Children on HAL

[flcruisechick16]

Hey there,

 

Has anyone sailed on HAL with children. Our kids will be 5 and 7 and we were thinking of taking the Nieuw Amsterdam for Spring break. We have cruised Disney and Celebrity before with the kids and HAL before we had kids. Were you pleased with the kids program? Is the staff friendly to children? And is the entertainment suitable for kids? (Shows etc) Are the children permitted in the pools? It is a port heavy itinerary, but I want the kids to have fun on the ship during the sea days as well. We were also considering NCL but I anticipate it would be crazy crowded during spring break and might be a little overwhelming. Disney pricing is insane for Spring break right now as well. Thanks so much!

 

Caroline

[Tom O.]

There is a childrens program on HAL ships, don't know anything about it since our children have grown.

But I will say this, there are probably fewer kids on HAL ships than on any other line. HAL is well known as a favorite of senior citizens, including myself. But there are always some children on every cruise we have taken, and there are some young adults as well. It is just that their numbers are less than what you would find on other cruise lines. But, if you are going on Spring Break, I am sure you will find many more children than at other times of the year.

[Mamascott]

I went on a cruise last summer with my mom, and my 4 children. My kids had a blast! The crew was amazing with them. Got to know their names, knew that my 7yo twins loved ice cream and made sure they got plenty. 😂 The kids club was amazing. My 7yo son has really bad anxiety, and doesn't do particularly well in kids club environments. He loved club hal. They begged to go every day. And they swam every day. When we got off the ship, all of them were planning a longer cruise for our next vacation. I wouldn't hesitate to take them on another Holland America cruise.

 

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[Fouremco]

Again, we've not taken our children or grandchildren, but we have seen a small number on each of our HAL cruises. They are allowed in the pool, as long as they are toilet trained and not wearing diapers, and while I've read posts grumbling about their presence, I've frequently shared a pool with kids with no problem at all.

 

I can't speak to the staff running the kids' programs, but all of the other staff that I've seen interacting with them were very accepting.

 

I hope that you book and enjoy the cruise!

[Mom2boysGA]

Hey there,

 

Has anyone sailed on HAL with children. Our kids will be 5 and 7 and we were thinking of taking the Nieuw Amsterdam for Spring break. We have cruised Disney and Celebrity before with the kids and HAL before we had kids. Were you pleased with the kids program? Is the staff friendly to children? And is the entertainment suitable for kids? (Shows etc) Are the children permitted in the pools? It is a port heavy itinerary, but I want the kids to have fun on the ship during the sea days as well. We were also considering NCL but I anticipate it would be crazy crowded during spring break and might be a little overwhelming. Disney pricing is insane for Spring break right now as well. Thanks so much!

 

Caroline

 

Hey Caroline!

 

I've never cruised HAL before but we didn't hesitate to book after hearing from friends how great HAL was. We are too going on the NA Spring Break (which for us is the April 2nd cruise). I can't speak from experience but I've hear good things and I'm looking forward to a more laid back experience for our family.

 

Good luck in your decision and Happy Cruising!!

[janmcn]

We took our 5 grandkids (3,9,11,14,16) on an AK cruise this summer on the NA and they loved it! Facilities were great for them and the counsellors were wonderful. Not too many kids but they couldn't wait to get to Club HAL each day.

 

 

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[Scrap Addict]

My daughter (now 14) has been cruising since she was 7. She loves Holland America is a a 3-star cruiser with them! We've also sailed quite a bit on Carnival and she likes them too. Her favorite? - which ever one she can go on.....

 

They have plenty of activities for the children in the kids club - and they break down the children based on their ages so the activities will be age appropriate.

 

Do not hesitate to sail on Holland with your children - the will have a great time.

[Spunky946]

We've been on two holland America cruises with our kids and going on our third this year over Christmas. We love it and so do they.

 

They both love the kids club and are excited that they will be together this year, they are 12 and 8.

