Need Itinerary/port suggestions kids ages 3 & 4

I tried to search to see if this was already was asked but I didnt get anywhere. We are first time cruisers and trying to read as much as we can. Thinking we have narrowed it down to Carnival. We have no idea on what ship or itinerary. I would love to see St. Maarten, Turks & Caicos but not if this will not be fun for our 3 and 4 year old. We would be leaving out of Florida. Any place in the Carribean/Bahamas better for young children? Is there a particular Carnival ship that is better for this age of kids? thanks for any advice, I'm a bit overwhelmed.

Have you brought your children on vacation before? What do they like to do? My son oddly really enjoys traveling to large cities, and he was able to spend two full days touring St. Petersburg. On the other hand, we thought he'd love the aquarium in Key West and he was really bored there.

we have only been to Disney World. They like zoos, swimming, beach.

Turks & Caicos (Grand Turk) is a beach day. there is shopping, and also a Margaritaville with a splendid pool that the kids would love. You don't have to buy to use it. EM

We did the Glory Eastern Caribbean itinerary in October with our 3.5 year old. You can find my review with a kid's perspective.

Keiran (son) loved this ship and the ports. We went to Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, San Juan PR and Grand Turk. All but Puerto Rico were beach days for us. Puerto Rico, he loved the fort (and chasing birds in the park area).

Whatever you do, my advice is to try to limit the need for long drives (or driving at all) and "tours" that have a set schedule. Explore the islands or shore yourselves and have a great time!

We are heading on our 3rd cruise with our son this January and going to Cozumel, Costa Maya, Grand Caymen and Roaton. Sand and water are always fun!

Kim

Here is a link to the review if you want to read about these ports with a kids perspective thrown in:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2101668

Get a guidebook from your library, and find out what each potential port has to offer! EVERYTHING about each place in in there....that way, you can make an educated choice!

Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay are great for beach days with toddlers. Very easy to get to both beaches of no need to pay extra or worry about taxis and car seats. Just went with our 4 year old and he had a blast.

mine is we looking at taking our grandson with parents on cruise with stops in St.Marin and St.Kitts what do you do on these islands about car seats when you hire a driver. we will be four adults and one child just shy of three how do you get in a cab without the seat is it legal?

We did the Glory Eastern Caribbean itinerary in October with our 3.5 year old. You can find my review with a kid's perspective.

 

Keiran (son) loved this ship and the ports. We went to Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, San Juan PR and Grand Turk. All but Puerto Rico were beach days for us. Puerto Rico, he loved the fort (and chasing birds in the park area).

 

Whatever you do, my advice is to try to limit the need for long drives (or driving at all) and "tours" that have a set schedule. Explore the islands or shore yourselves and have a great time!

 

We are heading on our 3rd cruise with our son this January and going to Cozumel, Costa Maya, Grand Caymen and Roaton. Sand and water are always fun!

 

Kim

Hi Kim,

Thank you for your comment. Where is your review, we just booked that exact same cruise (carnival glory)!

We did the Glory Eastern Caribbean itinerary in October with our 3.5 year old. You can find my review with a kid's perspective.

 

Keiran (son) loved this ship and the ports. We went to Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, San Juan PR and Grand Turk. All but Puerto Rico were beach days for us. Puerto Rico, he loved the fort (and chasing birds in the park area).

 

Whatever you do, my advice is to try to limit the need for long drives (or driving at all) and "tours" that have a set schedule. Explore the islands or shore yourselves and have a great time!

 

We are heading on our 3rd cruise with our son this January and going to Cozumel, Costa Maya, Grand Caymen and Roaton. Sand and water are always fun!

 

Kim

lol nevermind I see it down below.

lol nevermind I see it down below.

Glad you found it! If you have any questions, just let me know! We loved the Glory and our son has been non-stop talking about the cruise since. Luckily, we got a great deal sent to us & have the vacation time... so we are going on another cruise in January!

Kim

When making the decision for our upcoming cruise, I read a lot of advice which seemed to all say that eastern caribbean is great for little kids, more beach days. Western is great when the kids get older, more adventure. We decided on the sunshine to Nassau, grand Turk, San Juan and st Thomas. I know they're going to love it! The only thing that would have been better is if we could swap Nassau for half moon cay.

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Glad you found it! If you have any questions, just let me know! We loved the Glory and our son has been non-stop talking about the cruise since. Luckily, we got a great deal sent to us & have the vacation time... so we are going on another cruise in January!

 

Kim

I do have a question...like, did you need a carseat for your child while in ports?

any other tips?

We didn't bring a car seat. In both Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk, we just walked to the beach :) In St. Thomas, we took the only type of "cab" that they had which were shuttles, like they have a Disney or Busch Gardens- open air "shuttles". We just sat in the middle and stuck Keiran in between us. A car seat wouldn't have worked. In Puerto Rico, we took a bus. Again, no way a car seat would have worked I do not think. Keiran sat on our lap by the window.

When we go this January, I think that we will bring something since we may be hiring a driver in Roaton and taking a cab in Grand Cayman. (Prob just a "portable" booster since he will be of the right age and already the right height/weight.)

Kim