Western Carib. Excursions with 2 yr old?

[BGinGA]

We are headed out in 6 weeks but have not settled on any excursions yet. I looked through the RCI excursion brochure but it seems that our options are limited with our 2 yr old. (Actually, he will be 22 months when we sail.) Does anyone have good ideas for excursions with our little guy? We will be visiting Grand Cayman, Belize City, Cozumel, and Costa Maya.

 

TIA!

Bridgett

[adamsmom]

I probably wouldn't stick to the ship's excursions. In Cozumel, I would suggest Paradise Beach--it's free, although they do expect you to order food or drinks. The food is good, though, and reasonably priced. Take a cab from town for $10-$15, I can't remember exactly. There is also a mini-golf place there in town that we plan to visit, if your child is into that. I know mine were at that age. Take a stroller if you plan to shop.

 

In Grand Cayman, the turtle farm would be great for a 2-year-old. Seven mile beach is OK, but very crowded.

 

In Costa Maya, we love the dune buggy tour. I don't know what the age limit is there, but they do have seatbelts only in the front 2 seats. There is another tour that is on a small bus that goes to the same beach--Pelican Beach. It's gorgeous! It's never very crowded, there are nice restrooms, and they have free nachos and soft drinks. They have free mats and hammocks.

 

Never been to Belize City--we are visiting there in 2 months.

[I&MsMom]

Hi! Our first time to Cozumel and Belize, DD was 25 months. We went to Paradise Beach in Cozumel. In Belize, we went to Caye Caulker on our own. Between tendering and the relatively long (but fast, and beautiful)water taxi ride, I was a little stressed we wouldn't make it back to the ship on time. But we did, and had a nice lunch on Caye Caulker.

 

We returned to both places, and visited Costa Maya and Grand Cayman for the first time a year later. This time, we did the Atlantis sub in Cozumel (arranged it myself, not through the ship.) DD, at this point three, enjoyed it, but it was a bit pricey for an hour or so of entertainment. After that, we returned to Paradise Beach. Both times we were there, the water was calm. It also stays shallow for a bit, so it's a relatively stress-free beach experience with a toddler or pre-schooler.

 

In Belize, we took our (first and so far only) ship excursion to the River Wallace and Altun Ha. I was surprised, she loved running at the ruins, and we even got to climb to the top. I made her hold my hand the whole time, except coming down the stairs, when I made her schooch down on her bottom. The boat ride got to be a little long for her (much stopping and backing up, to make sure everyone got to see each animal/bird/etc.)

 

In Grand Cayman, we did a reef, stingray, Rum Point excursion, which included lunch at Rum Point. We did this independently also with NativeWay. She didn't want to get in the water at the reef, but she did let DH hold her at the stingray stop. Rum Point was a great beach for little ones. Again, no waves to speak of and shallow for a while.

 

In Costa Maya, we went to Chacchoben with David and Ivan. While she wasn't particularly attentive to the guide, she and I were able to get away from the group a bit and walk around, and she just generally explored. It's shaded and is IMHO quite lovely. Then we asked to be dropped off at Mahajual (sp?) and we had lunch near the beach while the kids played in the water. Again, great beach for little ones.

 

The one thing we did which helped my peace of mind a great deal is that we brought her swim jacket - the kind designed to keep her head out of the water. I felt this was especially important any time we were on a boat, as you can never be sure of what equipment they have on board (if any) for little ones. However, she also wore it at the beaches.

 

Well, hope that helps. Happy cruising!

[shamu718]

Can only tell you about Grand Cayman, as that is the only place that my son has been out of all the places that you are going. He had just turned 23 months when we were there and he loved the turtle farm, esp. the touch pool, where dad held the turtle for him to "pet". He also enjoyed the semi-submergible sub Seaworld Explorer (we weren't allowed to go on the sub, as he was too young). He really enjoyed watching the fish swim by and thinking that he was underwater. Also, make sure you pack some sand toys. He had a blast playing in the sand on the beach.

 

And no, we didn't do all this in one day - we used to own a timeshare condo in the Caymans. Hurricane Ivan got rid of that expense for us. :(

 

Have a great time!

