Cruise Excursions with Kids

[devansmommy06]

We will be in the Dream in April with our 10 year old and 2 year old. I'm having a hard time finding excusions that can accommodate all of us. I want our older son to have fun and adventure, but the younger one isn't able to do a lot of that sort of stuff. I would hate to split up since its our first family vacation. In thinking of either Paradise Beach or Mr. Sanchos for Cozumel, but have no idea what to do in Montego Bay or Grand Cayman. Dolphins would be fun, but the little can't "swim" with them from what I understand. We live right on Lake Michigan and practically live on the sand in the summer so I'm worried beach days will get boring.

 

Any suggestions or reviews of encounters you have done with young children?

[ShakyBeef]

The 'Swim With the Stingrays' excursion in Grand Cayman that we did way back in 2005 on our first family cruise was a lot of fun. I was 20-some weeks pregnant with my second child, and our daughter was 3 1/2. The water was only about 4 ft deep, and everyone got the little inflatable lifevests. DH held our DD the whole time. She loved it! It also included a bus tour of the island and a trip to "Hell", as well as a visit to the turtle farm. Totally doable with little ones.:)

[sanmarcosman]

Here's where you want to be and you can also check the Family Cruises Forum here on Cruise Critic.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

[SadieN]

The 'Swim With the Stingrays' excursion in Grand Cayman that we did way back in 2005 on our first family cruise was a lot of fun. I was 20-some weeks pregnant with my second child, and our daughter was 3 1/2. The water was only about 4 ft deep, and everyone got the little inflatable lifevests. DH held our DD the whole time. She loved it! It also included a bus tour of the island and a trip to "Hell", as well as a visit to the turtle farm. Totally doable with little ones.:)

 

 

When we did the Stingray excursion in Grand Cayman the water was more than 5 feet. I'm just under 5 feet and I couldn't touch bottom. DH is 5'9" and the water was up to his armpits.

 

 

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[melcruzer]

Last year when we were in Cozumel we did a dolphin "swim" the one where you pet the dolphin, give it a kiss, but not actually being pulled by the dolphin. They let my two year old get in the water with us. We were all on a ledge basically in the water probably 3 feet deep. My mom and I took turns holding my daughter. I will say this she she disliked the dolphin a ton. She was fine watching but, when I tried to get her to pet the dolphin she was having none of it.

This time when we go in the Cayman's were doing the turtle farm thing.

[ShakyBeef]

When we did the Stingray excursion in Grand Cayman the water was more than 5 feet. I'm just under 5 feet and I couldn't touch bottom. DH is 5'9" and the water was up to his armpits.

 

 

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Hmm, I'm 5'5" and the water was no more than chest-deep on me. So they either took you to a different place than where we were, or, sometime since 2005, the Ocean floor has shifted and it is deeper there now. But either way, the fact that it's deeper now, would make this not the great family-friendly excursion for OP's family that it was for us.

 

Oh - I just realized you didn't say when you did the excursion. I just assumed you had done it more recently than I.

[pe4all]

I think the stingrays in Grand Xayman would be a good choice. (We have been on the Reefs and Rays, and the water was very shallow when we went.) One of you can always hold the little one so he could experience the rays.

Paradise beach in Coz would be a great choice. They have lifejackets available, so you could float the 2 year old out to the water toys.

In Jamaica we did the bobsled. If I remember correctly there is minimum age, and you are strapped in quite tight! There is a nice infinity pool with a slide at the top, so wear bathing suits. They get you to the top of the "mountain" by chair/ski lift- we saw sloths in the trees, etc. This might be a good activity for all of you to enjoy.

[klepton]

I have a 10yo DD and 3yo DS, so I know exactly what you're saying. My 3yo has been on seven cruises, starting at 4 months. Generally speaking, we do split up on rare occasions where there's a great experience we want DD to have, usually I take her and DW stays with our DS. Most of the time though we all go to the same place, I just make sure there are activities for everyone. Beaches are generally good, the younger kids can play in the sand and splash in the shallows, older kids can swim and play on the inflatables.

 

Here's what I can help you with at your ports:

 

Cozumel - Paradise or Mr. Sanchos would probably work well for you, but I would choose Paradise. The cover charge is pretty reasonable and you can get access to all of their facilities. While your younger one plays in the sand or even naps on a lounge chair under the shade of a huge tree, you can switch off doing activities with your 10 year old. They have some nice inflatables, you can get stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, snorkel gear... There's also a pool there. It was really easy for us to trade off with the kids, and everyone had a lot of fun.

 

Montego Bay - All I can tell you here is we did both the Blue Hole and Dunns when our son was 2yo. He did great! But we did have a bigger group with grandparents who could watch him for the more extreme parts of the Blue Hole. Dunns was actually much easier than I thought it would be to carry him up. Both of those are in Ocho Rios though, which is a pretty long drive from Montego Bay.

 

Grand Cayman - I agree with the others here that Sting Ray City is the thing to do. You can trade off holding your younger one. I will tell you that when my daughter was 7 she was terrified of the sting rays. They are big... So if your 10yo is skittish you both might find yourself holding children. :D Mine freaked out and climbed up on my shoulders, completely out of the water. I didn't even know she had that climbing ability, she was as fluid as an America Ninja Warrior, I guess fear can make us do amazing things...

 

All in all though the sting rays are a great experience and easy to do with kids. Another family in our group had 5 and 7 year old girls, and they both did great with the sting rays.

[isaiahsnana]

We will be in the Dream in April with our 10 year old and 2 year old. I'm having a hard time finding excusions that can accommodate all of us. I want our older son to have fun and adventure, but the younger one isn't able to do a lot of that sort of stuff. I would hate to split up since its our first family vacation. In thinking of either Paradise Beach or Mr. Sanchos for Cozumel, but have no idea what to do in Montego Bay or Grand Cayman. Dolphins would be fun, but the little can't "swim" with them from what I understand. We live right on Lake Michigan and practically live on the sand in the summer so I'm worried beach days will get boring.

 

Any suggestions or reviews of encounters you have done with young children?

 

WE just did the Dolphin Encounter at Chankanaab thru Carnival with our 2y/o, 6 y/o and 11 y/o. They all loved it. They put life jackets on everyone. The 2 y/o got to pet, kiss, touch and give instructions to the dophin. They also all held parrots, snorkeled, swam in the fresh water pool and played in water fountains.

[Nashmom2]

I recommend the Turtle Farm in Grand Cayman. There is a man made lagoon with a small beach and there is also a pool. My kids had a great time.

[devansmommy06]

Thank you everyone. I feel much better knowing there are things we can all do together. I have to say... My 10by ear old gets a bit freaked out by things for about 2 seconds before he puts his "man" face on and handles it. The 2 year old... Never scared of a thing in his life. Ever. And he has the scars to prove it. He will tackle anything and might take someone out of they tell him he can't. Lol.