how is CLUBHAL for kids?

[nashkan]

We are going on the Zuiderdam in October... our 10 year old Grandson will be with us. This will be his 2nd cruise, first was last year on NCL Sun.....they had an fantastic kid's program and he loved it, he was always disappointed when we had to come and pick him up! ..... Does anyone know how HAL's compares? Or how the kid's liked it with HAL? Any info would be nice.... Thanks .......... Dan

[nashkan]

I also forgot to ask.... does HAL have "unlimited soda" cards for kids? I was not able to find that on their web-site and this will be our first on HAL as well .... thanks.... Dan

[bruce-r]

I also forgot to ask.... does HAL have "unlimited soda" cards for kids? I was not able to find that on their web-site and this will be our first on HAL as well .... thanks.... Dan
nope

[doone]

My nieces and nephews, who's ages are 9 years old - 17 years old, sailed with us this past February on the Volendam for 10-days. I can just say they are all still talking about what a great time they had and LOVED Club HAL. They, too, were disappointed when they had to be picked up from their activities. They loved it as I am sure your grandson will as well.

As far as the soda cards, what they have now is you buy a card, I think, for $18 and get 20 soda's. Each time you get a soda, the card is punched.

Hope this helps and have a wonderful time on your cruise.

[agathasmum]

Hi,

We were on the Westerdam last Thanksgiving with 2 families who were new to cruising. Between us we had 7 kids aged 14, 13,13,11,11, 10 and 9.

The teens had a blast and really enjoyed Club Hal, especially the discos at night.

The younger kids didn't enjoy it as much as the 11 year olds were already in Middle School and felt that the 8-12 year old Club hal was a bit "immature". The activities were a bit young for them.

However the jigsaw in the library was a huge hit with all the kids!

As a parent I thought Celebrity had better children's facilities than HAL. They offered kid club while in port and would do a babysitting service (I think $6 an hour) 8-9am, covering the lunch hour 12-2 and in the evening 5-7:30. We used this option when we wanted to go to Tulum and the kids didn't. We knew the kids were in safe hands at all times when we were off the ship.

The counsellors seemed more enthusiastic on Celebrity, altho I have to say that the kids thought Que was excellent on what turned out to be his last week on the Westerdam.

Perhaps HAL should rethink the age groups, splitting pre-k through 5th grade into 2 groups, middle school, and then high school, roughly ages 3-7, 8-10, 11-14, 15-17?

Susan

[nashkan]

Thank You for all the info.... after reading about "CLUB HAL" on their site, I am a little concerned, it said the kids could come and go as they please. I am not sure if I read that correctly, hopefully that was only for the older kids. On NCL, we had to sign him in and out. children under 12 were not allowed to be on their own, ANYWHERE without an adult... (which makes a lot of sense). They also had a "kid's dinner" night so the kids all ate together one night while you could have an evening out.... their whole program was very well structured. These programs are great for EVERYONE, even those without children. At Christmas we asked our grandson if he wanted a big present or to go on another cruise this year.... he chose the cruise!... age 9, and already hooked on cruising!!:D He is counting the days till October... Having not been on HAL before, also another question: Do they have "hand sanitizers" through out the ship? NCL had them everywhere, even when boarding the ship, and coming back in from a port, they also had them in front of the buffet lines and all places that had food ....seems like this would really cut down on some of the illness as of late on cruise ships ...... Dan

[doone]

Yes, hand sanitizers have been on HAL ships for a while now.

[phoneguync]

nope
Not sure which ship bruce-r was on but my family and I (my son being 9 ) were on the ZUI 3/18 and purchased a unlimited soda card for him. They punch a hole in your childs card to warn the waiters of under age children since sodas are obtained for the bar areas. Club HAL was my sons favorite place and I'm sure your children will enjoy it too. The groups break-up into 3-7, 8-12 and 13-up. You can decide if you want your child to be able to sign themselves out or not.:D

[Benjh1028]

I just returned from the Veendam this past weekend and can hopefully answer some of your questions. This was our first cruise and we had some real concerns with our 3 and 5 year olds traveling with us.

First off, drink cards are 20 sodas for $18. This is a punchcard that is not limited to use by one individual (we purchased 2 cards and only used 1).

