How is Holland America w/ Young Kids?

[katyf]

Is it awful? I found a good deal on the itinerary we want....but I'm unsure about holland america w/ my almost 2yo. We took her on NCL last year and that was great.....but holland america is more old-people-ish, right? Should I just eliminate it as a choice (is the MS/Noordam out of NYC if it makes a difference)? Just a shame b/c the same itinierary on NCL is double the cost!

[Turtle Girls]

I can't help you now but I'll report back. I'm taking my 3 kids(3,6,7 years) on Holland leaving 10/27. I feel the same way- the itinerary is great and the price cheap. This will be their 4th cruise and I figure that the worst case is that we will have good time. There are 4 ports and only 2 days at sea and those days we could just hang out at the pool if they don't like the children's program.

[eh2zed]

My two grandsons 5 and 7 like HAL Club better than Disney. So much so that my son cancelled his next Disney and booked HAL again for December. More individual attention because there are fewer children. They also like HMC better than Castaway Cay. Go figure.

[crusinmama06]

I have seen alot of people say how much they like HAL....but those were people without young kids...lol. So I don't know. I know their kid's program doesn't start till age 3...

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/signatureofexcellence/clubhalyouth.do

 

The kid's program looks cool but your child will be too young. :( But the ship looks nice. I can't imagine you will have a BAD time if you know what I mean. :)

 

I think if the price is right, then go for it.

[Nurse4heartkids]

We were on HAL 2 years ago. The ship was nice, but there were a lot of elderly people who smoked and just were plain rude to the crew, fellow passengers etc. I have never seen so many rude people in one place. I felt so bad for the crew of this ship. My kids were 7 and 10 and had a fun time in the kids club, but we went on NCL this past year and NCL is now their favorite by far. My 1 year old niece was with us on HAL and the crew treated her wonderfully. I said after our HAL cruise that I wouldn't cruise them again with my kids. I just thought the passenger demographic was too different then what we were looking for. However, the pool area always had lounge chairs and was definitely quieter then NCL. If I were you I would try HAL and see what you think. The itenerary and price is right and it really doesn't matter for you until you baby is older and can do the kids club. Have fun no matter what you choose:)

[katyf]

Yeah....my daughter won't quite be two so we can't do a kids club on any ships...which is fine. I guess I don't want dirty looks from a bunch of old people if she makes any noise (she's really well behaved....but we do have some moments). I guess I'm wondering....are there often other families with kids on HAL? Or is it strictly old people???

 

Right now i'm leaning towards HAL....though I may hold off on booking in the hopes NCL will drop their price. we'll see.

[GPoll189]

katyf,

 

I am a totally HAL believer, I have been sailing with them since I was a little older than you childs age, and I am now 27 years old. However, that is not important right now the most important thing for you is for me to try to answer the question you posed here.

 

First of all, on any line that you go on you will have those passengers that will give you dirty looks when you travel with kids any age. This is not a problem on just one line, if you want to just look around the diffrent rooms and you will see different topics about the fact.

 

Second, the crew loves kids, I can tell you the Phillopino and Indoneisian crew will treat you child better than you. I know you are laughing at this but it is totally true. The children become the center of attention for the crew.

 

Third, HAL is trying to get younger. They are turning to the younger group of passengers (the future of cruising). This is espicially seen in the new class of ships (Vista) - Noordam, Westerdam, Zuiderdam, Oosterdam.

 

Finally, You have to take into account what time of year you are going to be traveling on HAL, during the peak time, Holidays, Presidents week, and Spring break you will have an average of about 400 children on board ranging from ages of infants (6 months) to 18 years old. I have been on the Noordam during X-mas of last year and there were plenty of young families that you would have enjoyed spending time with.

 

Don't let a few sour pruns ruin a great trip on HAL. I wish more families would give HAL a try. It is a little more relaxed that say Carnival and NCL and it is a little more traditional like Celebrity. Crew is great, ships are great, and it is an overall well run line.

