Grand Cayman vs. Costa Maya- which one w/ kids?

[MaiTaiMary]

There are four cruises we're considering. I'm trying to compare everything before we decide which is best for our family. :)

 

The only differences in the ports is that one goes to Costa Maya and another goes to Grand Cayman.

 

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

 

I first thought the stringrays at Grand Cayman would be a huge hit, but now I'm wondering if they'll be too young and will be scared.

 

I don't know much about Costa Maya but in my brief research, it looks like a nice little beach town.

 

 

Thoughts on these ports for young kids??? :)

[MamaParrotHead]

I think CM would be a lot less stressful. It isn't a tender port, everything is pretty much right there at the pier. Roll off the ship whenever you want (no need to hassle with tendering or tender tickets), little shops, a pool, the beach, sounds pretty low key and low stress to me. :)

[RENMama]

Having done both with kids, they would probably have fun doing either.

My boys were 5 and 15m when we did stingrays in GC and they were tentative at first but not actually scared. It was a cool trip.

 

But I wouldnt chose a cruise based on the choice between the 2 ports.

[MaiTaiMary]

But I wouldnt chose a cruise based on the choice between the 2 ports.

 

I'm not. Like I said, I'm comparing everything before we decide. Looking at the big picture! :D

 

 

 

Is Grand Cayman a tender port?

[MamaParrotHead]

Is Grand Cayman a tender port?

 

Yes.

[RENMama]

I'm not. Like I said, I'm comparing everything before we decide. Looking at the big picture! :D

quote]

 

I totally understand. I just think we can have fun pretty much anywhere and no matter what ports we pick our kids will experience something new.

 

Given the choice though, I will choose new stops over already seen ones.

 

We are going on Carnival Dream next month. 1. Because they accept kids at 2yo into Camp Carnival. 2. Because 2 out of the 4 ports are new to us. 3. Because is a new ship with what appears to be lots of family friendly things to do onboard. 4. Because weve cruised Carnival before and enjoyed it and got a good price.

 

Happy planning. :)

[MaiTaiMary]

Given the choice though, I will choose new stops over already seen ones.

 

All of these are new to us! :D

[lilpootr]

Are you planning on doing an excursion (either with the ship or on your own) in either of these Ports? If you are, you could look at what Port offers an excursion that interests you most. Of course, there is always a chance of missing a Port for various reasons, but this could help with your planning.

[Mack2]

The only time I remember going to Costa Maya was a cruise that was diverted there because Cozumel had been heavily damaged in a hurricane... I don't remember it being too wonderful, though.

 

The restaurant/bar, the pool, the shops and the straw market area... It's a destination, but not entirely engaging.

 

 

 

I love Grand Cayman, though.... You can hire a cab to take you to the Butterfly Farm... and walk in the gardens with butterflies, Seven Mile Beach, the turtle farm (which can be a destination in itself with a pool and man-made snorkeling lagoon), the Atlantis Submarine...

 

Stingray City, of course, is quite an adventure... we went this past november with Stingray Sailing (stingraysailing dot com)... my youngest is 5, but she did surprisingly well with the rays and snorkeling. Chip is a great guy... he dove down and picked up things for the kids on board to look at. Groups are small, there were about 20 folks on our tour altogether.

 

pics from 2009

 

pics from 2008

 

I do have pictures from the turtle farm in 2006... but none of those are uploaded anywhere.

[A&Jfamily]

For us it is a toss up. When we were there, my DS were almost 4 and 10. We loved GC - we did the Hell/Turtle Farm/Sting Ray city thing. My youngest got in the water with the rays but it was a little rough that day and too much for him. This year (he's 5.5 now) he really did enjoy the rays at Blackbeard's in Nassau.

 

When we were in Costa Maya, my youngest was not quite 3, and I really wanted to see the mayan ruins with my older at Chachobeen. So, I left him on board while we took the older out there. Then we came back, picked him up for lunch and took him into the port. He had a great time swimming in the salt water pool. When we were there it was pre-hurricane, and other than the port itself or a booked excursion, there wasn't much to do; I can't imagine there is more now. It is pretty much a beach at the port kind of stop unless you book something. If DS had been 5 or so, I think he would have enjoyed the ruins - it is an hour bus ride, though.