 

The kids clubs are broken down by ages. 3-7, 8-12 and 13-17, with the older group able to check themselves out.

 

On sea days the club is open 9-11:30, 1-4 and 7-10 and you can leave them until midnight for an additional fee. On port days they are open 8-4 and 7-10. We usually don't use them on the port days, unless we get into port late, and they might go in for a bit in the morning.

 

We have the any time dining and usually go around 5:30, so the kids can go into the kids club right at 7. Usually once a cruise we will feed them early and go eat by ourselves at 7, or last cruise we ate at Tamarind with my in laws who were with us.

 

The kids club is pretty structured and you will get a schedule the night before. My kids love structures, so it's right be their alley. From 7-8 in the evenings is free time where they can do what they like before the evening programming. Hope this helps and let me know if you have an questions.

 

Oh and they both love going to bingo.

[DisneyDatknee]

Hey Caroline!

 

I've never cruised HAL before but we didn't hesitate to book after hearing from friends how great HAL was. We are too going on the NA Spring Break (which for us is the April 2nd cruise). I can't speak from experience but I've hear good things and I'm looking forward to a more laid back experience for our family.

 

Good luck in your decision and Happy Cruising!!

 

Same situation! Booked the Eurodam for April 1st!!

[woodworker&knitter]

We have sailed twice with our grandchildren. My husband and I are both 5*,I liked the Club HAL programs.

We also went with out daughter and son in law on Royal Caribbean a few years ago with 2,4 and 6yr old grandkids. They have kid friendly pools and their kids program and kids activities are by far the best I have ever seen.

[78232]

From our experience our granddaughter age 9 was treated very well. I would recommend getting a lido cabana. It will make a very nice place for the family by the pool. ..snacks will be brought to you several times during the day and very comfortable seating will be yours whenever you want to use it. You can reserve one for the week by calling HAL There are only a few so they sell out quickly.

[Hlitner]

From our experience our granddaughter age 9 was treated very well. I would recommend getting a lido cabana. It will make a very nice place for the family by the pool. ..snacks will be brought to you several times during the day and very comfortable seating will be yours whenever you want to use it. You can reserve one for the week by calling HAL There are only a few so they sell out quickly.

 

Just thinking back to when DD was 9 (she started cruising at age 5) and she would have hated being stuck in a Cabana with adults. Once on a ship, at that age, her main interest was the childrens club/program, the counselor, and the other kids. It would usually take her 5 minutes to make a few friends...and then she wanted nothing to do with the family (except at meal times). I think she was about that age when she told us, "you have your friends and I have mine!" We still remember when she went to a bar (during the daytime) and bought a round of drinks (all virgin drinks) for her girlfriends. Now that she is in her 30s, we hope she will buy drinks for her parents :).

 

But seriously, when it comes to children's/teen programs...HAL lags horribly behind many other lines. DDs favorite lines was RCCL (now RCI) and she was also okay with NCL (we all loved the old Norway). Now, Seabourn, Windstar, or Regent would be more her style.

 

Hank

Edited October 18, 2016 by Hlitner

[Mom2boysGA]

Same situation! Booked the Eurodam for April 1st!!

 

We ALMOST booked that one, had the room picked and everything but decided to visit family on the way to FLL! Have a blast :)

[DisneyDatknee]

We ALMOST booked that one, had the room picked and everything but decided to visit family on the way to FLL! Have a blast :)

 

 

Letting the kids miss a day so we are coming a day early to visit family in Miami [emoji23].

 

 

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[Mom2boysGA]

Just thinking back to when DD was 9 (she started cruising at age 5) and she would have hated being stuck in a Cabana with adults. Once on a ship, at that age, her main interest was the childrens club/program, the counselor, and the other kids. It would usually take her 5 minutes to make a few friends...and then she wanted nothing to do with the family (except at meal times). I think she was about that age when she told us, "you have your friends and I have mine!" We still remember when she went to a bar (during the daytime) and bought a round of drinks (all virgin drinks) for her girlfriends. Now that she is in her 30s, we hope she will buy drinks for her parents :).

