Please reassure me

[welovetocruise1234]

Hi all-

I am a veteran cruiser, with quite a few on HAL. I got a great price on balcony, for a holiday cruise, on the Westerdam, for this December. I am a single Mom of two teens, a boy, 14 and a girl, 16.

After reading the reviews, it seems that there are very few kids on board. I thought it being a holiday cruise, there would be quite a few more. There isn't even a roll call for our cruise. While I know the demographics of HAL, skew to older, I am hopeful that there will be a younger population for my teens to hang with. Also, the reviews on the Westerdam seem to be on the poorer side. Has HAL really gone downhill that much? My last HAL cruise was to Alaska in 2008. Also, does anyone know when the last time this ship was drydocked?

Those of you who have done holiday cruises, please reassure me that there will be a larger group of kids on board.

Thank you and happy sailing!

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

We were on the Amsterdam Holiday Cruise in 2014 - 17 days. There were 85 children out of 1400 passengers. Age range from infants to 16 or 17. On a cruise of this length, the older ones got bored witnessed by sitting on the floor in front of the elevators etc. However, Christmas Day was really fun with the activities in the Lounge - presents for all of them and even the teens sat on Santa's lap.

 

If your cruise is a 7-day one, I assume there will be more teens and children then the 17 day one we were on. The ship should be decorated nicely and there will be various activities for all ages.

[momatibm]

Unlike other cruise lines, not a lot of cruisers on HAL are on cruise critic. Do not be concerned at this point there isn't an active roll call. As it gets closer to a holiday it will probably pick up.

[VermeulT]

The roll call for my August cruise just got active in the last 2 weeks... and I started it some 4+ months ago. It will pick up.

[Scrapnana]

I was on Westerdam in April and had no complaints. Food was good, great service, the ship was clean and maintained nicely. It seems more people who have complaints write reviews than those who don't.

[sail7seas]

Lots of us do not go to Roll Calls. I doubt out of more than 80 HAL cruises, I have participated in ore than 3 or 4 through all the years.

 

[jtl513]

Also, does anyone know when the last time this ship was drydocked?

April 5 - 14, 2014

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Edited July 17, 2015 by jtl513

[Lizzie68]

I was on the ship in April with Scrapnana - I thought the ship was generally in great shape and the crew were fabulous.

Your roll call will likely get more active. Mine have been very active and friendly with the exception of my current one, but that's unusual.

I don't think it matters to you how many cruises or roll calls anyone has been on - you need reassurance about the number of kids and the condition of the ship. All I can say is that likely during holiday time, there will be lots of kids onboard and you will enjoy the ship.

Just go and have a wonderful time.:)

[boulders]

If you call HAL, they will tell you how many kids are booked on the cruise. They'll even break it down by age groups.

 

We had 300 on a long Med cruise in July and 35 on an Antarctic cruise over the Christmas holidays. My daughter was 13 and 15 on the two cruises and found a group to hang out with on both cruises. On the cruise with 35 kids, the teen counsellor modified the schedule to suit the kids' requests. With a group of teen girls, she took them to afternoon tea rather than hanging in the club for video game time. Dd had a great time on both cruises.

 

We were on the Zaandam on Christmas. HAL did Christmas a LOT better than RCCL did on a previous cruise. Santa was in the main theater. Prior to his arrival, they gave video updates on Santa's progress. The kids all got to go up on stage and sit on Santa's lap (or stand if they preferred) and got a present. The theater was full of all the passengers, so the kids got a lot of attention and made to feel special. The kids' counselors took the kids up on stage, youngest to oldest.Any adults who wished to visit with Santa could do so after the kids were done. On RCCL, the kids had to wait in line for about an hour in the darkened ice rink and were not treated special in any way.

Edited July 17, 2015 by boulders

[Krazy Kruizers]

Holiday cruises -- especially 7 day cruises -- do attract a lot of families.

So your cruise should have a lot of children.

Don't worry -- have a great cruise.

[0bnxshs]

Holiday cruises -- especially 7 day cruises -- do attract a lot of families.

