Young Adult Fun on Zaandam?

[NewCru3]

We've booked on the Zaandam 17 day cruise to Hawaii from Vancouver. It's our first time cruising. We've not only booked for ourselves, but for our son and his friend. But they are 19. And they are very worried there won't be anything for them to do on-board. Can anyone help with specifics of what activities there are for young people on this particular ship? Espectially for 17 days!!!

[andeesue]

Hmmm... 17 days is a long time for 19-year olds, especially since there are so few port days. If they're into taking advantage of the gym, planned activities (I recall some basketball, ping pong, dance lessons), and are open to relaxing (don't recall that being on top of my list at that age...), they should be okay. I enjoyed my two-week Hawaii cruise on the Zaandam, recall that the teens onboard met at activities and formed a bond. They would hang out together and join in on events that appealed to them.

[Krazy Kruizers]

welcome to cruise critic

unfortunately your 19 year olds will be too old to join club hal

hopefully they will meet some other teenagers around the pool where they can bond

[NewCru3]

:( Oh dear! That's not sounding too good!! Since the cruise is September 24 - October 12, there may not be a lot of other young folks on board!

[mr green]

Try the 'Roll Call' for your cruise, to see who might be sailing with you.
Good luck.

john

[NewCru3]

Thanks!! But what is "Roll Call"?

[lscherme]

I've sailed with young adults that age, (a daughter and a son), and it is not easy to keep them entertained. The ships don't really have a lot of activities for young adults.

My suggestions:

Check the ship's events daily and point out ones they may be interested in: magician, comedian, ice sculpture, movies,...

My kids were not interested in the basketball court, ping pong,..., but you have 2 boys.

I believe all cabins have a dvd player, so check out the ships supply of dvd's or bring your own.

Having a balcony really helped, my kids enjoyed just sitting on the balcony and reading a book.

Don't expect them to eat with you all the time, at least my kids kept late hours. They also enjoyed the freedom to eat what ever and when ever they wanted. But we always ate dinner together.

My kids also enjoyed discovering the ship on their own. They explored the decks and knew them better the than me.

For 17 days, maybe a gaming console, (wii, playstation or xbox) with a few new games. But make sure you can connect it to the TV in the cabins.

An mp3 player or ipod is a must for music.

My kids also enjoyed taking pictures.

Good Luck, if I think of anything else I will let you know.

[x lindsay x]

Contact the Cruise Director or someone from the staff about setting up a hosted "Young Adult" meet up, with maybe one of the entertainment staffers as the host. While 17 days is plenty of time to meet practically everyone on board having something like that in the first few days could really help. I have been on plenty of cruises on HAL where they do this as the norm for ages 18-under 30 but it couldn't hurt to show interest in them adding a program like that.

[peaches from georgia]

I would doubt there would be many young people their age on board, especially on HAL which is not a mecca for college age kids. Not many schools and colleges would be having a break that early in the fall I wouldn't think and that is too lengthy a cruise for many teenagers/20's to be taking. Are your son and friend not in school?

[NewCru3]

Wow! Lots of great information/suggestions!! I've also been checking the online tours of the ship. The games room looks interesting as it has lots of game machines. There's no description of the actual games they have on hand which makes it difficult to know whether they would be ones these two would enjoy. The idea of a meet and greet sounds really good too just in case there ae some other young people. No, the two boys are not in school (Well one is doing distance learning and the other is working) so they are able to join us.. I will see if I can figure out how to contact a Cruise Director who may be able to provide more details.. Thanks for all your help and any other ideas/suggestions are most welcomed!;)

[Jo-Bob]

Hi,
I think I noticed you are from BC. If so, the 2 are legally able to drink. However, on the ship, the drinking age is 21. This may or may not impact their enjoyment.

I love HAL, but I'm in my 40's. Unless they are very happy to laze about and read during the many sea days, I would think they may not enjoy this particular trip. The 'games' area is really for younger kids, would not hold the interest of a 19 year old, but perhaps someone else with more experience can help you with that. There really won't be much specific to their age group.

[CtheW0rld]

those games aren't free, either.

i don't think this is a good choice for that age group.

boys will be boys, so i'm sure they'll find something to occupy themselves :eek:

[digjigc]

Keeping them in the games room will not do it...better get outdoor and interactive activities...maybe another cruise line is more suitable?

[rafinmd]

Thanks!! But what is "Roll Call"?

Welcome to Cruise Critic. It looks like somehow this question got lost in the shuffle. Roll Calls are a dedicated section of Cruise Critic where people on a given voyage can talk to each other specifically about their voyage, swap information, plan activities and generally get a lot done before they even leave home.

In general:

1. Go to the top of this page and click on "Cruise Critic Message Boards" in the big box at the very top of the page.

2. You will get a series of boxes with major groups of forums, starting with "Cruise Lines A to O".

3. The sixth box down will be "ROLL CALLS - Members Only",

4. Within that box is a list of cruise lines. Click on "Holland America Roll Calls".

5. Go down to the next to last box and click on "Zaandam Roll Calls".

6. You will get a list of future voyages of the Zaandam in what seems like random order. Find your cruise and click on that voyage.

Here's a direct link to the Zaandam roll call forum:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=324

If you have any trouble finding your roll call post to this thread again for more help.

Roy

[NewCru3]

Thank you very much!! I will check out Roll Call!!