First time cruiser, need recommendations

Hello, I will be going on my first cruise in February during Mardi Gras with my children ages 12, 5 and 3 years old. We are going on the carnival dream making stops in cayman island, montego bay and conzumel. I would like recommendations on where to go or things to do on each port with my children. I've been told that on the ship children have a lot of fun, but I also want them as well as myself to enjoy as much as we can from each port. Thank you in advance

Our first cruise was to Grand Cayman and Cozumel as well. You will have a blast!

In Grand Cayman we rented jet skis to go to Sting Ray City. It is a sandbar a few miles out from shore with friendly stingrays that come right up to you. It was super cool!! If you think your kids would like something like that there are tons of private excursion companies that take boats out to the sandbar for not too much money. We also went to "Hell" where we could mail out a postcard from the Hell post office. It was an off the beaten path tourist stop, I honestly wouldn't recommend it with kids only for the fact that it was about a 30 minute ride each way on the public bus (a van full of commuters to school and work) and a cab runs about $50 each way

Sent from my N9518 using Forums mobile app

You should head to your library and pick up a guidebook on the Caribbean...it will detail EVERYTHING there is in each place! The more you know, the better time you can have!

Few things require an excursion (and with a family of 5, excursions can be pretty pricey)...but you do need to know something about the places you'll visit! There are plenty of "family friendly" things to do...after all, families LIVE there!!

Because you have such an age range I would suggest a tour in Grand Cayman that includes 7 mile beach, hell and the turtle farm. Sting rays are great but the youngest two would likely be too scared. In Jamaica I would book a anprivate tour so you can cater to your interests. Dunn River Falls is very crowded and slippery so I would again avoid that with the little ones. In. Ozumdl I would either spend the money for a dolphin encounter at Chankanaab or else simply go to one of the many family friendly beaches. Look st each port of call board for specific choices.