 

Hank

 

We booked a cabana by the pool so I have a nice shady place to watch the kids in the pool, also my kids will always know that is our "Spot" for the week so know where to look for us as they come out of the water. :)

[sprockie]

We have cruised several times with our kids - now 10 and 15. We all like HAL for different reasons. My kids never went to the kids club all that much, just preferred to hang with us. However, when they did, they found the counsellors friendly and the numbers in the club smaller - which they liked a lot. More individualized activities and attention.

[OCruisers]

HAL does a way better job with the 4 - 11 kids that some might think! :)

[kazu]

I have always said that one of HAL's best kept secrets is their childrens' programmes.

 

They do a great job. I have not travelled with children but I have seen the counsellors at work (even when they only had two children on board on the Prinsendam). 1of4 was on our cruise on the Westerdam and her children (3of4 and 4of4) love club HAL. They have to be dragged out :). She raved about it constantly and it was quite obvious how much they enjoyed it. She not the only parent I have seen say or experience this.

 

HAL does a great job in this IMO.

[RGBFamily]

We sailed HA last holiday season with 4 kids 3, 5, 7 and 9 and they LOVED it. They actually asked to go on another HAL cruise rather than Disney (we have done two of those). The kids club was amazing - the staff were personable and made an effort to get to know all the kids on the ship. Even personally inviting them to come to events - it made the kids feel special. With less than 100 kids under 18 on the ship a lot of the kids got to know each other's names and played during lunch swims as well as at kids club.

 

Dining room staff - A+ as well. They got to know the kids names and helped them. When the night cleaning was done in around dinner in the pool area, guess who asked the kids to play with them while they cleaned. Yep, the crew. They even pushed them on the chair trolley's around. Totally initated by the crew and definitely memorable for the kids.

 

You will get some snark that children should be seen and not heard (um, they are kids and they do make noise!), some people give dirty looks because they don't like to get splashed a bit in the pool and of course (don't swim at peak hours if you don't want the odd stray foot or a splash of water from kids who aren't watching), kids are kids and sometimes they melt down.

 

I found HA more enjoyable because there was never an issue getting a pool chair and it wasn't crazy packed. Less entertainment - yes, but I was happy to sit and relax.

 

Oh and Santa visits the kids - mine loved that too!

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Our youngest daughter still has the Club HAL backpack they gave her when we were on the Amsterdam for Christmas/New Year's eleven years ago, and I have a lovely necklace she made there which I wear frequently:)

[Mjoyce]

We are considering a cruise next August with our 5 grandkids (and their parents). Ages 11, 10, 8, 7 and 6. Club Hal breaks up age groups into 3-6 and 7-12. This leaves the youngest in a different group and we are really wondering if that will work for us. Is Club Hal a big space with different areas or is it separate rooms? The 6 yr old is pretty used to doing everything the older kids do, Anyone advice?

[RGBFamily]

You can see my response our our first HAL cruise 18 night Christmas through the Panama Canal.

 

For 2016 we went a couple days after Christmas on a 10 night cruise. We found there were more kids (almost 200) on the ship so it wasn't as intimate (bigger ship, so to be expected). With it came the seperation of the kids club. My then 4 & 6 year olds were together in the little club and my 8 & 10 yo were in the bigger club. The tween club was for 12 or 13+.

 

My older kids thought it was great not having the younger ones .... however the youngers wanted to be with the olders and this only happened a couple times on port days. We didn't think that Club HAL was as well organized on the Niewu Amsterdam as it was the smaller Amsterdam. Might have been the staff or the timing or what.

 

The rooms are were seperate - across the hall or side by side, but the kids could not roam freely. I will say the programming was way better with Club HAL - they took the kids on adventures through the ship (pirate night, dressed them up, face painted and went ahoy all over the ship - not every passenger may have appreciated that. :evilsmile:, took them for ice cream every afternoon in the lido buffet)

 

Hope that helps answer your question