Aways Seems Hal Crusiers Against Kids.

[twinkletoes4445]

 

Next issue.

 

I am truly horrified by what I read on these boards. Can you think of any individual group of people in America that would tolerate having such horrible things said about them as kids, parents (there's a lot of blaming the parents on this board, I think as a cover for kid hating), and families.

 

Can you imagine if people freely wrote that they didn't want to be onboard with old people because they move slowly and talk loudly if they wear hearing aids and that we should "throw them overboard" (as previous poster said about children). Can you imagine if we singled out groups because they are gay, or for race? But it is fine to say you don't want to be near children and plan on giving the family a dirty look or an actual hard time, or would like to "throw them overboard."

 

Hey, when I was a kid I lived in an apartment building, and the guy below didn't like hearing my footsteps, threatened to cut off my feet, put in writing and mailed it, and seemed to intend on following through. There's a kid hater for you. Unfortunately, his actions crossed into "crime" and he was removed from our lives.

 

Have a heart people. We're all on this planet together, and let's not single out any group to be the icky people we wish weren't there.

 

And in summary, HAL is fine for children and families. The people who post anti-child stuff on the internet seem to be internet-specific, and perhaps trying to steer families away from HAL to keep it adult, despite HAL's marketing efforts.

 

I'm done. Signing off.

 

No where did I read that anyone HATED children. Just because some people don't want to cruise with children who are overrunning the ship, doesn't make them child haters.

 

We picked this cruiseline because it does seem to cater to older passengers, and I do understand HAL is working on changing this. Take your kids on this cruiseline, it doesn't matter to me.

 

Oh, and you know what this "child hater" did?

 

Several years ago I found that there was a loophole in one the laws in our state regarding the safety of our children in the public schools. To change this, we had to get a senator to introduce a bill to make the changes. Then we had to make the rounds testfying in sentate hearings. This took a lot of time, but it benefited all children and made the schools a much safer place for them.

 

There is NOTHING wrong with wanting to be on a cruise that isn't crawling with children. And it's crazy to even compare this desire to not wanting to cruise with gays or a particular race.

 

As for not wanting to cruise with older people...I can tell you that my teenagers would have had a fit if we'd chosen HAL for their cruise. And these are kids who have grown up being exposed to all sorts of different things. Through the years we took our children on vacations, and I can tell you, we chose things that THEY would enjoy, knowing that it wouldn't be long and they'd be grown and then we could do what WE wanted. The day has finally arrived. If you think your child will enjoy HAL, then go for it. No one hates your child.

 

I've already told our kids that once they are married with kids, we're going to take everyone on a Disney cruise. I think they'll all love it. And if it's just "Gramps and Grammy" then we'll head over to HAL. I personally have no desire to be on a Disney cruise unless I am with children (yes, I know plenty of people who cruise Disney, don't have kids or have kids with them). It's all about choices.

 

I will say...that once your children are grown, I'd love to hear your opinion on this subject. ;)

[cruzincurt]

As has been said, no one on HAL hates kids (well maybe a few dislike them, I was even a kid once); no one would seek to do them harm. We just want you to enjoy your kiddos; you don't need to share them with us. And since this is a "family" vacation, why dump them off in the morning for someone else to look after all day? This should be YOUR quality time with YOUR kiddos.

 

And soon enough, they'll grow up, color their hair green and get body piercings. Why would you not want to share every minute of your vacation with your kiddos?

 

We choose HAL since there is a balance of all ages; on Carnival, most 20-30's somethings were loud and drunk from the minute they got on, on Celebrity, the oldsters slept all day at the pool and the ship was deserted after 8:00pm. HAL is a good balance.

[babyher]

Twinkletoes

 

Beautifully said :)

 

And my hat is off to you for the work you did for getting that child saftey bill passed.

 

I totally agree with you. Like I wrote in my post , knowing the kids like I do, why would I pick a cruise , or any vacation spot, that they would not enjoy. And then complain about it ????

