Do you do Excursions, Tours or Your Own Thing with Young Kids?

[LuCruise]

We're taking an Eastern Caribbean cruise with our 10.5 and 6.5 year old next year. There are lots of excursions out there but they are easily crossed off (deep sea diving, snorkeling, etc). Also, I think our kids would be bored of city tours. So most likely we'll just head to a beach ourselves (day pass at a resort or just taxi to a public beach).

 

What do you do with kids? Do you go on a cruise excursion, and if so what kind (and ages of your kids)? Or do you simply go to a beach for a day / few hours? Do local shopping? Or something else?

Edited February 23, 2015 by LuCruise

[Kerry's Girls]

We NEVER do a ship excursion, unless it's simply a beach day and they're providing transportation. Being shuffled around, expected to be quiet, deal with the inevitable shopping stops, etc. isn't a good formula for a day with my kids. If we want to sightsee, I go to the ports of call board here and find the well-reviewed tour guides, then let them know we don't want long museum or shopping stops, we want to stop at a playground, kid-friendly restaurant, etc. It's usually not much more expensive to hire a private guide for the three of us than to pay the ship's prices for their tours. Plus, we can stop at a grocery, take as long (or as short) as we want at different places, and don't spend time sitting on the bus waiting for the rest of the others to join.

 

If you have an idea from the ports of call board where you want to go, you can also hire a cab for the day once you get to the port.

 

Best,

Mia

[cb at sea]

We never use ship's anything, if we can help it...Most beaches are easy to get to via bus or cab...

Get a guidebook...read it! Find out ALL there is in each port...decide WHAT you want to do, and then you can decide HOW to do it!

 

Excursions are pricey...you can save big bucks and have a great time, but you HAVE TO RESEARCH your ports! If you just hop off the ship with no ideas, you will be at a loss...

 

Your kids are old enough to be in on the decision making of what to do ashore...so head to the library, pick up a guidebook and get cracking!!!

Edited February 23, 2015 by cb at sea

[LuCruise]

We never use ship's anything, if we can help it...Most beaches are easy to get to via bus or cab...

Get a guidebook...read it! Find out ALL there is in each port...decide WHAT you want to do, and then you can decide HOW to do it!

 

Excursions are pricey...you can save big bucks and have a great time, but you HAVE TO RESEARCH your ports! If you just hop off the ship with no ideas, you will be at a loss...

 

Your kids are old enough to be in on the decision making of what to do ashore...so head to the library, pick up a guidebook and get cracking!!!

 

Yes, agreed... they are pricey. The advantage I guess is that it is all organized and if any issues or delays, the ship will wait for you. I think if it was just DH and I, then we would probably book one tour to learn the history and culture of the city, but that would bore kids.

 

I've started the research process and have purchased a book on St Maarten (one of our stops). Actually I can see how important this is since I would have considered Maho as one of our beaches for the low flying airplanes. But reading the guide, it says that the beach isn't good for kids as the water is rough and the sand drops. So will also purchase for our other two sites...and getting advice from here on CC too.

[kitkat343]

Our one terrible excursion with our son was a ship excursion. The Panama Canal authority won't let anyone off cruise ships ship unless they are on an official ship excursion at Gatun Lake, so we were stuck. My two year old was bored out of his mind on a "wildlife" cruise that didn't see any animals, and then we were trapped in the port for three hours waiting for the boat to dock in Colon so we could put our overtired child down for a nap. The ship didn't mention until a day before the excursion that they would be docking so late and we would not be able to reboard for hours.

 

By comparison, the private tours we designed allowed us to customize the itinerary to meet our son's needs. We can even take our son to museums and palaces, as long as we adjust the amount of time we spend at these destinations to his more limited attention span. I would strongly encourage families of young children to book private excursions, since they will maximize the amount of time you can spend at attractions, allow you to give you child crucial food breaks whenever he or she needs it, and choose an itinerary that your child will enjoy. It also enables you to not disturb anyone else's vacation by having an unhappy child on a tour, and if things are really bad you can always go back to the boat..

Edited February 23, 2015 by kitkat343

[Queen of Oakville]

We like to enjoy the ship when everyone else leaves to explore the port :D

 

My kids are 7 and 9. They've been every cruise we've done since 2009 except 1. They have never been on an excursion.

 

If we can see a pool (ex. Costa Maya) or a beach nearby .... we'll do that. Or we'll take a taxi to a beach.

 

I don't see much point in paying big money for something they will not enjoy or remember. The only exception is San Juan. We walked to Fort Cristobal. My son might as well have been at Disney for how much he enjoyed that place {but we only paid park entrance to get in - it wasn't an excursion}

[LuCruise]

We like to enjoy the ship when everyone else leaves to explore the port :D

 

My kids are 7 and 9. They've been every cruise we've done since 2009 except 1. They have never been on an excursion.

 

If we can see a pool (ex. Costa Maya) or a beach nearby .... we'll do that. Or we'll take a taxi to a beach.

