NEVER book a 7 day Caribbean Cruise on HAL

[Mary229]

Never book any cruise less than 12 days. 12 days seems to weed out the families and the booze cruisers.  Even a full 30 day voyage is more peaceful than a 7 day half full voyage

[TRLD]

36 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

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?

On a recent cruise saw one person complain to another about them taking a video call in a public space. Then 5 minutes later his wife rushes in says that their daughter is on the phone and then they proceed to have a high volume speaker call in the same venue.

 

 

[ChinaShrek]

HAL is not an adults only line. Everyone should know this. Some cruises will attract large numbers of families and kids. HAL is actively marketing to these groups. However, longer itineraries will have less kids and families. HAL is also marketing to refined adults. HAL and is really not much different from Carnival now. Some Carnival cruises have very few kids and older couples while some HAL cruises will have tons of kids. This is how a cruise line stays in business. 

[Crew News]

On my first and last Spring Break time-frame cruise many years ago, I ran into the Hotel Manager and asked about unruly kids.  His response, "We have around 300 kids aboard but the Carnival behind us has more than 900."

 

 

[Eric from San Diego]

I have pretty much given up on the Carribbean though not because of the kids on board.   There are so many ships there and they are so big that the ports are inundated.   On CCer reported stopping in San Juan with six ships in port on one day. Her ship docked by the airport with a 30 minute bus ride to Old San Juan.   When the biggest carnival ships are in Amber Cove and Half Moon Cay, the facilities are overwhelmed.  It's like being at Disney World in August.   

[Westcoast250]

I find rudeness and jackassery spans culture and generations. Bratty kids are a special annoyance.

 

I bring my little ones cruising and we have high expectations but also set them up for success.  I think that’s what I find frustrating to see - kids are communicating through poor behaviour and if parents are too absent or hitting the drink package to respond of course it’s a nightmare! I avoid kid heavy cruises even with kids because I get frustrated with poorly supervised kids. It might be annoying to adults but it can be dangerous to kids. I feel bad for them - you get hungry tired kids and mom and dad are prioritizing wine and dinner. 
 

We go on longer or odd itineraries and find there’s usually kids but they are well behaved and well supervised.

My view is that kids have the right to enjoy their trip and be in spaces they are allowed to be, but they have the responsibility that they can’t diminish others enjoyment.  Dinner is a great example, most little kids can’t sit still for that long so don’t try.  Maybe just have an appetizer and then get something later. Our little ones can do 30 minutes no problem but longer they get antsy so we don’t bother with 1.5-2 hour MDR dinners.  There’s great options that work for us, keep them happy, and everyone around us happy.

 

The reality is millennials have money and little kids now. HAL is a great multigenerational line, and combine that with the fact that 1990 and 1991 are one of the big baby boomer echo years, —> you’re seeing a lot of wealthy boomer grand parents, millennial parents, and little kids. It’s tough to understate the cultural changes with millennials being in their 30s now. The kids cruise free thing (or 3rd and 4th free) is a draw for sure. 

There’s always people who don’t like little kids and that’s fine. Personally I would like l the speciality resteraunts being little kid free, and then maybe have one night in one that is just for little ones.  One thing I liked on princess back in the day was “youth security” that would tell bratty kids to stop and escalate it back to their parents. If anything I felt they watched from a distance and also helped kids deal with challenging adults. Maybe HAL needs to consider that for spring break cruises.

 

[Navybikermom]

I made the mistake of booking a spring break cruise. I had totally forgotten when spring break happens, since my children were already adults. The ship wasn’t overrun with little ones, but I did notice a few running around. The older folks (myself included) gave them “the look” but the parents fussed at us for doing that! 
 

I was a substitute teacher for a time in our county but had to stop. The biggest issue was that parenting skills have fallen flat on their faces. My military brain had a hard time with the kids who would not listen and kept misbehaving. Many of the problems were due to parenting, which is very sad. I know that was the cause because the regular teachers and principals told me, and they are very familiar with the parents and how they behave. 
 

