Western Caribbean Port questions

We are traveling to Falmouth, Grand Caymen and Cozumel with a 3.5 year old. Does anybody have any experience with excursion ideas? Would love to do dolphin, turtle or sting ray experiences but is it possible with a toddler that young.

We are open to suggestions....

We did this same itinerary this summer with our 5 year old on RCCL. We choose activities that parents and child would enjoy.

In Cozumel we did a Tequila and Chocolate tour. This was the best of the 3 tours. Our son took to tast the unfermented agave which is similar to honey or molasses. He even practiced smelling his "tequila" like the adults smelled their tequila.

In Grand Cayman, we did the turtle farm and island tour. Turtles and sting rays are very popular. Very expensive island

In Falmouth, we did a Rum and Island tour. The rum available for purchase was more expensive that in the duty free shops in port. Now that we have been to this island once, if a cruise was to stop here we would stay on the ship.

My son enjoyed riding the buses on all the excursions and he is easy going have been traveling on cruises and by air since he was 3. But as parents we know his limits.

If you do water excursions, can your child swim or the enjoy water?

Hope that helps

We’ve done this with our twins at 3.5yo.

Grand Cayman: Nativeways Rays, Reef, and Rum Point Tour. We had 6 adults and 4 children on our tour. The guides did an amazing job making sure everyone had a wonderful experience and day!

Jamaica: We did an AI resort through resort for a day dot com. It was awful and I’d stay on the boat in Jamaica until our kids are old enough for Dunn’s River Falls. We don’t care for Jamaica at all.

Cozumel: Mr. Sanchos is our go-to every time. Our kids love the drinks, chips, and pool!

Have fun! 3.5 is a great age to begin cruising!

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We visited grand cayman before kids, so I can't comment on sting ray city for them (it was great for adults though!) The turtle farm would be perfect for young kids.

In Jamaica, Dolphin's Cove let our 2 year old participate in the dolphin touch program, in which you touch and kiss a dolphin, plus there were a lot of other nice animal experiences for kids. It was a great excursion, but our cruise line (Princess) would not let us book dolphin touch programs for kids through them directly. The age limit for children was much higher through Princess than dolphin's cove. We booked independently and saved a ton of money. I held my two year old in my arms and the water was about knee deep for me. The dolphin came right up to us and we were perfectly safe. Dolphin's cove is located directly across from dunn's river falls, which your child would be too small to visit but one parent could go there if you wanted to seperate. It is unfortunately about an hour away from Falmouth (we docked in Ocho Rios so it was really short transfer). If you do book private transportation, stop at Scotchies for excellent jerk chicken (it's a chain all around the island). 5 years ago, Dolphin's cove was really strict about not letting people on cruises book directly with them, so you'd need to lie and tell them you are staying at a hotel and arrange your own transportation if you can't go on a cruise excursion due to age restrictions with the dolphin touch program. I'm not sure if its worth an hour travel - it's certainly worth it from Ocho Rios, but it was a very enjoyable day and my son had a great time so its up to you.

Thanks for the tips. Dad really wants to Dunns River but that 60 min car ride is making us re-think it with a 3 year old. Really looking at the turtle/dolphin experience at Grand Caymen. Cozumel is still up in the air.

Thanks for the tips. Dad really wants to Dunns River but that 60 min car ride is making us re-think it with a 3 year old. Really looking at the turtle/dolphin experience at Grand Caymen. Cozumel is still up in the air.

I would caution against the falls with a child that young; they are very slippery and can be crowded and I would not want to deal with a 3 year old under those circumstances. In Jamaica, I would either book a beach resort, or hire a private guide for an island tour. It is a beautiful island but the people can be very very pushy bordering on aggressive and intimidating to tourists trying to get money from them. If you want to do the falls, I suggest leaving your child on board and making it an adult trip.

On Carnival, we were able to book a Hell, Turtle Farm and Sting Ray trip that my kids love. My youngest, however, as a tween, was still afraid of the rays - and this is a kid who takes a hit in football and pops back up. Be prepared to swap out if the child is intimidated by their size.

If you want dolphins, Chankanaab in Cozumel is the place. Check it out and see if they will let you do the touch encounter - you are in the water to our waist/chest (me) and his dad had to hold him. Again, he was quite cautious - they are far more powerful that you realize - but very sweet.

I am rethinking the falls for sure. Mainly for the drive there. I would not have him climb the falls for sure at that age. But I wanted to go and pop in and out of them with him. I am going to look into the dolphins in Cozumel though thanks.