Any children on Voyage of Vikings

[BirthdayGirl30]

Hey All,

We've just started discussing the possibility of taking our children (who will be 8, 10, and 12 at the time) on a Voyage of the Vikings, for the full 35 days! They're good kids, and would be interested in the places we were visiting - but I'm wondering if they would be the ONLY kids aboard? If they were, does HAL still offer the kids club? Also, for journeys this long, besides the possibility of some boredom (which I really, highly doubt - it's a ship, and we're traveling, and they'd have each other) what are some concerns you would have as fellow travelers with me having my three kiddos on board with you? We're clearly not committed to this yet, but are seriously considering it. I'd love to hear feedback from those who have done long voyages, with or without their own kids.

Thanks!
B

[Johanna7]

Hey All,

We've just started discussing the possibility of taking our children (who will be 8, 10, and 12 at the time) on a Voyage of the Vikings, for the full 35 days! They're good kids, and would be interested in the places we were visiting - but I'm wondering if they would be the ONLY kids aboard? If they were, does HAL still offer the kids club? Also, for journeys this long, besides the possibility of some boredom (which I really, highly doubt - it's a ship, and we're traveling, and they'd have each other) what are some concerns you would have as fellow travelers with me having my three kiddos on board with you? We're clearly not committed to this yet, but are seriously considering it. I'd love to hear feedback from those who have done long voyages, with or without their own kids.

Thanks!
B

B - we are on that cruise and we have a great thread going. Go into the roll calls, Holland America, then into the Maasdam and then find the July 17 to August 21 cruise. There is another family with 2 young daughters who are going as well. There may be many more we do not know about as not everyone knows about Cruise Critic who sails on Holland America or any other cruise line.

It would be wonderful, does not interfere with school and yes, they will learn a lot of history, geography and culture.

Johanna

[BirthdayGirl30]

B - we are on that cruise and we have a great thread going. Go into the roll calls, Holland America, then into the Maasdam and then find the July 17 to August 21 cruise. There is another family with 2 young daughters who are going as well. There may be many more we do not know about as not everyone knows about Cruise Critic who sails on Holland America or any other cruise line.

It would be wonderful, does not interfere with school and yes, they will learn a lot of history, geography and culture.

Johanna

Johanna - it's great to hear that others bring children on the voyage - but we're looking at going in either 2011 or possibly not until 2012, we'd have to start saving now, and were just hoping to hear some feedback about what is typical for this cruise. :)

I'll be looking for your trip reports and pictures, though!!

[Jemima]

There will be other children; not loads of kids, but enough that yours won't be the only ones. We did a northern HAL transat in July 2004 and there were children and teens. It wasn't Voyage of the Vikings, but was 17 days and did go to Greenland, Iceland, Scotland & Norway. Club HAL was in operation and I assume there were also teen activities. We don't have children, but saw kids around the ship. They seemed to enjoy the cruise. I'd describe those we met as bright kids who were interested in the cruise and the ports. Your children should do well on this cruise.

[RuthC]

I've done the Voyage of the Vikings three times, and a westbound trans-At on the northern route once. I don't remember ever seeing any kids on the cruises. Doesn't mean there weren't any, but I didn't see them if there were. My conclusion is that there couldn't have been many if I didn't notice.

Each cruise is different, so there really is no predicting how many kids will be aboard, but I would not expect to see too many kids on a cruise that long.

[iamaqt2]

I came across a post on the family boards the other day about a family going on this cruise. Here is the link!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1124339

[BirthdayGirl30]

I came across a post on the family boards the other day about a family going on this cruise. Here is the link!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1124339 THANKS SO MUCH FOR THAT LINK! I'm so interested to see what tips people have, and hear how it turns out for them. Helps to know I'm not the only nut considering this type of trip.

I've done the Voyage of the Vikings three times, and a westbound trans-At on the northern route once. I don't remember ever seeing any kids on the cruises. Doesn't mean there weren't any, but I didn't see them if there were. My conclusion is that there couldn't have been many if I didn't notice.

Each cruise is different, so there really is no predicting how many kids will be aboard, but I would not expect to see too many kids on a cruise that long. RuthC - I would hope my kids would be ones that you wouldn't even remember having on board with you. It does concern me a little that in three voyages, you don't remember any kids. I hate to think I'm taking them somewhere that isn't appropriate - but the itinerary is so cool, and I love the idea of such a long voyage with few sea days grouped together (TA would have 6-7 in a row, this doesn't have more than 2 or 3).

