CruisingGiants

Thanks for posting! We are booked with them as well.

I am arranging for a taxi (before we get to port) to pick my family up around noon for an outing -- but our ship docks at 9 a.m. We were thinking we might try to go to a beach for an hour or two before the taxi comes to get us, but which one would be the easiest/quickest to get to? I was thinking maybe I could have the taxi pick us up from the beach instead of where the ship docks.

Any thoughts or recommendations? Thanks so much!

Sorry to jump in here - but about how long of a drive is it to Atlantis? Thanks!

In March I think it was like 1pm to 4pm for the kids to use the solarium pool.

 

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Thank you so much everyone! A few hours is all we need ;)

Hello! We are taking a Grandeur of the Seas cruise out of Baltimore in February. I know they have an adults only Solarium...is that still the case for winter sailings? We have a 3 year old with us who loves to swim. Wasn't sure if they *fingers crossed* opened it to everyone since its too cold to do the outdoor pool. :)

My 2 year old is potty trained, but I don't think she'll like sitting on the cruise ship toilets -- they're a bit uncomfortable, no? Has anyone ever brought a potty seat with them? I wonder if it would fit...

Bump :)

I know we shouldn't expect much on the Empress, but just curious if there are characters on board that will show up for some of the kids programs? I know it doesn't have the "DreamWorks" Experience like some of the other ships.

Tram takes US$. First stop at Tequila Beach. You need to head tot he paved malecon and turn left then walk 5 minutes to Blue Kay. You will pass one or two other places which may or may not be open (Senor Frogs used to be in one of these and they closed).

 

I doubt it takes 8 minutes to taxi to Blue Kay. But it will take you a couple of extra minutes to exit the cruise port to get a taxi, instead of getting on the tram inside the cruise port complex. Better to walk out and take the taxi, IMO.

 

Blue Kay, and any beach club will take US$. No need for pesos for anything.

Thanks so much!

We are planning to take a taxi to Blue Kay -- do we need to change our American $ for MXN? Does Blue Kay take American $ or credit?

Also, how long of a taxi drive is it?

Edited: -- never mind I found it was 8 minutes :)

If we were to take the people mover, where do they let us off? I know it goes past Blue Kay and we'd have to walk back -- but how long is that walk? Would the people mover only take pesos?

Thanks for the review -- wish it had been better, as we are sailing in a few weeks. Odd question -- do you happen to know if there was ice cream available for most of the day like other ships? :)

Thanks so much for the review -- sailing in a few weeks and was beginning to get a little worried about all the negative reviews. We're pretty laid back though, so I suspect we'll have a good time ;) Really appreciate the feedback!

I would not do it with children. Too many reports of issues in Belize for me to venture far from the port on my own, and I am usually always good to go.

Would you agree a tour operator might be safer? Someone who knows the roads and area? Thanks!

I have a thread I started a few days ago -- we are taking our 2 (almost 3) year old to the zoo. We thought we would drive ourselves initially, but now I'm thinking of taking a private tour there. I found Discounted Belize Shuttles and Tours got good reviews and after e-mailing, they said they will take us there for $65 per person (for parties of 1-3) and our 2 year old would travel for free. This includes the entrance fee and they also said they could add a car seat free of charge if we needed one.

How safe is it to drive in Belize? We are considering renting a car and taking our kids (2 and 6 months) to the zoo. Any other ideas to look at for young kids? We are doing beach breaks in our other ports.

Does anyone know of a hotel that has both an airport shuttle service and a park and cruise option? In a decent area? I've never been to Miami :rolleyes:

We went on a 10 night Alaska cruise last year with our then 18 month old with Norwegian. We did a lot of our own excursions and she went everywhere with us! Even took a helicopter tour in Juneau to Mendenhall Glacier -- it was fantastic -- she sat on my husband's lap (This was the only tour we booked through the ship).

Here's a quick list of what she was able to do with us...

Seattle - Pike Place food tour - great! (of course she slept the whole time, so maybe we just got lucky here)

Ketchikan - Totem Bight State Park (not our favorite), Creek Street + Married Man Trail & Lunch, watching the Salmon swim - fun

Juneau - after the helicopter tour we asked if we could get a taxi to go walk Nugget falls trail instead of go back to the ship -- the helicopter company drove us there themselves, and we took the bus back - great day overall.

Skagway - rented a car and drove to Carcross, it was nice to strike out on our own!