As far as Club HAL - my kids had a blast. In fact, at times we threatened to make our kids eat with us instead of going to Club HAL. We had the 8:30 seating (not by choice) and would feed the kids and drop them off by 8:00 which allowed us to dine in peace. We didn't use Club HAL as much in the daytime as this was a family vacation so we wanted to spend time with the youngsters. A quick note on the dinner seating times - the average age onboard is 62 so the early slots fill up fast. This would normally be fine with us however it did prevent us from catching a show. Although they do offer sitting service from 10:00 til midnight for $5/hr/child, we felt the late bedtime would really cause the kids to be cranky the next day (they are younger). If traveling with children, I would recommend the early seating so that you can have the kids in Club HAL while watching a show, and still get them to bed at a decent hour.

As far as the age groups, I believe the ages are broken into three groups: 3 to 6, 7 to 12, and teens. The teen group are the only ones allowed to sign themselves in and out.

Lastly, Club HAL IS AVAILABLE ON PORT DAYS! I found this out on the ship which was a total surprise since I received an email from HAL just a week ago indicating otherwise. Had we known this, we would not have included our kids on some of the shore excursions as they would have preferred Club HAL (and saved us $$$).

All in all, it was a great trip. Club HAL definitely helped in making the trip as successful as it was. Just a few quirks with dinner seating times and the misadvertised Club HAL availability info. We would definitely consider HAL again for our next cruise.

Ben

[Mjasp]

Hi,

We were on the Westerdam last Thanksgiving with 2 families who were new to cruising. Between us we had 7 kids aged 14, 13,13,11,11, 10 and 9.

The teens had a blast and really enjoyed Club Hal, especially the discos at night.

The younger kids didn't enjoy it as much as the 11 year olds were already in Middle School and felt that the 8-12 year old Club hal was a bit "immature". The activities were a bit young for them.
Susan

I have to totally agree with you. My daughter will be 11 and in Middle school when we sail, and I have been having that problem the last 2 cruises with her being bored. Even Disney's club she thought was babyish. She hung with us, which is fine with us. But we want her to have fun also.

[NORTHSHOREPAIR]

We sailed on the Oosterdam Jan 21 - not a big week for kids.
I had emailed HAL previous and asked how many kids were in the 13-17 group - I was told 13. My son ended up making 4 really good friends.
Don't hound them to go to the Club HAL activities, go to the basketball court and they'll meet kids. Or, Lido pool. It will all work out.

[LDinCT]

Uh no, 8-12's can sign out. I think you need parent permission though. But, my 12-year old came and went as he pleased. I don't remember even giving permission for that, but I might have.
LDinCT

[SuiteKids]

We didn't find the kids program to be overwhelming, just OK... our kids are 5 & 8 and enjoyed it but you can't compare to a Disney Boat and other lines that target a younger crowd.... We were certainly comfortable with the staff, they were very nice young ladies and were great with the kids.... Overall, we used it for a few hours here and there for some "Mommy & Daddy" time......

[COLandlocked]

We were on the Zuiderdam 3/25 sailing. My son 6, spent every available time (or the time we would allow him to) at ClubHal. His choice, not ours. On sea days he would go from 9:00 to 12:00, 2:00 to 5:00 and then 8:00 to 10:00. If we were early picking him up, he was mad. He just loved it. They do break the kids up into groups 3-6, 7-12, teens. You can give permission to the older kids to sign themselves in and out, but you can also say that they can not.

There is a meeting the first day, before sailing, that tells you the rules and has forms to fill out. It is very brief and educational.

My son had a blast which made it great for my husband and I. Got lots of "us" time.

Happy sailing.

[FoxyTerrier]

First off, drink cards are 20 sodas for $18. This is a punchcard that is not limited to use by one individual (we purchased 2 cards and only used 1).
Ben

If you still have the extra card I will buy it from you. We will be on a different ship though - do you think that would matter?

[Benjh1028]

If you still have the extra card I will buy it from you. We will be on a different ship though - do you think that would matter?

Joni,

Email me your address and I'll send it to you free of charge. We have no plans of doing another cruise this year so I'd hate to see it go to waste.:(

Ben

[FoxyTerrier]

Joni,

Email me your address and I'll send it to you free of charge. We have no plans of doing another cruise this year so I'd hate to see it go to waste.:(

Ben

Ben, You are so sweet!!!:p

I can't find your email address in your profile but if you send it to me at
foxy_terrier @ yahoo dot com I will send you my address as I don't want to post it here.

