales).:)

[cccole]

We have traveled with our children since they were old enough to be on the plane (6 weeks.) Our youngest was 4 on our Celebrity cruise to Alaska. I never made travel arrangements with the expectation that they would remember the experience other than our family time. I thought Alaska was a great trip for us and the kids really enjoyed it. I do not remember that they used the pool. We cruised the first week of June and the outdoor temperatures were nice but not pool weather. I love vacations with the family because there is just time to spend with them...no laundry, no cooking, no carpooling, etc., etc. We never expected our children to remember all of the places they visited but it is amazing what memories they come up with now. For us, traveling with the kids was a wonderful family adventure and an opportunity to show them that there is a HUGE world out there, with lots of people who may dress and may speak differently than us, and lots of incredible things to see.

 

As you can tell, I think that a cruise to Alaska is a wonderful family adventure. And on cruise lines that have fewer children the crew seem to absolutely adore having them. This is just my opinion from my personal experience. Cherie

[wdwlvr94]

we are hoping that it is a great choice! we have a HAL cruise planned for early may with our child who will turn 5 on the sailing....i am sure he won't remember, but we will never forget :)

we went back and forth about taking him and decided to bring him. he has cruised before and is a fairly easy one to travel with!

 

good luck on your cruise! hopefully, it will be easier and more enjoyable than some of the previous posters suggested!

[kryos]

we are hoping that it is a great choice! we have a HAL cruise planned for early may with our child who will turn 5 on the sailing....i am sure he won't remember, but we will never forget :)

we went back and forth about taking him and decided to bring him. he has cruised before and is a fairly easy one to travel with!

I don't think we give enough credit for what kids will remember. I have memories going back to my toddler years. True, they may not remember details of the trip, but they will remember if it was a good time.

 

I honestly think a four-year-old will do quite well on a HAL sailing to Alaska. Very young children, I believe, are a good fit on HAL. Unlike many of the other lines with megaships, HAL doesn't get overly crowded with kids and therefore the younger ones get a lot of individual attention in the children's program. They need that to feel safe and secure at that age. On many of the other lines, they could wind up with dozens of others in the children's activities, and often that scares them ... it's just too much sensory overload at that age.

 

But it's when the kids get older and more independent of their parents that I think they would (in general) get bored on a HAL sailing and probably would do better on one of the lines that more caters to kids. On HAL they could become a problem ... especially if the parents don't want to be bothered keeping them entertained.

 

In the case of a four-year-old, too, I don't think it's gonna matter a hoot whether or not there are other kids the child's age. At the age of four, kids are pretty much glued to their parents' side anyway, and she may not even want to go to the children's program.

 

Other than the weather challenges of an Alaska cruise that early in June, I think the OP has the makings of a great family cruise and I wouldn't discourage her at all from bringing her child. Alaska and Caribbean sailings are perfect for family time, and as long as the OP realizes that she will have the added responsibility of a child to care for during the sailing, and thus there may be some things that she can't do that otherwise she would if the child weren't there, I think this could be a great vacation, and one that in fact the child very well may remember even though she is only four years old.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[cruisecrasy]

I don't think we give enough credit for what kids will remember. I have memories going back to my toddler years. True, they may not remember details of the trip, but they will remember if it was a good time.

 

I honestly think a four-year-old will do quite well on a HAL sailing to Alaska. Very young children, I believe, are a good fit on HAL. It's when they get older and more independent of their parents that I think they would (in general) get bored on a HAL sailing and probably would do better on one of the lines that more caters to kids.

 

In the case of a four-year-old, too, I don't think it's gonna matter a hoot whether or not there are other kids the child's age. At the age of four, kids are pretty much glued to their parents' side anyway, and she may not even want to go to the children's program.

 

Other than the weather challenges of an Alaska cruise that early in June, I think the OP has the makings of a great family cruise and I wouldn't discourage her at all from bringing her child. Alaska and Caribbean sailings are perfect for family time, and as long as the OP realizes that she will have the added responsibility of a child to care for during the sailing, and thus there may be some things that she can't do that otherwise she would if the child weren't there, I think this could be a great vacation, and one that in fact the child very well may remember even though she is only four years old.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

basically with your comments regarding the 4 yr old, I don't agree its very likely a 4 yr old wld remember much but perhaps the fun had by the family as a whole more than might compensate..

I am however, not as confident in the 3 yr old (they are planning on taking 2 children).