 

Even with three teens in the house , there are times NOW (not when they are grown) that my wife and I need to get away for a little adult time. I can imagine how it will be when they are finally grown and gone.

 

I am sorry if I sound horrible, but I am very glad that my three are past the age of Disney on Ice , and Chuck E. Cheese's, and Seasame Street Live , and all that. I sat through every one of them for each kid more times than I care to remember, and I did it cause it made them happy and I loved them with all my heart. Just as my parents did it for me , and millions of other parents have done for theirs. But Thank you God those days are over.

 

People don't always realize that as a child gets older and takes on more responcibility and earns more freedom, the parent has less responciblity and gets more freedom. :)

 

As I have written, mine are 13, 14, and 17. So I am already free of diapers, and carrying a playpen, crib, change of clothes and whatever moble nursery we had to caravan everywhere we went. We don't have to bundle them up and take them everywhere we go . They can stay home for a few hours while we go grocery shopping, No more rustleing up a babysitter to go to a movie or dinner out. And as they get older, they will become more independent.....and so will me and DW!!!!!

 

PLEASE FOLKS ......... I AM SAYING WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY IN A TOTALLY JOKING WAY!!!!!!!

 

Once your hitch is up with your own kids, you don't feel like re-enlisting with someone elses :)

 

As others here have said , that does not make anyone a "child hater" . they just want a different more "adult" atmosphere.

[gizmo]

Babyher,

 

I am so sorry about that. Please accept my apology.:o

[twinkletoes4445]

babyher...

 

It was a long and winding road to get the bill passed. They tacked it onto another bill (that had similar issues), but not everyone agreed with all the amendments. The house passed it, and then it went to the senate where it lost by one vote, and then we had to start all over. We had one more year to get it through, and we did. Prior to this experience, I had no idea how these things worked. I learned a lot about the good and bad side of politics. I also learned that people lie...and right to media. It was an eye-opener. But I wasn't tied to a political agenda...I just wanted our children protected. I did learn to not trust the media. It's amazing how they can take what you say and twist it into a completely different comment.

 

I have to say, it was odd sitting in front of these people talking about this issue. You wouldn't think this would be something that would require anyone to "think about it" rather, I was stunned that it had not been addressed prior to us. I had one senator tell me that laws are like sausages...you enjoy the end result, but you really don't want to know what goes into it. This particular bill didn't make everyone happy...in fact, we had death threats against us. Can you imagine? All in the name of keeping our children safe? My terminology might be off a bit because this was a long time ago, but this is the general idea of what happened.

 

 

I have a friend who takes her kids on vacation every year, but year after year, her and her hubby do what they want. And then she wonders why her kids complain (and no, I am not talking about any of the posters here).

 

Like you, I have had my fill of Chuck-e-Cheese, Sesame Street Live and all those places. I've been puked on by a cub scout (on a camp bus-and it was over 100 degrees that day-it was interesting). I had one boy that no one wanted in their den (I was Committee Chairman). I had to beg and then I ended up chairing some event in exchange for someone taking him. He was quite a handful, and 5 years later, this little kid set my front porch on fire. As it turned out, he didn't know it was my porch...it was just random, but still very frightening. When I had my own den, I had a former Marine as my co-leader, and that was the best thing I could have done. That guy took control of everything. He was awesome. I've logged in more volunteer hours than I care to think about...and by golly, they are grown, and now it's about ME...and hubby, of course.

 

I really don't mind being around children, I love them, but when we vacation, we try and hit places that are going to be overrun with kids (and I don't mean "child free"-just not overrun with kids). Do I feel guilty? No. Why should I? To a certain degree, we probably did what our kids wanted too often...but looking back, I'm glad we did. It's really a short period in our lives...and now we can do more "adult" things.

