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HAL under 3 years old?


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There's never a guarantee of availability, but yes, there is baby sitting. You can ask at the Front Desk. People who staff the Front Desk sometimes are willing to baby sit during their off hours.

It becomes a question of how many people want to do it when you need a baby sitter, and how many other passengers want a sitter at the same time.

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From HAL's site:

 

 

Youth Programs

 

On Holland America ships, we provide a wide variety of exciting youth and teen friendly activities and facilities for guests ages 3 to 17. With supervised fun for our younger guests, the entire family can have the cruise vacation of their dreams.

Safe and Managed Supervision

You can feel at ease knowing that your child's onboard experience is safe and well-managed. All Club HAL® activities are supervised by permanent, full-time staff, and are designed to be kid friendly and age appropriate. Youth Staff hold degrees in education, childhood development, recreation, leisure studies or related fields.

Programs Available

  • Club HAL® — Kids*: Children, ages 3-7, can participate in such activities as pirate treasure hunts, hands-on pizza making, storytelling, "Little Artists" crafts, ice cream sundae parties and a farewell pajama party. Children in the Kid's age group must be toilet trained. Children in pull-ups or diapers are not allowed in the youth facilities, due to mandates from US Public Health. Exceptions to this rule cannot be made.
  • Club HAL® — Tweens*: Tweens, ages 8-12 take part in Xbox and Wii tournaments, relay races, scavenger hunts, karaoke disco parties and participate in the award-winning National Park Service Jr. Ranger Program in Alaska on Alaska cruises.
  • The Loft and The Oasis*: Teens, ages 13-17 enjoy mocktail mixology classes, late night sporting competitions, teen yoga and hip hop classes, guys verses girls scavenger hunts, cooking demos, tech classes and teen only night club events. When there are more than 100 children on board, a HAL Talent Show is offered. (The Loft and Oasis are not available on the Prinsendam. The Oasis is located on the Statendam, Ryndam, Veendam, Rotterdam, Zaandam, Volendam and Amsterdam.)

 

 

 

*On the ms Prinsendam, youth activities are offered for ages 5-17. All other ships offer youth activities for ages 3-17.

Parents /Guardians should note that each program features age specific events and children are required to participate in the program designed for their chronological age. No exceptions will be made.

Daily Programs

 

Times may vary based on the number of children on board and staffing:

Kids and Tweens

  • Sea Days: 9:00am – 11:30am, 1:00pm – 4:00pm and 7:00am – 10:00pm
  • Port Days: 8:00am – 4:00pm and 7:00pm – 10:00pm

 

 

 

Teens

  • Sea Days: 10:00am – 12:00pm, 2:00pm – 6:00pm and 8:00am – 12:00am
  • Port Days: 8:00am – 8:00pm (non-hosted) and 8:00pm – 12:00am

 

 

Kids & Teens Culinary Arts Center Program

HAL Kids Culinary Workshops now offer children a unique and fun learning experience. Kids will learn basic cooking techniques, kitchen safety, new ingredients and how to follow recipe instructions. Aside from the fun involved, cooking encourages kids to think about numbers and measuring, cleanliness, safety and time management. The Culinary Art Center is a place where questions are encouraged and having fun is a must!

 

HAL Kids Culinary Workshops are geared toward two age groups; ages three to seven and ages eight and up. Teenagers 15 and up may participate in the adult classes.

  • The menus range from simple to teen gourmet
  • Demonstration style and hands-on classes are offered
  • Each student receives copies of the recipes prepared in class
  • All classes are complimentary and last approximately one hour

 

 

Additional Family Services

Holland America Line is dedicated to making your family's cruise vacation memorable and happy for each member of your family. We serve a wide variety of kid-pleasing food, including special sandwiches, tacos, hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza. Baby food, high chairs and booster seats may be requested in advance of boarding. On sea days, babysitting services are available through the Front Office for a small surcharge for children 3 years of age or older. This service is provided by staff on a volunteer basis, and may not always be available. Babysitting service is not offered while the ship is in port, although Club Hal does offer activities for children aged 3-12 between 8:00am and 4:00pm on port days. Special kid-friendly birthday parties can also be arranged with advance notice.

Extended Hours

Club HAL’s port day activities as well as After Hours is available for children ages 3-12 who meet Club HAL’s eligibility requirements. (Children must be pre-registered for the program in the way of a completed parental consent form, they must be potty trained, out of pull ups and 100% independent in the restroom as the youth staff are not permitted to assist.) Club HAL® After Hours is available on all ships (except the ms Prinsendam) from 10:00pm - 12:00am for children 3 years of age or older. The fee is US$5.00 per child, per hour. Parents must pick up their children on time or a late fee is charged. For babysitting outside of the hours offered in Club HAL, guests may check at the Front Office to schedule this service provided by staff on a voluntary/limited basis only.

Port Day Activities

Activities will be offered when in port from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm. A lunch service is available for those attending port day activities between the hours of 11:00am – 1:00pm. Children must be registered and signed into and out of port day programming by a parent or guardian.

Special Needs

HAL Youth Programs recognize that some children may have special needs. Special needs children are invited to attend activities based on their chronological age. HAL Youth Programs have many staff trained to work with special needs children. Guests should make HAL aware of this when booking their reservation.

Important Notes

A limited number of high chairs, booster seats and cribs are available at no charge. These must be reserved in advance at the time of booking. An international children's menu is offered at dinner and includes a variety of appetizers, salads and soups, and standard items such as hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza and chicken, plus chef's specials like beef tacos, grilled cheese, fish and chips or spaghetti.

 

I found the part that I highlighted in red to be interesting. I can remember when there wasn't an age limit for the baby sitting.

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I disagree they don't cater to kids. I think it is a great line if your kids are old enough to be in Club HAL like mine are. My husband and I asked all three of them what was their favorite part if the cruise (expecting the beach, swimming, water slides, ice cream..) and it was unanimous that Club HAL was their favorite part. I even struggled to get them to want to spend time with us!! The counselors knew them all by name since there are less kids in board. It was great.

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HAL is not the best line to bring kids. They do not cater to kids.

 

Completely disagree. My son had a blast and was begging to go to Club Hal with his cousins on a daily basis. In addition, on New Years Eve, they offered complimentary extended care past 10 pm, which normally runs $5 per hour per child. Further, my son actually prefered it to Disney as it is much lower key and more one on one. The counselors were even kind enough to write thank you notes to the kids at the end of the week.

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I disagree they don't cater to kids. I think it is a great line if your kids are old enough to be in Club HAL like mine are. My husband and I asked all three of them what was their favorite part if the cruise (expecting the beach, swimming, water slides, ice cream..) and it was unanimous that Club HAL was their favorite part. I even struggled to get them to want to spend time with us!! The counselors knew them all by name since there are less kids in board. It was great.

 

 

Thanks - it wasn't our first choice however they along with disney and NCL were the only lines not going to charge us a full 3rd price for an 11 month old. Disney was just too $$ for the 6 adults....

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