Excursions for 6 yeal old girl

[overwhelmedwithoptions]

I am looking at planning a Disney cruise in October '08. My husband and I went on a cruise with Royal on March 07 and had a great time. This time it is a FAMILY trip and I am willing to pay a little more for that DISNEY MAGIC!

 

My daughter will be 6 when we go. She is just learning to swim - will have her second set of swimming lessons completed by the time we go. I am having trouble finding excursions that she can go on. I don't think she would be intersted in just a history tour. I'm hoping to book the cruise that stops at Castaway Cay twice since I have read that is the BEST port. So, she will get plenty of beach time there. The other stops are Costa Maya and Cozumel. Both are ports my husband and I were at in March, but all the excursions I can find are for older kids. Any advice?

[mom x4,grandma x4]

I am sorry I cant think of any excursions there for young kids. Those ports are not that kids friendly, accept for beach days. Wish you were on an Eastern Itenary, then I could offer a few ideas for you.

 

Just wanted to wish you luck. perhaps you should consider just doing alittle shoping then enjoy a quiet ship and let her play in the pools on board. They will be pretty empty until after lunch.

 

mom x4,grandma x4

[overwhelmedwithoptions]

I haven't booked anything yet. So I am open to opinions. I just thought this one sounded good because it is the only one I saw with to stops at Castaway Cay.

 

What were your ideas for an Eastern cruise?

[mom x4,grandma x4]

St. Maartin has a great butterfly farm tour, you can even just grab a taxi to get there is you dont want to do the excursion from the ship.

Our grandkids were 18 months and 5 years of age when they went. Lots of people with younger kids do this one.

 

St. Thomas, coral world is pretty neat place for younger kids. There is an underwater observatory you go in so you can see the tropical fish from underwater without getting wet. There are several outdoor exhibits there and shops and places to have a bite to eat.

Just a short walk down a trail and you have anice beach where you can rent different water toys to play on or with.

This is an excursion or to do on your own. I think the taxi was $11 per person one way, not sure about admission into the park but you can go to their web site to checkout details. I think it is just www.coralworld.com

There is also a semi submarine there. It has glass bottom for viewing but never submerges, great view of the underwater fish and formations.

I think it was 45 minutes long and does cost extra.

 

 

 

also there is the Sky tram that goes up the hillside for an awesome view and at the top is also a tropical bird exhibit and show a few times a day.

If you dock it will be right behind the shopping area, which is next to the dock. About a 7 or 8 minute walk with a child. You cant miss it, you can see the tram and the lifts from about anywhere.

 

If you tender in then you will need to grab a taxi, but only a short ride there. In fact they use to have a free shuttle to the Havensite shopping area from where you get off the tender boats, so you could probably catch one of them, then walk across the street to the tram ride , then catch the free shuttle back. Havensite is much better shopping over the stores by the tender area.

 

 

St. Thomas also has 2 different butterfly farm tours. One has an hour of sight seeing as well as the butterfly farm, the other is just the butterfly farm I think one is called Butterfly Anytime for the farm only tour.

 

If your child likes excitement they have The Screaming Eagle jet boat ride. kids must be 4 feet tall. It is 45 minutes long and you go at high speeds zipping around figure 8 and sharp corners at high speeds and you will get wet!! This is such a short time you can easily do this plus something else if you book it early or late so you have plenty of free time in between.

 

 

If you have extra time at St. Maartin and want to play on the beach some you can go to the end of the pier and on the left you will see a water taxi sign. $5 per person round trip to the shopping area. there are 2 stops, one you will see a nice beach to the right and left of the small dock area. Those are public beaches and free to use, but the chairs and umbrellas you have to rent. you can see the ship right across the bay. Just a 5 minute ride on the water taxi or a 20 minute walk from the ship.

 

 

There are other excursions both places but they are beach days or guided tours where you sit and ride alot so kids do tend to get bored on them.

 

St. Johns has an eco hike that is fun, not sure about the age requirements but there were younger kids along. You have a ferry boat ride across the bay, then hike, see the ruins of an old sugar plantation, swim for 30 minutes then back to catch the ferry again.

 

 

Hope this helps you some,

 

mom x4,grandma x4

[overwhelmedwithoptions]

Thank you - it sounds like you have been there a time or two and have the whole thing figured out. I will definately take your input under advisement.

 

One last question: Is it worth going on the cruise with the less desirable itinary in exchange for TWO days at Castaway Cay - or should we give up a day at Castaway for better ports on the Eastern Side?

 

Just looking for opionions!

[mom x4,grandma x4]

my opinion is not a good one for this and this is why.

I love the Eastern but have been so many times, for me I would do Castaway Cay twice. It is a beautiful island and very relaxing.

 

But if it happens to be cooler where you cant get in the water, there wont be a whole lot to do accept ride bikes, play in sand and the game room which will be packed out.

 

If I try to look at it from what I would of done for my first cruise, I would do the Eastern because I want to see different places and cultures to see how others live. You can really appreciate what we have once you visit some of these islands. Plus most people can go to a beach about any vacation but for the price of a cruise, and if it were my first time, i would go for seeing the different islands. That is why I cruise.

 

It is so much fun going somewhere new and experiencing a different culture. Most of the people are really nice and interesting to talk with. There are so many wonderful things to see in the world, I would see all I could instead of repeating an island.

 

who knows when the opportunity will come again to see a different part of the world.

