NEVER book a 7 day Caribbean Cruise on HAL

[bobomonkeyrage]

2 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

We’re currently on the Rotterdam and we have move kids than normal but certainly not 300.  We had a curious discussion with the Hotel Manager.  My DW was expressing her frustration with a group of kids that were running around in the library without any adult supervision turning the library into a playroom.  The Hotel Manager just sort of shrugged his shoulders and said there was nothing they could do to control the kids. It was a too bad, so sad response.

What would you have the Hotel Manager do? As a parent I absolutely agree that it is terrible to be letting your kids run around unsupervised, especially in a library or similar location. I'm not defending that. 
But the Hotel Manager and staff are in a no win situation. How exactly would they control that? 

[FlaMariner]

11 minutes ago, bobomonkeyrage said:

But the Hotel Manager and staff are in a no win situation.

 

Same delicate issue with chair hogs.....When I head to lido pool and the only open chairs have stuff on it......and on and on with other rude behavior by folks that are what we call "adults". Rude behavior, unfortunately, is with us from all ages....And is, I agree, a bit of a "no-win" situation for the crew/officers.  

 

 

[RedIguana]

I was on a 7 night spring cruise on Rotterdam in 2022 with my daughter (then 21), And again in 2024 (age 23) on the, you guessed it, Nieuw Statendam. Both were excellent cruises, the young adults, teens, and children I encountered were very pleasant and well behaved. The only negative passengers I encountered were well over my own 56 years of life experience.

[Ipeeinthepools]

24 minutes ago, bobomonkeyrage said:

What would you have the Hotel Manager do? As a parent I absolutely agree that it is terrible to be letting your kids run around unsupervised, especially in a library or similar location. I'm not defending that. 
But the Hotel Manager and staff are in a no win situation. How exactly would they control that? 

The discussion started by questioning why the house phones can’t call guest services.  Guest services just hangs up without answering.  That’s a policy.  My DW was hoping someone would come to library and advise the kids that their behavior was not acceptable.  If guest services or security won’t do that then it’s up to the passengers.  That may create confrontations between  passengers or passengers just have to walk away from bad behavior.  Maybe she should have called 911.  The Hotel Manager effectively told us that they would not intervene and advise the kids on proper behavior.

[Ipeeinthepools]

16 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

 

Same delicate issue with chair hogs.....When I head to lido pool and the only open chairs have stuff on it......and on and on with other rude behavior by folks that are what we call "adults". Rude behavior, unfortunately, is with us from all ages....And is, I agree, a bit of a "no-win" situation for the crew/officers.  

 

 

It’s not a no-win situation, it’s a situation where the staff just needs to do the right thing.

[bobomonkeyrage]

12 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

I was on a 7 night spring cruise on Rotterdam in 2022 with my daughter (then 21), And again in 2024 (age 23) on the, you guessed it, Nieuw Statendam. Both were excellent cruises, the young adults, teens, and children I encountered were very pleasant and well behaved. The only negative passengers I encountered were well over my own 56 years of life experience.

I've only been on two cruises, both with HAL. One had 100s of kids on board. But this has absolutely been my experience as well. Occasionally I'd find myself looking around for a parent of a child that was being a bit too loud or energetic. 
But far more often we would have to shake our heads at the entitlement of someone in their 60s or 70s lambasting some poor staff member over something innocuous that the staff had little to no control over. 
I understand that cruising is expensive, but that doesn't entitle anyone to anything beyond what was promised in the sale. A child free experience is not, and has never been, part of HAL's promise. Kids are kids. Most could be better behaved, but they deserve to experience things too. 

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, Real NHDOC said:

My biggest complaint is we invested a lot in getting to 5* on one cruise line and now have the perks which we earned and can’t enjoy because it’s a different cruise line. I don’t think that’s an unjustified complaint. 

