HAL kids club

[canadamum]

I have friends who are taking a HAL cruise to Caribbean with kids ages 9, 13, 14 and are concerned about how much fun this cruise will be for their children.
Anyone out there have any personal experience with their kids on the Zuiderdam?

[rebeccalouise]

I have friends who are taking a HAL cruise to Caribbean with kids ages 9, 13, 14 and are concerned about how much fun this cruise will be for their children.
Anyone out there have any personal experience with their kids on the Zuiderdam?

From what I have read, Holland America has a good youth program for the little ones but not great for teens. But it depends on the time of year you are traveling. I have found that teens are happy if they meet other teens. As long as there is a pool for them to hang out in, an arcade and maybe a teen disco night etc- they'll have fun.

My first and second cruises were on Holland America in 1977 (age 12) and 1980 (age 15). The ships were 30,000 tons back then with no youth programs and we still had fun.

So, no it isn't going to be Royal Caribbean or Carnival but I am sure that they will make their own fun.

[canadamum]

Thanks for the info Rebeccalouise, I will pass it on to my friends. However I share their concern because this post does seem to be getting many hits:()

[canadamum]

oops meant to say NOT many hits.

[middle-aged mom]

I have friends who are taking a HAL cruise to Caribbean with kids ages 9, 13, 14 and are concerned about how much fun this cruise will be for their children.
Anyone out there have any personal experience with their kids on the Zuiderdam?

Hi, Canada Mum::)

What's their itinerary? When are they going? If they are cruising during the school holidays, there should be plenty of other children onboard for them to socialize with. We were on a 14-day Caribbean/Panama Canal itinerary Dec 19-Jan 2 last year (on the Amsterdam), and we had close to 200 children/teens on the ship with us. Club HAL provides a good, structured programs for the kids, with professional staff and space dedicated just to youth and teens. At their ports of call, the kids will have ample opportunity to enjoy beach and water sports. There is a kids' menu in the dining room (just ask for it), a swimming pool covered with a dome so they can swim in good or inclement weather, there are sport courts near the Club HAL facilities, ping pong tables, and a video game arcade. They should find plenty to do.:)

[canadamum]

My friends are booked for the March 16th Westerdam. It must be spring break time in Houston. I can't give them advice on this because the only time my hubby and I cruised with HAL, we didn't take our kids. And our experience on HAL had me decide never to cruise again.

[middle-aged mom]

My friends are booked for the March 16th Westerdam. It must be spring break time in Houston. I can't give them advice on this because the only time my hubby and I cruised with HAL, we didn't take our kids. And our experience on HAL had me decide never to cruise again.

If they don't want to go, they haven't yet reached final payment, and can still cancel the cruise without penalty. Is this their first time cruising? Have they travelled much, ie, are the kids used to exploring new surroundings and meeting new friends? If cruising and/or travel is a new experience for them, they may wish to consider another cruise line. Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney, and Norwegian are reputed to have the best programs for kids. I haven't cruised on any of these lines. I offer my opinon with hesitation, because I don't know anything about your friends at all, nor what constitutes a good vacation experience for them. My youngest daughter (aged 7 and 8 at time of travel) enjoys cruising on HAL (she's very social). My oldest daughter, 17 at the time of her first (and only) cruise, hates cruising in general, period. So take my recommendation for what it's worth.:) :D

[buzz & woody]

We took our kids (then ages 4 & 6) on the Zuiderdam in march and they LOVED it. They actually said that it was better than the Disney ship club(less kids, more one-on-one with the HAL staff). When we went the club was open from 9-noon, 2-5 and again in the pm but I can't remember the time. Teh made t-shirts, had a talent show, lot's of great activities for the whole week-and you actually get to the know the staff in the clubs too. The staff at dinner were very attentive to the boys and made them lot's of fun paper crafts to take back to the room. Dinenr was long, so every night we brough colouring books and crayons for the boys to use while they were waiting for dinner. we're doing the westerdam in about 2 weeks and the kids can't wait! The ports that we went to were great too, but we are beach-people and just love playing at the beach and in the water. The rooms were a good size and there are great activities all day for kids and families on the ship

[O2B@C]

... our experience on HAL had me decide never to cruise again.

Not to hijack this thread, but ... would you be willing to elaborate on your reasons? I'm really curious, since I haven't been on HAL yet (boarding for the first time later this week) and it gets such rave reviews here for the most part.

