Toddlers on board

[cruisinwith2kids]

Hi. My family is planning an Alaska cruise on Holland America. I have two kids who will be just 2 and just 5 at the time. I've heard that Holland is notoriously kid unfriendly. Can anyone confirm/deny this? Any guidance for cruising Alaska on Holland with a toddler?

 

Thanks in advance!

[dot73]

I don't think it is HAL that is kid unfriendly as much as its passengers. Except for the holiday season, school holidays, and summer, most of HAL's passengers tend to be on the older side and enjoy travelling without children. I am in my late forties, childless, and enjoy HAL because it is "adult" oriented. However, in my six HAL cruises, I have never been disturbed by toddlers. I love to hear their laughter and see their awe of anything new. Unsupervised teens are another story. What makes people angry is when parents refuse to follow basic common sense i.e., allowing babies in diapers to swim in the pool (a real health hazard on a ship), changing dirty diapers on the deck next to people who may be enjoying their lunch, etc. I think you will find the Alaska cruise (especially in the summer months) much more geared to families. You should, however, check to see if there are any programs for your five year-old. Have a great time.

[MOMOFTWOSONS]

Just got back from the Zuiderdam yesterday with my two sons - ages 5 and 9. I was nervous going on the cruise as I read many negative comments about children on cruisecritic.com after I booked my cruise - it seemed like there were a lot of kid unfriendly people on HAL. Well, after just returning, we all had a wonderful time and yes, there were some adults that reacted like the children on board had the plague, but I think you will find that with any cruiseline. Some people are just not kid people. The staff on HAL were great with my boys, especially my youngest son and that's what mattered.

 

Just remember, you can't please everyone and have a wonderful time!!!

[JimVrhovac]

Would not be afraid to take you children on the cruise. We have observed multiple families on the ships and plan to start taking our grandchildren in the next couple years.

 

How well they are accepted depends on the other passangers and the behavior of your kids (no offense ment). We have seen children and adults that have fit into the catagories of THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY.

 

If you run into bad adults ignore them and they will go away.

 

Kids are kids and they will probably be hyper the first couple days as it is a new experience for them. Enjoy the cruise and take things in stride.....

 

Jim & Ruth

[doone]

We have taken my nieces and nephews on a HAL cruise a few years back and found HAL to be great with kids. Their staff is wonderful and what the kids liked the most was that there weren't alot of kids onboard so the counsellors HAL had for the kids programs were able to give the kids alot of attention. The kids still talk about Club HAL and can't wait to sail HAL again next February. I think your kids will enjoy HAL and yes, there are always a few people who will be unfriendly, but I think they are unfriendly people, period, doesn't matter if kids are onboard or not. Enjoy your cruise.

[kryos]

Hi. My family is planning an Alaska cruise on Holland America. I have two kids who will be just 2 and just 5 at the time. I've heard that Holland is notoriously kid unfriendly. Can anyone confirm/deny this? Any guidance for cruising Alaska on Holland with a toddler?

I don't think HAL is kid-unfriendly at all. It's just that some of the passengers seem bothered by them. Frankly, that's their problem and I wouldn't let it worry me. As long as your children are reasonably well-behaved ... and you properly supervise them ... there's no reason they can't have an awesome vacation aboard a HAL ship.

 

I would imagine some of the other cruiselines are probably better suited to children because they have more of the ammenities that children enjoy ... rock climbing wall, inline skating rink, bungee trampolines, etc. But at the ages your children will be when you cruise, I doubt they'd be able to use most of those ammenities anyway. But, if they were older, you'd probably be better off on another cruiseline where those types of activities abound.

 

As for guidance, just make sure you have a great cruise and help your toddlers to do likewise.

 

Blue skies!

 

--rita

[ritarose]

does HAL have activities for 3 and 4 year olds?

[miami]

Have to agree. If the kids are well behaved (even semi-well behaved, kids will be kids) then the other passengers shouldn't have any problems. On our cruise, there were lots of kids and they were no trouble. The only exception was one night in the restaurant, a toddler was screaming a couple of tables over from us. We asked to be moved. That child screamed for another 10 minutes before the mother took her out. But have to blame the parents. Very inconsiderate.