 

I was clicking my heels the night of our last Back-To-School night! We've been to them all. Sometimes we had to split up...especially the year they were all in grade school at the same time...but we didn't miss a one. :)

 

You're still in the thick of things with teenagers...but the light at the end of the tunnel is just around the corner. And what's really nice, is when you get there, and you've done your job, and you get to watch your kids go off and be productive adults. It's fun. Now I am in the stage of waiting for someone to get married, and one of these days, if I am lucky, I'll have a grandchild or two. :)

[babyher]

Babyher,

 

I am so sorry about that. Please accept my apology.:o

 

 

Oh no problem :)

[babyher]

babyher...

 

It was a long and winding road to get the bill passed. They tacked it onto another bill (that had similar issues), but not everyone agreed with all the amendments. The house passed it, and then it went to the senate where it lost by one vote, and then we had to start all over. We had one more year to get it through, and we did. Prior to this experience, I had no idea how these things worked. I learned a lot about the good and bad side of politics. I also learned that people lie...and right to media. It was an eye-opener. But I wasn't tied to a political agenda...I just wanted our children protected. I did learn to not trust the media. It's amazing how they can take what you say and twist it into a completely different comment.

 

I have to say, it was odd sitting in front of these people talking about this issue. You wouldn't think this would be something that would require anyone to "think about it" rather, I was stunned that it had not been addressed prior to us. I had one senator tell me that laws are like sausages...you enjoy the end result, but you really don't want to know what goes into it. This particular bill didn't make everyone happy...in fact, we had death threats against us. Can you imagine? All in the name of keeping our children safe? My terminology might be off a bit because this was a long time ago, but this is the general idea of what happened.

 

 

I have a friend who takes her kids on vacation every year, but year after year, her and her hubby do what they want. And then she wonders why her kids complain (and no, I am not talking about any of the posters here).

 

Like you, I have had my fill of Chuck-e-Cheese, Sesame Street Live and all those places. I've been puked on by a cub scout (on a camp bus-and it was over 100 degrees that day-it was interesting). I had one boy that no one wanted in their den (I was Committee Chairman). I had to beg and then I ended up chairing some event in exchange for someone taking him. He was quite a handful, and 5 years later, this little kid set my front porch on fire. As it turned out, he didn't know it was my porch...it was just random, but still very frightening. When I had my own den, I had a former Marine as my co-leader, and that was the best thing I could have done. That guy took control of everything. He was awesome. I've logged in more volunteer hours than I care to think about...and by golly, they are grown, and now it's about ME...and hubby, of course.

 

I really don't mind being around children, I love them, but when we vacation, we try and hit places that are going to be overrun with kids (and I don't mean "child free"-just not overrun with kids). Do I feel guilty? No. Why should I? To a certain degree, we probably did what our kids wanted too often...but looking back, I'm glad we did. It's really a short period in our lives...and now we can do more "adult" things.

 

I was clicking my heels the night of our last Back-To-School night! We've been to them all. Sometimes we had to split up...especially the year they were all in grade school at the same time...but we didn't miss a one. :)

 

You're still in the thick of things with teenagers...but the light at the end of the tunnel is just around the corner. And what's really nice, is when you get there, and you've done your job, and you get to watch your kids go off and be productive adults. It's fun. Now I am in the stage of waiting for someone to get married, and one of these days, if I am lucky, I'll have a grandchild or two. :)

 

Twinkletoes,

 

I think it is great what you did :)

and Oh yes ...nothing that politicians or the media do would surprise me :(

[twinkletoes4445]

Twinkletoes,

 

I think it is great what you did :)

and Oh yes ...nothing that politicians or the media do would surprise me :(

 

It was really quite a learning experience. I just thought people would do the right thing...lol One time this lobbyist stood in front of one of the tv reporters and denied knowing about something. I was standing right next to this woman and had a letter from her acknowledging what she just denied. And by luck, I had the letter with me!! OMG, that was a Kodak moment. Suddenly the cameras swung over to me, and then the letter. Ahh...it was sweet. By the end of the second year, I'd learned how to use the media to my benefit. I also learned those that I could trust and those that I couldn't. And a few other tricks along the way. :)

 

I was a bit of a fireball back then...lol...now I just want to sit on my balcony with a good book.