[canadamum]

Now this is just a reply to O2B@C, (cute moniker by the way) This is not meant to denigrate HAL in any way shape or form. Our very first cruise we got a great last minute deal, and did not do any prior research so it was entirely our own liability. We had great table mates and enjoyed their company immensely, the other couples were all in their 50's and 60's and were SO much fun to with with. We booked an oceanview and I found out I am a little claustrophobic and I did not enjoy our room. We found that we seemed to be the youngest on the ship, but we did not sail at a school holiday period. Thus... during our cruise, my joke was it was hard to get to the pool because of stepping over so many dialysis lines! I knew it was going to bad when our departure was delayed because someone PASSED AWAY soon after boarding. I am sure we would enjoy the higher end amenities and more sedate onboard pace when we reach a certain age. But for now, with our 4 kids in tow, we enjoy NCL for it's fabulous kids club and freestyle dining. And I have learned that is a balcony for me or nothing!

[MaryAnnKacz]

We are on Westerdaam December 9th. First time on HAL. Have been on Carnival and RCI. We are wondering how our 7 year old daughter will like the kids club on HAL. This will be her 8th cruise. So she is an experienced cruiser. On some cruises we can't keep her away from the kids club and on others she doesn't want to go. She loved RCI's. I have learned that the quantity of kids has nothing to do with her wanting to go. If you are on the Dec 9th cruise, I know there will be at least 4 kids on that cruise! I know there is a 7 year old boy from the roll call for this cruise. Have you by chance ever used in cabin babysitting on HAL?

[Two if by Sea]

How do you arrange in-cabin babysitting, and who are the babysitters?

[middle-aged mom]

How do you arrange in-cabin babysitting, and who are the babysitters?

I have never used this service, but if you check with the front desk or Neptune Lounge concierge, they can arrange for one of the female ship's crew, who are looking to make a little extra money outside of their regular duties, to babysit your young children in your cabin. I can't recall the exact rate; I think it's something along the lines of $10 per hour per child, but I could be wrong. This service is offered on a limited basis, depending on how many female crew are available to provide the babysitting.

Karin

[MaryAnnKacz]

Thank you. We will check on that the 1st day. On RCI, we made the mistake of waiting until the 2nd or 3rd day to do this. There were no females available. So we got a guy, Renaldo, who was very nice. But we were paged an hour later that our daughter was crying. She said Renaldo was nice, but she wanted a "girl" to watch her. I think that we will sign up for the babysitting for 5 nights and just pay the sitter for 5 nights if we use them or not. I know they do this in their off time. I know there may be some nights we won't use them, but it is nice to have the option.

[richnorto]

My children love cruising! They are now 12, 14 and 16. They did not start young - hence I can't comment on the younger HAL clubs. Preteen programs were hit and miss and they did little of this. They also did little on Princess and RCL at this age, so I think it was just lackluster activities...
They did however make some friends on the ship and in the youth program that they hung with outside the program.
The teen area on Zaandam is nice - they didn't spend a huge amount of time there either.
That did not affect their cruise satisfaction!!!
We hung out, had family shuffleboard tournaments, kids played around in pools and did trivia and Bingo. They have a blast on the ships and we love the time we spend together!!!
Only thing DS doesn't like is dressing for dinner!

[Two if by Sea]

I realize every child's tolerance varies, but at what age would you consider leaving the child alone in a cabin at night (perhaps with a walkie-talkie to call parents) and go out on deck to read or stroll? As opposed to having an in-cabin babysitter at all times.

[Texas Tillie]

Two if by Sea, I would leave a child alone in the cabin on a cruise ship only if I would also leave the same child alone when at home. That's an individual parent's decision based on the child's maturity and the parent's comfort level.

[jbhcw]

We'll be sailing the Zuiderdam in February with three boys, 4,7 and 14. We picked this ship because of the itinerary, Grand Turk and HMC, which we can all enjoy as a family.

We've sailed RCI and Carnival before with children and the kids had a great time but I'm confident that they will also have a great time on HAL. Know the 14 year old will as they have a basketball court:) :) :) I'm just hoping that there are other kids on board that the teen can interact with, not so worried about the other two:D

I will try to come back and report on the kids activities when we get back:)