 

I don't see much point in paying big money for something they will not enjoy or remember. The only exception is San Juan. We walked to Fort Cristobal. My son might as well have been at Disney for how much he enjoyed that place {but we only paid park entrance to get in - it wasn't an excursion}

 

I can totally see that. To me, a cruise is about the shop and not the ports...lol. And so good to take advantage of the ship while it's less busy.

 

That's awesome your kids have been on so many cruises with you. This is our kids second, but my DD wouldn't remember her first as she was only 2.5 years. Neat that your DS enjoyed the forts so much in San Juan.

 

I think we'll at least hit the beaches as there aren't any around here (i see you don't live too far from us so guess same for you)

[Woody14]

For us it is the opposite it is more about the ports/destinations than it is about the ship. with my kids who are now 9 & 11 we have always done a combination of things. We try to give our kids a flavour of where we are, some exposure to culture and some relax/play time. We have rarely booked ship excursions as we can usually get better bang for the buck privately. For the crews we have coming up in a few weeks with stops in San Juan, St. Maarten and Grand Turk we are doing an exploring on our own day in San Juan to take in old town and the forts. In St Maarten we are doing a private excursion with a boat tour and some snorkeling and beach time, and then on Grand Turk it will be pretty much just a beach day with a hike to go find the conch graveyard.

Admittedly it is more challenging in the Caribbean to have cultural experiences than it is in Europe, but then in the Mediterranean it was tougher to get relax/play days.

It does continue to amaze me however at how much the kids remember from the places they have been and that they can work their experiences in to school work and life in general.

[A&Jfamily]

My kids have been cruising since 2 and 8 (now 10 and 16) and I would tell you not to discount the island type tours - especially if booked privately. They can be catered to your specific needs. One of my kids all time favorites was an open air tram run by Mr. Henry (a retired cop) on St. Thomas. He took them to a local radio station and put them on the air. He also took us to his house, gave them fresh bananas off his tree and showed them how to open and eat a coconut - I think my youngest was about 5 at the time and LOVED it.

 

I don't know your ports of call, but on those threads you can find TONS of activities that kids love from animal encounters to zoos to beaches equipped for handling kids. We always get off the ship in port and explore with some pre-planned tour and they are never board. And it makes memories that last a life time.

[LuCruise]

My kids have been cruising since 2 and 8 (now 10 and 16) and I would tell you not to discount the island type tours - especially if booked privately. They can be catered to your specific needs. One of my kids all time favorites was an open air tram run by Mr. Henry (a retired cop) on St. Thomas. He took them to a local radio station and put them on the air. He also took us to his house, gave them fresh bananas off his tree and showed them how to open and eat a coconut - I think my youngest was about 5 at the time and LOVED it.

 

I don't know your ports of call, but on those threads you can find TONS of activities that kids love from animal encounters to zoos to beaches equipped for handling kids. We always get off the ship in port and explore with some pre-planned tour and they are never board. And it makes memories that last a life time.

 

Thanks for the response. I'm still toying with the idea of just going to the beach / local shopping at each port or to do an excursion (perhaps at just one stop).

 

Sounds like a neat tour you had in St Thomas. I'd be a little nervous going back to someone's house, but does sound fun. Cool that your son still remembers it.

 

As for ports, we're going to Nassau (short time...7am - 2pm), St Thomas and St Maarten. You mentioned St Thomas. Anything neat at the other two spots? I see you've done Easter Caribbean with RCL too.

Edited February 26, 2015 by LuCruise

[A&Jfamily]

I can't recommend Henry enough - and truly it was no issue going to his house. I am law enforcement as knew that he was too - and we didn't go in. Just to his backyard. Really very very safe. He really did tailor the trip to the kids and would have dropped us at a beach instead and picked us back up. But he was so delightful and so great to all of us we just enjoyed getting to know him and the island. It is such a beautiful place and unless you get out and up into the mountains you don't appreciate the island fully.

 

As for the short stop in Nassau we have gotten off and wandered the straw market as well as done a taxi/walking tour but my kids would much prefer to go to Adastra gardens to see the dancing flamingos, lorikeets and all the other animals. Plus the fort is just across the street and makes a good place for a run. The also offer excursions from the ship that go to little private like island stops, some where you can feed string Rays (captive barbs removed so no danger). They love that. We also did the people to people program - maybe 2 years ago? It's free, your hosts will take you on a tour of what appeals to you, and you can share a bite at a local restaurant - my sons were about 8 and 14 the. and enjoyed that too.

 

We missed our stop in St. Martin when we had the kids with us but I had booked a private 3 island snorkel adventure. I know you can find catamaran trips that take you places where you are beached so whether the kids want to snorkel or not they can still swim. We started my oldest snorkeling at 8 and my youngest at 6 - the baby has it pretty much mastered now that he is 10-bath tub practice helps a lot. I really recommend you check out the ports of call boards. You get great ideas there and touring the ports is a great way to have family bonding, expand your cultural pallet and broaden you r minds.

[LuCruise]

Thanks AJ&Family. Let me do a search on the guy. (Or let me know if you have a link). It's great to hear of such a good experience. From pictures St Thomas looks beautiful (and actually our cruise in 97 went there and my dad and I did a city tour). But the beaches look so beautiful it seems a shame to skip it. Am thinking perhaps Coki beach and Coral World (but not sure if Coral world is too touristy).