[grannynurse]

I mentioned this on this board about 2 years ago. My friends who were die-hard princess cruisers took a Christmas hawaii cruise. About 2am in the Horizon court a 7 year old unsupervised girl came charging through the restaurant, ran into the wife, spilled hot coffee all over her and broke her glasses. Security on board identified the group with which the child was traveling, a large non US group with 60 kids (no exaggeration) who had been unruly the whole trip while parents slept the sea days away. Security told my friend that they had been instructed not to interfere with the group as it was a large well-paying group. After writing to princess from home she got a reply that told her she was bigoted against non US citizens. Well, that long relationship is over, they'll never sail that line again. The other incidents were all over the CC Princess board after Christmas 2004.

[Meriflower]

I can understand and respect why people would prefer not to be around children. I have 2 boys and when my DH and I go out for a nice dinner away from the kids the last thing we want to sit and be around is kids. So we go to places that normally do not cater to kids. Does this make us kid haters -no!

 

As far as HAL goes we are planning on taking a family cruise to Alaska next year on the Amsterdam. Travel agent and HAL encouraged us with their Club Hal program etc. But more so, we are going to see the sights, the ocean, wildlife, glaciers the beauty of Alaska all on a beautiful ship. I like HAL ships because they are smaller, not the floating mega "boxes" and are beautifully decorated and not over the top or high on glitz. That is really not my style. If we wanted rock walls, skating rinks and all the other "gimmicks" we would probably go to an amusement park or something along those lines.

 

If my kids were disruptive and unruly in public I would not pick a cruise on any line for a family vacation. That would not be a good vacation for me or for any other people around us.

[babyher]

I mentioned this on this board about 2 years ago. My friends who were die-hard princess cruisers took a Christmas hawaii cruise. About 2am in the Horizon court a 7 year old unsupervised girl came charging through the restaurant, ran into the wife, spilled hot coffee all over her and broke her glasses. Security on board identified the group with which the child was traveling, a large non US group with 60 kids (no exaggeration) who had been unruly the whole trip while parents slept the sea days away. Security told my friend that they had been instructed not to interfere with the group as it was a large well-paying group. After writing to princess from home she got a reply that told her she was bigoted against non US citizens. Well, that long relationship is over, they'll never sail that line again. The other incidents were all over the CC Princess board after Christmas 2004.

 

Unbelievable !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I can sympathize with your friend because my parents had an incident (not on a cruise , but a land based restaurant) where nothing was done about a certain incident because the offending parties were part of a well known well paying family.

 

But to have a cruise line (or any business) call you a bigot in responce to a legitimate complaint letter. Thats the last they would see of my business too.

[BobMartha]

This tread has lead to an interesting morning read...I'm Martha of BobMartha, (Bob usually posts). Our 2 daughters have always cruised with us (they are 9 and 11, and started at ages 2 and 4--they've been on 9 cuises). Yes, we've done Carnival and RCCL with them, and we know that these cruise lines have more to offer families by the way of catering to kids with activities, water slides, ice rinks, and rock walls. But we as adults, like the pace of HAL ships for our family vacation. I teach for a living, and my idea of a vacation is not having to supervise someome else's children. Of our 4 Hal cruises, I've encountered a limited number of children, (and we only cruise during school breaks), and those that my daughters have befriended were well mannered and well behaved. On our last Alaskan cruise, my girls were sometimes the only ones at Club HAL...talk about 1 on 1 attention. I think that it is correct to note a child's behavior as a reflection of the parent. On a HAL ship, I realize that my children aren't going to be entertained 24/7, while on other lines I've seen children dropped off at camp all day, as well as into the night. We bring our daughters along because we like spending time together as a family. We like getting dressed for dinner, my 9 year old was appauled that someone was wearing a baseball cap in the dining room. On HAL, our daughters have always been treated with the respect that a paying consumer is entitled to, keep in mind that there is no "child discount", (we pay the same suite rate for them as you are paying). The staff usually talks to them about the children that they have at home, and ask my daughters about their ages, schooling and hobbies. What's the saying about an "educated consumer", I find the boards to be a plethora of information, and if you are a first time consumer of a cruise, shop around and find one that fits. When we travel with friends, and our collective children need to be entertained, we book for the water slides, rock walls, and ice rinks, and that's OK too. I'm currently looking into a booking for my daughter's Girl Scout troup...definately Carnival or RCCL, (I wouldn't subject 15 giggling tweens on my HAL buddies). But for a quiet, quality, family vacation, HAL is our choice.

