Looking for Toddler Friendly Excursions Eastern Caribbean

[1dergirl]

I will be sailing on FOS 06/19/11-06/26/11 and I'm looking for any suggestions on the Kid Friendly excurions. My toddler is 4 and I'm aware the excursions she can particpate in is somewhat limited. Has anyone had any experience with the ones that do allow kids?????????? Suggestions, reviews, gripes are all welcomed.

[6rugrats]

If you list your ports of call, it will allow people to more accurately answer your question.

[cb at sea]

And, the sort of things you might want to do!

Beaches are great for kids....digging in the sand, splashing in the water...running, getting sandy...kids love that sort of unstructured play. And, beaches require no excursions...they are easy to do on your own.

[1dergirl]

Thanks. I totally forgot to list the Ports

1. Cocoay, Bahamas

2. Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

3. Phillipsburg, St. Maarten.

 

I know Cococay is the RCCL private islands, so that will really be a beach day for us.

[cruisealot]

Unless you are looking for the structure of a shore excursion I would recommend doing your own thing in St. Thomas and St. Maarten. If a day at the beach is your priority this will save you money and give you more time to spend at the beach.

[Momto3cuties]

We are stopping in the same ports in early May. We have a 6, 4, and 2 year old. Right now our plan is to do Paradise Point and the bird show in St. Thomas and then head over to a beach - maybe Coral World and Coki Beach??

 

In St Maarten we are thinking of the Butterfly Garden and Le Gallion Beach or maybe the St. Maarten Zoo (park)

[jerin]

CoCo Cay is a good beach day.

 

In St. Thomas, Coral World is interesting. Also the gondola ride right near the port.

In St. Martin, there's a Butterfly Pavilion over on the French side.

 

With the children, we usually go on our own, not with a ship's tour so we have the flexibility to leave if they get antsy or stay if they're wanting to. Both St. Thomas and St. Martin are easy to get around with plentiful, cheap transportation.

[sprockie]

St. Thomas - we enjoyed Magan's Bay with our little ones. Lots of taxis going to and from and not that far away from the pier. It's calm water, lots of shade and picnic tables etc. Coki Beach is lovely, further away than Magan's (I believe), but the last time we were there, non-stop drug deals going on behind us. It's known to be a much rougher area of St. Thomas.

St. Martin - have never been, but extensively researched LeGalion Beach for our upcoming cruise. It's very near Orient beach. It's nice and shallow and very calm because of a coral reef that protects the beach, clean facilities, restaurants etc.

[Punchie]

We did the butterfly pavillion on St. Maarten w/a 3.5 yr old. It was alright. The pavillion itself was fun, but there was a lot of down time as there was a shopping tirp tacked on to the end.

 

In St. Thomas, we did a tour that included the botanical garden and a tram ride. My DD loved the tram.

 

We didn't do any beaches as I was pregnant and very sensetive to being out in heat/humidity.

[1dergirl]

We did the butterfly pavillion on St. Maarten w/a 3.5 yr old. It was alright. The pavillion itself was fun, but there was a lot of down time as there was a shopping tirp tacked on to the end.

 

In St. Thomas, we did a tour that included the botanical garden and a tram ride. My DD loved the tram.

 

We didn't do any beaches as I was pregnant and very sensetive to being out in heat/humidity.

Punchie

I was seriously thinking about doing the Butterfly tour. Thanks for the heads up.

[jaybeedee619]

We booked an excursion with a non-cruise tour. He picked us up dockside, took us into town to walk/shop (you can skip this part or make it a 3-hour shopping tour), then a tour around the island. It was a red jeep with open sides (one side), so if you put your preschooler on the inside, you'd be fine. There are a few tour groups out there, but the one we went on was really fun with singing/music, frequent stops without a lot of walking, our favorite stop was on Mountaintop (Banana Daq. were awesome and vista was unforgetable), then 2-3 hours at a beach (our choice). We went to Saphirre Beach. It was a wonderful beach with white sand. Nearby hut rented float mats and other sundries including food and drinks; but the public restroom was gross. A bit of a walk away was a place where you could rent jet skis or other. We just beach bummed. We got the name/contact info. of the tour on this website under St. Thomas tab. I have heard the same about Coki Beach (not family friendly). I would try Megan's Beach - there is a fee to get in. Saph. was free.

 

Many cruiselines offer a day at a resort, Bongolo Beach Resort, as part of an excursion. It is very nice.

 

You could also get off ship and just walk a bit near the dock. There are a few restaurants, post office, a little park, some shops geared for tourists, and LARGE IGUANAS that I'm sure a preschooler would find facinating.