Teens and HAL

[lanabanana]

My brother and his wife are looking at the Noordam 3/4/06 cruise because it goes out of NYC and they don't want to have to fly. My brother just completed chemo/radiation for throat cancer and wants to take a cruise to celebrate. They will be taking my 17 y.o. niece with them. They are limited as to choice of cruise lines because of the "no flying" and they must go in early March.

 

Sooooooo.....what this long story is leading up to is this question. Do many teens travel on HAL? Normally I would suggest Royal Caribbean for a teen, but that's not an option. I'm just not familiar with HAL at all, so I'm turning to you! Thanks!

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Sooooooo.....what this long story is leading up to is this question. Do many teens travel on HAL? Normally I would suggest Royal Caribbean for a teen, but that's not an option. I'm just not familiar with HAL at all, so I'm turning to you! Thanks!

 

Hi Lanabanana:

 

You are a nice aunt and sister!:)

 

I think you are asking two questions: 1. Do many teens travel on HAL? and 2. Will there be any other teens on this particular cruise that your niece is taking?

 

My response to the first question is that I plan on taking my 17-year-old daughter on HAL this summer (we are HAL newbies, too). So yes, other teens travel on HAL. But compared to the other lines, I would say, no, not many teens travel on HAL. However, you will find more teens on HAL's Caribbean cruises, particularly during school holidays. I don't know this from personal experience, but I have been reading this board for seven months now, and the general consensus seems to be that more families travel on HAL in the Caribbean than any other destination. Is the time period your brother and family are traveling considered spring break for the New York area? If it is, they are also more likely to encounter other families.

 

The answer to the second question would be to go the Holland America roll call board, and see who else might be going on this cruise. I notice that there is already a thread for Noordam's March 4 sailing started there. Perhaps you could post your question about other teens on that thread, and hopefully get a decent response.

 

Good luck to your brother! I hope his cancer goes into remission, and that he and his family will have a lovely cruise.

[NORTHSHOREPAIR]

We just got off the Oosterdam, Mexican Riviera cruise 1/21-1/28. This was a week I expected to not have many youngsters on board anyway. I contacted HAL about 3 weeks before cruising to ask how many were in the 13-17 age group so I knew what to expect for our 14 year old son. I was told there were 13 in that age group.

As we boarded the ship, he was asked by a very nice gentleman how old he was. Then he was given a schedule for "The Loft" and invited to attend. We received a brochure on The Loft daily listing numerous activities.

The first evening, our son went to the meeting at 9:30. No one was there. He found out later that some friends had gone all between 9:15 & 9:30 and when they saw no one was there, they left.

The next day, our son headed to the basketball court. Now there's the gathering spot! He started making friends immediately and we rarely saw him after that - but we knew he'd come back to the cabin at some point to change clothes for a new activity.

The group started hanging out at the teen center functions as well as meeting up on their own for shows, dinner etc. It was great for him to be able to do this and really make his own cruise memories. Scavenger hunts were a favorite...especially when they needed someone who could speak Dutch and our son just went and got his grandpa.

Hope you have a wonderful cruise. Ours was perfect with the age mix of people on board - something for everyone, all the time.

[Judyjay]

We sailed HAL a few months ago with our 16 year old son. I too wasn't sure what to expect, as we had only sailed on Carnival before. There weren't as many kids on board as our previous cruises, but he actually meet more kids on this cruise. Our son had a wonderful time. The loft is a great place for the kids to hang out. The staff was amazing and my son just loved them. One night we came back to our cabin to find a half dozen kids ranging in a age from 13 to 17 (we have a strict rule that our son cannot go into ANY other cabin, but we never said anything about him having guests in ours). They were just there for a short time, then it was back to the loft. Kids seem to bond quickly on the ship, because they are all in the same boat (no pun intended). Most come there without any friends, but they will leave with new ones. Make sure to tell your niece to go up to the loft and hang out for a while, kids will show up there and it is a comfortable place for them to meet, not as awkward as walking up to a stranger at the pool.

 

Good luck to your brother. I hope his outcome is as good as mine, 10 years cancer free. :D

[janiek]

My 17 year old son and I will be on Noordam Mar 4th, so yes there will be other teens......well at least two:D

[travelgals]

It's a little early for spring break in NY--we will be bringing several teens on the 3/15 sailing, but just call HAL; we sailed two years ago and I called and they gave me an exact breakdown of #'s in each catagory. I have found that there are always a few teens--sometimes many--but they should go to the first teen get together just to meet whoever is on board. Most find it easy to meet the others because they are on an even playing field--no one knows anyone. The pools and hot tubs are naturals. Have fun.