Glacier Bay - I know they say to stay out on the main decks for this, which we did for a little, but it was great to have a balcony on this day so our little one could run in and out and do her own thing while we sat in awe of the glaciers :)

Icy Strait Point - walked the beach trail, and took bus to Hoonah. We didn't do much here -- ate crab bisque, haha

Sitka - took a tour (booked once we got to town) to Fortress of the Bear -- excellent idea for a 2 year old. Also went to the Raptor Center on same tour and had time to walk around town

Victoria - horse drawn carriage (her excitement wore out quick with this) and walk around town. We saw a seal on our walk from port -- and also ran into a playground if I remember correctly :)

Vancouver - did the Hop On, Hop Off bus -- really glad we did this here as it went all over. Granville Island was a lot of fun -- big toy store there!

There weren't a ton of children on our boat, the Jewel, but they did have a "toddler" room we could go into any time we wanted -- it was pretty small. They did have a few children's activities a day we tried out and enjoyed...and of course Dora and Diego were characters on the boat, so that was exciting :) We never tried to get a babysitter, so not sure about that. Dinner in the main dining room was difficult with our little squirmer, but they had a great "families with kids" section in the buffet area we ate at a lot.

Hope that helps :)

Thank you so much! I hadn't thought about renting a car! Are the streets/roads pretty manageable?

Does anyone happen to know of a tour that just goes to the Belize zoo? I've seen it's added on to quite a few other tours, but as we'll have our young kids with us we think the zoo is all we want to try for.

I read a taxi there is about 45 minutes...anyone happen to know how much that fare is? Could I prearrange it or would I just get a taxi in port?

I was hoping to find a bigger bus going that direction so we wouldn't have to worry about the car seats....but I realize that might be a tall order :rolleyes:

We're doing the beach in all the other ports so I was just hoping to add a little variety :)

Great! here's some more info about them and what it took to renovate that place and get supplies in place.

http://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/08/15/can-we-call-it-hoo-brew-new-brewery-opens-in-hoonah/

Would have liked to open earlier in the tourist season, so good to know there are still more sailings that will stop in Hoonah. Millenium had only one southbound left before repositioning.

Great article! Even more excited to try it :)

Sea Saw, we're on the same sailing -- maybe we'll see you there! ;)

Thank you so much for the info -- we're cruising in less than two weeks -- we'll definitely stop in!!

We are getting ready to do a 10-dayer with our 1.5 year old -- really looking forward to it! I'll report back with any tips I learn along the way ;)

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=IC01&DestinationCode=

 

This is the tour we took, which was for sale at the Visitor Center on-shore for a substantial discount (can't exactly remember but it was less than $300 for both of us). Hoonah & Icy Strait is such a fascinating place because the port basically "belongs" to the local native residents who have developed it and contracted with various cruise lines as a port stop. They've done, IMO, a wonderful job and all of the tours there are run through them and available at the port (the discount is obviously the margin RCCL is taking). NOTE: The only reason you might want to book in advance is if you're super-concerned about a tour selling out. They are in the process of building a pier so that in future this won't be a tender port and that will make getting out there in the morning quicker. We were also told by the lady at the Visitor Center that each morning local residents with suitable boats (private operators, if you will) are present on the pier to sell charter tours (smaller capacity; the boat we were on held 100 or more).

 

FWIW, though - we didn't have the greatest luck with whales the day we went. There were a good number of them (humpbacks only) but we saw no full-breaches at all and only a couple of tails. Apparently the tours out of Juneau saw lots more active ones including a pod of Orcas. If I had it to do over again I'd whale-watch in Juneau and take the Wildlife Tour to the bear habitats in Hoonah (which also can be purchased at the port).

Thank you so much -- very helpful!!

I read you took a tour from the docks in Icy Strait Point -- do you mind giving me more info about that? We're thinking about doing the same. What company did you end up with? Can you remember the cost and how long your tour was? Would love to hear the details :)

Totem Bight is NORTH of Ketchikan. The bus stop is between dock 2 and 3. Which you should be able to reference where you are. It is ACROSS the Street. The stop is up from the corner of Front and Dock St. There is a sign there. Also, you are likely to see other people. Take a look at a map- in advance. Not hard to find. If you don't have an early morning arrival, you can expect long lines and full buses. But runs once an hour 26 after the hour.

Thank you! That definitely helps me for location as well as time to be there. Much appreciated!