Holland America's Kids Program
Holland America provides a wide variety of exciting youth- and teen- friendly activities and facilities for guests ages 3 to 17. With supervised fun for younger guests, the entire family can have the cruise vacation of their dreams.
Safe and Managed Supervision
You can feel at ease knowing that your child's on board experience is safe and well-managed. All Club HAL® activities are supervised by permanent, full-time staff, and are designed to be kid friendly and age appropriate. Youth Staff hold degrees in education, childhood development, recreation, leisure studies or related fields.
Programs Available
- Club HAL® - Kids*: Children, ages 3-7, can participate in such activities as story telling, fabric painting, indoor games, arts and crafts, drawing contests, ice-cream sundae parties, puzzles, bingo, pirate treasure hunts or a farewell pizza party. Children in the Kid's age group must be toilet trained. Children in pull-ups or diapers are not allowed in the youth facilities, due to mandates from US Public Health. Exceptions to this rule cannot be made.
- Club HAL® - Tweens*: Tweens, ages 8-12 might learn golf putting, have disco parties and theme parties, participate in the award-winning National Park Service Jr. Ranger Program on Alaska cruises, compete in on-deck sports events, compete in scavenger hunts or simply play Ping-Pong with a friend.
- The Loft and The Oasis*: Teens, ages 13-17 will especially enjoy the teen disco, karaoke sessions, video games, teen sports tournaments, card games, trivia contests, bingo, movies and videos. When there are more than 100 children on board, a HAL Talent Show is offered. (The Oasis is not available on all Vista-class ships)
Daily Programs
Times vary based on age group, number of children on board and staffing:
- Sea Day - Morning, Afternoon and Evening Activities
- Port Day - Morning, Afternoon and Evening Activities
Club HAL® After Hours is available on all ships (except the ms Prinsendam) from 10:00pm - 12:00am. The fee is $5 per child, per hour. Parents must pick up their children on time or a late fee is charged. For babysitting outside of the hours offered in Club HAL, guests may check at the Front Office to schedule this service provided by staff on a voluntary basis only.
Kids & Teens Culinary Arts Center Program
HAL Kids Culinary Workshops now offer children a unique and fun learning
experience. Kids will learn basic cooking techniques, kitchen safety,
new ingredients and how to follow recipe instructions. Aside from the
fun involved, cooking encourages kids to think about numbers and
measuring, cleanliness, safety, and time management. All the workshops
are hands-on where questions are encouraged and having fun is a must!
HAL Kids Culinary Workshops are geared toward two age groups; ages 3-7 and ages 8 and up. Teenagers 15 and up may participate in the adult classes.
- The menus range from simple to teen gourmet
- Classes are usually limited to fifteen students unless otherwise noted
- All classes are hands-on
- Each student receives copies of the recipes prepared in class
- All classes are complimentary and last approximately one hour
Holland America Line is dedicated to making your family's cruise vacation memorable and happy for each member of your family. We serve a wide variety of kid-pleasing food, including special sandwiches, tacos, hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza. Baby food, high chairs and booster seats may be requested in advance of boarding. Baby-sitting services are available for a small surcharge. Special-kid friendly birthday parties can also be arranged with advance notice.
Special Needs
HAL Youth Programs recognize that some children may have special needs.
Special needs children are invited to attend activities based on their
chronological age. HAL Youth Programs have many staff trained to work
with special needs children. Guests should make HAL aware of this when
booking their reservation.
Important Notes
A limited number of high chairs, booster seats and cribs are available
at no charge. These must be reserved in advance at the time of booking.
An international children's menu is offered at dinner and includes a
variety of appetizers, salads and soups, and standard items such as
hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza and chicken, plus chef's specials like beef
tacos, grilled cheese, fish and chips or spaghetti.