I don't think that the issue is the cruise line, as HAL offers hundreds of cruises where you wouldn't experience these "problems". You know full well that short cruises at that time of year will attract families, so simply avoid those cruises. It's like complaining about all the cars when you choose to drive somewhere during rush hour on one of your city's busiest roads when you could have chosen to drive earlier or later in the day. 

[FlaMariner]

29 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

It’s not a no-win situation, it’s a situation where the staff just needs to do the right thing.

 

What am I missing?  I think the "chair hog" situation is a no-win...because.....

 

Right Thing:  "Thank you for moving their stuff off the chair because it has been unoccupied for x minutes"

 

Is someone else's....

 

Wrong Thing:  "We just went to lunch and the bathroom...where's my stuff and why can't I have my chair back"

 

Same song and dance for kiddos in the library. Or adults talking loudly in there as well. 

 

Seems like a "no win" to me....Someone is not going to be happy no matter what is done?  Again, what am I not understanding?

 

 

Edited March 27 by FlaMariner

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 minute ago, FlaMariner said:

 

What am I missing?  I think the "chair hog" situation is a no-win...because.....

 

Right Thing:  "Thank you for moving their stuff off the chair because it has been unoccupied for x minutes"

 

Is someone else's....

 

Wrong Thing:  "We just went to lunch and the bathroom...where's my stuff and why can't I have my chair back"

 

Seems like a "no win" to me....Someone is not going to be happy no matter what is done?  Again, what am I not understanding?

 

 

Going to lunch makes you a chair hog.

[Cruise Junky]

Lol. You’re surprised that a 7 day cruise in Spring Break/Easter Week/March has so many kids?  This was really poor planning on your part.  

[FlaMariner]

1 minute ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Going to lunch makes you a chair hog.

 

I think that is an example of what the chair hog will say...."I was just gone x minutes"....No matter when authorities remove the stuff, the chair hog will come back and not be happy...and therefore, it's a no win for the accused "chair hog" if you remove his stuff.....

 

 

[Ipeeinthepools]

Ok I think this close enough to be on topic.  The guy sitting next to me in the Crows Nest just answered a FaceTime call and is on the speaker.  It’s annoying to me and others in the area.  What should I do?

[FlaMariner]

1 minute ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Ok I think this close enough to be on topic.  The guy sitting next to me in the Crows Nest just answered a FaceTime call and is on the speaker.  It’s annoying to me and others in the area.  What should I do?

 

choose another cruise line or deal....that's what I would do!

[Real NHDOC]

9 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Ok I think this close enough to be on topic.  The guy sitting next to me in the Crows Nest just answered a FaceTime call and is on the speaker.  It’s annoying to me and others in the area.  What should I do?

People are the worst. 

[rodndonna]

13 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Ok I think this close enough to be on topic.  The guy sitting next to me in the Crows Nest just answered a FaceTime call and is on the speaker.  It’s annoying to me and others in the area.  What should I do?

 

Give him the Stink eye!!!!

[Ipeeinthepools]

Just now, rodndonna said:

 

Give him the Stink eye!!!!

 
 

I gave him the Stink Eye after about 4 minutes and he lowered the volume but continued the call.

[sunviking90]

2 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

For this reason we avoid Spring Break season for cruising and as stated, the 7 day or shorter routes.

 

Exactly. You couldn’t pay me to take a 7 day cruise during spring break weeks. The Pinnacle Class ships are also more popular with families and younger cruisers. I’m hardly a HAL cheerleader, but this is not a situation unique to HAL. All mass market lines will be full of kids and families during spring break.

The kids sail free thing is hardly new either. We started sailing HAL when our son was a young teen (16-17 years ago) because they frequently had kids sail free or 3rd and 4th in the cabin free. We used to joke that they obviously had no idea how much teenage boys eat, or they wouldn’t have allowed him on for free, lol.

[Ichiban Nekko]

We were on the Rotterdam for 3 7-day segments over Xmas/New Years with friends.

