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stoneharborlady

By stoneharborlady,
in Holland America Line

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stoneharborlady

stoneharborlady

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Hi, I have cruised twice with Princess (very positive experiences) and am now considering a HAL cruise in April 2011. I admit that frequent slashed prices for third and fourth in cabin has a great deal to do with looking into it. Princess does not discount at all for third and fourth passengers in a cabin. I understand the lines are more similar than different though.(HALs wonderful beds a plus over Princess) I have looked at many photos posted by HAL cruisers, and have seen very few children in evidence. Both my cruises with Princess were in July, and so of course there were 600 kids aboard (and no problem with that) both times.

 

My question: Are well mannered kids welcomed aboard HAL? No worries about kids clubs, the kids (9, 12, and 16) would be with us at all times, and most definitely not in a separate cabin. I just thought it odd, that even on HMC, I never see any kids in the photos.

 

I freely admit, having been a poster on the Princess board for several years, many do not enjoy having children around on a cruise. I must say I dont get it, unless I was very lucky on my cruises to not run into any problems with young cruisers.

 

Also, am I correct in thinking HAL has full meal service in cabins? Princess has limited room service choices except in full suites.

 

Many thanks in advance, for any answers.

 

Karen

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luvs2travl

luvs2travl

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I wasn't aware that HAL had cabins that would accomodate 5 persons in the same cabin. :confused: I think that Carnival has a "family suite" that will accomodate five, but don't know about HAL.....??

 

Anyone out there know if this is possible?

 

Okay - never mind - you must've been posting as I was typing. So - you have seven people going rather than five, right? Three in one cabin and 4 in another. Should be a tight squeeze, but I'm sure you'll manage just fine!!

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Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen

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Are well mannered kids welcomed aboard HAL?

 

Also, am I correct in thinking HAL has full meal service in cabins? Princess has limited room service choices except in full suites.

Karen - Well mannered kids are welcome on HAL (as are well-mannered passengers of all ages ;) ).

 

Yes, HAL does offer full room service. They offer a VERY nice room service menu. If you are talking about ordering off the MDR menu at dinner time, my understanding is that you should place your order within the first half hour that the MDR is open for dinner service, but you can select the time of delivery to be later.

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schoolinmy3

schoolinmy3

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We are taking our three children on a cruise to the Mediterranean in May, ages 19, 17 and 10. We have two rooms booked on the Eurodam and are really looking forward to it! We also reserved a retreat cabana on the top deck so that we can spend time together since we are going to be split between cabins. This will be our first time taking our children but I have no doubt we will have a fantastic time :D.

diane

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cprofits

cprofits

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I'm leaving next week for a 14 night b2b. I called HAL to see how many children are on our sailing. The first week (3/21) there are 19 3-12 year olds and 29 13-17 year olds. The second week (3/28) there are 134 3-12 year olds and 123 13-17 year olds. The vast disparity between the two weeks is because the second week encompasses Easter and many children are on spring break. I would say the first week with 48 total 3-17 year olds is average and maybe a bit high because there are still some schools out then.

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

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Hi, I have cruised twice with Princess (very positive experiences) and am now considering a HAL cruise in April 2011. I admit that frequent slashed prices for third and fourth in cabin has a great deal to do with looking into it. Princess does not discount at all for third and fourth passengers in a cabin. I understand the lines are more similar than different though.(HALs wonderful beds a plus over Princess) I have looked at many photos posted by HAL cruisers, and have seen very few children in evidence. Both my cruises with Princess were in July, and so of course there were 600 kids aboard (and no problem with that) both times.

 

My question: Are well mannered kids welcomed aboard HAL? No worries about kids clubs, the kids (9, 12, and 16) would be with us at all times, and most definitely not in a separate cabin. I just thought it odd, that even on HMC, I never see any kids in the photos.

 

I freely admit, having been a poster on the Princess board for several years, many do not enjoy having children around on a cruise. I must say I dont get it, unless I was very lucky on my cruises to not run into any problems with young cruisers.

 

Also, am I correct in thinking HAL has full meal service in cabins? Princess has limited room service choices except in full suites.

 

Many thanks in advance, for any answers.

Karen, HAL and Princess are more alike than different. Yes, there is a full room service menu, including hot food, which Princess doesn't have. It's probably me but I get terrible backaches from the HAL mattresses and prefer Princess. For me, they're way too soft without enough support but that's probably a personal preference.

 

Service on HAL and Princess are pretty equal; you'll find great, good and poor on both, mostly in the "good" category. I have yet to experience "great" cabin or waitstaff service on HAL after 66 days but who knows? Maybe on my upcoming Zuiderdam cruise. I keep hoping.

 

I think HAL does their Open (As You Wish) seating much better than Princess. They do not allow passengers from fixed seating to go to Open seating without a previous request and approval, and it's a one-way switch. No "show up and we'll try to accommodate you" which makes the Princess Anytime Dining waits so long sometimes.

 

HAL's Muster is on deck rather than in a lounge on Princess. Not a deal-breaker. They also serve hot hors d'oeurves in the lounges starting at about 5pm which are yummy.

