Best ports for kids

[MaiTaiMary]

Which ports did your young kids enjoy the most? (and why? what activities did they do?)

 

My kids will be 7, 5 1/2, and 4 when we cruise.

 

There are sooooo many cruises to choose from! They all look wonderful to me! :D I'm starting to look at the ports from a child's point of view, too. We love the beach, but I'd kinda like sometime more than one beach day after another.

[cb at sea]

Go to your library, check out a travel guide on your ports! Read it to the kids (pertinent parts!!!) and let them guide you to what they like!

[AnnapolisCruises]

When we sailed with our grandsons (5 & 3 ) they liked Grand Cayman the best, the turtle farm and Jolly Rogers pirate ship was great too.

[lucigo]

My kids love Coco Cay, Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk. Lots of fun beach type stuff to do without a lot of walking, no cab ride, its all just right there.

[A&Jfamily]

My kids have loved every port.

 

Their favorite is Roatan - for the monkeys @ Gumbalimba park, but I understand Victor Boden offers a monkey visit too. They also loved Tabayana beach - this is one of the pretties beaches I have seen.

 

This is closely followed by the dolphin encounter at Chankanaab park in Cozumel. This is a great family place and while it makes for an expensive excursion, it is well worth the money.

 

In St, Thomas just this summer, the boys really enjoyed Mr. Henry of EEE tours - he took them to a local radio station where they got to say hello on air, and also to his house for fresh bananas and coconut out of his yard.

 

In Grand Turk, we have been snorkeling - but the beach right next to the pier is neat and if you walk to the right - you pass tons, and I mean tons of conch shells.

 

My youngest enjoyed the sting rays at the Bahamas more than Grand Cayman. In the Bahamas, they are in an enclosed area on the beach - in Cayman,the are truly wild and in 3-4 feet of water. As he was only late 2's at the time, that was a bit much for him.

 

Also in the Bahamas, Adastra Gardens made for a fun couple of hours.

 

With this age group, I think the hardest port would be Belize - though we loved it. I would recommend Goff Caye - as you can snorkel from the beach or the boat. The problem with Belize is there isn't much to the port and it does not really appear too safe beyond the fence.

 

Hope that helps.

[MaiTaiMary]

Thanks for all of the input! I appreciate it.

 

and Jolly Rogers pirate ship was great too.

 

I just did a search on this. I bet my kids would love this! what fun! :D

 

 

 

My youngest enjoyed the sting rays at the Bahamas more than Grand Cayman. In the Bahamas, they are in an enclosed area on the beach - in Cayman,the are truly wild and in 3-4 feet of water. As he was only late 2's at the time, that was a bit much for him.

My first thought it that they would love the sting rays, but I'm wondering if it might be too scary for young kids. :confused:

[AddictedtoFL]

My Kids (4 and 5) love Cozumel - Dolphin Encounter.

[K&Rs Mom]

Mine were 4 & 6 last time, and I think their favorite was San Juan. There's a cool old fortress (actually a couple of them), tons of stuff to see within walking distance, unusual shops (not like the jewelry shops on St Martin), good food and the occasional wandering iguana. :)

 

They also loved the kayak & snorkel trip on St Thomas; the younger wouldn't snorkel but enjoyed the rest of it.

[BDMom]

Our kids (girls) were ages 4 and 6. They loved the beach day on Grand Cayman. Perfect beach day, ease of getting to the beach, clean facilities then a little time to grab some souvenirs. My older daughter jokes about trying to swim to our next port from Grand Cayman. The younger daughter got her hair braided and loved that right on the beach. We still talk about this beach day.

 

Better than that stop though was Cozumel. A quick taxi trip to Chakanaab. This was a terrific stop. Younger daughter did the dolphin encounter (her b-day). There is great swimming there for all levels including a pool. The facilities there were better than most water parks in the U.S.

 

At Key West they couldn't wait to get back on the ship. Not much to do there for them. The window shopping was interesting for a few mins.

[A&Jfamily]

Our kids (girls) were ages 4 and 6. They loved the beach day on Grand Cayman. Perfect beach day, ease of getting to the beach, clean facilities then a little time to grab some souvenirs. My older daughter jokes about trying to swim to our next port from Grand Cayman. The younger daughter got her hair braided and loved that right on the beach. We still talk about this beach day.

 

Better than that stop though was Cozumel. A quick taxi trip to Chakanaab. This was a terrific stop. Younger daughter did the dolphin encounter (her b-day). There is great swimming there for all levels including a pool. The facilities there were better than most water parks in the U.S.

 

At Key West they couldn't wait to get back on the ship. Not much to do there for them. The window shopping was interesting for a few mins.

 

Now my boys loved Key West - butterfly museum, southern most point, frozen key lime pie on a stick, aquarium etc. We took the tram around that allowed you to get on and off. It was great.

[adoptmom]

My Kids (4 and 5) love Cozumel - Dolphin Encounter.

 

Have they changed the age requirements on this? When we took our kids in 2004, they had to be 6 to do the cozumel encounter.

 

Tami

[AddictedtoFL]

Have they changed the age requirements on this? When we took our kids in 2004, they had to be 6 to do the cozumel encounter.

 

Tami

 

This is what i saw on the website before booking, and since they are only 4 and 5 we can only do this one because the rest of the program required the kids to be older:

 

 

In the purchase of your Dolphin Encounter ® program in Cozumel, the Chankanaab Park entrance is included.

During your Dolphin Encounter ® program , the dolphin will give you a handshake, hugs, kisses and he will sing to you. You will also see your new friend while he makes incredible behaviors that will surprise you.

Kids of 1 and 2 years of age are free of charge for the swim with dolphins programs, and kids from 3 to 5 years old will have a free program but will have to pay the $5.50 USD park admission and must always swim with a paying adult. This promotion applies only under request by email or telephone.

If your kids can apply for free admission, do not include them on your reservation. No refunds will apply after the online reservation has been made. Before you finish your reservation, please write on the comments section a free entrance request for your kids or send us your request by email to customercare@dolphindiscovery.com once your reservation has been made.

[Onessa]

My DD's favorite ports:

• Juneau AK -- we took the cable car thing up and hiked a bit. We also did a dog sled trip on a glacier.
  
• Hilo HI -- rented a car and did Volcano National Park
  
• Maui - snorkeling with the sea turtles and the aquarium
  
• Kotokolan -- took a taxi to Olympic National Park -- site of the ancient olympics.
  
• Venice -- hey it's Venice! Gondolas, Bridge of Sighs (she had been reading the Thief Lord, which takes place in Venice), watching people feeding the pigeons at St. Marks (she used to be a little too overwhelmed by the birds to participate -- now she refers to them as "flying rats")
  

But, now that she's a teen, she likes Barcelona, Athens, Istanbul because of the shopping!