[Nasmas]

I Would Like To Ask A Questions . Why Does It Seem People On Here Seem To Think If I Have Kids I Sould Cruise Somewherelse. Why Sould I Give Up The Best Of The Best And Always Seem To Come Down To Some Cruise Dont Want My Kids . I Pay For My Cruise. This Is Just A Thought Not At Aimed At Anyone.

 

Its not that your kids are not welcome, they are. All we childless adults expect is that they don't disrupt the cruise. We were on the Veendam several years ago and it was a nightmare. The rowdy children ruined the cruise for just about everyone but their parents who didnt' have a clue where the kids were at any time nor did they care. I mean running thru the halls at 3 in the morning, squealing. So, if you children act like this, your darned tooting they're not welcome on HAL or any other line, I would assume

[kryos]

I mentioned this on this board about 2 years ago. My friends who were die-hard princess cruisers took a Christmas hawaii cruise. About 2am in the Horizon court a 7 year old unsupervised girl came charging through the restaurant, ran into the wife, spilled hot coffee all over her and broke her glasses. Security on board identified the group with which the child was traveling, a large non US group with 60 kids (no exaggeration) who had been unruly the whole trip while parents slept the sea days away. Security told my friend that they had been instructed not to interfere with the group as it was a large well-paying group. After writing to princess from home she got a reply that told her she was bigoted against non US citizens. Well, that long relationship is over, they'll never sail that line again. The other incidents were all over the CC Princess board after Christmas 2004.

I wonder if this was the same cruise where all h*ll broke out on the Island Princess. There were a ton of posts over on the Princess board about the antics of a bunch of teens and kids on that cruise, and the lack of intervention by the Princess crew and staff. Some kids threw pool loungers overboard (they wanted to see if they would float), others running through the halls at all hours of the night, others going up and down the halls tearing off the breakfast order cards from the doors (imagine the next morning when no one's breakfast order arrived), kids commendeering elevators and not letting passengers on. The list goes on and on. And, where were the parents? Probably at the pool during the day, in the casino or a lounge by night. They couldn't have cared less what their kids were doing for entertainment. I think I read that a bunch of the passengers on that cruise filed a law suit against Princess to get some of their money back ... that's how bad the cruise was. I think Princess did settle out of court with them.

 

So, again ... it's not kids per se that people on this board object to ... it's parents who absolutely refuse to supervise their kids. Surely in the case of this Princess cruise, the parents were more the problem than the kids were. After all, how could your kids be running up and down the halls in the middle of the night ... knocking on cabin doors and generally causing a disturbance ... and you, the parent, are totally unaware of what's going on? First of all, what decent parents would allow their kids to be running around the ship unsupervised at that time of the morning? Obviously, these parents didn't care, and I only hope their behavior cost Princess a nice sum of money in this settlement.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[nashkan]