 

We expected lots of families with kids over the holidays. What we did not expect were screaming babies at specialty restaurants, rude and/or absent parents, and horrifically overworked staff. Thankfully, we could retreat to our balcony or the thermal spa since we could never get seating by the pool. Island Magic was a refreshing and a nice change for entertainment from the HAL video history and the One Step dance company, but Lincoln Center is sorely missed. And this was before the Children Sail Free promo.

 

Despite being 4 star Mariners, our next bookings are on Viking (2 7-day segments -- but No Casino, No Children) and Azamara (a true 14-day sailing).

 

Truly, this is a case of 'More in sadness than in anger...'

[ORTravelGal]

6 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 
 

I gave him the Stink Eye after about 4 minutes and he lowered the volume but continued the call.

I would flat out say very loudly “why do you think the rest of us want to hear your call, will you please take it off speaker or move elsewhere?”

[Ipeeinthepools]

3 minutes ago, ORTravelGal said:

I would flat out say very loudly “why do you think the rest of us want to hear your call, will you please take it off speaker or move elsewhere?”

My limit was 5 minutes.  The conversation was in German, so I didn’t understand the conversation.  After 5 minutes I told him that a lot of us don’t want to be part of the conversation.  He left without saying anything.  AITAH?

[scooter6139]

My wife is a teacher, so that is the main reason we are stuck doing cruises during kids' out-of-school vacations.  But, as a teacher, she has no problem confronting rude and obnoxious kids.

 

Sitting in the Neptune Lounge, reading.  Everyone in there is enjoying the peace.  A group of 7 teenagers comes in, takes over the big table, and becomes very loud and obnoxious.  After a few glares from us and everyone else, the wife gets up and calmly confronts them all.  This works for about 2 minutes then starts up again.  This time it's the peeved teacher confronting them.  A rather loud and rude boy isn't having it until I stand up and so do two other men in the room.  The kids quickly left.  The next time they came in and saw my wife and I, they were quiet.  

[julia]

1 hour ago, Real NHDOC said:

Glad everyone else is enjoying the new HAL. You’re all so much better people than I.  Tolerant, intelligent and wise with well behaved children.
 

Too bad none of you are aboard Nieuw Statendam now. 

I get your frustration and I empathize with your current situation, and, it's obvious that you are a seasoned cruiser, so.... WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU BOOK A 7-DAY B2B DURING SPRING/EASTER BREAK?? 😲

[coolbluegreenseas]

As previously noted, there are cruise lines that are child free. Also, there are lines such as Windstar that restrict smaller children, but allow older kids with the caveat that parents are responsible for entertaining their child. In general, it keeps most adults with kids, off.

 

Now, as far as the OP indicated, they went at one of the worse times possible for the kiddos. Schools break between Palm Sunday and Easter increasing the likelihood of a large number of little people on board. But, here is the beautiful thing: traveling a week or 2 before/after will result in reduced fares and smaller crowds. I planned my (almost) birthday cruise around Christmas by selecting the week before winter break which means lower fares and fewer people.

 

If you are unhappy with HAL, that is fine. Cruise lines are businesses and their first priority is the shareholders with customers a distant second. The best way to get their attention is by hitting them at the bottomline and spending your money with a line that meets your expectations. If there is enough of a downturn in revenue, they’ll pivot.

Edited March 27 by coolbluegreenseas

[cbr663]

54 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Ok I think this close enough to be on topic.  The guy sitting next to me in the Crows Nest just answered a FaceTime call and is on the speaker.  It’s annoying to me and others in the area.  What should I do?

 

Welcome to the new cruise experience of high speed internet being widely available and widely promoted by the cruise lines.  You have to expect that this will happen.  You have to expect that cruise passengers will now be doing live feeds on their devices on a cruise ship.

[Petronillus]

46 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 
 

I gave him the Stink Eye after about 4 minutes and he lowered the volume but continued the call.

My solution is passive-aggressive. You put down whatever it is you're reading, and then lean over to show that you're actively listening. If that doesn't work, start interjecting your own comments since the offender has plainly turned a private conversation into an open discussion.