Is HAL for us????

[vpoopsy]

oops, double post.

[Seago2]

Sgttami- come with us! We are sailing the Noordam on Jan 17th. Come on over to the Roll Call.

 

I am in the obvious minority here- I actually like sailing with kids. They aren't in the casino, bars, dining rooms (after the first few days)... and they are so cute. I love seeing kids having fun. And they really don't bother me.

[Brad98]

That number was brilliant! Just found out there are 280 kids on board for our sailing.

Regards Me xx

[kryos]

If you liked Celebrity then you would like HAL. They're considered fairly comparable.

And listen to Karin: cruises longer than 7 days outside of school breaks will have the fewest number of the little darlin's.

I think we had six kids on my recent Amsterdam cruise ... in October.

 

You'll probably never get as many kids on HAL as you would on Disney or RCI ... but if you book seven-dayers when school is out, you'll still get quite a few. You'll also get a very, very crowded boat.

 

After making the mistake once of booking a b2b 7-day Caribbean cruise on a HAL Vista ship in the month of August, I learned ... the hard way. Carefully select your month and choose a longer itinerary ... at least ten days. Then you are bound to have a great time on just about any HAL ship ... admist a very small number of the "little darlins." :)

 

I'm with the OP too ... can't stand a bunch of screaming kids (with parents doing little to calm them) in the dining room, or anywhere else aboard the ship. That's why I pick my cruises very carefully now.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

I got no problem sailing or even dining with children if they behave as well as the handful that were on my last cruise: no running up/down halls, no playing in elevators. They were even dressed up for formal nights.

If they've got competent parents, the kids are truly a joy to be around. The problem is that a lot of parents figure that the cruise is their vacation from parenting too, and the kids are allowed to run wild.

 

So, actually, it's not the kids who are the problem on holiday cruises at all. It's their parents that can make for the cruise from hell.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Seago2]

WOW- I'm on the phone with them right now- 12 kids from 8-12, 6 kids 8and under, and 1 child between 12 and 18. Ship is 75% booked.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Sgttami- come with us! We are sailing the Noordam on Jan 17th. Come on over to the Roll Call.

 

I am in the obvious minority here- I actually like sailing with kids. They aren't in the casino, bars, dining rooms (after the first few days)... and they are so cute. I love seeing kids having fun. And they really don't bother me.

 

Carlalena:

 

I'm sorry not to be cruising with you. You sound like a lot of fun:) HAL actually has a very good program for kids and teens, called CLUB HAL, but it has only been around for a few years. Prior to that, HAL did have a reputation for catering to "senior citizens", but with the four Vista ships (Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, and Noordam), it is now catering to a younger demographic. Still, as you are discovering, HAL cruises have far fewer kids onboard compared to lines such as Carnival, RCI, Disney, NCL, etc.

 

I like kids fine; I love being a mom. I also like peace and quiet. So I cruise where I'm more likely to find it.:)

 

Karin

[sgttami]

I think it's wonderful that HAL will tell you how many kids are on your sailing. I never even thought to call RCI about that on any cruise!!! Don't know if they would tell you or not..(maybe thinking they'd scare you away!)

 

On the last RCI 9 day (10/20) we actually picked the date because we THOUGHT everyone was back in school and it wasn't a holiday/break time. I expected some pre-schoolers but just couldn't believe the number of school age kids on board. I really didn't think that most parents would take them out of school for a 9 day trip. It was the most amount of kids on any sailing I every went on.

 

Carla....my sister and I were on your Spirit cruise in March...we were on the Roll Call but we never met on board. My sister isn't a CC person!!

We are looking at January or maybe March.

 

I'd never, ever consider ANY line in summer, Christmas and Spring (Easter) breaks!!! I don't even look at the dates/prices for those times anymore. The 10 day plus are sounding more enticing too...

 

The more I hear, the more I want to try HAL.

 

Thanks!!!!!!!!!

 

Pam

[Seago2]

WOW! That was a great cruise, wasn't it? I had fun, anyway... Looking forward to HAL now. Kinda sick of NCL.

[Juanita462]

We have sailed well over a hundred days with HAL and there has never been any problem with children on board until our 7 day cruise last Sept. when a toddler at a table near us in the dining room screamed through every single dinner and the parents never made any effort to quiet the child or remove him from the area. We thought we were ok since school was in session again but never thought about toddlers. I am sure if an adult was making that kind of noise he/she would be asked politely to leave - why do they allow screaming kids to stay? I felt that the five adults at the table could have taken turns having room service and kept the child in their room.

[Olive]

I cruised on HAL for New Years a couple of years ago. There were very few children on board, even though it was a school holiday. There were a couple of terribly behaved kids, and the parents were nowhere to be seen. The poor staff and other passengers were having to control them. If there were 150 kids on the ship but their parents were actually watching them, it would have been fine. Never had any problems in the dining room - we were seated near a family with two young children but they were well-behaved. Definitely enjoyed HAL - I'll be on Westerdam again next weekend!