Will my young family fit in?

[quandrea]

I just booked the Koningsdam today for September 2017. We are a family of five. Three kids will be 13, 7 and 7 (they'll turn 8 on board). Have I made a mistake because of HAL's older demographic reputation? I gave up a May sailing with Royal Caribbean. We've sailed four times on Celebrity. That was,an older group. We still had fun. Have done Cunard as well. Loved it.

 

I love the itinerary and the timing of our HAL cruise. Also like where shell dock in Stockholm. Hoping the food is good.

 

Thoughts? Should I run back to Royal?

[cb at sea]

You will have a fine time...no worries! While the majority of cruisers may be older, not ALL will be....it's all good!

[quandrea]

You will have a fine time...no worries! While the majority of cruisers may be older, not ALL will be....it's all good!

 

Thank you! I'm really thrilled with the idea of the trip and you have helped put my worries to rest.

[DarkCrystal]

Our last cruise with HAL most of the people were in their 40s and under. It could have been because it was Alaska, but it was a bit surprising.

Food was excellent on our cruise, as was the crew.

Edited June 24, 2016 by DarkCrystal

[quandrea]

Our last cruise with HAL most of the people were in their 40s and under. It could have been because it was Alaska, but it was a bit surprising.

Food was excellent on our cruise, as was the crew.

 

That is wonderful news! Flipping through the brochure makes me feel like HAL could be a good fit.

[catl331]

We've never been on Celebrity, but from all I've read on CC, Celebrity and HAL are very much alike - including the demographics - on HAL's newest/largest ships. I think the older crowd prefers the old/small classes of HAL's ships.

Edited June 24, 2016 by catl331

[freestyling]

You'll have a great time. No worries about "age". I have yet to see any fellow HAL cruiser be rude around children. Now around other "adults" you always have a few right. We are also on Sept cruise and will be looking for the twins:). Have a great cruise

[c-cruise]

We've done probably 10 HAL cruises with our kids (ages 9 and 6). While you will definitely be in the minority, there always seem to be other families with young kids onboard. However, I wouldn't expect to find many kids on a HAL cruise in Sept. due to school starting, but maybe it's different on a Europe itinerary.

 

When there are few kids onboard we've found that they often combine Club HAL age groups and reduce the kids club hours. The Club HAL staff and really all the staff we have encountered have been great with our kids.

 

Can't say that we've run into any passengers that were outwardly rude towards us, but have definitely gotten our share of dirty looks from the "kids should be seen and not heard" crowd.

 

We are taking our kids on the Koningsdam for 10 days in Feb. Can't wait!

[Crew News]

I just booked the Koningsdam today for September 2017. We are a family of five. Three kids will be 13, 7 and 7 (they'll turn 8 on board). Have I made a mistake because of HAL's older demographic reputation? I gave up a May sailing with Royal Caribbean. We've sailed four times on Celebrity. That was,an older group. We still had fun. Have done Cunard as well. Loved it.

 

I love the itinerary and the timing of our HAL cruise. Also like where shell dock in Stockholm. Hoping the food is good.

 

Thoughts? Should I run back to Royal?

 

Here is a link to samples of the activities that HAL offers kids:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/holland-america-lines-kids-activities-examples/

[quandrea]

You'll have a great time. No worries about "age". I have yet to see any fellow HAL cruiser be rude around children. Now around other "adults" you always have a few right. We are also on Sept cruise and will be looking for the twins:). Have a great cruise

 

What a lovely welcome. Please do say hi. My twins are a boy and a girl to help you spot us.

[quandrea]

We've done probably 10 HAL cruises with our kids (ages 9 and 6). While you will definitely be in the minority, there always seem to be other families with young kids onboard. However, I wouldn't expect to find many kids on a HAL cruise in Sept. due to school starting, but maybe it's different on a Europe itinerary.

 

When there are few kids onboard we've found that they often combine Club HAL age groups and reduce the kids club hours. The Club HAL staff and really all the staff we have encountered have been great with our kids.

 

Can't say that we've run into any passengers that were outwardly rude towards us, but have definitely gotten our share of dirty looks from the "kids should be seen and not heard" crowd.

 

We are taking our kids on the Koningsdam for 10 days in Feb. Can't wait!

We are used to this. People used to see us coming with two babies and frantically push the elevator buttons to escape us. We just rolled with it.

[geoherb]

All of our HAL cruises have been during DH's school breaks. (He teaches at a community college.) There have always been a lot of families with children except the time we sailed from Quebec to Boston in May--before most public schools were out.

 

In September, don't expect many other families with young children. If your children are the type who don't have to have a lot of other kids around to have fun, then they'll be fine.

[sail7seas]

Your family will not be the only young family. We can't tell you to go to RCI or HAL. That is your choice is to make

Edited June 24, 2016 by sail7seas

[just_cruising_along]

We have cruised with our kids (at various ages) and they have always had a great time. There are kid-related activities, plus of course the ship is a novel experience.

