Need suggestions for family- West Caribbean ports, please!

[Ga_Crusin]

Another option would be Tulum at Cozumel. Tulum isn't the most spectacular Mayan ruin I've seen, but if you're really into in the Mayans, it's certainly interesting. And, there isn't really a bus ride involved -- it's right on the coast across from the island. There's also a nice beach at the bottom of the cliffs for those who get quickly bored with the tour. You can see Tulum in the morning then beach on Cozumel in the afternoon.

[Mack2]

We went to Belize one our last cruise... and we did one of the many independent "Cave Tubing" companies. We went with Vitalino from cavetubing.bz

 

We had a GREAT time. Youngest member in our tour was 4 years old. We went the first week of November, the weather was cool, and the water wasn't too high (fast), or too low (slow)

 

Eight people per guide, and about a 1mile hike through lush rainforests to the caves. I'd never seen plant fronds so huge in my life, it was truly amazing.

 

Taking that into account, if your baby is 16 months... there's not that many things to do in Belize together as a family.

 

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Roatan is nice... I'd love to go back there again. Former English colony given back to Honduras but still mostly English speaking.

We used the tour company that most people here on CC rave about.

Victor Bodden.

The great thing about Victor is that you can really work with them to customize your experience on Roatan. Whether it be a beach day, island tour, Victor's house (ziplining and monkeys), or a nice restaurant. Look on the Ports of Call message board here... Can't say enough good things about our experience with that tour company.

 

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I jsut realized... the OP is on their cruise right now... first week of October.

Well... damn! I'm late.

:(

[Loyal Royals NY]

My hubby and I weren't to crazy to tender in to Belize,either. We did and were glad that we went. We decided that we would take the Calypso train tour. It was safe and only about an hour around the city with open air covered seating. We were on RCCL and booked it through the ship. It wasn't all that expensive and it was a nice tour and gave us a little idea of what it was like. We loved it and we felt safe. We then took a slow walk back to the shops and tendered back to the ship to have lunch. I would highly recommend this.

[Julienatul]

anything beachy works well for toddlers. Check out the ports of call board and see if there is a family friendly beach nearby.

[6twocruise]

Have to be brutally honest...I am exhausted with the thought of cruising with wee babes and toddlers. Power to those that do it. I am sure you will have a wonderful experience regardless. :D

 

Mine are 14, 16, 22 and 23. Completely different experience of course.

 

My advice? Keep it simple. Go with the kids' schedules'. Be in tune with their needs.

 

We had a table, a family, seated near us on the Liberty two years ago and the 5 year old was WELL beyond his energy, fussing, crying, mewling like a wee lamb, yet the mum insisted he sit quietly at the table...it was almost 10pm. It made for a very unsettling evening for me as I wanted to gather him up and let him fall asleep as I finished my dinner.

 

So, enjoy but keep it all in perspective. No long cab rides, no big expectations, be ready for a complete shift in your itinerary.

[2112]

One option for Belize with little ones is taking the water taxi to Caye Caulker. That is what I'm planning on doing in February. It's not really a beachy type place but your kids can run around and it's safe.

 

By the way, most people who don't like Belize judge the whole country by Belize City. Don't think that all of Belize is like Belize City. MAke sure you go somewhere. My recommendation would be Caye Caulker or the Belize Zoo, although Altun Ha would work as well.