Joni

[FoxyTerrier]

We sailed on the Oosterdam Jan 21 - not a big week for kids.
I had emailed HAL previous and asked how many kids were in the 13-17 group - I was told 13. My son ended up making 4 really good friends.
Don't hound them to go to the Club HAL activities, go to the basketball court and they'll meet kids. Or, Lido pool. It will all work out.

I saw your post and I emailed HAL to get the same info and this was the reply, "
We do not have the means to report the age break down of guests on your sailing. Please accept our apology we can not give you a specific number." Maybe it's because it's a European sailing but I don't see why that would matter - all that info has to be in their computer database.

[formercruisestaff]

Perhaps HAL should rethink the age groups, splitting pre-k through 5th grade into 2 groups, middle school, and then high school, roughly ages 3-7, 8-10, 11-14, 15-17?

Susan

4 age groups would be nice, but during winter spring and fall there are not enough kids participating in CH and not enough staff to man 4 seperate programs. Unfortunately, no matter how you split the groups, the kids are always going to feel they are more mature than the group...that's why they're kids LOL. For example, I doubt many high school kids (aged 14) would want to hang out with 11 year olds...often Club HAL gets 13 year olds that feel they are too old for the teen group (while during the same cruise you may find 18 year olds upset that they can't participate). Parents often contribute to this attitude by telling kids they should lie about their age etc. to bump them up to the next age group.

I like to ask fathers if they REALLY want their 12 year old daughter hanging out with 17 year old boys until 1 in the morning....:confused:

[FoxyTerrier]

I found it quite odd the poster Buggies10, a former Club HAL staff suggested lying about your child's age so they get in the group that you want.

I'm pretty sure they ask your birthdate when you book the a cruise and that info must be matched to the Passport info.

To me this seems a like an embarressing moment when you get caught lying once you have boarded just waiting to happen.

I don't think I would do it....

[buggsie10]

i dont see it as lying just more bending the truth. i should of rephrased what i said. if your teen is turning 13 in a month or two, then it would be more practical to do teen activities than the tweens (8-12) for why would an almost-teenager want to do FUSION BEADS or PAJAMA PARTY? its all up to you, im not telling you to do it. just a suggestion. Parents do it ALL the time. you'd be amazed. just trying to help make your kids enjoy their cruise.

as per the SIGNING OUT system. 3-7 year olds MUST be signed in and out by an adult over the age of 18. period. 8-12 year olds CAN have the option to sign out on their own (if their parents give them permission on their registration form that they fill out) the counselors have a manifest on their sign in clipboard telling who is a YES to go and who is a NO. however, if the tweens are a NO, they cannot participate in club HAL scavenger hunts. on the ZUID, OOST and VLND, we had 3-4 scavenger hunts a week. if the tweens couldnt sign themselves out, they couldnt go on them and had to join the 3-7 kids group JUST for that time they were on a scavenger hunt. HOWEVER, parents, you can give permission for them to go on the scavenger hunts ONLY when u register them. the hunts are unsupervised and they do travel the ship looking for things. depending on how many staff they have, they may/may not have an extra counselor to 'wonder' the ship.

For those of you on the Zuiderdam in March, tell your kids Jordan and Michele says hi!!!

[FoxyTerrier]

i dont see it as lying just more bending the truth. i should of rephrased what i said.


So based on this it is perfectly fine for me to "bend the truth" and say that my 18 year and 50 day old son is really 17 so he can hang out with the older teens in the Oasis?

[nashkan]

this has been a very good thread..... thank you all for your comments and information, it is very valuable for planning....I am sure our Grandson will have a blast, he is really looking forward to it....almost as much as we are!:)

[caribbean girl]

nashkan...We have sailed HAL twice with our children (age 13 and 17 at the time.) Both cruises were during non-school vacation times. Our experience has been that there really weren't that many kids of any age on board to make Club HAL really worth raving about. There was a smattering of kids of different ages on both trips, but certainly not many at all. I understand that during regular school vacations, there are quite a number of kids of all ages. Although our children were a bit disappointed not to find people their own age (or too many of them), we still all managed to have wonderful, memorable cruises. I wish you and your family the very same!:)

[formercruisestaff]

When working Club HAL I appreciate when parents come to me and tell me the truth. I don't appreciate being lied to. We do have manifests with all kids & teens birthdays based on their passports, so it's easy to catch someone in a lie.

