Westerdam during December??

[bstodghi1]

I was looking at the 10 day cruise on the Star Princess from 12/18/05-12/28/05 or an 8 day cruise on the Westerdam from 12/18/05-12/26/05. However, my patience for kids has been decreasing with my age and the more I go through in life. Does anyone think that is a bad time of year for HAL. I cruised the RCI Navigator the week before Christmas and there was about 300 kids, that wasn't bad all at.

I would also be happy if anyone could tell anything about HAL. The extra charges, food quality , service and spa.

I was on the Westerdam for the New Years cruise this past season. There were many, many kids onboard. Most of them were well behaved but like any situation where kids are confined, there were the typical rebels. The aft pool is for adults but the kids took it over anyway. The staff did nothing to help this situation. I spent most of my time in adult only areas. NO problem there. Now the Oosterdam during spring break was a major goof on my part. Hundreds of out of control teens. They took over the atrium at nights, threw sports equipment and food off the ship. The staff did nothing. Anyway, if you must travel during this season, be prepared for lots of kids. I have been on 10 cruises and I ranked my Westy trip number 3. I thoroughly enjoyed it despite the staff's inability to secure the adult pool. Lots of fun activities for all ages. Enjoy the Westy.

[DeeDee]

Sailing at Christmas or during any holiday, you will always have lots of kids.

I have sailed a number of times at Christmas on HAL ships, and never had any trouble with loud, noisy, rambunctious kids.

There were 2 families with 2 kids each, who were a pain in the butt at the aft pool. The kids were always in the hot tubs and even tried to get in with the netting secured over the top. They didn't speak English, or let on they didn't, so staff could not deal with them. One staff member finally had to call an Officer to get the kids out of the hot tub and speak to the parents.

Hi, My husband and I went on the zaandam in april (during spring break) there was very few kids, the cruise was awsome. We span a 21 year age difference, I am 43 My husband is 64 and we both LOVED it. In fact we have already booked a trip on the Westerdam for dec4. Our final bill for the week including bar bill , one excursion, tips, a couple photos and souveniers, came to under 500$. Sorry I didn't use the spa. The crew was great, as long as you are a reasonable person and not demanding or expecting to be waited on hand and foot( we saw people complain to the crew about the weather like they expected them to do something about it !!!) you will have a wonderful, relaxing time. We found the service to be the best of the 4 cruises we have been on. Embarkation and Deparkation were the easiest as well (hint- pre register on line). hope this helps K

[bstodghi1]

Thank you for your responses. I think I am going to try to cruise in November or early December before the 18th.

Good idea!