Excursions with a 1 1/2 year old

[Matt in FL]

Any advice on excursions with our 1 1/2 year old? We are hoping to rent bikes in Castaway Cay with a kids seat. We were thinking of the glass bottom boat excursion in both ports, Nassau and Castaway or maybe the city tour in Nassau. We will not have our carseat with us.

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Hi, we did the all the excursions you are talking about. The historical city tour is done in 9 passenger vans, you dont go really fast and you will have seat belts you could strap your child in with, but it is a lot of sitting for a child, plus the driver narrates as you go, so she would need to be kinda quiet for people to hear the guide. You may want to think about that one.

 

The sunshine glass bottom boat and the one at CC can be a hit or miss for viewing fish. The historical narration as you got out to view the fish at Nassau is very interesting, but we saw 3 or 4 fish and one sand dollar, plus the boat was dirty, the stairs were steep and had a little trouble naviagting them. Plus be prepared to hold your child up to see. There is a safety wall around the glass bottom where young kids cant see without being held up in your arms. It was quite choppy when we went so we didnt get to see the ship wreck either.

 

On CC people have also said some see a few fish, others see a lot, however they complained there was only one bench to sit on, so you had to stand the entire excursion which was quite tiring.

 

They do have bikes with child seats and helmets and 2 great bike trails with plenty of drinking water.

 

I would like to suggest if your child would enjoy seeing fish, do the Atlantis Dig excursion. I have to admit the tour goes too quickly, but afterwards you can stroll back through the aquarium at your leisure and the windows are pretty much floor to ceiling so kids can easily see it. Some is outside and there are a few steps, so I suggest an umbrella type stroller for quick folding.

 

Also right at the port there are horse and carriage rides she may like. it was $10 per person for about a 20 to 25 minutes ride, which is narrated. It was fun, only drawback is the noise froma l the traffic makes it hard to hear your guide, but still worth going. It is something you just don't normally do and even young kids can do this with their parents.

 

have fun,

mom x4,grandma x4

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Matt, i forgot to ask something., I see your from Florida. Me too!!

Do you know how to check for Florida resident rates when offered?? Sometimes you can save quite a bit of money. if you dont know about this, just ask and I will tell you about this too.

 

We are going to Nassau on the Wonder 4/5/07, any chance your on the same cruise??:D

I cant seem to find anyone on that cruise so far:(

 

mom x4,grandma x4

[Cruise-aholic]

but not to Disney as we go nearly every weekend give or take and my 5yr old son simply loves it.

I am here to research about the ships, destinations excursions etc. and am possibly looking at the Wonder out of P/C 4-5-07 so momx4grandmax4 if you have any info about pricing or that particualr ship I would love to chat with ya.

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Hi, wow you may go 4/5/07!!! Your the first person in the last 8 months who may be going with us that I have found or you found me.

 

Pricing will be alittle higher that weekend due to Easter, however when the cruise is about a month out you can check and see if they are offering a Florida resident rate discount. It use to be you only saw them a couple of times a year, but the past year they have been on the majority of the cruises. They wont list them on dcl's wbsite, i will look up the site and post it for you where you can go and look, when it gets closer. we got our last 3 day cruise almost 1/2 price.

 

ok it is www.allseastravel.com they list their discounts there. If it is listed then call dcl or your TA and ask for the discount. Disney will change your existing amount if your already booked and refund the difference to you.

Some TA's will act dumb I have found out but they have to give the discount to you, so be persistent with them.

 

There are a few excursions suitable for a 5 year old. The Dig at Atlantis is a great aquarium, the windows see floor to ceiling so kids can easily see the fish. The tour does move quite fast, but afterwards you can walk through at your own pace and relaly enjoy the views. Part of this is outside too.

Sunshine glass bottom boat is a hit or miss excursion. when we went we only saw 3 or 4 fish even when they threw out food. Plus one sand dollar. it was choppy so we didnt get to go and see the ship wreck. The narration on the ship about the area was very good, but the boat was dirty and the stairs down to the viewing area were steep and hard to navigate with young kids, plus there is a wall about 2 feet tall so many kids have to be lifted up to see the glass bottom.

Others have gone and seen hundreds of fish, so it is hit an dmiss fo rthis one.

 

There is a horse and carriage ride just at the end of the port area, $10 per person and last about 20 to 25 minutes. Itis a narrated tour of the town. it is fun because you are doing something you dont normally do, draw back is all ths noise from the traffic make sit hard to hear your drivers narration.

 

Of course there are a couple of nice beaches near by too.

The pirate museum is very nice but may be a little boring to a 5 year old. it takes about an hour to do. You do this on your own, and it was $12 per person. The first minute or two is a night scene which is dark, but after you board the ship it is light all the way after that, in case your chile doesnt like the dark you should know that too.

 

If I can help with nay other questions, please ask.

 

I do have a meets thread for this cruise on the disney site here, so please checkit out and youcan post there for questions too.

 

Hope you decide to come with us,

Kathy