[the2ofus]

So, it's okay to 'bend the truth" when it suits your needs. Gets your 18 year old into the Club HAL teen program, gets your 11 year-old into the tweens program or maybe gets your 17 year-old a drink at the bar by stating he's really older.

How do you make the child understand when lying is 'bending the truth' and when it is just out-and-out lying? Children learn what they live. What kind of example are you setting?

[formercruisestaff]

So, it's okay to 'bend the truth" when it suits your needs. Gets your 18 year old into the Club HAL teen program, gets your 11 year-old into the tweens program or maybe gets your 17 year-old a drink at the bar by stating he's really older.

How do you make the child understand when lying is 'bending the truth' and when it is just out-and-out lying? Children learn what they live. What kind of example are you setting?

Right on. I had a mom and daughter walk on board once and when I asked the daughter how old she was, she started to reply 12 but the mom cut her off and said 13. I asked again and the mother said she's 12 1/2, but she's too old for the tween group, she's too mature. The daughter seemed indifferent towards the whole situation.

Now what kind of example was she setting? Is she really in that much of a rush for her daughter to grow up?

[Mjasp]

Interesting thread. When we sailed on Disney, my daughter and my friends son were in the 6-8 group and were 7 years old. The 9-12 group is where their older siblings were and I asked since they were bored in that age group (Watching movies at night wasn't cutting it for them) if we could up them to the 9-12 group and the manager of the kids club said no problem BUT if they couldn't keep up then they would have to come back down. We said no problem and I have to say they did enjoy it better. Keeping up is not a problem when you are second or third in birth order. LOL She keeps up better than her older sister.
So just be honest and ask, but first see if the kids like it in the appropriate age group first.
Everyone enjoy your cruise.
Just hung up with HAL, getting closer but so undecided between the Westerdam and the Carnival Glory

HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[5 in OK]

We're in the same boat (no pun intended) - our 11 year old son will turn 12 on the 3rd day of the cruise. His brother is 13 and gets to go to the older stuff - his little (and he says that word with such enthusiasm) sister will be 10 four days before the cruise (yes this is their giant birthday present - they get nothing else!!! kidding!).

So my 12 year old desperately wants to go with big brother - dad is a preacher - lying not an option - even those little white lies (:.

So, we've decided to inform the Club HAL guys when we get there that our 12 year old would like to move up - from what I've ascertained from the boards our wish may be granted upon the following criteria:

1. The age of the 13-17 pax - if the average age swings low (about 14 ish) then his chances of moving up are good. If the age swings high (16 ish) then he really is too imature to be with that group - and I say that in the nicest mom way.

2. If there is an unusually low kid crowd onboard (we sail Alaska - Westerdam on May 21) then his chances improve also.

Any more suggestions? Otherwise he gets to spend some wonderful quality time with his beautiful little sister. :) The very thought actually makes me laugh out loud. Yes, she's praying he gets to move up too! :) :)

[FoxyTerrier]

I found it quite odd the poster Buggies10, a former Club HAL staff suggested lying about your child's age so they get in the group that you want.

I'm pretty sure they ask your birthdate when you book the a cruise and that info must be matched to the Passport info.

To me this seems a like an embarressing moment when you get caught lying once you have boarded just waiting to happen.

I don't think I would do it....

As I said above I would not do it - just not worth it. I have found that the HAL staff is very reasonable to work with and they will do just about anything to accomodate a passenger.

[formercruisestaff]

We're in the same boat (no pun intended) - our 11 year old son will turn 12 on the 3rd day of the cruise. His brother is 13 and gets to go to the older stuff - his little (and he says that word with such enthusiasm) sister will be 10 four days before the cruise (yes this is their giant birthday present - they get nothing else!!! kidding!).

So my 12 year old desperately wants to go with big brother - dad is a preacher - lying not an option - even those little white lies (:.