So your cruise should have a lot of children.

Don't worry -- have a great cruise.

 

I completely agree, KK. The holiday cruises we been on have lots of children of all ages. Family groups too. We've found that the roll calls for holiday cruises are generally more quiet, if they exist at all, and I believe it is because families tend to be more complete on these cruises and people are more into being with their family, planning excursions for themselves, etc., than they would be on other cruises. Just my thinking.

[1of4]

If you call HAL, they will tell you how many kids are booked on the cruise. They'll even break it down by age groups.

 

 

QUOTE]

 

I tried this twice on my cruise last April and nobody on HAL would tell me. It was a longer cruise of 20 days and I brought a 13 and 10 year old. They had a blast on the Westerdam (same cruise as Scrapnana and Lizzie). We were told the week before, Easter week, there were 300 kids registered for Club Hal and The Loft (for teens).

 

I swore that when we went on the Ryndam New Year's Cruise a in 2013 they told me the numbers.

 

OP - I wouldn't worry. My roll call for the Ryndam was dead and nothing was organized. Our two kids had a great time. And it is true, if there are not that many the itineraries for the kids clubs with be tailored to suit the kids on board. My two LOVED it all and it was on the Westerdam. Great choice and we would not hesitate to book again.

[mdjohn5]

On a 7 day Caribbean cruise there will be a good number of kids on a HAL ship, at least that has been our experience.

 

Not as many as a Royal Caribbean ship, but a decent number.

[welovetocruise1234]

Thanks everyone for all the input. Here's to hoping there's some kids on board for my kids!

[chefestelle]

My DD is 14. She is excited for the trip we are doing in December. I joined my roll call which only had one other person in it. Now I can't get in at all. My app tells me I don't have the secured access or some such nonsense. I can't be bothered to figure out the problem but others may be experiencing the same challenge and be as apathetic about it... I suspect a short holiday cruise will have lots of kids of all ages from what I've read in various threads.

[travel123456]

Did the holiday cruise out of San Diego a few years back with girls 14 and16. There was a large group. Just make sure they go to the meet and greet the first night. The older ones ended up doing things together outside of the planned teen activities. The girls had each other for support until they met others. They stayed fb friends with several of the kids afterwards

[IluvZ]

Hi all-

I am a veteran cruiser, with quite a few on HAL. I got a great price on balcony, for a holiday cruise, on the Westerdam, for this December. I am a single Mom of two teens, a boy, 14 and a girl, 16.

After reading the reviews, it seems that there are very few kids on board. I thought it being a holiday cruise, there would be quite a few more. There isn't even a roll call for our cruise. While I know the demographics of HAL, skew to older, I am hopeful that there will be a younger population for my teens to hang with. Also, the reviews on the Westerdam seem to be on the poorer side. Has HAL really gone downhill that much? My last HAL cruise was to Alaska in 2008. Also, does anyone know when the last time this ship was drydocked?

Those of you who have done holiday cruises, please reassure me that there will be a larger group of kids on board.

Thank you and happy sailing!

 

I wouldn't worry. We just did a 7-day Alaska cruise in Mid-June and we had quite a few kids. Our DS is 11 and he loved the kids program. His group had 56 kids on board but they probably had 20 who were active in the club. He loved it much more tha. The DCL cruise we did in November, especially the kids club. We were in the Amsterdam but the club had a great mix of both activities as well as modern video games, which he loved.

 

The kids crew told us that the clubs tend to have many more kids during the holiday times.

 

The downside for us on the cruise was they did limit the hours on the sports deck, 2-5, which for an active boy wasn't enough time. And we found that if you didn't want a big sit down meal, there weren't a lot of food options from 8-10:30. We loved to eat late and the main buffet closed at 8:00. We adjusted but we had o plan a little more than we have had to on other lines.

 

If you, or they have any questions feel free to ask.

[OlsSalt]

We have done two winter holiday time cruises on HAL - plenty of young people - 300 or so at least. Different energy on board for sure. HAL ships certainly glow with extra decorations and activities for young people during that time.