Cruise excursion with 3 year old child

We are going on 1st cruise trip to Cozumel, Belize, and Roatan Island viacarnival breeze on Dec 3rd with our 3 year old boy. We are very much existedand at the same time little concern with what we would be able to enjoy withour 3 year old, he is very active and playful though.

Aboutourselves, we are not good swimmers. I can float as long as I can hold mybreath, wife and kid cannot swim.

Iwould really like to snorkel but I am not good swimmer. I want to enjoy coralreef and colorful fishes as these are some of the best places.

Do you really need to be a good swimmer to snorkel? Are there any shallow spot amongst theseplaces?

Also, we would want to enjoy scenic spots and not historicalstructural. Beautiful rainforest and wildlife.

Wouldreally appreciate all your advice!

Thanks,

You really should be a strong swimmer to snorkel properly. Many novices have died doing it wrong.

A toddler brings a whole different danger to the scenario.

Given your circumstances and preferences, find a nice public beach and splash at the waters edge. You’ll enjoy it immensely.

You will be fine. With a guide, you don't need to be a good swimmer to snorkel. Some use belt floats.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I'm not a good swimmer and snorkeled just fine. However, that was pre-children. There is no way I could do it now with my 2 and 3 year olds, *especially* since I'm not a strong swimmer. Your best bet would be leaving your child on board at camp Ocean (I didn't think I'd be able to, but it went really well for us). Another option is finding a way to snorkel one at a time. That was another idea my dh and I had.

We are going on 1st cruise trip to Cozumel, Belize, and Roatan Island viacarnival breeze on Dec 3rd with our 3 year old boy. We are very much existedand at the same time little concern with what we would be able to enjoy withour 3 year old, he is very active and playful though.

Aboutourselves, we are not good swimmers. I can float as long as I can hold mybreath, wife and kid cannot swim.

Iwould really like to snorkel but I am not good swimmer. I want to enjoy coralreef and colorful fishes as these are some of the best places.

Do you really need to be a good swimmer to snorkel? Are there any shallow spot amongst theseplaces?

Also, we would want to enjoy scenic spots and not historicalstructural. Beautiful rainforest and wildlife.

Wouldreally appreciate all your advice!

 

Thanks,

Hi

First let me welcome you to cruise critic.

There are locations where you can see fish in shallow water, but off the top of my head, I can't think of specific places at your ports of call. You don't necessarily have to be a "good" swimmer to go snorkeling but you do need to feel comfortable swimming. With that being said your wife and son would not fit that description. All organized snorkeling tours will supply a life vests (they will also supply fins, mask and snorkel) . With PFD on correctly, you can't sink. So if you do feel comfortable in deep water, you should be able to manage. If you are not sure, I would suggest going to your local YMCA (somewhere with a pool) one day and try it. At the same time you can enroll the whole family in swimming lessons.

Trying to find the best things to do at your ports of call, look up each of the islands you are visiting on this sites "Port of Call" threads.

Just click on the "Boards Home" link at the top of this page and look down the next page. You will see the "Port of Call" section, click on the link for "Caribbean" and a new page will open with a list of each island.

hope this helps

have a great cruise

I HIGHLY recommend Little French Key in Roatan. It’s not through Carnival - you need to book directly with them. http://www.littlefrenchkey.com. I briefly touched on it in my Glory review.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2556511

A 3 year old doesn't have the skills or interest to snorkel....you might consider leaving the child in the kid's club while you snorkel.

The Caribbean is so clear, you can stand in the water and see all the way to the sea floor..no need to swim or get your face wet.

my kid loves water (but doesn't know how to swim) and is always wearing a floating device of some kind (either floaties before he reached 50# or a vest). He does not want to snorkel because that involves putting your face in the water. So, there is that.

Just go to the beach with shallow water and enjoy yourselves.

If it is an excursion, most of them have a minimum age limit. If not, ask the vendor.

DON

If it is an excursion, most of them have a minimum age limit. If not, ask the vendor.

 

 

 

DON

We were limited with the excursions that we could take when my son was 2. As you mentioned above, many excursions, including snorkeling, will have a minimum age requirement.

In Belize, we took a Belize City Tour excursion. It wasn't at the top of my list, but it was the best we could do considering our limitations traveling with a small child. Belize City isn't the most picturesque place in the world, but the fairly short excursion aboard an air conditioned bus proved ideal for our son. And we actually learned a lot of interesting facts about Belize that we would've never learned about had we not taken this excursion.

In Roatan we just enjoyed the day at the beach located right at Mahogany Bay. We took the "magic chair"/lift to the beach, more as something fun to do with a small child than as a requirement. The beach was nice and shallow but do arrive early if you wish to snag a shaded spot on the beach.