[zura]

hello,

You made a great point about the vests onthe boats. We are going to Belize and Cozumel and plan on going to Caye Caulker. Should I bring vests if on boats and can you tell me more about Caye Caulker? Did you rent the golf cart to tour? Can you rec a restaurant there? Thanks!

[katerkat]

We're about to take my almost-three year old to some of those ports. In Belize City, we're taking him cave tubing through a non-ship excursion, since the ship people won't take him until he's ten. In Cozumel, we're going to a beach through the ship because my father is worried about the drinking water.

 

We're also doing Key West and Playa del Carmen and plan on walking around tour-less at the former and to a beach at the latter.

[ELECIA]

Katerkat, what company did you book the cave tubing through? I too am cruising with a 3 year old soon and the only one O found said they needed to be 5. I thought this would be such a fun thing to do though! :)

[katerkat]

We're doing cave tubing through cave-tubing.com - so far, they've been very prompt with emails! I can let you know how they were with the little guy in a couple weeks. I think Major Tom (I googled him but forget his website) also takes kids under five.

[zura]

Hello, I$MsMom,

Will you tell me more about Caye Caulker? Which restaurant did you like? Did you rent a golf cart to tour? If so, how many did it seat? Thanks!

Zura

[ELECIA]

Thanks for the info Katerkat. I checked out both websites and they both look good. Does cavetubing.com charge for the under 5 set? Major Tom didn't. Yes, please let me know how you like it!!

[NoelsCat]

We did Cozumel and Belize City with my two year old.

 

In Cozumel we went to Chankanuab Park as two in our group were swimming with the dolphins. There was a main beach, a wadding beach, drinks, food, chairs, umbrellas and even a pool. There were shower facilities. It is 16 for adults and free for children under 3. My son loved it. I, however, wouldn't recommend it for small kids because the sand is very rough, the beach is quite rocky and even the wadding area is filled with stones.

 

In Belize use Barrister Island. WOnderful beach and great for kids.

[2112]

I wouldn't do cave tubing with a 3 year old. No way!!! It is dark and could be very scary for a 3 year old - even if they were a great swimmer. I also don't think Caye Caulker is a very good option. There is no beach there - only a small, somewhat run down town. It kind of has a funky feel that adults might enjoy, but there is really nothing for a 2-3 year old to enjoy. I think a better option would be the Belize Zoo or an excursion to Altan Ha mayain ruins which has large grasssy areas for a 2-3 year old to run around and climb.

[katerkat]

Thanks for the info Katerkat. I checked out both websites and they both look good. Does cavetubing.com charge for the under 5 set? Major Tom didn't. Yes, please let me know how you like it!!

 

They did charge us for my son, but they did an awesome job with him. I highly recommend it! Russ LOVED it. He declared the light on his head was "just like Tigger!" :confused: We think he meant the goggles Tigger has in the Super Sleuths? But whatever, it made him happy so we readily agreed with him. He walked for a bit on the hike, then Gramma and I took turns piggy-backing him. He floated on my lap and we were all linked together in the tubes, so I didn't have to do any work. Russ loved seeing his light on the cave ceiling (to the point where he leaned too far back twice and the light dropped right off his head! But we recovered it both times.)Near the end of the second cave he got a bit antsy, but we saw a light right then so he settled down. He loved the ending float down the river. And then on the ride home, our guide gave him a Snickers ice cream bar, so he was completely happy with his tour. :D

 

ETA: I forgot, he LOVED "Butts Up!" Whenever our guide said that, he would raise his butt too so I could get my butt up enough to not hit rocks. He told me he didn't want me to bruise my butt.

[katerkat]

I wouldn't do cave tubing with a 3 year old. No way!!! It is dark and could be very scary for a 3 year old - even if they were a great swimmer.

 

Eh, every kid is different. Russ isn't scared of the dark and he LOVES flashlights, so I figured it was safe. On a related note, though, he's scared to DEATH of pirates. Was very worried that pirates were going to try to take over our ship. So taking him to the Belize Pirate Museum would have been bad. Doesn't mean it would scare all three year olds.