There will be other children; not loads of kids, but enough that yours won't be the only ones. We did a northern HAL transat in July 2004 and there were children and teens. It wasn't Voyage of the Vikings, but was 17 days and did go to Greenland, Iceland, Scotland & Norway. Club HAL was in operation and I assume there were also teen activities. We don't have children, but saw kids around the ship. They seemed to enjoy the cruise. I'd describe those we met as bright kids who were interested in the cruise and the ports. Your children should do well on this cruise. Thanks! I do think at least my older two will be fascinated and learn a lot. My little one (only girl) is a pretty tough nut - she's quiet, reserved, and introspective. I don't really see her chatting with others or asking questions. I do think she'd have a good time, though.

[Destin Mom]

Hey there. This will be our fourth summer in Europe with our children- now 7 and 8. Two years ago, we had a 24 day HAL Med cruise booked. We worried that it might be too long for our kids on a cruise ship and weren't sure if there would be other kids on board. We ended up canceling the 2nd 12 days which we immediately regretted. We had to extract the kids from the ship at the end of our 12 days. They did not want to leave. We didn't allow our kids to swim in the adult pool, throw footballs at the pool, go crazy, etc. I think this helps with the way in which other passengers might react to a family with younger kids. Kids are certainly kids and I think passengers are generally very gracious until they get hit in the head with a football or repeatedly splashed at the adult pool. As a parent and someone who once had no children, I can appreciate this.

We are doing a 10 day Baltic cruise this summer w/ 2 weeks of independant travel. We still prefer the independant travel route but love the cruise concept- and the baby sitting allows the adults to enjoy some alone time too. Your kids will love it! There will be other children- not a lot but enough to form a critical mass. Club HAL is terrific, and there are a host of books available in the school libraries for travels in N Europe. I say do it. I have yet to regret a single trip and love seeing the kids make connections with history and places they have seen while traveling. It is an amazing blessing to be able to travel as a family- particularly in an area that is so rich in history. Best of luck with your trip plans!

[sapper1]

We did the northern transatlantic crossing last summer with stops in Iceland and Greenland, which alone, were worth the price of admission.

We noticed a few children on board---a dozen or so, but it was mostly an older crowd.

[kakalina]

One of the reasons many folk go with longer cruises is to avoid children. I have seen that posted here time and again.
I have nothing against children but do think pulling any kids from school for that long is a bad idea. JMO.

[BirthdayGirl30]

One of the reasons many folk go with longer cruises is to avoid children. I have seen that posted here time and again.
I have nothing against children but do think pulling any kids from school for that long is a bad idea. JMO.

While I completely disagree that world travel is not worth pulling children from school for a long period of time for -- my husband couldn't agree more with you. The Voyage of the Vikings is a cruise in July - no school, so they wouldn't be missing out. I *am* however, extremely concerned about bringing three kids on a ship full of people who are trying to avoid children. I'm definitely looking for some feedback about whether it's just completely inappropriate, how to lessen their impact on others (do we need to skip ship's tours entirely??), and if there will be facilities to accommodate them. They would NOT be permitted to have any impact on other passenger's enjoyment - which is definitely why I'm trying to see if there will be ways for them to be *kids* on board without bothering others. If club HAL is open, if there may be other children to interact with, etc.

We did the northern transatlantic crossing last summer with stops in Iceland and Greenland, which alone, were worth the price of admission.

We noticed a few children on board---a dozen or so, but it was mostly an older crowd. I was thinking that there was a possibility that there would be NO children besides them on the crossing - thanks for letting me know there may at least be a handful of others! :)

Hey there. This will be our fourth summer in Europe with our children- now 7 and 8. Two years ago, we had a 24 day HAL Med cruise booked. We worried that it might be too long for our kids on a cruise ship and weren't sure if there would be other kids on board. We ended up canceling the 2nd 12 days which we immediately regretted. We had to extract the kids from the ship at the end of our 12 days. They did not want to leave. We didn't allow our kids to swim in the adult pool, throw footballs at the pool, go crazy, etc. I think this helps with the way in which other passengers might react to a family with younger kids. Kids are certainly kids and I think passengers are generally very gracious until they get hit in the head with a football or repeatedly splashed at the adult pool. As a parent and someone who once had no children, I can appreciate this.