We also stopped in Cozumel and Costa Maya. Two very easy ports to wander around without having to take an excursion. In Costa Maya we took a cab to nearby Mahahual where my son and I enjoyed the beach while my wife had a beachfront massage.

Do keep in mind that seat belts and consequently car seats are not found on many taxis at any of these destinations so plan accordingly. Either you are OK with this fact or you just avoid taking part in any activities that require this method of transportation.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Because we live on a lake all of our grandkids could swim quite well at 3. But....unless an adult who could swim was right in the water with them, they always wore swim vests. And even then one or more adults were always watching.

We took them on a cruise at 3, 4, 5 &5. All could swim well. Not one enjoyed snorkeling, in fact really were only in the water enough to try it out Lasted 5 minutes tops. One or more of the adults stayed on the boat with them while the rest snorkeled. It was a cooler day and the water was slightly choppy, so that didn't help. And, of course, it is salt!

Of course it depends on the child; quiet or active; outgoing or shy, braver or timid,patient or antsy, but for most 3 year olds beach time is probably the best bet. That's easy in Costa Maya and Cozumel. Belize is harder, although I think there is a zoo.

We went to Chakanaab last year in Cozumel (no kids). I think kids would enjoy it; beach, sea lion show, dolphins and other animals, pool, large grounds with faux Mayan ruins, etc.

I'd also avoid any tour that involves a lot of driving or sight-seeing; most kids just don't handle long drives well or care about the sights.

You know your three year old better then we do but I would just think through how much you will do. It can be very hot and I just can't see a three year old having an interest in snorkeling.

Keith

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

I would not take a 3 year old on a snorkeling excursion. You can go to a beach on your own. Your little one will enjoy playing at the water's edge -- making sand castles, etc.

Actually the OP said HE would like to snorkel. He was going on a cruise with wife and child who couldn't swim but he was still interested in snorkeling. I read it that only he was interested.

Roatan has some places that you can snorkel from shore. It is supposed to be very good. I have not snorkeled there but II have not done this, but any guide there would be able to tell you where and probably arrange someone to go with you. Most snorkeling excursions do have life vests available too.

Roatan also has some places to stop and see animals, which a 3-year-old should like. We saw and held monkeys, sloths and parrots. Also saw an igauana 'farm'.

There is quite a bit of driving for an island tour that includes some of these things. Our two tours ended at a beach and waited there until we were ready to leave. I know there are places renting snorkel gear there, and probably someone who could take you out snorkeling from the shore.

Belize, it is tough to snorkel without going a long way from the mainland. Cozumel has snorkeling and snorkel tours, but it is definitely not the best snorkeling in the Caribbean. Some of the boat tours stop at a beach as well. Most little kids like being on the boat.

I think we have a few different issues. My personal opinion (and many may disagree) that no parent (or adult) should take a toddler or young child into the sea...unless the adult is a competent swimmer who is comfortable in the sea environment. Getting caught in a "rip" which can happen in shallow waters, requires some degree of experience...and being caught in a rip while taking care of a child is an even greater challenge.

As to snorkeling, it can be done (in good conditions) by a poor swimmer, but one should only do this with some instruction and the nearby support of a good swimmer (preferably one who is a trained instructor). I taught my DD to snorkel (at Coki Beach) when she was 5....but that was only after we had taught her to swim and she had a "Y" course which helped to give her enough confidence in the water to handle some issues. About 4 years ago, while DW and I were snorkeling off Bora Bora....we rescued an adult lady who was caught in a moderate current, did not know how to handle the situation, and panicked. She later told us she had always been a weak swimmer...but never saw the need to any instruction. Without the intervention of another (in this case it was us)....this lady would have likely drowned on a relatively calm day. Even good swimmers can get into trouble in the sea.....but will hopefully have the necessary skill to deal with the situation.

Hank

We were in Roatan this past April and did the Daniel Johnson tour. It is a private tour; we contacted him via Facebook. We were picked up at the port and had a driver for the day for just our family. We chose to do the Monkey/Sloth Sanctuary with snorkeling.

First, we went to see monkeys, sloths, and birds. A guide took you around to each animal and you were able to interact with many of them. Below are my daughter with a monkey and my son holding a sloth!

After, we took a short boat ride out to the reef to snorkel. The area was very shallow, calm, and had decent snorkeling. In the pics below, my hubby is kneeling in the sand and you can see how deep the water is where my son is. A guide was in the water with you and lifejackets were available. There was a family on the boat with us with a two-year old. The mom and child played in the water next to the boat while the Dad went snorkeling. The snorkeling part lasted about an hour.

After, we were driven to a beach with a restaurant/bar and could stay as long as we liked. We had the same driver the entire day. She was great and we loved getting to know the history and about life in Honduras. It was my kids favorite port day and a wonderful experience!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

based on our past snorkeling / water excursions I would not take a 3 year old but you know you child better than we do......