Excursions with kids

[travelling girl]

Next month we will be going on our first cruise to the Mexician Riviera with our twin boys who are five. We'd like to do the tours while in port but was wondering since we are travelling with kids, should book them with the ship or is it pretty safe to book them with an independent guide ??

 

And for anyone who has advice of what are the must-do tours with kids ?? We will be in Cabo, Mazatlan and PV.

 

Thanks in advance !!:p

[sbnuggie]

Howdy,

 

Having just returned last May on our first Cruise (Western Carib) with our Twin girls (8.5 yrs old) and son (5) I have just one word of advice, which you probably already know:

 

Don't overdue it. You of course know your twins better then any of us, but what I found is that a 2 or 3 hour excursion was about the limit of my kids patience/boredom.

 

In the end just going to a beach and letting them play all afternoon in the sand was the best and cheapest thing we did.

 

I am just now planning for our Mexican Riviera cruise next may with the kids, last time I went it was just the wife and I so I would be interested in what you find.

[downsized]

We've done excursions both through the ship and on our own, and we've always had a good time.

 

 

Booking on your own is most often cheaper than a ship's excursion, however, when you book through the ship there are often benefits.

• The shipline has your CC number, not the locals.
  
• You will most generally be escorted from the ship, and back on.
  
• The transportation to, and from, are handled by the ship
  
• The ship's excursions often include lunch, or a meal
  
• No port, no pay (although many independent excursions will also guarantee this)
  
• If the excursion is late (breakdown, whatever) the ship will wait for you!
  
• In a tendered port (Cabo) those that have ship's excursions will normally be afforded "Priority Tendering", which can easily add 2 hours to your shore time. (On NCL, even though only 2 of us were swimming with the Dolphins, all 9 of us were allowed on the first tender ashore!)
  

If you are adventuresome, and are in a port with lots of time, booking locally might be the way to go. There are lots of reputable local companies that can offer you the same (or nearly the same) excursion for less.

 

If you want no worries, use the ship, although, it will most likely cost a bit more.

 

There are some excursions that you simply cannot book on your own, as the ships have a contract with operators of the excursion. You might not be able to book, say, a swim with the Dolphins, locally, as the ship has purchased all of the available slots.

 

My $0.02