Dining with teens on Fjords cruises

[lorif]

Hi,

We are considering a HAL Fjords cruise with our family and I am wondering about dining. We would be avoiding the MDR on formal nights but I wondered what dress is like for the younger crowd (is there one?) on the other nights of the cruise.

Does anybody where jeans (nice, not ripped ect) other nights there? are we limited to Lido every night of the cruise? Nobody in the family is a fan of formal dining, we are hoping for active days and relaxing evenings spent together.

Thanks, Lori

[mtnmommy]

We cruise HAL twice a year with our kids (leaving for New England/Canada next week!) and did the two-week cruise on Ryndam in Norway last July. Dark jeans with polo shirts or nice tops are fine for the kids (it sounds like you have teenagers?) on "smart casual" nights. You will not be limited to the Lido. However, my 15-year-old son often wears khakis, and my 12-year-old daughter wears casual skirts. It's lighter than packing lots of jeans.

 

One interesting note about our cruise in Norway. We do dress for formal nights, and my son didn't take off his suit after dinner because apparently that was not the cool thing to do. My son had a blast hanging out with other teens in the evenings, and many of the kids were from England, Netherlands or the UK. They were used to wearing jackets and ties for school, unlike my American son, so it was a little more formal than usual. It was fun to see them dressed up, but, of course, they wouldn't have cared if he didn't have a suit.

 

It was one of the best cruises we have ever taken, by the way. Highly recommend.

[RuthC]

Evening dress on non-formal/non-Gala nights is "Smart Casual" for everyone.

Jeans that are not "distressed" are allowed. If worn with a knit, collared shirt or blouse, they would be fine.

[sppunk]

We did the Rotterdam fjord cruise last September. For background it was 95 percent Dutch, only 100 or so Americans on board.

 

I've never seen a more casual cruise in my life. I couldn't care less what others wear so it makes to difference to me, but it was definitely far more casual than any cruise we've been on.

[lorif]

Thank you for info! Definitely sounds like it would work. They are barely teens anymore, so not in the teen clubs etc, but still more relaxed. My daughter does quite often wear longer skirts just for comfort, but also with comfortable shoes (no heels).

We had found on an Alaskan cruise a few years ago that overall the atmosphere was quite casual, and we really enjoyed the whole trip.

 

mtnmommy, what were some of the things that were most enjoyable? Any excursion type tips? I think this one is Flam, Oslo, Stavanger and Kristiansand.

[RuthC]

Now the Ryndam, sailing out of England attracts a somewhat dressier crowd. I was more than a little surprised, last time I took that cruise, at the number of sport jackets worn on Smart Casual nights---many of the men with ties on!

[mtnmommy]

RuthC, that was the case for us on the Voyage of the Midnight Sun sailing out of Dover. (What a WONDERFUL cruise!) The British kids wore jackets and ties nightly. My son had a fabulous time debating the merits of American football vs. cricket.

 

Lorif, our cruise last year went to Flam and Stavanger. We were in Kristiansand and Oslo several years ago. In Flam, the railway is the thing, and there is lots of info about that trip on the Northern Europe forum. My mother was ill, so we missed the train but took the kids on a wonderful hike around the fjord. Living in the Rockies, I'm pretty spoiled when it comes to scenery, but the beauty of this area blew us away. In Stavanger, we loved the boat trip through Lysefjord to Pulpit Rock. After that, we walked to the Petroleum Museum. It may sound dull, but it's a highly interactive museum that gives insight into the oil industry, even the controversial issues.

 

There is so much to see in Oslo--Vigeland Sculpture Park, the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History (outdoor folk museum with 155 historic buildings and a stave church), Holmenkollen Ski Jump, etc. We visited mainly because my mother had studied there in the 1950s, so we were at the university for much of the time. I recommend seeing Norway's Resistance Museum. It's near the port and very small, but moving. Another highlight for us was the Nobel Peace Center. Deeply inspiring.

 

We were in Kristiansand in early June, and it wasn't quite ready for tourist season. We liked walking through the pretty old town, visiting the fish market, and talking to the friendly residents. Lots of boat trips and other options when the season is in full swing.

 

Whatever you choose to do, it's an awesome, relaxing family trip.

[mtnmommy]

Whoops, just noticed in my first post that I said England and the UK. Well, that sounded stupid. Meant to say England and South Africa. Perhaps I can blame the teenagers for draining my mental capacity.

[chefestelle]

Whoops, just noticed in my first post that I said England and the UK. Well, that sounded stupid. Meant to say England and South Africa. Perhaps I can blame the teenagers for draining my mental capacity.

 

 

Oh, definitely.

[Maverine]

We did the Rotterdam fjord cruise last September. For background it was 95 percent Dutch, only 100 or so Americans on board.

 

I've never seen a more casual cruise in my life. I couldn't care less what others wear so it makes to difference to me, but it was definitely far more casual than any cruise we've been on.

 

Same experience for us some years ago. On a cruise on the Rotterdam out of Rotterdam with a lot people from the Netherlands it was much less "formal" in the evening. Even on a formal night you could meet people in shorts and checkered shirts (not sure if they were in the MDR) or just changed right after dinner. I personally didn´t like it, ruine

d the atmosphere of a formal night.

[lorif]

Thanks all, we will be booking it this weekend!

It sounds like there will be some great choices for our days in port and the dining options sound like they will be good.