We are doing a 10 day Baltic cruise this summer w/ 2 weeks of independant travel. We still prefer the independant travel route but love the cruise concept- and the baby sitting allows the adults to enjoy some alone time too. Your kids will love it! There will be other children- not a lot but enough to form a critical mass. Club HAL is terrific, and there are a host of books available in the school libraries for travels in N Europe. I say do it. I have yet to regret a single trip and love seeing the kids make connections with history and places they have seen while traveling. It is an amazing blessing to be able to travel as a family- particularly in an area that is so rich in history. Best of luck with your trip plans! You know, I think we would prefer land travel, too - but something about traveling for a long period of time with them and packing up and moving around a lot makes me feel tired. There's something very appealing about unpacking once, having the same place for everyone to lay their head at night, and of course, being spoiled by having a chef and a steward, and possibly having some child care available to us makes this very appealing.

[Roz]

I don't see how a handful of children could possible detract from someone's enjoyment of this cruise. I also believe that the prime motivation of someone sailing this itinerary is not to avoid children but the itinerary itself (somewhat exotic with ports that aren't frequently visited) and the length of the cruise. As you're well aware, most families aren't able to afford a 30-day cruise. I'm excited for you and your children that you're able to provide them with this wonderful historical, cultural, and social opportunity. I say go for it!

Roz

[Faith77]

This sounds like a wonderful cruise--when I do a 35 night cruise I'm thinking that this will be the one.
One quick ?--I work in academia (college library) and need to be back at work the last two weeks in August to prepare for the fall semester. So I was wondering if this cruise is always scheduled during the same weeks/month? I'm thinking I might be able to do the entire cruise if it was scheduled in June or July.
Thanks for your feedback.
Faith

[RuthC]

One quick ?--I work in academia (college library) and need to be back at work the last two weeks in August to prepare for the fall semester. So I was wondering if this cruise is always scheduled during the same weeks/month? I'm thinking I might be able to do the entire cruise if it was scheduled in June or July.
I've taken it from mid-August to mid-September ('03), mid-June to mid-July ('04), and mid-July to mid-August ('05).
The last several years it's been closer to the mid-July-mid-August range. The ship is always back in time for the lovely late summer/early fall New England/Canada season that way.

[serendipity1499]

This sounds like a wonderful cruise--when I do a 35 night cruise I'm thinking that this will be the one.
One quick ?--I work in academia (college library) and need to be back at work the last two weeks in August to prepare for the fall semester. So I was wondering if this cruise is always scheduled during the same weeks/month? I'm thinking I might be able to do the entire cruise if it was scheduled in June or July.
Thanks for your feedback.
Faith

If I had to be back to work & in your shoes, I would consider taking the Eastbound segment only (one way) for 17 days & fly back..You might miss a couple of ports but the Eastbound one way segment is still quite interesting & exciting IMO..:):)

This year it leaves July 17...You could be back the first week of August..

We keep looking at the entire cruise, but unfortunately it's not to be for us this year...:(:(

Cheers..:)Betty

[BirthdayGirl30]

I don't see how a handful of children could possible detract from someone's enjoyment of this cruise. I also believe that the prime motivation of someone sailing this itinerary is not to avoid children but the itinerary itself (somewhat exotic with ports that aren't frequently visited) and the length of the cruise. As you're well aware, most families aren't able to afford a 30-day cruise. I'm excited for you and your children that you're able to provide them with this wonderful historical, cultural, and social opportunity. I say go for it!

Roz

As the proud owner of the children, I actually do see how they could detract from enjoyment of the cruise - especially if someone's point in choosing the voyage was to avoid kids altogether! I adore these three, and certainly believe that they are super-special-snowflakes - however, I can imagine that there would be points over a 35 day voyage where they would act like children. However, they're very well-mannered, bright, curious kids - and I know that they would get so very much from this trip. We'll keep our eyes on the future dates - if one year it works with their schedules, and we've got the money saved - we're going to do it. I'll post fair warning to CC and make sure to get tips from all my fellow travelers. :)

[Faith77]

I love the mix of sea days and port days on this cruise. Also, I prefer a cool weather cruise.
I will probably keep a lookout at the cruise schedules over the next year or two for this cruise. If I can't do the entire 35 days cruise, I'd probably do the 17 cruise and stay in Amsterdam for a few days.
It's good to know that this cruise was offered during different times in the past.
Faith

[iceman93]

As for those who pick a cruise to avoid children, forget them. That hangup is THEIR problem and you shouldn't let it affect your choice of vacation.

[Johanna7]

As for those who pick a cruise to avoid children, forget them. That hangup is THEIR problem and you shouldn't let it affect your choice of vacation.

Not all children are monsters. Many have very thoughtful parents who make sure they behave properly.

Having said that, when we came to canada in 1952 on the S.S. Veendam from Rotterdam to Halifax and I was 12 and the oldest of 4 children, I realize that my behaviour was more boisterous than well behaved.

