Help pick a suitable itinerary for a toddler.

[Newbie41]

We are considering 2 different cruises with a toddler. I'm not concerned about sea days, but am concerned about excursions. The bus ride getting to some excursions is very long, so that would not work well with a toddler. The two cruises we are considering are:

1. Dream going to Montego Bay, Grand Caymen, and Cozumel

2. Dream going to Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel

 

Any thoughts on which cruise would work best with a 2 year old. Any great excursion ideas that don't involve a long bus ride.

[A&Jfamily]

We are considering 2 different cruises with a toddler. I'm not concerned about sea days, but am concerned about excursions. The bus ride getting to some excursions is very long, so that would not work well with a toddler. The two cruises we are considering are:

1. Dream going to Montego Bay, Grand Caymen, and Cozumel

2. Dream going to Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel

 

Any thoughts on which cruise would work best with a 2 year old. Any great excursion ideas that don't involve a long bus ride.

 

You might want to post on the family boards but we started cruising when my youngest was 2. We have not done Jamaica with him, but I can tell you Roatan is my favorite port with kids. We have done a private island tour with Victor Bodden and while you drive the island, you stop many places. They also have a man made beach at the port. But Roatan is worth seeing and a 20-30 minute ride with a few stops will get you some views and to Tabayana beach - best shallow snorkeling from the beach I have found. They also have Gumbalimia park where he can run, swim at a small beach and see the monkeys. This trip we are trying a different private excursion that goes to a different monkey park, birds, the iguana park and the botanical gardens. So Roatan has SO SO SO much to chose from.

 

Belize (tender port) in known for water activities and you can do some island based excrusions like Goff's Caye where you have the option to snorkel from the boat or shore. When we went, he was 2 and his brother 8. So we swapped out and dad stayed with him while Big Bro and I snorkeled fromt the boat. Then I watched him while Big Bro and dad went. He had a blast just playing in the waters edge, looking for hermit crabs, shells etc. Belize also has a zoo that gets nice reviews but I haven't been.

 

Cozumel is also a very easy port with kids. Chankanaab park is great, even if you don't do one of the many animal encounters. You can still stand and watch the dolphins jumping. The have a small beach area where he can splash, a pool, tons of walking trails, some educational mock ups of Mayan culture and an alligator/croc exhibit area. If you don't want to spend the money for that, then you can take a cab 10 -20 minutes away to a private beach - just search the ports of call board and find one that fits.

 

I also will not rule out Grand Cayman (tender port but much closer) with kids because mine liked the island tour to the turtle farm, hell and to swim with the sting rays. It's standing water so you can just carry him in a floaty vest.

 

Jamaca is the only one that concerns me because other than a beach, I am not sure what to suggest. It is also has the highest crime rate. I would not try to take a toddler to the Falls, the main attraction. He/she's too young to climb it.

Edited February 2, 2015 by A&Jfamily
addition

[JimmyJohn77]

Hello there I myself have sailed with a three-year-old toddler and a five-year-old I actually liked the second itinerary to Belize Mahogany bay and Cozumel the port at Mahogany bay has a private beach for Carnival guess right there, excursions are not too far away and the scenery is really nice. There's this really nice excursion in Cozumel called playa Mia and it has a water park for the kids as well as the beach with an inflatable bounce house in the ocean the excursion has open bar and free Mexican buffet can't go wrong.

[slim501]

We are taking my 3 year old on his 5th cruise next month. The only port we haven't done with him is Montego Bay.

 

Grand Cayman - we took a private tour to Sting Ray City. He was 2 at the time and loved it.

 

Belize - we stayed on ship. There wasn't much there for us, so we took advantage of having the pool to ourselves.

 

Roatan- The beach was great.

 

Cozumel - we shorter tour to the Mayan Ruins that are in Cozumel. It was was enjoyable for all of us.

[jamesr3939]

Belize are all long transportation times from the port as the port city is a pit and there is nothing to do or that you would want to do there. We have cruised with grandkids/toddlers and personally I would look at the ports where there is something you can do right off the ship.

[PcrewVacations]

For my sons first cruise (he was 3, just about to turn 4) and we had Cozumel/Belize/Roatan/Grand Cayman.

 

At Cozumel, we hired a taxi to take us out to the Carlos 'n Charlies Beach Club. No crowds due to time of cruise, clean beach with food and bathrooms.

 

Belize we did an excursion through a private company to the ruins. This was good for him because he was able to walk around and climb some stairs with Mom and Dad.

 

Roatan was perfect with the skyride over to the beach with everything there.

 

Grand Cayman was a bust due to weather, we had to tender into a different pier. Took a ride around island and went back onboard.

[Tapi]

We did the Belize, Roatan, Cozumel itinerary with our then 2 year old. Great itinerary. Cozumel and Roatan have plenty to do near the port area. Belize is a wonderful destination, but you DO need to get away from the immediate port area since there's not much there. To say that there's nothing in Belize is beyond dumb and uneducated. We did take a tour there and it was great. Don't know how your toddler is, but our son loved to ride in a big tour bus.

 

 

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Edited February 2, 2015 by Tapi

[cb at sea]

A guidebook will really help you plan things ALL of you will like! Libraries have them, or buy one...it's a great investment into your time ashore!

 

Research is key to getting the most of wherever you are....

[lunagirl]

I would probably do the Belize, Roatan, and Cozumel itinerary.

 

The private island in Belize would work with a toddler or there is the zoo. I believe the private island tour will pick you up directly at the ship and you wouldn't have to worry about any long or hot bus rides. The zoo is more in the city and I probably wouldn't do it with a small fry just because I would prefer to keep my kids away from some of the craziness that can sometimes be outside port areas.

 

Roatan has Gumbalimba Park and Little French Key. Both have beach and animals, as well as activities for adults.

 

Cozumel has Chankanaab Park or the Nachi Cocom Beach Club. Nachi is calm, quiet, and limits the number of guests, so it would be a nice day where you would have to worry about getting lost in the shuffle. Chankanaab would probably have more hustle and bustle.

 

Grand Cayman has the Turtle Farm, which would be great. They do a great job of providing life vests for toddler children at their beach area and if your child has seen Finding Nemo, the turtles will probably be a hit.

 

However... Montego Bay would make me a bit nervous. Jamaica is one of the very, very few ports where I am more hesitant and cautious, even more so if my children are present. I am always aware of my surroundings, but my Spidey Sense goes off more there for whatever reason and I have had more than one pushy person make me downright uncomfortable. Since I turn into a Mama Bear when my munchkins are around, we would have an "extra sea day" on the boat if an itinerary included Jamaica and my kids were on board.

 

I hope you enjoy whichever cruise you book!