 

Two children under 6 yrs of age are a lot of work & the weather in early June & the possibly of not as much supervision at Club HAL - well perhaps she can manage - not sure I wld want to have 2 kiddies 'clinging' to me on a holiday!

 

Again, I suggest a later date so the weather might be a bit more cooperative and perhaps also Club HAL just might have more supervision..but its just MO anyway!

 

Whatever the OP does, I hope the family as a whole has a great time!!

[Travalerie]

 

Two children under 6 yrs of age are a lot of work & the weather in early June & the possibly of not as much supervision at Club HAL - well perhaps she can manage - not sure I wld want to have 2 kiddies 'clinging' to me on a holiday!

 

 

I guess when they are your kids, should you mind them clinging to you? I mean goodness, if its a family vacation, you bring the family. For us, we don't have the option of taking several different vacations-with the kids/for the kids, without the kids, with the extended family, etc. So if we-the parents-want to see Alaska, the kids are coming with us. Kids will adjust and so will we. Kids clinging and them being a lot of work is just how it is when you have young children, on a cruise or not. The difference is that on a cruise, you are seeing Alaska, meeting new people, having good food and getting a break from the normal day to day.

[cruisecrasy]

I guess when they are your kids, should you mind them clinging to you? I mean goodness, if its a family vacation, you bring the family. For us, we don't have the option of taking several different vacations-with the kids/for the kids, without the kids, with the extended family, etc. So if we-the parents-want to see Alaska, the kids are coming with us. Kids will adjust and so will we. Kids clinging and them being a lot of work is just how it is when you have young children, on a cruise or not. The difference is that on a cruise, you are seeing Alaska, meeting new people, having good food and getting a break from the normal day to day.

 

Had several kiddies of my own & also have grandchildren, so I have some experience with traveling with them..car trips, cruising, RVing, land vacations, etc..

 

When I referred to 'clinging' I mean when the majority of children get bored or overtired they tend to whine, cry, hit each other and sometimes even grab onto u directly...and do not sleep as well in strange places.

 

As far as family outings, I fully understand what is involved and I know that a Mom especially doesn't want a repeat of what exhausts her at home when she is on holiday. I am presuming that is why the OP asked re: Club HAL!!

 

Whatever the OP chooses I sincerely hope they all, as a family, have a great vacation and Mom also gets a break from the daily routine.. :)

 

Have happy cruisin'!

[cruisecrasy]

I guess when they are your kids, should you mind them clinging to you? I mean goodness, if its a family vacation, you bring the family. For us, we don't have the option of taking several different vacations-with the kids/for the kids, without the kids, with the extended family, etc. So if we-the parents-want to see Alaska, the kids are coming with us. Kids will adjust and so will we. Kids clinging and them being a lot of work is just how it is when you have young children, on a cruise or not. The difference is that on a cruise, you are seeing Alaska, meeting new people, having good food and getting a break from the normal day to day.

 

Had several kiddies of my own & also have grandchildren, so I have some experience with travelling with them..car trips, cruising, RVing, land vacations, etc..

 

When I referred to 'clinging' I mean when the majority of children get bored or overtired they tend to whine, cry, hit each other and sometimes even grab onto u directly...and can also be partly caused by not sleeping well in strange places.

 

As far as family outings, I fully understand what is involved and I know that a Mom especially doesn't want a repeat of what exhausts her at home when she is on holiday. I am presuming that is why the OP asked re: Club HAL!!

 

Whatever the OP chooses I sincerely hope they all, as a family, have a great vacation and Mom also gets a break from the daily routine.. :)

 

Have happy cruisin'!

[Travalerie]

Had several kiddies of my own & also have grandchildren, so I have some experience with traveling with them..car trips, cruising, RVing, land vacations, etc..

 

When I referred to 'clinging' I mean when the majority of children get bored or overtired they tend to whine, cry, hit each other and sometimes even grab onto u directly...and do not sleep as well in strange places.

 

As far as family outings, I fully understand what is involved and I know that a Mom especially doesn't want a repeat of what exhausts her at home when she is on holiday. I am presuming that is why the OP asked re: Club HAL!!

 

Whatever the OP chooses I sincerely hope they all, as a family, have a great vacation and Mom also gets a break from the daily routine.. :)

 

Have happy cruisin'!

I am with you...and yes those kids can get cranky without sleep! I have a picture from our Eurodam cruise of the kids crashed out on the bed in the middle of the day right after we boarded. They were finished!