At the time, they had horse races for the adults in the evening. Now they didn't have real horses of course but did have turtles and they had numbers on their backs and were raced. Something that would be frowned on no no doubt. Well, I got a bunch of the other kids together (many were immigrants like us) and told them about that and said there must be turtles somewhere. We found them. It a huge bathtub somewhere. It sure was not appreciated by the officers of the ship. They kept the door to the tub with turtles locked from then on.

Of course that was not the only transgression. Kids can get bored on a transatlantic with no ports in between.

[Alison1466]

We are the ones with the 2 girls going on the Voyage of the Vikings this summer. I will be sure to let you know how it goes. We have already started the prep for the cruise with travel shows and books. I also ordered tons of Dover Little Activity books that relate to the different places we are going (ex. Viking stencils, Irish activity book, Van Gogh tatoos, etc.) These are $1.50 each at Amazon but some may be a little young for your kids. My girls love to travel and love to go on cruises. This is the longest trip we have ever attempted. A couple things were attractive to us.
1. Flying from a US port. It was SO much cheaper. It would have been at least $6000 for us to fly to a European port.
2. Because it is a US port, the jet lag won't factor in as much. You are gradually changing time throughout the trip.
3. These are places we would never get a chance to go otherwise. We will certainly do a Med cruise and a Caribbean cruise some time again, but this one is really unique. How else could you possibly hit all those countries?

I really agonized over this for a long time and decided to take the leap after lots of family discussions. Now, we are so excited! It seems crazy but I think people are already booking the 2011 cruise because some categories are filling up. If you have your heart set on a certain type of room and can swing putting a deposit down, it is fully refundable. I think we would have liked more choices in room types, but we booked in Dec. 2009 for July 2010 and it was pretty full already. I checked the prices for 2011 and was surprised that some categories were already full.

I will try to remember to post a full review, but if I don't, feel free to email me and ask me any questions you might have!

[BirthdayGirl30]

We are the ones with the 2 girls going on the Voyage of the Vikings this summer. I will be sure to let you know how it goes. We have already started the prep for the cruise with travel shows and books. I also ordered tons of Dover Little Activity books that relate to the different places we are going (ex. Viking stencils, Irish activity book, Van Gogh tatoos, etc.) These are $1.50 each at Amazon but some may be a little young for your kids. My girls love to travel and love to go on cruises. This is the longest trip we have ever attempted. A couple things were attractive to us.
1. Flying from a US port. It was SO much cheaper. It would have been at least $6000 for us to fly to a European port.
2. Because it is a US port, the jet lag won't factor in as much. You are gradually changing time throughout the trip.
3. These are places we would never get a chance to go otherwise. We will certainly do a Med cruise and a Caribbean cruise some time again, but this one is really unique. How else could you possibly hit all those countries?

I really agonized over this for a long time and decided to take the leap after lots of family discussions. Now, we are so excited! It seems crazy but I think people are already booking the 2011 cruise because some categories are filling up. If you have your heart set on a certain type of room and can swing putting a deposit down, it is fully refundable. I think we would have liked more choices in room types, but we booked in Dec. 2009 for July 2010 and it was pretty full already. I checked the prices for 2011 and was surprised that some categories were already full.

I will try to remember to post a full review, but if I don't, feel free to email me and ask me any questions you might have!

Thanks so much for your post! We're not ready to book yet - hubby and I are going on HAL for the first time in July - and I'm not comfortable committing to something before we've tried it. That said, we'll absolutely be putting the deposit down on board for the five of us if we're impressed. I'm so excited for you guys, and seriously can't wait to hear how it goes!!

[mikejr]

We will be on the Voyage of the Vikings this July with our two daughters aged 14 and 18

[ANSalberg]

Any Children; Voyage of the Vikings -LONGER cruises.

I can think of 2 longer cruises with a few kids; and let me relate the stories. The first WAS VoV - and the girls were 2 teenagers, I'd guess 17 or 18. They participated in many activities and were charming. They went on MANY tours with their Grandmother, who was THEIR "hostess" and they visited with people easily. They rode the bus with us to the airport to fly home so we asked how they had enjoyed their cruise. They told us ENTHUSIASTICALLY that this was the BEST cruise they'd ever been on! [ they were the only 'children' on this cruise]
The other cruise was a 60+ day Asia cruise and the Mom, Jennifer was just finished with extensive Cancer treatment; she & husband took their 2 younger teens on this quite long cruise. The teens in the first days were sullen and uncooperative and upset that they were where they were. But as the cruise progressed, the parents actively DID things with the girls every day [ tours in exciting ports and activities on "sea" days] By the end of the cruise the girls were ALWAYS happy and smiling and the parents/kids had reconnected after literally a "fight for life" for their Mom. As we were all waiting to disembark we visted about what this cruise had meant for ALL of them and the girls were DRAPED lovingly all over their Mom -IT was heartwarming to see!!!!!!!
WHATEVER your needs are, a vacation OR reconnecting with life - a cruise CAN be ONE of the answers you/they can focus on/learn about.......