 

Just my opinion, let me know what you decide, I will be curious.

mom x4,grandma x4

[PoohkinandPiglet]

We were on the Magic for a 7 night Western cruise last week. My DD is 6 and DS is 8. For snorkeling excursions, everyone (adults included) must wear life vests. In Cozumel, we did the Fury Catamaran sail, snorkel, beach excursion and it was fantastic. We started with a short sail to the snorkel area. DD6 did great with the snorkeling but she's an experienced swimmer. She wore the vest and held my hand in the water but got comfortable quickly. DS8 opted not to snorkel but still had fun watching from the boat. After 30-40 minutes of snorkeling we set sail to the beach area. The beach area was nice, not crowded at all, and included the use of floats and kayaks. We stayed there about an hour then got back on the cat to sail toward the dock. On the way back, everyone sang and danced on the deck of the boat. My kids were "disco'ing" and having a GREAT time. My son, who is more cautious, said it was the "most embarassing but most fun time he's ever had". The excursion includes beer, margaritas, pepsi, 7-up, etc... but no food is served. You can buy hamburgers on the beach if you get hungry. It's a great family excursion and we would do it again.

[SweetAngel]

Here's an idea for Cozumel -

 

Disney offers an excursion to Xcaret, and I think that is the perfect place for families. My best friend and I (both single moms) took our three children on the excursion (ages 8, 10, & 10).

 

Xcaret is on the mainland, so the trip there takes a little while (via ferry and some walking ... your daughter would have to be able to walk with the group).

 

Xcaret has been described as Mexico's Disneyland, and that's kind of what it looks like ... a perfect little fabricated glimpse of Mexico that is clean and full of great activities.

 

There is an amazing butterfly garden, a little re-created Mayan village with people dressed in native costume, a beach where you can swim or snorkel, a little zoo, parrots everywhere (that sit on your shoulders for pictures- $10 each, half the cost of ship pictures), even some real Mayan ruins.

 

The kids' favorite part was the beach hammock area. They wanted to sit and play in the hammocks all day.

 

My favorite part was snorkeling in the underground river. The river goes through a cave system and there are lots of exits along the way so you can get in and out wherever you like (We made it the whole way despite my friend having severe claustrophobia - I had to hold her hand through the darkest cave. She was glad she did it, though.) That part of Mexico is famous for its underground rivers, and Xcaret gives a nice sampling of what a real underground river would be like as well as a sampling of all things from the Yucatan peninsula.

 

I have included pictures of the underground river and hammocks below. Click on them to enlarge.

 

Of the 25 excursions I have taken with my young children throughout the Caribbean, Alaska, and Hawaii, Xcaret was #3 best on my all-time favorite list.

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Angel,

was this something you did on your own? or did you book an excursion?

I am curious about the cost of a taxi toget there or how much the excursion was andhow long you got to stay?

 

Did they charge extra for each attraction you saw or is it all one price?

 

This sounds like something my grandkids would really like.

Thanks,

kathy

[SweetAngel]

Our trip to Xcaret was a ship excursion from a Carnival cruise, but the people running the excursion do it for all the cruise lines, so it should be pretty much the same for Disney as well.

 

I did look into the costs of going to Xcaret on our own, and it would have been a little cheaper, but with the tight time schedule, coordinating the ferry & taxis, and being single women, we decided to do the ship excursion. As it was, we were the last back onboard. The ship was waiting for us and closed the doors as we entered ... but they had to wait since we were on a ship sponsored tour.

 

We really enjoyed being on the tour because the guides were so friendly and informative. They spent about an hour guiding us through the village, butterfly garden, caves, zoo, and ruins. Then they gave us giant zip-lock bags to put all our belongings in ... padlocked (We kept the key) and gave us life vests and instructions for swimming the underground river. We got a couple hours on our own, picked up our belongings at the end of the river, and met the buses back up at the entrance.

 

We had time to swim the full river, play on the beach, take lots of pictures, and even shop in the gift shop (although all at a fast pace -- We wish we could have stayed much, much longer and relaxed more).

 

Everything is included in the price (just like at Disneyworld), although there are some special activities that they charge for ... like swimming with dolphins, pictures with parrots, and snorkeling equipment rental. We brought our own snorkels, but most people don't use them at all.

 

More pictures attached with parrots and from butterfly garden.

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Thankyou Angel,

I appreciate the info.

 

mom x4,grandma x4

[reigle4]

I am looking at planning a Disney cruise in October '08. My husband and I went on a cruise with Royal on March 07 and had a great time. This time it is a FAMILY trip and I am willing to pay a little more for that DISNEY MAGIC!

 

My daughter will be 6 when we go. She is just learning to swim - will have her second set of swimming lessons completed by the time we go. I am having trouble finding excursions that she can go on. I don't think she would be intersted in just a history tour. I'm hoping to book the cruise that stops at Castaway Cay twice since I have read that is the BEST port. So, she will get plenty of beach time there. The other stops are Costa Maya and Cozumel. Both are ports my husband and I were at in March, but all the excursions I can find are for older kids. Any advice?

 

We took our 4 yr old DGD (She was 3 at the time) on the Dolphin excursion. SHe absolutely loved it. You don't swim with the DOlphin unless you pay extra but you do get in the water on a platform (water is upo to your thighs) with the dolphins and get to hug and kiss and pet and dance with them.. It is absolutely wonderful and an experience you won't forget. THe smile on her face and the excitement she showed said it all. And in case you are wondering, it is not scary for them at all.

[Georgee]

The tour to Xcaret(like SweetAngel talked about) was definately worth it. Even though my best friend had to hang on to me when it was dark and closed in, in the underground river, I am so glad my daughter and I got to have the experience and would do it again, especially with my friend so she could hold my hand again. My friend even talked me into using the snorkle and that was so scary for me I am so glad she did because I got to see fish I otherwise would not have seen. The children enjoyed the walk because they were so amazed that there was a Mcdonald's there like we have here in the USA and they got to see so many other things too.