I had to come on and post one more time..... THANKS to many of you that posted well thought out and inspirational posts.... I think the majority feel that over 80% of kids are good.... and it only takes ONE to ruin a wonderful cruise.... just like it can take but ONE rude and inconsiderate adult to do the same thing....it does not matter if one is 7 or 70 ..... we have ALL seen things..... If I can add one more thing.... if you do see kids that are behaving like they should and are IMPRESSED with their behavior, take a moment and tell them. Reinforce that behavior because in the long run we will ALL benefit from that.... giving a well-deserved compliment to ANYONE is a good thing ....we ALL sometimes look for the bad things in life, and the things the irritate us (I have to include myself as well) (human nature) But when we do take an extra moment to tell someone that they look nice (ex: beautiful dress on formal night) or to a child that they have good manners, this only reinforces that behavior and they have a tendancy to even strive to be even better.... WE ALL GAIN FROM THAT..... we ALL can make a difference ....we ALL have impact on others lifes.... Let us ALL make it a POSITIVE one ...... most sincerely Dan

[babyher]

Nashkan ...Very nicely put, I totally agree

 

 

Rita,

 

Not sure if this is the same incident , but over on the Princess Board within the past week they were talking about the "Brownie Riot" that occured on one of their ships.

 

I think that was just recently though.

 

This was a huge group of young adults, more like college kids who might not have even been with their parents who just ran wild all over the ship.

 

They actually had the video of it one of these kids took on the internet.

 

It wasn't the best cinematography or sound , but it just looked like a huge bunch of kids started congregating in the atrium area , a lot of loud talk and running around , there was no fighting or breaking things or throwing things overboard. Some how some one got a hold of a pan of brownies and started throwing them from the rail of the upper floors down to the people in the atrium hence the "Brownie Riot" moniker.

 

You did see security on the scene walking through the crowd , but it didn't seem like they were doing much. Just stopping once in a while and talking to a few of these youths and then moving on.

 

Like I said from seeing the video it really wasn't a "riot" just a lot of loud unruly youths.

[kryos]

Like I said from seeing the video it really wasn't a "riot" just a lot of loud unruly youths.

And there is no excuse for that. Where do their parents get off thinking that it is okay for their kids to do anything ... in the name of having fun ... even if it disrupts the cruise experience of others who have maybe saved long and hard to take that cruise and now have to have it ruined?

 

Princess' "Youth Security" seems to be a joke.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Sunshine91]

It's taken me a few days to finally work my way thru this thread.

John gave me the gift of his beautiful daughter when we married 15 years ago. Jessi is now 20. We've never cruised with her - I don't think her mother would have let us take her.

These posts about the wild, unruly kids reminds me of the tragic story a few months ago about the Irish girl who drank herself overboard. The parents apparently had no clue what she was doing while unsupervised. I'm really surprised when I read about the ships' crew doing nothing when it gets so out of hand. All it's going to take is one kid to get hurt & then the parents will sue - do the cruiselines really want that?

A cruiseship is such a small, closed society - we simply assume it's safe. Would these same parents let their kids roam the halls in the middle of the night in a land resort or hotel? Probably not, fearing dangers lurking there. Would these parents who are so health and/or safety conscious of their smaller children, really want to eat ice cream themselves, or feed it to small children after kids poked their dirty fingers up into the dispenser? Probably not, fearing germs.

Some of my own friends thought we were crazy for imposing rules & expecting certain behaviour & having consequences for infractions. Jessi is polite, respectful & knows right from wrong. Made a couple of stupid teenage mistakes, but she she's still learning. My friends' kids - don't think they'll make it out of high school.

[Arubalisa]

I would hate to think that if I took my 5 well behaved grandchildren on a HAL cruise that people would be looking at me and saying behind my back "why did she bring those kids"

Very interesting how it depends on which side of the fence you are on with this subject. On our HAL cruise with our then 8 year old foster daughter who had never traveled before and was able to sit through 2 1//2 formal dinners in the dining room, I had the EXACT same feeling. And I need to add that this was a Christmas cruise. Over the years I have sailed Carnival, RCCL and Princess, in addition most recently Celebrity and the group of kids aboard the Zaandam at Christmas was the most sedate group of kids I had ever seen in my entire cruising history.