 

If you decide to have dinner in the buffet, you serve yourself your appetizer, soup and salad but then place an order for your entree with any modification you wish. You are seated by waitstaff, and when you are done with your appetizer, soup and/or salad, you are served your entree, hot and personalized. You then go back and get your dessert. A real negative to this system is that you need to get there early as the buffet closes completely at 8pm, including dessert or if you want to go back and get more salad or anything. At least that's my experience. One evening, we arrived at the buffet at 7:20pm, there was a line and our order was taken at about 7:40pm. Our entrees were served at about 8pm but my chicken was still raw in the middle. I asked the Maitre d' to have it cooked more but she told me in no uncertain terms that they were closed for the night and the kitchen shut down. So I essentially had no dinner as even the salad and dessert was gone by then. My friends offered me bits of their food but I didn't want to go that route.

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mek

mek

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Just back from a 9 night Mexican cruise on the Zaandam and there were only 12 kids on the cruise. One thing I would like to point out is HAL is a very quiet line with practically nothing to do after 10pm. There was music in the lounges but after 11PM the ship was dead. The late show was at 9PM and unfortunately, the last movie started at the same time, so it was impossible to go to the show and then catch a movie, unlike the Veendam last year. If you and your family turn in early or you are good at entertaining yourselves then fine, but honestly with kids, I would want more activity than HAL offers in the evening.

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schoolinmy3

schoolinmy3

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Just back from a 9 night Mexican cruise on the Zaandam and there were only 12 kids on the cruise. One thing I would like to point out is HAL is a very quiet line with practically nothing to do after 10pm. There was music in the lounges but after 11PM the ship was dead. The late show was at 9PM and unfortunately, the last movie started at the same time, so it was impossible to go to the show and then catch a movie, unlike the Veendam last year. If you and your family turn in early or you are good at entertaining yourselves then fine, but honestly with kids, I would want more activity than HAL offers in the evening.

 

It depends on the personalities of your children. Everyone is different. Our children are used to being around adults and spending quiet evenings together reading and playing games. I don't know if it is because they were/are homeschooled or not, but they do not require entertainment, loud music or kids clubs. And with a port intensive cruise such as we are taking in the Mediterranean, being able to turn in early will be a plus that is sure! We are more worried that the library won't have enough books for our kids to read. They are at the library 3 or 4 times per week at home :D. So it really just depends on the kids' personalities. They are all very different. :cool:

diane

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stoneharborlady

stoneharborlady

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Thank you all so much (you too Pam!!) To be honest, on Princess we hit the hay around 11 at night. We do like to see a show, but are not big night life people. My only regret is that HAL does not have one single ship in the Caribbean in summer, we will have to take the kids out of school in April. The kids love the beach, and wont miss loud music or clubs. They will be happy being with us.

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Storylady

Storylady

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It depends on the personalities of your children. Everyone is different. Our children are used to being around adults and spending quiet evenings together reading and playing games. I don't know if it is because they were/are homeschooled or not, but they do not require entertainment, loud music or kids clubs. And with a port intensive cruise such as we are taking in the Mediterranean, being able to turn in early will be a plus that is sure! We are more worried that the library won't have enough books for our kids to read. They are at the library 3 or 4 times per week at home :D. So it really just depends on the kids' personalities. They are all very different. :cool:

diane

 

The R and S class HAL ships have fabulous libraries. There is a kids section. But you are right in saying it isn't large. I would recommend taking a Kindle (electronic book) along with you and have it preloaded with books they like to read. And I know that the IPhone and Blackberry can be loaded with books also if you happen to have a phone that Amazon offers a ap for downloading books.

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schoolinmy3

schoolinmy3

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The R and S class HAL ships have fabulous libraries. There is a kids section. But you are right in saying it isn't large. I would recommend taking a Kindle (electronic book) along with you and have it preloaded with books they like to read. And I know that the IPhone and Blackberry can be loaded with books also if you happen to have a phone that Amazon offers a ap for downloading books.

 

Yes, my 17 yo has a sony e-reader and is already planning to purchase e-books to take with him. He goes through a stack of books a week. He offered to pack books in his suitcase instead of clothes :D. My 10 yo daughter is following in her brother's footsteps and reads Cat Who books (which are not in the kids section anyway) and Nancy Drew (which are in the kids section but the older ones are getting increasingly harder to find). We will have to mix up the book reading with some card games.

diane

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

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Open seating is just ONE aspect of HAL's As You Wish Dining. The terms are not synonymous.
I understand, which is why I used the term "Open." I should have qualified it as part of AYWD. People on the Princess board make the same mistake, i.e., calling Anytime Dining "Personal Choice." Whether one likes it or not, people do use them synonymously, including TAs. We know what they mean.
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Krazy Kruizers

Krazy Kruizers

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Thank you Mary Ellen, much appreciated. I would imagine there would be more on 7 day cruises, but in April, I dont really know.

 

Seven day cruises do attrack more children.

We have been on a couple of 7 day cruises and there around 200 children.

Yes -- you will see them around the ship.

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