So, we've decided to inform the Club HAL guys when we get there that our 12 year old would like to move up - from what I've ascertained from the boards our wish may be granted upon the following criteria:

1. The age of the 13-17 pax - if the average age swings low (about 14 ish) then his chances of moving up are good. If the age swings high (16 ish) then he really is too imature to be with that group - and I say that in the nicest mom way.

2. If there is an unusually low kid crowd onboard (we sail Alaska - Westerdam on May 21) then his chances improve also.

Any more suggestions? Otherwise he gets to spend some wonderful quality time with his beautiful little sister. :) The very thought actually makes me laugh out loud. Yes, she's praying he gets to move up too! :) :)

It sounds like you've got a pretty good idea of how it works. We're usually not willing to accept a 12 year old (esp. one who just turned 12) if it means sacrificing our older teens. We usually suggest that the 13 y.o. move down, which sometimes works if the 13 y.o. has the right attitude. Of course this all depends on the CH Director, and some will not budge - EVER

[nashkan]

Caribbean Girl.... Thank You for the well-wishes, I know we all will have a good time!!! 192 days and counting !!! :D ....as for the small amount of kids during that time of year, that is OK... that is what he is used to... we live in a very small town & there are only 35 kids in his WHOLE school (pre-K to 7th)! :)... He is used to the personal attention, so a small group of kids is a good thing for him, he is very adaptable with older or younger, so we are not worried about that.... we are more worried about DRAGGING him off the ship!! He still talks about his cruise from last year, the best vacation he ever had, better then Disneyland!... I think we have created another addict....:D .... Jordon, will you be on the Zuiderdam in October?

[caribbean girl]

nashkan, sounds like you have one of the most important ingredients to enjoying a wonderful cruise: a willing participant! Just being on a beautiful ship and being treated so well everyday is treat enough. Not to mention the ports you will be visiting!! I hope you get to see Half Moon Cay as it is certainly unforgettable. Our children (and my husband and I:p ) still talk about that little piece of paradise. Have fun anticipating!! And DON'T FORGET THE SUNSCREEN!!

[nashkan]

Caribbean girl... we are supposed to go to Half Moon Cay.... we are planning on the stingray swim with our Grandson, we have done that in Grand Cayman, he never has ...we thought that would be really special for him... he loves animals ... the water in Grand Cayman was a little deep, where we were.... have you tried this on the Cay? Anything special about the Cay we should know? Our other ports are Grand Turk, St. Thomas, and Tortola... we have been to St. Thomas several times, we will probably go over to St. John for the day ..... we have not been to the other islands.... the Grandson loves everything about cruising, even getting dressed in his tux on formal night! ..thanks again.... Dan

[caribbean girl]

I hope you make it to HMC, nashkan. It is lovely just to see it, but it sounds like you have a fun day planned. It was our very last stop before the end of the cruise, so my daughter and I hung out while the boys tried wind surfing. Make sure to attend the barbecue. We thoroughly enjoyed the food and there was a steel band playing throughout the day. They were tremendous and we enjoyed them during the whole trip.:p

We visited Tortola last Feb and did a mountain biking, rain forest trip (Layou River) booked through HAL. It was fantastic! I don't know if you and your family would be up for that. A comfy van takes you about 1300 ft up the highest mt on the island and you bike down the mountain, stopping for fruit and treats. We also had the opportunity to swim in the Layou River and hot springs. It was a tremendous experience. Did you know the beaches in Tortola have black, volcanic sand? Whatever you choose to do, I certainly hope you have a great time.

We spent the day at the beach in St. Thomas as well. I think we went to Coral Bay. I believe this is where you get to feed the fish. The beach was small, but the guide was very good and we are so easy to please, since we were there in the depth of Pa. winter and it was mine and my daughter's birthdays. Some fun!!

Wish I could talk about Grand Turk, but we've not been there yet.

Have fun anticipating your upcoming trip!

[nashkan]

the biking sounds like a good time, we all ride bikes I am going to look into that ...and since it is down hill:D I have been doing some reseach on the various ports ....the first time we went to St. Thomas, we did go over to St, John on our own and we saved a LOT of money.... that was back in 1989 and not so sure if i am so adventurious anymore.... but still thinking about that .... it is amazing what a person can save when they do reseach and find things on their own... these boards are a wealth of information.... and i thank all for the tips.... sincerely Dan