 

Nassau is a tough one..I think because we're so short on time there. We have a good zoo where I live so not sure if Adastra gardens woulc be boring for them. Again, the issue with Nassau is that we are only there for a few hours. There is a pirate museum that could be fun for kids. A lot fo teh excursions are Atlantis based or 'strenuous' which isn't good for our kids...or my bad back. I would love to hang out at the Atlantis, but for such a short time, it's not worth the $$$.

 

Too bad you missed St Martin. It looks lovely too. What is a catamaran? I've heard that term but not sure what it means. I think my older one would like snorkeling, but we can't even get our little one to put her face in the water (our big swimming struggle/hurdle at the moment). So cute that even your your baby loves it in the bath.

 

Thank you for the suggestions. For bonding time, that's kind of how I feel about this trip in general. (I don't plan on dropping them off at the kids club for hours on end...it is a famly trip to be together). So exctied. Too bad it's still over 400 days away. So guess I have a bit of time to figure out what to do at each port...just starting early wtih the research :D

Edited February 26, 2015 by LuCruise

[Trend]

What about rules in the Caribbean for car seats? We are taking our grandson this summer and he will be just shy of his third birthday. Are private tours in vans allowed to travel without child seats and if not how do you find private tours that have them as we do not want to drag one along. We only have stops in St. Martin and St. Kitts.

[A&Jfamily]

Thanks AJ&Family. Let me do a search on the guy. (Or let me know if you have a link). It's great to hear of such a good experience. From pictures St Thomas looks beautiful (and actually our cruise in 97 went there and my dad and I did a city tour). But the beaches look so beautiful it seems a shame to skip it. Am thinking perhaps Coki beach and Coral World (but not sure if Coral world is too touristy).

 

Nassau is a tough one..I think because we're so short on time there. We have a good zoo where I live so not sure if Adastra gardens woulc be boring for them. Again, the issue with Nassau is that we are only there for a few hours. There is a pirate museum that could be fun for kids. A lot fo teh excursions are Atlantis based or 'strenuous' which isn't good for our kids...or my bad back. I would love to hang out at the Atlantis, but for such a short time, it's not worth the $$$.

 

Too bad you missed St Martin. It looks lovely too. What is a catamaran? I've heard that term but not sure what it means. I think my older one would like snorkeling, but we can't even get our little one to put her face in the water (our big swimming struggle/hurdle at the moment). So cute that even your your baby loves it in the bath.

 

Thank you for the suggestions. For bonding time, that's kind of how I feel about this trip in general. (I don't plan on dropping them off at the kids club for hours on end...it is a famly trip to be together). So exctied. Too bad it's still over 400 days away. So guess I have a bit of time to figure out what to do at each port...just starting early wtih the research :D

 

I looked him up for you - Henry Triple E Tours - great reviews on TA. The good thing about booking with him is you are not committed to a particular beach - deciding in advance can be a crap shoot. The winds and waters change and the locals know where the best place to go on a given day is. So you get the benefit of an island tour, plus some beach time.

 

A catamaran is a two keeled sail boat and usually the front has a mesh like trampoline area (you don't really jump on it) where you can lay out and watch the water. The sailing in and of it self is very cool. And if you can find one that goes ashore, your youngest can simply play in the sand or at the edge of the water and have a lot of fun. Snorkeling would be in no way mandatory and one parent could snorkel with the oldest while the other was on the beach. Then just swap parents.

 

You do have tons of time to plan, and the ports of call boards are really helpful for ideas. But I can't encourage you enough to take them ashore and try different things from drinks to food to experiences. Every time my teen tries to say I'm not cool I ask him how many of his friends have traveled as much as he has...quite an effective silencer.:D

[A&Jfamily]

What about rules in the Caribbean for car seats? We are taking our grandson this summer and he will be just shy of his third birthday. Are private tours in vans allowed to travel without child seats and if not how do you find private tours that have them as we do not want to drag one along. We only have stops in St. Martin and St. Kitts.

 

Most islands don't have the car seat requirements that I have seen and many taxis aren't even equipped with seat belts. Nor have I seen private tours that offer them. It's much more 1970's fly by the seat of your pants of my child hood where I lounged across the back seat or in the floorboards on road trips. Every tour we have done, private or not, we have buckled our youngest in - if there was a seatbelt, and off we went. Is it "safe" by current standards in the US - probably not. But I also have not read of any disasters as a result - they don't have interstates and travel at much slower speeds.

[Sooner-Cruisers]

What about rules in the Caribbean for car seats? We are taking our grandson this summer and he will be just shy of his third birthday. Are private tours in vans allowed to travel without child seats and if not how do you find private tours that have them as we do not want to drag one along. We only have stops in St. Martin and St. Kitts.

 

 

After facing a similar dilemma, someone recommended this:

 

Cosco Scenera, it's cheap, super light and can be used on planes!

 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cosco-Scen...Print/41126739

 

For $39, it's hard to beat! We took it off the ship to use in the taxi in Cozumel too.

[Trend]

Thanks all for the info will pass on to my son and let him decide what to do.