Of course, children don’t have the market on bad behavior. Adults are very annoying - phones on loud volume, poor dining room etiquette, etc. Shameful…

[Oceansaway17]

3 hours 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? 

aw but they have a responsibility to keep other passengers safe.  Running and bumping into people and causing them to fall and end up in the medical center is not right.

I am not impressed with the crew members who let situations get worse.  They have the right and should use good judgement to stop running.  Too many crew members only want smiles not complaints and they come off as lazy if the won't get involved. 

 

On a ship last year, I saw a kid in buffet during the very busy times just running around fast in and out of tables and people carrying food.  I said something to one of the mangers with a suit and he just smiled and shrugged.  The next day I saw the same thing and mentioned to him again that if he did not stop the kid and say something to the parents, then if I was bumped and fell down, I would sue the cruise lines and especially mention his name. 

Guess what within a couple of minutes he went over to the parents and stopped it.

 

Crew members need to keep the peace and safety of all. They are not there to listen and talk amongst themselves and ignore what is going on.  I think they are afraid of a bad rating.

 

I am sorry but people are minding their own business too much if safety is involved and they look the other way. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

My favorite MDR experience with kids was on a RCCL cruise several years ago.  There were 3 or 4 couples, all with younger children.  Instead of mixing in the kids with adults they made one large adult table and one large kid’s table.  They actually had another table between the 2 tables,  but the result was that the rest of us had to deal with this unruly table of children

[retird]

This thread hints , no screams , of entitlement.    We , the customers are in no position to dictate who a cruise line allows on a cruise.   I agree with the one post that if a few kids bothers you, sail at a different time or pick a cruise line that only allows adults to book.    Being 4 or 5 star gives certain perks, but does not entitle someone to dictate who sails on the ship.   The families money is just as appealing to the cruise line as the upper * mariner.     

[crystalspin]

3 hours ago, Petronillus said:

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.

Hahaha! My husband even knows [a bit of] German! Enough to project that he is following the convo!

 

Back when muster drills were outside on the promenade, we were standing next to two or three young people (not children) who were conducting a conversation in Russian at full volume DURING the captain's broadcast instructions. I turned to them and said sharply "пожалуйста!" (pozhaluysta, a wonderful word that means both please and thank you and in this context "DO YOU MIND!!!") in my best бабушка/babushka imitation. They quieted down and probably never guessed that I had completed only one semester of Russian Language! Several English-speaking passengers thanked me, after the drill.

 

This story has nothing in particular to do with the topic, just something to keep in mind in an international environment.

 

Edited March 27 by crystalspin

[Laminator]

I do not have the length of time here as many of you do but I seem to recall this complaint coming up every year except for the covid period. I would have more sympathy for the poster if this issue with spring break was new but it has been discussed here in the past. 

[cbr663]

I realize that most people booking a cruise don't read the cruise lines investor relations information prior to booking a cruise. You really should though as in 2023 things changed in the cruise industry and will continue to change for '24, '25 and possibly beyond.  

 

From today's Carnival Cruise Corp Q1 report:

 

"The company experienced an early start to a robust wave season with record booking volumes for all future sailings that exceeded expectations....

 

"We are enjoying a phenomenal wave season with strength across all major deployments and brands. Even with less inventory available for the remainder of the year, booking volumes hit an all-time high, driven by demand for 2025 sailings and beyond. Our brands have demonstrated continued success creating demand that outstrips available capacity translating into higher prices (in constant currency) and a further elongation in the booking curve.."

 

What does this mean for the company?  

 

"Record first quarter revenues of $5.4 billion, with record net yields (in constant currency) and record net per diems (in constant currency) both significantly exceeding 2023 levels.

Gross margin yields nearly doubled compared to 2023 and net yields (in constant currency) significantly exceeded 2023 levels by over 17 percent."

 

https://www.carnivalcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/carnival-corporation-plc-reports-record-first-quarter-revenues

 

What does this mean for cruise passengers?  It means that you can expect to pay much more for your cruise fare and can expect that there will be more and more people sailing.  Occupancy is over 100% and yes, this does mean more people on board - people being children and adults.

 

HAL has never marketed itself as an adults only cruise line.  It actively markets itself to families with children and while many people may mistakingly believe that HAL can't compete with the RCs range of ships, fact is that there are many people travelling on HAL's ships with children.

