Need ideas for excursions with a 16 month old

[snicks]

I will be cruising on the Valor in June (Bahamas, St. Marteen, and St. Thomas) My husband likes to snorkel, has anyone taken a 16 month old on a snorkel trip. Most of the snorkel trips I have found say things like fastest boat on the island. I will be taking a life vest for him just to be safe, I do not plan on him going in the water unless we are at the beach. I would like to find a half day boat trip for us. Any suggestions.

 

Also does anyone have a packing list. I have been cruising before but this will be the first time with my son.

 

Thank you

[shellie100]

I will be cruising on the Valor in June (Bahamas, St. Marteen, and St. Thomas) My husband likes to snorkel, has anyone taken a 16 month old on a snorkel trip. Most of the snorkel trips I have found say things like fastest boat on the island. I will be taking a life vest for him just to be safe, I do not plan on him going in the water unless we are at the beach. I would like to find a half day boat trip for us. Any suggestions.

 

Also does anyone have a packing list. I have been cruising before but this will be the first time with my son.

 

Thank you

 

I brought my son on snorkling excursions at both 1-1/2 and 2-1/2 years old. Those were great days! Actually, better than sea days with a toddler, LOL! At 1-1/2 I had him in both a life preserver as well as a harness/leash while on the excursion. We would either take turns snorkling or bring him in the water with us snorkling. He even fell asleep one of the times that I was snokling while holding him upright. I wish I had a picture of it :D Anyway, at 1-1/2 he usually fell asleep on the boat (granted, he is not very "routined" and can fall asleep places besides a crib), so I wasn't restricted to half-day excursions. The only pain was keeping him dry. Everytime we got out I would get him into a dry diaper and T-shirt and everytime we were about to get in I would get him into a swimmer diaper. Anyway, he enjoyed the boat ride itself as well. I think this is a great excursion for little ones!

 

I don't have a good packing list, but you could search the boards or make a separate post for that. I will say that the following items are useful: more diapers than you think you will need (they take up room but, hey, at least it makes room for souveniers), motrin, pediacare, benedryl (just in case of seasickness-though highly unlikely for a toddler), basically, any medication that your toddler might need, but might not be available at sea. Also, lots of disposible sippy cups, disposable spoons and forks (the ship only has adult silverware), dish detergent, laundry detergent (even if you are not planning on doing laundry, detergent is good for sink washing or stain spotting), and snacks for excursions. I wouldn't worry about bringing jarred food because you can just feed him the fresh fruits, steamed veggies, grilled chicken, yogurt, eggs, and other yummy healthy foods that you will find in abundance on the ship!

 

Good luck and have fun!

 

Shellie