KW, Cozumel, Belize w/ 6 mo & 3 yr olds - advice needed

[gbce08]

We are going on Enchantment to Western Caribbean soon and would like a little advice on a couple things.

 

First, baby equipment. We plan to bring a pack and play and a lightweight stroller for the baby. She cannot sit up yet. Should I bring something else small and portable for her to play in the room? I was thinking of using the stroller for her to sit up, eat and play in, but I wonder if there is something else easily portable that would be useful. She uses a swing and an exersaucer a lot at home, but they are too big to bring. I have a travel swing, but it's not great.

 

Second, excursions. We plan to venture on our own in Key West, since we have been there twice before. We'll probably stroll, shop, have lunch, maybe do a museum or the conch train tour if the 3 year old really wants to. In Cozumel, we are considering hiring a private van for the day to take us on a tour of the island with multiple stops such as the park, the beach, and shopping. We thought this would be better than an excursion on a bus that we have no control over. With kids, we need flexibility. Is anyone familiar with Susan and Mike at "Cozumel Tours"? In Belize, we are unsure but are thinking of either another private tour, a zoo excursion or an Altun Ha excursion. Anyone with little ones, please advise. Also, will we be able to bring our strollers on the tender at Belize? Will they help us load them up?

 

I'm getting excited, but would really appreciate some input so we can plan appropriately. Thanks, everyone!

-B

[CeleBrat]

Where will your baby sleep? Many cruise lines offer Pack-n-Plays for the babies to sleep in. If so, you can also use it as a playpen during the day. The downside is that most cabins aren't overly large, so the P-n-P will eat up a lot of your open floor space.

 

Re: the tenders in Belize--you should be able to take your stroller on the tender. However, remember that you will have to walk over a ramp or climb some stairs from the ship to the tender. So, you will need to fold your stroller and carry your baby. SO--the lighter the stroller the better.

 

Wouldn't recommend the Altun Ha excursion as it is very HOT.

 

Take a private tour in both Coz and Belize. Private tours are usually way more flexible with your requests and options of sightseeing, and they should be able to tailor something to your little ones.

 

Have fun!

 

CeleBrat

[I&MsMom]

I would consider bringing a Baby Bjorn or similar carrier. That's what I'd put my child in for the tender.

 

A caveat to what I'm about to say: I'm a HUGE private tour person. In six cruises (about 25 port days), we've taken ONE ship-sponsored excursion. That one? It was our 2nd time in Belize. It's a relatively long tender time. People booked with the ship's shore excursions usually get priority tendering, so that those booked on private tours have to wait until everyone taking a ship's excursion is ashore. After our first time there, we decided if we ever went back, it would be a ship's excursion. JMHO.

 

Also, after our first visit to Belize, DH was astounded to find that he wasn't eligible to donate blood for a certain period (6 months? I can't exactly remember). There must be a reason for that, so with a baby so young, I'd check with my pediatrician first.

 

We had a very similar itinerary on our first cruise. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!:)

[turs]

You definitely should do a booked tour in Belize. It isn't the type of port to wander around. However, you should do your research because many of the destinations are quite far from the port. It seems like the zoo was at least 45 minutes outside of town. The park where they do the cave tubing and many other excursions was at least an hour from port. I don't know how far away the "beach" type excursions are. They had many tour operators in port that were "certified." Many people just picked a tour operated when they got there. The tour guides would negotiate a price to go wherever the group or family wanted. I talked to many people who were very successful doing this. Cozumel has a bunch of stuff to do. You should be fine with a hired van. There are several websites for cozumel excursions. Just google "cozumel excursions" to find them. Have you checked the "port of call" boards? Good luck and have fun.:)

[twopugs]

If you are bringing a blow up bathtub for your room anyway you could always dry it out put in some toys and the baby could play in that.

Toys R Us also has a product called My First Gym that is a blow up play area. Though both of those are sort of dependent upon her being able to sit up at that point.

Another idea is a cheap bouncey seat. We have this one and while it is awkward it wouldn't take up much space as the bar comes off and you can pack clothes around the metal part. Buy some links, some small toys and it will be a new play area every day:)

http://www.target.com/Soothe-N-Play-Safari-Bouncer/dp/B000I2UJM4/sr=1-3/qid=1207957581/ref=sr_1_3/601-1391133-9177714?ie=UTF8&index=target&field-original-keywords=safari%20bouncey&rh=k%3Asafari%20bouncer&page=1

 

 

 

[gbce08]

Thanks, everyone for the advice! We plan to do private tours in both places based on what we're learning. Any experience with particular tour operators in Belize? (I'm going to post on the Belize board as well.)

 

Also, thanks for the info about baby equipment. I do plan to bring a front carrier, a pack and play, as well as a light stroller. If there's room, I will bring our travel baby swing, otherwise, we'll use the PnP and stroller for everything.

 

We are getting very excited and appreciate the input we have gotten here.