Princess Cruiser considering Royal Caribbean with toddlers

[CAMONYPA]

My husband and I are considering taking our young children (12 month old and 2.5 year old) on a cruise in March. Prior to the kids, we took multiple Princess cruises, but it seems like the Cruise Critic consensus is that Princess isn't the best line for very young kids. We are looking at itineraries for Navigator of the Seas because Galveston is within driving distance and I was hoping some Cruise Critic members could help us make a decision by answering the following questions:

1) Would you recommend a family ocean view cabin or two connecting cabins? We are leaning toward a family oceanview since we don't need the second bathroom and it seems like the family ocean view has some nice curtained off spaces for the kids to nap/ sleep. Neither kid is a very light sleeper but they do need relative quiet to stay asleep at night.

2) How much does the staff at the nursery work to accommodate kids with separation anxiety? We think the 12 month old will be fine but are worried that our 2.5 year old will get upset the first time she goes. We would like to use the nursery for a couple quieter dinners and perhaps a shore excursion or two.

3) Which itinerary (Belize and Honduras vs Jamaica) do you prefer? In the past, we have often done our own thing in port, but we would probably lean more toward ship excursions if we left the kids in the nursery or taxi/ bus rides to beaches for this trip. Does either itinerary offer ports where we could walk to a nearby beach with the kids?

4) for people who have cruised both Princess and Royal Caribbean, what do you think is the biggest thing one line does better than the other?

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

[kitkat343]

The Belize zoo is outstanding for young children - it's one of the nicest zoos I've visited, and it is small so it is a great scale for young toddlers.

 

In Roatan, Honduras, if you book with Bodden adventures you can go to Victor Bodden's house where you can play with the monkeys in his backyard. There is also a nice iguana farm for kids. The South Shore eco walk was outstanding, but my 3 year old needed some assistance, so your kids might be a bit to young for that.

 

In Ocho Rios Jamaica, Dolphin's cove has a lot of nice programs for young kids. They have a dolphin touch program where you can hold your kid, stand in knee high water and your child will get kissed by the dolphin. There are lovebirds you can feed by hand, and parrots and a nice touch pool. Just stay away from the shark show, since it was terrible. Also, you may need to book this excursion directly from Dolphin's Cove, since at least on Princess a child needed to be 8 to participate in a dolphin touch program through a shore excursion, but could participate in the dolphin touch at any age if you book directly from Dolphin's Cove (please don't tell them you are on a cruise ship, as previous trip advisor reviews said they refused to take the booking).

 

We found that private excursions were our best bet when traveling with a toddler, since we had the option of getting back to the boat if necessary and we could customize tours to account for our child's shorter attention span.

Edited January 14, 2015 by kitkat343