HAL Kids club and Alaska

[ginger123snaps]

Okay who's gone to Alaska on Holland America with toddlers? Any reviews of your experience would be much appreciated. Concerned about Alaskan ports and the cruise line. My husband has a conference so weighing our options.

[lmg1230]

I haven't been to Alaska on Holland America with toddlers, however, I have been on a cruise to Alaska (on Princess) with an almost 4 year old. We have also cruised on Holland America when our youngest was 5 but in the Caribbean.

 

Do you know what ship it is and what ports you will be visiting? We were on the Eurodam in the Caribbean which we felt had a great kids program - our daughter loved it! The ports that we visited were Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway.

 

I'm happy to help with any questions.

 

Lisa

[beccawes7471]

We were on the Oosterdaam this past June with our daughter who turned 2 while on board. We also had our son, 11 with us. I was a bit disappointed in the kids club as our daughter could not even play in the younger aged one if we stayed, something I misunderstood when we booked. However, it was a wonderful cruise, the staff was always great to both our children and Alaska is such a port cruise that we had plenty to do. We also rented movies a lot from the front desk. while the rest of my family did the whale watching and Mendenhall glacier tour in Juneau, my daughter and I headed to the public library, 5 minutes with stroller on foot from the ship, and had a great time in the children's section. Then we took the tram ride and explored town a bit, ending with a great dinner at a crab shack right in front of our ship. We travelled with my in laws and there was only one night when we did not all eat together in the MDR, and that night they watched our daughter so we could eat at the upscale additional charge restaurant (whose name I clearly cannot recall at this time) . That said, if we went again, I would pick another cruise line that at least had a bit more options for children, but for our first trip to Alaska, we focused on itinerary and were not disappointed at all. I'm happy to answer any additional questions you may have. Have a great time, it's pretty hard not to be in awe of it all.

[TheCalicoCat]

My son at age 2 & 3 loved Carnival though not to Alaska & we only left him alone on the ship for 1 to 2 hours tops - incase you were wondering about leaving your child on the ship while you went on a whale watching tour. (I'm not judging, I considered it myself... Opted against it, but considered it...)

 

With that said, we chose HAL for our Alaska cruise this summer & I am confident that my son will like the club (he goes to day care & his personality...)

[mom2sz]

We've cruised to Alaska when my daughter was 5 months old and in 2010 when my kids were 4 and 7 - both on Holland America. The Alaskan ports are all unique and beautiful and have plenty to offer families. The glacier viewings were always a big hit with kids. If you're going to Glacier Bay, even better, as you will likely see a lot of wildlife. There's plenty of excursions with wildlife viewing that I'm sure will entertain toddlers.

 

We've had great experience with HAL. Their service is wonderful. You may find that there aren't as many families sailing on this ship. I don't know how old your kids are and if you're putting them in the kids' club. If you are, they will get plenty of attention since there won't be that many kids. But, they do have a great, fun and structured kids' program specific to Alaska. My kids loved it.

 

In case you want more info, here is my review and write-up of a HAL ship and our ports on our last cruise - http://alturl.com/owxnv

 

Hope it helps and good luck with your plans.

[ajpmom]

This summer will be my second trip on HAL. I took my kids this last Feb to Mexico on the Oosterdam and we will be doing Alaska this summer.

 

When we were on the Oosterdam, my kids loved Club HAL. They were 5 and 10 at the time. They both have high functioning Autism. Although they are VERY High functioning they still do have some quirks. The Club HAL staff were excellent. The director went out of his way to make sure my kids were having a great time.

 

We went swimming one afternoon and my 5 year old chose to stay in the club, because he wanted to play with his friends.

 

I suggest that you have the early seating for dinner so they can enjoy the club activities after dinner. In Mexico the evening activities were from 7-10pm and my kids went every night. It was a nice break and I was able to pack the last night without any kids assistance.

 

My boys are looking forward to Alaska this year and so am I. It's nice to have a little break when you are on vacation for 2 weeks.