Did We Make a Huge Mistake?

[esther e]

We have the Noordam booked for the end of February and I suddenly panicked about that time of the year being school holidays. HELP

[peaches from georgia]

If it's a 7 day- yes, there could be loads of kids; longer than 7 day you should be fine.

[Randyk47]

We have the Noordam booked for the end of February and I suddenly panicked about that time of the year being school holidays. HELP

There might be some schools out in late February but the majority take break the second or third week of March so I wouldn't be too concerned.

[GatorV]

If you are thinking Sprig Break you are probably safe...I think most of those don't kick in until later in March? Here in Florida at least it's not Feb for the most part

[esther e]

It's a 10-day. Thank you! It's not that we don't like children, we just don't like children's parents who think EVERYBODY is on vacation and therefore no rules!:)

GatorV, we are in Florida!!! (Go 'Noles!) Maybe they'll all go on a RCCL or Carnival!

[510picker]

It's a 10-day. Thank you! It's not that we don't like children, we just don't like children's parents who think EVERYBODY is on vacation and therefore no rules!:)

GatorV, we are in Florida!!! (Go 'Noles!) Maybe they'll all go on a RCCL or Carnival!

I couldn't agree more. I think you'll be safe, both on the date and because of the length of the cruise. We are going on the Noordam for a 10 day one week from today. I'm so ready.....enjoy your cruise!

[peaches from georgia]

The children in our school district here have the entire week of Feb. 20th off, in addition to an April Easter Week vacation. Other areas may do the same. But with a 10 day you should be fine.

[GatorV]

GA has more time off than Florida, I know some of it is for budget reasons (relatives in GA) I believe Christmas vacation this yr in GA is longer than normal too. BUT most parents will still be working, as they do not all have that much leave and that may be the save here as far as kids on cruises.

i went on one cruise yrs ago (Carn.) on spring break OMG what a horrendous experience even for Carnival. have not been back since...thankfully HAL is not always the first choice for folks with children.

[esther e]

Thanks, everyone. I am sighing a big breath of relief. We decided on this cruise late in the game which is very much unlike us. We're usually booked a year in advance! So the pickings were slim as far as the room availability that we wanted.

[sail7seas]

Schools here have week of Presidents Birthday off as well as Easter week every year.

We never had a problem with too many bratty kids (no one has a problem with well behaved kids) end of February but we once had a less than fabulous experience Easter week. Most of us like well behaved kids with attentive parents.
I think you'll be fine, esther.

[VermeulT]

I agree with Peaches...

Here in the North East... schools typically have President's week off and then Easter week. So the last week in February should be fine - especially on a 10 day.

[peaches from georgia]

GA has more time off than Florida, I know some of it is for budget reasons (relatives in GA) I believe Christmas vacation this yr in GA is longer than normal too......
GA has the same 120 days that most (all?) states do, but start very early- first week in August in most districts. So they get longer vacations during the year and get out earlier.

[Oceanwench]

In the greater Boston area, the kids get off February and April ... February is the week of Presidents' Day and April is the week of Patriots Day.
They don't get off Easter week - as sometimes Easter is in March!
But Easter can coincide with Patriots Day, which used to be April 19, but has since become a "Monday" holiday.

In other areas where I've lived [Texas, Ohio, Florida] the kids don't get a February break - and their spring holiday is usually in March.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The majority of the schools here in Western PA get the Friday before and President's Day off only -- no week long vacations.

No vacation time for spring break.

Easter -- Just Thursday, Friday and Easter Monday.

AND if we get the snows like we did last year -- they lose all those days off at Easter.

[Infi]

Spring break in South FL is the second week of March, so you're safe on that front. Most schools' spring breaks fall in March - you'll only find a few at the end of February. We were on a 7 day HAL cruise during a typical Spring Break week in March this year, and found considerably less children than a comparable holiday week on Celebrity or Princess. And, to be honest, they were much better behaved, as well.

I also think that with the cruise being 10 days, you'll be even more safe.

[Oceanwench]

I just looked at a couple school calendars online for towns in the Boston area.
Presidents' Day [Feb. 21] is the last week of Feb. this year - so that is when the kiddies will be off.

Patriots Day [April 18] is the Monday before Easter this year [Easter is the 24th] so the kids will be off the week before Easter.

But as others have said, 10-day cruises don't tend to draw a lot of kids.
I sailed on the Volendam on a 10-day cruise and didn't see a single little one aboard!

