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Room? - which cabin do you have.
Children's activities - CLUB HAL for the young ones - I believe they have to be 3 years old and potty trained to join. What ages are your children.
I believe the pools are fresh water and no they don't stay open all night. I think they close around 9 or 10pm.
Food is subjective so really won't comment on that, but I must say they have a great selection at breakfast and lunch in the Lido Restaurant. It is also open for dinner in the evening, but shorter hours than the dining room. You will have to check the daily program for hours if you want to eat there.
No longer go to any of the entertainment shows, so again can't comment.
Have fun!
Greetings Ben.
Pam
Pam - got to disagree with you about the aft pool. I much prefer this pool as it is always too hot and humid for me at the mid-ship pool.
It's not that the kids can't use the aft pool, but HAL requests that the kids use the mid-ship pool and leave the aft pool for the adults. I think the kids have more fun in the mid pool as there aren't as many adults using it.
We have cruised on HAL with kids numerous times. They loved Club HAL but it did end around 9:30 PM I think.
Here's an approach we have used in the past which works great for kids and parents.
Some nights we would arrange to have in-cabin baby-sitting with some of the staff who work the Front Desk. They are very responsible and enjoy spending time with the kids. Plus, it's less expensive than a baby-sitter at home.
Note: If you go this route make sure you line up the baby-sitting service as soon as you board as they are doing it in their spare time and may be booked if you wait.
We always had late dinner so we would have the baby-sitter show up around 7:00 PM which gave us plenty of time for a drink before dinner. We would then check back in after dinner to make sure everyone was happy. You can stay out as late as you want.
Another approach is to put the kids into Club HAL until it ends and then take them back to the cabin for a private baby-sitter. The only down side to this is that one of you has to pick them up in the middle of your dinner. No big deal.
A third approach is to take them to the dinning room and let them eat their meal while you get your soup/appetizer. Then they can go back to the cabin and you can finish your dinner at your leisure. Most of the time though, our kids opted for dinner at the Lido and then either Club HAL or a baby-sitter.
Whichever approach you choose, I am sure your son will enjoy HAL. Most people dont necissarily think of HAL as a kid-friendly cruise line and they don't get a lot of credit for it but they have a great children's program and we have never been dissapointed.
Have a great cruise.
Joe at TravelPage.com
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