Western Caribbean - with a 12 month old...

[wagzz21]

Hello, I posted this to my roll call thread, but figured someone here might be able to help too:

 

We are doing (another) Western Caribbean itinerary (Belize, Roatan/Honduras, Cozumel/Mexico, and Grand Cayman) in December. Our son turns 1 this Thursday (Thanksgiving).

 

For Roatan: we are now looking at private tours... Sounds like Victor Bodden might be a good option. Would we keep our driver and vehicle, regardless of where we went? We'll be dragging an extremely heavy carseat (Diono (formerly Sunshine) Radian) along with us, so I'd prefer to leave it strapped in, if possible - ESPECIALLY given what I've read about the sand fleas... (we didn't experience those in Roatan last time, but we snorkeled and hung out at the pool, rather than the beach). Also, I have read that we now have to walk down a steep hill about 5 min to get to cabs/drivers for outside tours.. We will be carting a carseat, a stroller (separate), a diaper bag, OUR bag, etc... Is this doable? What about the walk BACK? Is it UP a steep hill?

 

For Belize: Is the water taxi to Caye Caulker okay with a baby? (He's 35 pounds and the size of a 3-4 year old, but still only 12 months during the cruise).

 

**Any recommendations from anyone on a good-fitting, easy to find, lifejacket for a child of this age/size? We purchased the "baby" kind (with the behind the head floaty & grab strap), but that was before we knew he was going to be the size of a linebacker... lol ... and he absolutely refused to be in it anyway (we're talking MAJOR fit throwing). Any suggestions???? I hate the idea of him being in the water - at all - without a lifejacket on. Obviously, he cannot swim.

 

Another kid-related question: like I said, he has a Radian carseat (foldable, very secure when attached, narrower than a regular seat, but unGodly heavy)..... Depending upon the vehicle, it can be a chore to get it secure - and really needs a top tether to make it non-wobbly. Any idea on these particular stops (Roatan, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, possibly Belize) if there will be an issue getting a cab that has tethers (and who won't get pissy with us taking 5-10 minutes to get it in)?? And, on that same note: if we take a water taxi to Caye Caulker in Belize, we would just do that from the port, right? No need to take an actual cab to get to the water taxi, so no need to bring the carseat on this one, right?

 

For Grand Cayman: Along the same lines.... when we went to GC last time, we just picked a company at the port for Stingray City.... we had to take a bus to and from the location we left from in a boat. Is there a way around this? OR, if we did this again, anyone know of a company that we could make sure to have the same bus, etc. each way so we could bring the carseat? And anyone know of a company that has a vehicle equipped to HOLD a carseat? Ideally, I'd like to hit up Stingray City AND a beach here. Any ideas? We've done Stingray City before, but never with the baby. I think he might honestly be a little frightened... but he loves animals, so maybe not. They are docile, so I'm not concerned about safety (though hubby is not so sure about letting the baby in the open ocean with them).

 

For Cozumel: I think we're doing Sanchos in Cozumel. Anyone know if they have a place to "store" a carseat, or if we'll have to bring it on the beach with us? Thinking we'll get one of the beach cabanas - it's pricier, but gets the baby off the sand & a place to play that's soft.

 

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!!!!! :)

[Gatrcruzer]

I would recommend checking around to see if you can find an inexpensive, lightweight car seat that you could take on this trip. The Radian is a nightmare for travel, particularly to lug around various ports. Perhaps one you could buy or borrow from a trusted friend?

 

I would also caution you that traveling with a baby is different from cruising/traveling pre-child, so I'd temper my expectations as far as what you will do on the trip. You will need to fit in naps, child will probably go to bed early, won't be able to tolerate as much as far as activities, you will have diapers to change, feeding, tons of stuff to tote with you, and will be slower, etc. Given that you have already been to Stingray City, I'd skip it this time. It's a lot for a little one, and could be scary. Either go to the beach, or do the Turtle Farm with beach. You might want to arrange something ahead of time given that you will have a baby with you and want to be careful about having a car with seatbelts (tethers would be dreamy, but in some places seatbelts are the best you can hope for, and are definitely not a given). Water taxi is actually a lot easier - you just hold the child in your lap. You don't use a car seat there. And the water taxi from the ship to Caye Caulker is a lot better than taking a 30+ minute tender ride into Belize...

 

Good luck!