Kids club on port days-hours-Magic

Does anyone know the hours that the kids club opens while in port? We are going on the Magic in September and one of the stops is Belize. We tried snorkeling with the kids the last cruise and they weren’t having it. This time we would like to snorkel with the sharks and rays but know our children wouldn’t like it.

We are still debating between a carnival excursion or going with coral breeze for their semi private excursion. Any insight into which we should do if we are leaving the kids on the ship? We are mostly concerned about leaving them and having the remote possibility of our excursion run late. We did leave them on board when we were in San Juan for about an hour while we went shopping to the butterfly people shop. However, there was no tendering and it wasn’t for very long.

Finally, anyone know if we dock at 8 and coral breeze says the tour starts at 8 Belize time, what time would that be ship time? We will be coming from Port Canaveral so I am assuming ship time is 1-2 hours before Belize time. Is that correct?

I am not worried about them being safe onboard while we are out....just want to make sure we have enough time to meet whichever tour operator we do go with. Thanks a ton! :)

I'm not generally a nervous nellie about excursions or kid issues - I'm frequently amused by the high strung parenting I read about on this board. But I think I would stick to a ship excursion / guaranteed the ship will wait for you, in this case. Mayyyyybe if the kids are teenagers and very self sufficient??

It might depend on the ages, but it looks like they open on arrival in port

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1074

• Port Days: Supervised free play begins from port arrival until approximately 2:00pm; scheduled activities resume at 2:00pm until 10:00pm. This service is complimentary.
  

also note:

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1397

Leaving Children On Board While in Port

If parents decide to leave their children in the care of the Youth Staff while in port, we ask that parents show their tour ticket to the Youth Staff so in case of emergency, the Youth Staff can contact the appropriate Tour Operator who will inform the parents to return to the ship. For non-Carnival tours, the Youth Staff will not have a way to contact the guests in case of emergency.

They are 5 and 8 (who will be 9 a few days after our cruise)

I think we will probably go with the carnival tour for peace of mind....even though it is 50 dollars more.

I was reading about price match on here for excursion...where is that form located? The tours are identical as far as where you go and what not and it would be nice if we could have that.

We felt really comfortable when we went shopping in San Juan and the camp counselors knew that we were on our own for a little bit and had no problems with it. We got them right after we went and then took them to the beach.

Thanks for all the helpful replies so far...I got a little nervous posting my question because I know people can freak out when it comes to leaving kids in camp. 😬😀🙂

I have left my youngest on board 2 times - while we took his big brother to ruins (1 hr away from Costa Maya) and such that a 2/3 year old wouldn't be interested in. We booked both times through Carnival for the peace of mind - so the extra $50 is worth every penny IMHO.

I have done the shark snorkel (private but don't remember who I booked with) when my sons were both teens and it was a great adventure.

We leave our DD onboard at least once each cruise. My comfort level is that I only book a Carnival excursion for those ports.

Almost every time, camp has written down which excursion we are scheduled for when we drop her off.

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They are 5 and 8 (who will be 9 a few days after our cruise)

 

I think we will probably go with the carnival tour for peace of mind....even though it is 50 dollars more.

 

I was reading about price match on here for excursion...where is that form located? The tours are identical as far as where you go and what not and it would be nice if we could have that.

 

We felt really comfortable when we went shopping in San Juan and the camp counselors knew that we were on our own for a little bit and had no problems with it. We got them right after we went and then took them to the beach.

 

Thanks for all the helpful replies so far...I got a little nervous posting my question because I know people can freak out when it comes to leaving kids in camp. 😬😀🙂

Re the bold - that makes total sense to me, but I also think it's a different scenario. Shopping / lunch / etc. close to the port carries almost no risk of missing the ship. Whereas with an excursion, there's the potential for totally unexpected traffic snarls, vehicle breakdown, etc. Not that you need my permission, haha!, but I think you're doing the right thing in both cases. :)

..... I also think it's a different scenario. Shopping / lunch / etc. close to the port carries almost no risk of missing the ship. Whereas with an excursion, there's the potential for totally unexpected traffic snarls, vehicle breakdown, etc. Not that you need my permission, haha!, but I think you're doing the right thing in both cases. :)

I agree. We went on a Belize Mayan Ruin/River Wallace tour through the ship. Our bus got stuck in traffic - still sitting there at the time the ship was scheduled to sail :eek:(much less being there for the lengthy tender ride back to the ship). The tour guide stayed in touch with Carnival staff who held a tender at the dock for us. We actually boarded 1 hour after scheduled sail time - but because it was a ship tour we didn't have to panic.

Our personal "rule" is that if we're going outside of an area where we can hail a taxi if there's a transportation issue we take a ship excursion. A few $$ more is worth the peace of mind to me.:)