HAL shore excursions

[ski ww]

We are on the NA in Jul doing the Alaska cruise with our two grand daughters 17 & 18. We are already paying for two other tours that all four of us are doing. There are a couple of tours that the girls want to do on their own that we are not interested in. HAL policy is that an adult must accompany them on tour. They pay adult fare but are treated like children when it comes to doing shore excursions, i.e. they must be accompanied by one of us. If HAL wants to treat them as children then charge them children's fare, they can't have it both ways. These aren't cheap $40 - 50 shore excursions. I've written head office in Seattle a letter telling them I'm not a happy camper, waiting to hear back from them.

Allan

[kentuckycruiser]

Since when is an 18 year old a child? Legally an adult.

 

 

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[3rdGenCunarder]

I suspect the age rules are driven by insurance, HAL's and/or the vendor's. I doubt they'll bend any rules for you.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Since when is an 18 year old a child? Legally an adult.

 

 

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HAL says 21. From the tour FAQs: Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult over 21.

[Lovely other]

I still find that whole adult over 21 thing hard to comprehend ... I left home at 16 and married ar 18. Imagine still having to have a parent chaperoning while a married woman ... Silly rules ! :rolleyes:

[endless travel]

HAL says 21. From the tour FAQs: Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult over 21.

 

The 18 year old does not need an adult with them. It is the 17 year old that needs to be with someone over 21.

[Sequim88]

Ran into this attending a software conference in Las Vegas last year and one of our employees attending was 20 but hotel still made one of us (the company CFO) sign as "guardian" and be responsible for anything the "young guy" did - regardless of being of "legal age". Easy job - he's one of the most straight laced serious young men I've ever met - had his BS in Software Development from Univ. of Washington by age 19. Even legal adults can agree to contracts (like cruise contract) that limit their rights.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

We are on the NA in Jul doing the Alaska cruise with our two grand daughters 17 & 18. We are already paying for two other tours that all four of us are doing. There are a couple of tours that the girls want to do on their own that we are not interested in. HAL policy is that an adult must accompany them on tour. They pay adult fare but are treated like children when it comes to doing shore excursions, i.e. they must be accompanied by one of us. If HAL wants to treat them as children then charge them children's fare, they can't have it both ways. These aren't cheap $40 - 50 shore excursions. I've written head office in Seattle a letter telling them I'm not a happy camper, waiting to hear back from them.

Allan

 

Perhaps the grand-daughters could reimburse you for the excursions they want to do on their own?

[Old As Dirt Mom]

My apologies to ski ww, I misread your initial post, and responded incorrectly. Let me try again: Perhaps the grand-daughters could research independent tours in the ports, and together you could find something that they would enjoy that wouldn't be cost prohibitive, and where their ages wouldn't be an issue?

[ski ww]

Thank you all for your responses. It was more the principal of it. We have all agreed on which tours we'll do together & which ports we'll just get off and walk around on our own.

Allan

[OlsSalt]

If it makes you feel any better, we were restricted on some recent HAL shore excursions for the first time because we were too old.

 

Snorkeling excursions in Bonaire - limit age 70. Agree, this is most likely an insurance requirement and well outside of HAL's discretion. We did just fine making arrangements on our own once we got into port. And lived to tell about it.

[sandiego1]

For Alaska, I strongly recommend that you book your excursions independently. No need to book through HAL. You will get a much smaller group size and typically a cheaper price. We only book w/ the cruise line when the excursion is many hours long and/or very far from the pier to minimize our risk of missing the boat.