[esther e]

We had a few on the Maasdam last week (10-day) but they were never around. HAL Club did a great job. And when they did appear, they had the ideal parents who watched them. Never a problem. I just fear for those who don't want to participate in the Club and would rather wreck havoc around the ship, with of course, their parents' consent.

[solocanadian]

We did Inaugural Veendam Eastern/Western Caribbean 6/1/96 & 6/8/96. This turned out to be a horrible time for bad-assed male teens. Their parents just let them go. They sat in Ocean Bar & Explorers Lounge with feet up on the glass tables, walking on the back of the long sofa adjacent to the walkway. When my husband saw this the kid said "do you have a problem old man? "The bartenders also told us the kids had soda fights from behind the bar in the wee hours of the morning. What a sticky mess. At that time they did not used canned soda and these soda machines were not secured like the booze. I would NEVER sail the first 2 weeks of June again.:mad::mad::mad:

[Lizzie1213]

We have the Noordam booked for the end of February and I suddenly panicked about that time of the year being school holidays. HELP

Here in S Florida the kids have their break late March, even heading into the first few days of April.

[schoolinmy3]

GA has the same 120 days that most (all?) states do, but start very early- first week in August in most districts. So they get longer vacations during the year and get out earlier.

School years are typically 180 days ;)
diane

[peaches from georgia]

School years are typically 180 days ;)
diane
:o Of course it's 180 days. Must have been my first cup of coffee. Thanks for the correction.

[sail7seas]

School years are typically 180 days ;)
diane

Thanks. I was thinking the same thing. A school year of 120 days would be a 'kid's delight'. :D

Massachusetts requires 180 day school year.

[esther e]

We did Inaugural Veendam Eastern/Western Caribbean 6/1/96 & 6/8/96. This turned out to be a horrible time for bad-assed male teens. Their parents just let them go. They sat in Ocean Bar & Explorers Lounge with feet up on the glass tables, walking on the back of the long sofa adjacent to the walkway. When my husband saw this the kid said "do you have a problem old man? "The bartenders also told us the kids had soda fights from behind the bar in the wee hours of the morning. What a sticky mess. At that time they did not used canned soda and these soda machines were not secured like the booze. I would NEVER sail the first 2 weeks of June again.:mad::mad::mad:


This is the most awful story I've heard. And the ship's staff can do nothing because they don't want to make waves.

We were on Celebrity a couple of years ago (during the summer in Europe) and there were a lot of kids traveling together with family who were just awful. They took over the first few rows of the theater and would sit on the stage and throw themselves into the seats. After two nights of this there appeared staff lining themselves in front of the stage. Then the first two rows were closed off to any child. This was too bad becauue there was a little boy with his parents who sat behind us and had a hard time seeing the show. All because of horrid kids with equally horrid parents, who by the way we never saw!!! But the staff did take things into their hands and it made for a pleasant cruise.

[sail7seas]

Quote:
Originally Posted by solocanadian
We did Inaugural Veendam Eastern/Western Caribbean 6/1/96 & 6/8/96. This turned out to be a horrible time for bad-assed male teens. Their parents just let them go. They sat in Ocean Bar & Explorers Lounge with feet up on the glass tables, walking on the back of the long sofa adjacent to the walkway. When my husband saw this the kid said "do you have a problem old man? "The bartenders also told us the kids had soda fights from behind the bar in the wee hours of the morning. What a sticky mess. At that time they did not used canned soda and these soda machines were not secured like the booze. I would NEVER sail the first 2 weeks of June again.






NIGHTMARE........ How a few can make such havoc for so many. Groan...

[airlink diva]

So far with the exception of one cruise, the kids on the ship mainly been well behaved and causing no problems.
The only exception was on my 14 day Maasdam cruise. We had a family on board that home school and those kids were very disrespectful. What made it worst was the parents were around when they were like this.

[donswife]

Many California schools have "ski week" in February, the week of Presidents' day. We don't get it here in Northern NV, I guess because we live right near the ski resorts. Our spring break is usually the week before Easter, and this year we are using it for a trip on the Oosterdam with the kids and the in-laws.

[cindy1957]

Cruise kids come from all over, but you won't see any FLA public school students unless parents take them out. That time of year is high stakes TESTING! In Tampa our spring break is not until well into April. You will see some teachers on cruises this summer!!!! Yipee!