 

It is a sad reflection on our society when there is so little tolerance for children, especially at such a great time of the year. The childless adults aboard [sAILING WITHOUT THEIR CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN, OR HAVING NO CHILDREN] were downright rude to the children aboard the ship and I will never forget the experience. Now I know where the saying, "old and bitter" come from. :(

[dakrewser]

It is a sad reflection on our society when there is so little tolerance for children, especially at such a great time of the year. The childless adults aboard were downright rude to the children aboard the ship and I will never forget the experience.

 

Hmm - how did you know that they were "childless adults"?? My wife & I don't have children with us on board, but with 4 kids and 8 grandkids we certainly can't be called "childless".

 

And, I'm sorry, but why do I need to demonstrate "tolerance" for children?? Do they come from a different culture? Have different beliefs?? I have very little tolerance for any "spoiled darling" no matter what their age, nor do I believe that rude behavior should be tolerated from anyone. Although it is interesting that you suggest the very young need to be "tolerated" but the very old do not!

 

 

[Arubalisa]

Hmm - how did you know that they were "childless adults"?? My wife & I don't have children with us on board, but with 4 kids and 8 grandkids we certainly can't be called "childless".

Edited original post for clarity.

[cruzincurt]

Quote: "It is a sad reflection on our society when there is so little tolerance for children, especially at such a great time of the year."

 

You must be kidding, everything in this world is for or about "the children". I'll show you my local school tax bill; we are childless. I see that you travel during the holidays; we avoid the holidays to have a more quiet and refreshing vacation away from the usual clamor.

 

Anyone who travels during the holidays should expect families. We do...so we don't.

[PrincessYoga]

My wee cousin (11 and 7) loved our cruise on HAL. They both said it was the best one they had ever been on. This was the 6th or 7th one for them. They were welcomed by both adults and crew. I minded them a great bit of the time because they live in America so I only see them about once a year and I could give their parents time together. I know I am biased but they are the best kids ever. :)

 

It is down to how they are being raised my my aunt and uncle. The other children in our family are the same. Children are expected to behave properly and are taken to nice resturants, function and holidays from no age. With these 2 I am more like their aunt because I old enough to be their parent. I was often mistaken for their Mum on the ship. I got several compliments on the children. Only one man got up to tell the kids 9it was group of kids playing...not roughhousing just playing) to stop playing in the pool. Big mistake!!!! Pat, Sap and Henry in the dining room treated them perfectly, remembered all of the favourites just like the adults, taught the wee one magic tricks etc. Marlon in the Sports Bar allowed him to watch the World Cup so long as he didn't sit at the bar. The other spectators included and spoke to him. The tour guides included the children. We did see a couple our very badly behaved children (a DVD and IPOD at the dinner table, temper tantrums etc.) but children will behave badly if they aren't trained properly. I will say that HAL is good for children. I have to say we saw some badly behaved adults as well.

[crzinchap]

I do not have any children, but I do have a nephew. I certainly have no problem with children on my vacation, provided that they are respectful, well mannered, and well behaved. Monoplolizing Elevators, throwing debris overboard, and running rampant allover the ship unsupervised is totally unacceptable, and the parents need to be held accountable for their darlings actions. However, on the other side of the coin, there are some kids that are more mature than adults, and more well mannered and respectful. Quite simply put, your kids are welcome as long as they exhibit proper behavior, you are accountable for them. You are welcome as well, as long as you conduct yourself in a civilized and respectful discourse. Fair enough?

[Blackneto]

just a heads up folks.

We are bringing our 4 kids on a HAL Alaskan cruise in June/July 08.

 

they are mosty quiet bookish children except for the Boy. I plan on using him as killer whale bait if he gets too rowdy. The oldest will probably be hogging the couches in the library reading or bugging people to play cards.

And we will have a time keeping our 2nd child away from the piano's, she's been playing since she was 4.

And the youngest one will probably be informing everyone about what they aren't supposed to be doing. Actually maybe she will outgrow that in 2 years.

other than that, we've recieved many compliments at the dressier restaurants we go to. People look in abject horror as we file in but relax after a while.

Feel free though to chuck them overboard if they get in your way though.:)