Club Hal experiences, 2nd try...

[AnneBonney]

Strangely my first question on this seems to have disappeared, though the post title is still there (:confused: ), so let me try again:

 

We have previously sailed on the Disney Cruise, but are looking for something a little more "grown up" for our next. The Holland America cruises seem to offer exactly what the adults in our party would want (adults are me, hubby, and probably my parents), but I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences with Club Hal on the ships. We are thinking of sailing on the Westerdam and have two girls who will be 10 and 5 when we sail. They are fairly mellow and self amusing (don't need rock climbing and such to keep them happy) but I was wondering what sorts of activities the club offers, and how other people's children enjoyed it.

 

Thanks in advance,

[formercruisestaff]

There is a thread (currently on page 2) discussing Club HAL that might be helpful

[doone]

My nieces and nephews loved Club HAL. We have taken 2 family cruises with the kids, they ranged in ages from 5 - 18 and they all had a blast. There aren't as many children onboard HAL as compared to some other lines, they all enjoyed the smaller groups and individualized attention from the Club HAL counsellors.

 

We found the counsellors at Club HAL to really enjoy the children and they all seemed to enjoy what they do with the children.

 

I hope your children enjoy Club HAL as much as my nieces and nephews did. I know they cannot wait for their next HAL cruise.

[lindacat]

About three years ago, I cruised with my parents, SIL and 7 year old niece. This was in the middle of the summer. There were only about 35 children on board. My niece spent a fair amount of time in Club Hal and had a good time. She picked which activities appealed to her and attended those particular sessions. The sessions included some board games, arts & crafts, & sports. I believe there was a slumber party one night and a pool party another night. Again this was three years ago so the activities may be different.

 

She has since cruised on RCCL and enjoys their kids club much more than HAL's... more children... more activities but would not mind cruising on HAL again.

 

Linda

[kellycambp]

Our then-3-year-old boy (Sean) loved, loved, loved Club Hal. It was his first time spending a lot of time with other kids (never been to daycare), and he had a blast. They had 3 counselors and there were only 5 children on board.

 

In addition to the great people working at Club Hal, everyone on the ship was so nice to our son. We were at HMC and Sean walked up to one of the cabana attendants (Denny) and said "I want you to play with me!" Denny immediately dropped whatever he was doing and spent the day keeping Sean entertained. Sean was also the recipient of lots of towel animals, including towel monkeys hanging from the ceiling. Sean was on a first name basis with the room service guy (we had a magnificent balcony, so we ordered room service a lot of times) and would tell him what kind of ice cream he wanted for dessert - and the room service guy would insist on going back to the kitchen to retrieve it. We were approached so many times by other staff, telling us stories about their kids back home in Indonesia/Philippines, and they obviously loved seeing kids on board.

 

I doubt that he would have received such individualized service on other cruise lines and we hope to do another HAL cruise soon.

 

Kelly

[AnneBonney]

Thanks so much for all the replies, and for the referral to the other thread. All have been very helpful.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Anne, please click here for a direct link to that other thread. Sometimes it's hard to locate all the information on this board:)

[eh2zed]

My grandchildren aged 5 and 7 like HAL club better than Disney's if you can believe that. Much more personal attention. Disney does a good job but there are so many kids.

[ciska40]

I agree my daughter also likes HAL better then Disney cruise line we have sailed both of them but there are less children on HAL much more attention for them.

 

 

Love Ciska

[Two if by Sea]

I am really looking forward (on my daughter's behalf) to the small groups and moderate-excitement-level activities. I think she'd probably do fine anywhere, but she definitely does better with smaller groups.

 

Of course, we'll probably find out ours is the one HAL cruise with 750 kids :).

[formercruisestaff]

 

Of course, we'll probably find out ours is the one HAL cruise with 750 kids :).

 

 

I once had a charter on the Oosterdam with 1100 kids - it was unreal!!!:eek: :D :eek: :D