[GOLDENBONNY]

While I completely disagree that world travel is not worth pulling children from school for a long period of time for -- my husband couldn't agree more with you. The Voyage of the Vikings is a cruise in July - no school, so they wouldn't be missing out. I *am* however, extremely concerned about bringing three kids on a ship full of people who are trying to avoid children. I'm definitely looking for some feedback about whether it's just completely inappropriate, how to lessen their impact on others (do we need to skip ship's tours entirely??), and if there will be facilities to accommodate them. They would NOT be permitted to have any impact on other passenger's enjoyment - which is definitely why I'm trying to see if there will be ways for them to be *kids* on board without bothering others. If club HAL is open, if there may be other children to interact with, etc.

I was thinking that there was a possibility that there would be NO children besides them on the crossing - thanks for letting me know there may at least be a handful of others! :)

You know, I think we would prefer land travel, too - but something about traveling for a long period of time with them and packing up and moving around a lot makes me feel tired. There's something very appealing about unpacking once, having the same place for everyone to lay their head at night, and of course, being spoiled by having a chef and a steward, and possibly having some child care available to us makes this very appealing.

its only inappropriate to bring kids for strip club to cruise its appropriate and if some one dont like kids they should go on there own Yaht or cruise line were kids not allowed.you will finde those people on any cruise even on 7 days one.HAL has kids Club so its very much for kids )))

[lazey1]

I am certainly no expert but I believe that there are no HAL cabins that accommodate 5 people. You would have to purchase 2 cabins. If this is doable for you I would suggest a balcony cabin with an inside cabin just across the hallway. (One parent would have to be in each cabin) Make sure the cabins reservations are linked.
Jane

[2bout2c]

In response to Ruth C reply about doing this type cruise and not noticing children, What a wonderful comment to the parents. I am neither a Mother nor Grandmother, so to travel and not notice children is wonderful. I'm sure there were some on board just well mannered.

[Bill S]

BirthdayGirl30: bring them!

We are booked for the 2011 Voyage of the Vikings cruise, both segments, and we booked it for the itinerary, not to avoid children.

The very fact that you are soliciting opinions about bringing your children tells me that in all probability your children would not be a problem for any other passengers on such a long cruise.

We have had only one cruise where kids were a problem, and that was because the only place we saw the parents was in the ship's casino or playing bingo. The kids, about 6 of them, had the run of the ship and generated a lot of the wrong type of attention.

I hope that you will like HAL and will consider booking the 2011 voyage. Welcome to HAL! :)

[joangg]

My daughter and I are going on this cruise and I have 10 grandkids, 10 great grand kids and my daughter supplies most of these. That said, we love "good" kids, understand how kids can be, will enjoy meeting your group! and hope that some of "those" won't be on the cruise. Well behaved children are fun!!! They give us a different view of the wonders we are seeing. Go!!! And look for a little ole lady and her daughter! Joan

[donaldsc]

There are about 6 - 8 kids from the approximately 100 people signed on the Cruise Critic board for that trip. One family has kids who have gone on multiple cruises including 1 to Antarctica (if only my parents took me on cruises like that). There is a lady from Germany who is bringing 2 daughters. There are also a few others.

My guess is that there will not be a lot of kids but there will be kids. One advantage of this trip is that there are not a lot of multiple sea days so the kids will have lots of opportunities to get off the ship and run around.

What old fogeys like us object to is the kids who are not well behaved and whose parents do not care what they do or where they do it.

You guys sound like responsible parents - go for it.

DON

[wander]

I was on the cruise the summer of 2008. I was aware of about 6 kids 13-15 ages on the way to Europe and at least 3 coming back. I would guess there may have been more, but they were never an issue for me, not in 35 days. I became good friends of the grandparents of one boy in this group. He was delightful, had a great time and seemingly was a grandson to be proud of. He met two girls he really enjoyed and they were almost always together when awake on sea days. (They all slept very late on sea days.) On port days they stuck with their families from what I understood. Each morning over coffee I heard of the great stories the grandparents had to tell of the previous day's experiences traveling with a 15 year old.