 

There is a "sports area", ping pong, pools and of course, the most important things is all the ports you are going to visit as a family.

 

Have fun.

[mmr923]

My now 20 somethings went to Alaska and the Western Caribbean with us as older teens on HAL. They had previously been on NCL at the age of your twins, and the age of your oldest. After their first HAL cruise, they pronounced HAL the better experience for them. There were fewer kids on the HAL cruise, but they actually liked that better. They made friends with the other few kids that went to ClubHAL, and they really enjoyed all the personal attention they got from the ClubHAL counselors, since there were fewer kids. Since your kids are well-traveled already, I think they'll do very well. You will enjoy it!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Your family will be fine on HAL.

You didn't mention which European itinerary you were doing, but many of them are port intensive and you will be off the ship a lot.

[Viesczy]

A shorter cruise will have enough kids on it that you'll not feel as if you're in a mausoleum, no worries!

 

Will HAL have the same # of chickabiddies like RC or NCL or CCL? No.

 

Will your chickabiddies have a great time? I am certain!

 

Note, we're both under 50 and HAL & Princess are the lines we first look to when we want a fun vacation, but not an event that makes use feel like we need a vacation from the vacation.

[sprockie]

We always cruise with our kids, and almost always on HAL (we also like Celebrity). We all really like HAL and its not because of the kids club or activities. We all love to hang around each other and do things together for the week. Our kids are now 10 and 15 and still want to hang with us on board. There's always lots of stuff to do and see.

[quandrea]

Thanks to everyone who replied. The more I hear about HAL the more I think it will be a great fit. The kids club and the amenities on board sound terrific. Most importantly I think HAL will be a cruise that suits ALL of us whereas RCI and ncl seem more kids focused. We are doing Russia and the Baltic--14 nights.

[rafinmd]

I THINK the kids experience on HAL will be much like their experience on Cunard (but not so formal).

 

Roy

[RMLincoln]

For all cruise lines the average goes up with the length of the itinerary. Our grandkids loved their HAL cruise and enjoyed the special attention from the not overloaded kids programs.

 

Note that there is a children's menu in the MDR... the old familars such as spaghetti and meatballs, but it is the same each night. After 2 selections from the children's menu our 9 year old asked if she could order off the adult menu! Of course, and she enjoyed trying new things. The waiters were very good with the children, as were the room stewards. Most guests were happy to see the children, I don't recall any negative experiences. Enjoy, m--

[quandrea]

I THINK the kids experience on HAL will be much like their experience on Cunard (but not so formal).

 

Roy

 

That sounds great. They had a wonderful time on the QM2. In fact we are doing a Canada New England this fall.

[GradUT]

You've gotten a lot of positive comments from people who went with kids on a short (7 day) Alaska or Caribbean cruise on HAL in the summer. During that time of year on those itineraries, you will see a fair number of families with kids on HAL.

 

However, you are planning to go in September to the Baltics on a 14-day cruise. Those are 3 strikes against there being many, if any, kids the ages of yours onboard. 1) September is the beginning of the school year so few parents are willing to take their children out of school then. 2) The Baltics, while wonderful, is not a destination for most families. 3) A 14-day cruise in Europe is more expensive than many families with children can afford. (FWIW: We did a 12-day Baltics cruise on HAL last July--the height of summer vacation time--and there were very few children on board.)

 

The good thing about a Baltic cruise, as already mentioned, is that it is port-intensive, so your family will be out-and-about almost every day. But if your children are expecting to spend the evenings or sea days hanging out with kids their own ages, they will, I'm afraid, be sorely disappointed.

[quandrea]

You've gotten a lot of positive comments from people who went with kids on a short (7 day) Alaska or Caribbean cruise on HAL in the summer. During that time of year on those itineraries, you will see a fair number of families with kids on HAL.

 

However, you are planning to go in September to the Baltics on a 14-day cruise. Those are 3 strikes against there being many, if any, kids the ages of yours onboard. 1) September is the beginning of the school year so few parents are willing to take their children out of school then. 2) The Baltics, while wonderful, is not a destination for most families. 3) A 14-day cruise in Europe is more expensive than many families with children can afford. (FWIW: We did a 12-day Baltics cruise on HAL last July--the height of summer vacation time--and there were very few children on board.)

 

The good thing about a Baltic cruise, as already mentioned, is that it is port-intensive, so your family will be out-and-about almost every day. But if your children are expecting to spend the evenings or sea days hanging out with kids their own ages, they will, I'm afraid, be sorely disappointed.

They aren't expecting to hang out with peers. They ate homeschooled and quite used to playing with each other and happy to do so. I've received enough feedback here and through my own research to know that HAL is going to be just what we are looking for. We did a fourteen day Baltic back in 2008 when our twins were eight months. That one was with celebrity. We all had a great time. HAL's kids club sounds great and so long as we are not met with outright hostility I'm sure we will be fine.