HAL with a child.

[e2011]

We are looking at going on the Nieuw Amsterdam this November. We only went on HAL once many years ago pre-child. We now have an 8 year old. I have been told HAL caters to an older group so my question is are there kids clubs or activities for kids on the ship? Also what is the sq. footage difference between a Neptune Suite and a Signature Suite? Both look very close to the same size on line.

Edited June 11, 2015 by e2011

[chefestelle]

There is Club HAL. Your eight year old will probably love it and not want to leave for anything. My daughter went on the Alaska cruise years ago with her dad when she was almost eight. She had a blast in the club. I'm sure your eight year old will have fun - so long as there are other kids aboard!

[Crew News]

Here is the Kid's Activities on the Noordam last month in Alaska. It should be typical on other HAL ships:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/AL-15-Kids-8-12.pdf

[Cruising Is Bliss]

We are looking at going on the Nieuw Amsterdam this November. We only went on HAL once many years ago pre-child. We now have an 8 year old. I have been told HAL caters to an older group so my question is are there kids clubs or activities for kids on the ship? Also what is the sq. footage difference between a Neptune Suite and a Signature Suite? Both look very close to the same size on line.

 

The number and age of kids on a HAL cruise really dependents on how long the cruise is and if it's a time of the year when most kids are in school. HAL has an excellent program for those cruises that do have children. HAL Alaska cruises especially attract quite a few families with children.

 

I've no experience with the Caribbean in November but even at 7 days there might not be very many kids, unless possibly the Thanksgiving cruise? I did a wonderful 15 day circle Hawaii cruise in the month of October and the CD said one evening that a 17 year old girl was the only passenger under the age of 18.

Edited June 11, 2015 by Cruising Is Bliss

[1of4]

I can't answer the sq footage question as we have never stayed in either category (family of 4) but the HAL website would have that information.

 

We sail HAL because of Club Hal. Our son was 7 on his first cruise and he was hooked. Loves to spend all his time there.

 

We have tried other lines, including Disney, but for my two it is Club Hal so we don't look at other lines anymore.

 

Age is a perception. We just completed a 20 day cruise on Westerdam and there were less than 10 children, including teens; two of which were ours. They loved it even more as the daily programming continues no matter how many children are on board. The week before our cruise, there were over 300 children.

 

Operating hours for Club Hal are 9-11:30, 1-4:00 and 7-10:00. Port days the times will be different.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[mdjohn5]

You will have a decent number of kids on a 7 day Holland America Caribbean cruise in Nov. Not nearly as many kids as you would find on a Royal Caribbean or Carnival ship though.

 

My kids are a little younger, but they also prefer Club HAL. The HA ships themselves don't have as much stuff to do as a large Royal Caribbean ships do (flow riders, ice rinks, etc), but the smaller number of kids on the ship means they tend to get more attention from the club staff. At least that has been our experience.

 

As far as type of room, if you can swing the extra cost, get the Neptune Suite. The extra space is nice, access to the concierge club is awesome, free laundry is priceless....

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have been on the Nieuw Amsterdam in November -- over Thanksgiving. There were quite a few children on board -- around 200. The Signature class ships with their 7 day itineraries do attract many more families than other ships.

Club HAL was really busy.

[e2011]

Thank you all.

[Swice]

Our boys prefer HAL over Carnival. They say there are too many kids on Carnival and the staff ends simply doing crowd control.

 

As others have said, we've been on HAL with hundreds of kids and other times when there have only been a dozen. It depends on whether school is in session.

 

Our boys are now 12 and 15. We are taking a break from cruising this year. We went to the Baltics last year (fantastic overall trip by the way). But for the first time, our younger son did not "love" Club HAL. He eagerly ran to some of the activities, but didn't seem to enjoy as much as in the past. We think there were two reasons:

 

1. Our younger son has always considered himself the same age as his older brother. He didn't like being the oldest in the Club HAL room and certainly didn't like the fact that he had to be checked in and out by a parent. Remember, that a twelve year old is in middle school and he was then used to a lot more freedom at school and church. In his view, the activities were also geared to younger kids.

 

2. On past cruises, there was always at least one "fun" male counselor -- usually an athletic type who would play and relate to our boys. On this past cruise, all of the Club HAL counselors were female and just didn't relate to a twelve year old boy.

 

So we're waiting until next summer when the younger one will be in the teen club. We bought the early deposit and it's almost time for us to figure out "which" ship/Alaska tour to actually sign up for.

[ithaca gal]

You will have a decent number of kids on a 7 day Holland America Caribbean cruise in Nov. Not nearly as many kids as you would find on a Royal Caribbean or Carnival ship though.

 

 

As far as type of room, if you can swing the extra cost, get the Neptune Suite. The extra space is nice, access to the concierge club is awesome, free laundry is priceless....

 

Actually, laundry service for a week in any other type of cabin is just $49 for the week! Best buy onboard!

[78232]

My 8 yr old grandaughter went with me on a 10 day cruise. She was treated like a princess by the staff and other passengers. She went to club HAL a bit but wanted to stay with me most of the time. The magic show with the dog was special for her also the cabana on Half Moon Cay was great. If I could do it again, I would choose shore excursions which were more child oriented.