 

Finally my recommendation: At a young age of 27 sailing on Celebrity,Carnival, Regent Cruises, RCCL, and HAL I would still recommend HAL over any of the above. I have over 24 sailings and (more than 100 days) aboard HAL. I started sailing them when I was 5 and that was way before they became as kid friendly as the are now.

 

Take all the information that you have gotten in this forum and also from what I posted and reach down into your heart and decide for yourself. You are the one that know your child best, the only thing we can do is state what we have experienced.

 

Geoffrey

[Suziefloozie]

I cruised with my DH and 4yr old (then) DD last christmas on Celebrity and the crew were terrific with her. They always missed her at dinner when she was at the kids club. She had a great time.

We are sailing with HAL this christmas on Noordam and from what I've heard HAL is similar to Celebrity (or so I hope).

From what I've read on these boards you will have a great time whichever ship you sail on. I would suggest you possibly keep off the ultra classy, all suite ships (actually I don't know if they even allow kids on board lol:rolleyes: )

Suzie

[Ga_Crusin]

Almost all of my cruises have been on HAL, but I'm now changing because I'm dissatisfied with the kids programs. My kids are currently 9 and 7, and they've been with me on 3 HAL cruises and 1 Celebrity cruise (most of my cruising was pre-kids). I found that the kids area isn't nearly as good on HAL as Celebirty, and they just aren't as well set up for kids. This year I'm trying Royal Caribbean for the first time. I'm a bit nervous about whether I'll like RCCL, but the kids were so bored on HAL last year, plus I was not comfortable with some safety issues, so I'm giving it a try.

 

I agree with the poster about the crew and kids. They seem to really like kids and go out of their way for them. Also, I haven't experienced very many bad vibes from other passengers. Yes, they are certainly older, but in my experience, 20% want to talk to the kids and tell me about their grandkids, 75% don't care and 5% seem to object.

[Keith1010]

Honestly, for a 2 year old I think that HAL will be fine. Yes clearly there are many other cruise lines that have a stronger reputation for their children's programs and for having more children on board than say HAL but a just don't think any of this is applicable if we are talking about a 2 year old.

 

Now, as they get older and start going to the children's programs I do think that some are better. But even at that if you asked me would a 5 year old have fun at a HAL kids program I would say yes based on our experience. Why do I say this because I think that on the most part a 5 year old will enjoy the program on almost any of the cruise lines who offer them. At that age, they don't have much to compare.

 

Now, if you asked me are there better programs than say HAL I would say yes. I would recommend programs such as Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caiibbean and of course Disney, but I would also say that others have nice programs, just not as comprehensive as the ones I mentioned.

 

But, for a 2 year old I'm sure that HAL will be fine even though, yes, they carry a higher age crowd than say Royal Caribbean.

 

Keith

[Turtle Girls]

My family is just back on Holland's Zuiderdam and I wanted to respond. This was my kids 4th cruise(Princess,Carnival,Celebrity) and they absolutely loved the children's program. They had the best time and wanted to go back whenever it was open. Also, the attention that they received was overwelming! The staff went out of their way to be nice and cater to them.

 

My girls would rank this as their favorite cruise yet. I would sail HAL again but would hesitate when the girls are teenagers ( they're now 3,6,7). The teens on board seemed bored.

 

I am hoping that HAL improves in this area because the service, food and staff were great.

[741323]

Our son who is 11 is just off the Westerdam.

 

At the start of the week he loved the kids club but there were not very many kids on board.

By the end of the week he found it boring and just wanted to "hang out" with the other kids he had made friends with. There were only 2 kids counsellors on board. They didn't make a huge deal out of Halloween for the kids - I think Carnival did a better job of this the previous year when we were on the Valor.

 

IMO the Carnival kids program is better than the HAL one, and the HAL one way better than the Princess one (we have cruised all 3 lines). However I got the impression that the younger kids in his age group loved the program. I think if your child is at the higher end of the age bands then they may find the activities a bit young and "tame".