 

So, I guess what I am saying is evaluate your kids. I think there is far more to do in GC, but we did enjoy Costa Maya and her ruins at lot. If your kids would be fine with the bus ride, I might pick Costa Maya as no one but CCL goes there to my knowledge.

[crusinmama06]

We went to Costa Maya this year (so it's after the hurricane rebuild)

 

The port area is for cruise ship guests only. It has some shops, some bars, a large pool and some fountains. If I had to do it all over again then I would want to see the ruins and get out of the port area.

 

And Mac and A&J is right, there is much more to do in GC.

 

Here is Costa Maya, after the rebuild...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruisinbanddirectors]

I'll have to throw in my vote for Grand Cayman. I didn't have my DS with me when we went last summer, but thought there were many kid appropriate activities to choose from. I was not overly impressed with Costa Maya (went pre-hurricane).

[bbrme]

We are going to Costa Maya in 2 weeks with DD6 & DS8. We are planning on doing the Mayan experience tour through Native Choice which is highly recommended on these boards. It includes a trip to the ruins and a visit to a Mayan village including lunch with a family at their house and a chance to meet the local children. I will post after we get back but my kids are very excited about it.

[griffy]

Been to both with children and would go with Grand Caymans. Turtle Farm, submarine...no question.

[eandj]

Definitely Grand Cayman! My daughter was just 7 when we were there. she and I took the submarine to see the sting rays and fish. She loved it. Her dad did the "real" thing. She also loverd the turtle farm. Altho I hear it's not as full of turtles as it used to be. Not sure of that. But she loved holding the big turtles.

 

The beach is beautiful and calm and after a day of stingrays, just sit on the public beach. You don't need any excursions here. It's easy to do on your own.

 

Costa Maya is a man made "fake" Mexican village with shops and beach. I wasn't impressed.

 

My dughter did a ruins tour with me in Cozumel. She was totally bored and HOT! It was just too much "education" for a little girl that just wanted to hit the nearest pool or beach with her parents. It was the only time in her four "young life cruises" that she actually whined.

[flsunnymommy]

My son loved Grand Cayman. We went and saw the turtles and then rode around in a buggy

 

[2112]

I just got of a cruise that went to both. I have to say that the beach in the town of Majahaul near Costa Maya is the best beach I've ever seen anywhere for children. My 3.5 year old loved it. It was clean and local restaurants let you use their chairs for free if you buy food or drinks from them so there is shade. The drop off in the water is very gradual (unlike Cozumel and others) so it is much safer for children. My wife and I didn't think we would really like Costa Maya but the beach really is the most kid friendly beach we've ever visited (with the only other competition coming from Half Moon Caye in the Bahamas).

[MaiTaiMary]

Thanks for the replies. Any other thoughts? :)

[WisconsinFan]

We have been to Grand Cayman and Costa Maya twice. We were on a Disney the first time. First time to Costa Maya was because a we couldn't get into Cozumel because of a huracaine. We went to the Mayan ruins (pre-huricane for Costa Maya). Youngest was 7 at the time, oldest was 12. Both enjoyed it. They both spent time in the salt water pool and enjoyed this. This cruise also went to Grand Cayman. We rented a car (that was an experience on it's own!) and went to the Turtle Farm and spent the rest of the day at Cemetary Beach (great, only the locals around) where we went snorkeling and swimming. Had lunch in Georgetown and some shopping too.

 

Enjoyed Costa Maya the second time last spring. Boys didn't want to leave the ship (Voyager) so we took a taxi down to the little town of Majahaul. Had a great time on the beach with out them (of course, now they were 10 and 15 so leaving them on the ship in the kids programing not a big deal). This became my favorite port. The area at the pier is built for and by the cruise companies (Carnival and Royal). It really isn't the true Mexico experience, so if you can leave the pier area and go down to the beach town or off to the ruins.

 

Both ports are great and different. We didn't do Sting Ray City because we chose to do the sting rays at Castaway Key (Disney's island) where they are trained to swim up on a platform in knee deep water. This allowed the younger one to participate, but he wasn't keen on the salt water (he was and is a competitive swimmer in open water and pool events- being afraid or uncomfortable in the water was not the issue, he just hates salt water) so he ended up playing on the beach while the rest of us played with the sting rays.

 

What other ports will you be visiting?