james'mommy Posted August 13, 2013 #1 Share Posted August 13, 2013 First time on Hal. Will be traveling with a 12 yo boy. Thinking he might want sometime away from us on a 12 day cruise. How are the kids' clubs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GmaPajama Posted August 13, 2013 #2 Share Posted August 13, 2013 We used HAL's kids club with our 15 year old grandson on the Oosterdam just over a year ago. It was amazing, and we had to pry our boy away from it at times. One day, he called our cabin from there to ask if he could skip dinner with us ... to eat with "his friends" in the Lido. That's when I realized exactly how much he was enjoying the group. Mean old us ... he had to eat with family instead - but was chomping at the bit to get back to the Club after dinner. There were lots of good, wholesome activities - and the counselors were amazing. Our grandson felt very special there, much like we do on every cruise. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1of4 Posted August 13, 2013 #3 Share Posted August 13, 2013 My two children LOVE Club HAL and want to be there during all opening hours. We shoped up, early apparently, the first night to pick them up at 9:30 and were told by both to come back in half an hour!:rolleyes: Club HAL is the reason we chose to spend our vacation dollars on HAL. Let me know if you have questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garydm Posted August 13, 2013 #4 Share Posted August 13, 2013 We signed our 12 year old grandson up for Club HAL on the Oosterdam in May. Unfortunately the activities for that age group were items like coloring and musical chairs. What a disappointment. He attended the computer photography classes instead and avoided Club HAL. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisedog123 Posted August 13, 2013 #5 Share Posted August 13, 2013 We were just on the Noordam and my twin 10 y/o girls and their friend loved Club Hal. I have to credit the staff on this cruise who were very engaged with the kids. Mine are still talking about two of the counselors. On other Holland cruises they only liked Club Hal and could take it or leave it. On those cruises the staff was a little indifferent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicismylife Posted August 13, 2013 #6 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Our 12yr old son LOVES Club and finds the activities age appropriate. Mind you, I'm a teacher so we always cruise during school holidays so there are lots of kids so they split them into 3 groups: 3-7, 8-12, 13-17. Hope your kids enjoy it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-cruise Posted August 13, 2013 #7 Share Posted August 13, 2013 We've had very good experiences with Club HAL and our kids have certainly enjoyed it as well. Sure, they would rather go on Disney again, but HAL offers them plenty to do as well. One nice thing is that there aren't generally that many kids on HAL (especially on longer itineraries) so they do get a lot of attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmsMom Posted August 13, 2013 #8 Share Posted August 13, 2013 We were on the Ryndam in April with our 11 year old grandson. We travelled from Barcelona to Dover. Club HAL was one if the highlights of the trip for him. He couldn't wait to go every evening. We were thrilled that he liked it so much. I attribute that to the staff. They were really great with the kids and made each child feel special. Next time we cruise with a grandchild it will be on HAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpokaneDan Posted August 16, 2013 #9 Share Posted August 16, 2013 My 2 kids (15/12) rank Veendam and Zaandam's Club Hal about average (they really liked Princess'). It also depend much on who they met in the club. My 12 yo had similar experience as Gary's grandson, she found the younger group's activities too humdrum for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol3 Posted August 16, 2013 #10 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Just came back from the Eurodam cruise (8aug); my son 8 years old had a great time in the Tweens Club!! Unfortunatly my 12 year old daughter did not like it...I tried to get her into the Teens part which start at 13 but they did not allow this (which I can understand) Lucky she really had a great time on the ship and spent a lot of time at the Explorations Cafe reading and playing games. But it's more easy to make contact with other kids this way... I think 12 is a difficult age and they are between the Tweens and Teens... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted August 16, 2013 #11 Share Posted August 16, 2013 We just sailed on the Eurodam with our children , ages 9 , 13 and 16. All of them really enjoyed Club HAL and the Loft. The staff was attentive and they had cool activities for all. Our kids made friends from all over the world and we got some nice adult time. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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