Review: HAL Veendam w/ kids

[Vaca2006]

I'm writing this mainly for parents who would like to try Holland America but are worried how kids will fare on a line reputedly focused on the over-60 crowd. My family - including DS 11 and DD 6 - recently took our first cruise and I can happily report that kids did just fine on the ms Veendam. To be sure, it was the week before Easter, so the number of children aboard was much higher than average. But crew told us it was nothing near the Spring Break peak number some weeks earlier.

Like most of the HAL line, Veendam recently completed its "Signature of Excellence" refit, which included addition of dedicated facilities for Club HAL, the childcare program. Club HAL is, I think, as good as it needs to be. By that, I mean it's fairly easy for kids of all kids to enjoy themselves in the Club. While I haven't been on other cruise lines, I suspect HAL's offering is very modest compared to what is offered on the megaships of Carnival and RCI. So if your kids are used to elaborate kids' facilities, they would need to have their expectations adjusted for a Holland America cruise.

That said, I am confident that some or most kids could have a great time in Club HAL. My daughter absolutely loved it - she's a social butterfly and an arts & crafts fanatic, so she's easy mark. My son is a tougher nut, not much of a joiner, dislikes crafts. But even he looked forward to times the club was open if only for the Playstations and Arcade Raids - periods when they would turn the key on the arcade games to convert them from coin operation to free-for-all.

The new facilities are attractive, but a bit cramped. Looking at the deck plan, it seems the entire Club HAL facility (not counting the teen rooms) is not much larger than four or five standard cabins. There is the room labeled “Club HAL” that contains a small play area themed to look like a bucket of paint and a couple of tables for crafts, plus shelves of books and board games. Next door is the video arcade, including Mario Kart, Feeding Frenzy, Paintball, and a couple other games DS can’t remember. Next to that is the Sony Playstation room. DS reports they had the following games (each with a dedicated console – no switching of games): Spongebob Squarepants, Finding Nemo, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4, American Idol, Shrek 2, Spiderman 2, and Dance Dance Revolution Max. There are also two internet terminals (not free). Linking the rooms is a tiny foyer where the sign in/out table is; it gets very congested there at peak times.

I didn't stick around to watch any activities, but the staff – Courtney, Amy, and Christina – were very professional and they had a fine balance planned. Here's the schedule for one at-sea day for ages 3-7:

900 Caribbean bracelets

945 Coloring contest

1015 Parachute games

1100 Fantastic flyers

1130 Dance Dance Revolution

[Club closes at 1200]

200 Cranium Hullabaloo

230 Raid the arcade

300 Ice cream pig out

330 Vacation photo frames

415 Puppet showtime

[Club closes at 500]

800 Pirate theme night

[concludes at 1000, $5 per hour for continuing care until midnight]

Same day, ages 8-12:

900 Apples to apples

930 Vacation photo frames

1000 Fashion scavenger hunt

1045 Fantastic flyers

1115 Dance Dance Revolution

[Club closes at 1200]

200 Caribbean jewelry

230 Arcade raid

315 Cartoon trivia

345 Dodge ball

415 PS2 play time

[Club closes at 500]

800 Secret agent theme night

[concludes at 1000, $5 per hour for continuing care until midnight]

Note that kids over 8 are allowed to sign themselves in and out. That was perfect for my 11-yo but I’m not sure he could have handled the responsibility at 8.

Some other helpful information for parents that you won’t find in HAL’s literature or web site:

- There is an orientation meeting at 5:00 on embarkation day

- Club HAL is open during port days, but you must sign your child up to attend by 8:30 the night before. Port day activities include lunch, so parents can choose to go out on excursions leaving the kids in the club.

- There are no Club HAL activities in the swimming pools.

- Kids who enjoy passive pursuits will love Explorations Cafe, which has internet stations, music stations (kind of like an iPod console), puzzles, and a full library. I let my son buy an internet package with his savings ($55 for 110 minutes) so he could keep up with his Runescape.

- Kids are allowed into the evening entertainment in the main show lounge. We brought our kids to all the shows we watched. Sometimes, there was light blue humor, but nothing stronger than what I let my kids watch on The Simpsons.

- Many of the Veendam’s staff absolutely dote on little children, particularly in the Lido Cafe. If you’ve got a little princess like mine, she’ll definitely be made to feel like royalty.

Not having older kids, there’s not much I can tell you about the teen club. I did sneak a peek at the no-adults-allowed facility. The Loft is an indoor hangout featuring a video jukebox and a large flat panel TV. Upstairs is The Oasis, an isolated outdoor space with hammocks and a waterfall.

I’ll be posting a full cruise review on the Holland America board in case you’re interested.

Lee