 

[C 2 C]

8 hours ago, Real NHDOC said:

It doesn’t take 300+ children to spoil a cruise. Just two running around the BB King’s dance floor all night like it’s a playground is enough. Certain parts of the ship should be “adults only”. 

 

[bobomonkeyrage]

38 minutes ago, retird said:

Being 4 or 5 star gives certain perks, but does not entitle someone to dictate who sails on the ship.   The families money is just as appealing to the cruise line as the upper * mariner.  

preach!

[Real NHDOC]

34 minutes ago, Laminator said:

I do not have the length of time here as many of you do but I seem to recall this complaint coming up every year except for the covid period. I would have more sympathy for the poster if this issue with spring break was new but it has been discussed here in the past. 

I was attempting to draw a comparison between my experience last Spring on Nieuw Statendam and this Spring. Last year the ship was full and the itinerary was the 10 and 11 day circuits. Way fewer children and overall a much better experience for all. Prices, on a per passenger per day basis were actually HIGHER than for this year’s 7 day “day care center at sea”.
 

So, the takeaway should be that HAL can actually make good money catering to its core, loyalest customers without having to cheapen itself to attract families with children (which, let’s face it, isn’t its strong suit). 
 

As their core customers die off people will naturally become fans and graduate from RC and Carnival once their kids grow up and leave the nest. They don’t need to bring them in before that time which is their probable justification for marketing to them.
 

Play to your strengths and develop a niche that fills a need and don’t destroy the brand by trying to be a family friendly cruise line because it’s just not necessary (and they don’t do it as well as their competitors do). 

Edited March 27 by Real NHDOC

[coolbluegreenseas]

4 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

HAL is also marketing to refined adults. HAL and is really not much different from Carnival now.

Actually, Carnival is the opposite of refined, so if HAL is marketed to refined adults, it is nothing like a Carnival cruise. Or are you suggesting HAL is becoming Carnival without the moshpit? 😋

[coolbluegreenseas]

3 hours ago, Eric from San Diego said:

I have pretty much given up on the Carribbean though not because of the kids on board.   There are so many ships there and they are so big that the ports are inundated.   On CCer reported stopping in San Juan with six ships in port on one day. Her ship docked by the airport with a 30 minute bus ride to Old San Juan.   When the biggest carnival ships are in Amber Cove and Half Moon Cay, the facilities are overwhelmed.  It's like being at Disney World in August.   

Ah, exactly why I chose the Caribbean for our December cruise: we are only getting off once. I want to enjoy the ship while everyone else is gone. For hubby and I, this is pretty much a cruise to nowhere. Also, we have seen enough of the Caribbean to know we have seen enough of the Caribbean.

 

 

[dobiemom]

We had a lovely time on the NS last (early) Dec. 7-day cruise. The only thing was we missed HMC because of weather/waves. 

[coolbluegreenseas]

3 hours ago, Navybikermom said:

Of course, children don’t have the market on bad behavior. Adults are very annoying - phones on loud volume, poor dining room etiquette, etc. Shameful…

My guess is you will find entitled parents result in poorly behaved children.

[coolbluegreenseas]

3 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

They actually had another table between the 2 tables,  but the result was that the rest of us had to deal with this unruly table of children

Well, I can tell you that would be a hard no on seating at that table.

[coolbluegreenseas]

1 hour ago, retird said:

The families money is just as appealing to the cruise line as the upper * mariner.     

That very well maybe true, but families are also notoriously poor tippers. Why, you ask? Well, the family has pretty much blown their budget on everything else which leaves the hospitality crew out to dry. But, CCL/HAL does not care about that as it does not affect shareholder value. It hurts the people who actually work on the ship. 
 

Best tippers? Boomers followed by GenX.

[shadow 123]

8 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Probably true, but I don’t want their problem to become my problem 

 

8 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Do you really think that HAL needs to have a kids sail free promotion to fill their ships?

I would think children would be happier on a Disney cruise. Seems like there would be more  for Children to do.

[Skorpora]

5 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

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?

NTA

[shadow 123]

6 hours ago, bobomonkeyrage said:

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. 

But we don't judge right ?