Southern Carib w/ toddler-excursion suggestions?

[sydneysmom517]

We are taking RCCL Serenade in January to St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados, Dominica and St. Croix. We are taking a 20 month old and I'm hoping there are some good excursions you can recommend for us. We are already booked for Coral Land & Sea in St. Thomas but for the other locales I'm having a hard time finding things to do that will let us take a toddler. I don't want to take her to the beach all day, every day. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

[cb at sea]

Ok---the 20 month old will NOT CARE what you do...and they won't even remember it.

Do what you want....sometimes, there's babysitting on the ship, so you can leave the toddler while you have some fun.

If baby must travel with you, pick according to what you want...someone may have to "mind" baby while the others have their good time.

Aside from beach days or shopping, I can't imagine anything else appropriate for a baby....I mean, the stingrays, dolphins, historical sites.....your child won't give a fig about any of them!

[sydneysmom517]

I wasn't asking what she would want to do. I was asking what they are allowed to do/might have fun doing. Many of the excursions are only for 4 yo +. My husband and I are going alone with her and I'm trying to find things that might be fun and interesting for her besides the beach. Sarcastic replies not needed.

[MNmomof4]

When I was researching, I came across a railway excursion in St kitts that looked like fun. I decided not to do it because I didnt want to bring the car seats into every port. I change my ship and itinerary and decided we would only do things we could walk to and enjoy the fun things on the ship instead. I couldnt risk not having my children in car seats and many ports dont have the proper attachments in the cars for them. Go to the ports of call boards and they have great ideas there and then decide if it would be something you would like to do.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[StaceyCT]

Hi Sydneysmom,

 

We may be on the same cruise! What day do you sail? We're on the January 23 2010 sailing of the Serenade - same itinerary. I'm traveling with DH, DS (two and a half) and my mom (best babysitter I know!).

Our planned excursions are as follows (and keep in mind that most of these are based on what the adults WANT and what my son can HANDLE :)). Also, since we have a "spare" adult, many activities rely on the fact that two adults can snorkel, etc. while the spare stays behind with the kid (and we can take turns at being the spare). There's a lot of snorkeling in our itinerary because I'm a big fan; I'm thinking of buying an inflatable "snorkeling raft" for DS to float (with me next to him) and look down into the water through the little "window".

 

St. Thomas: Mom and I sail to Buck Island with Jolly Mon charters for snorkeling while DH and DS stay on ship; may all go to Sapphire beach in the afternoon.

 

St. Kitts: taxi to Cane Bay for beach and off-shore snorkeling

 

St. Croix: taxi to Cockleshell beach for beach, off-shore snorkeling, then a little shopping in port

 

Dominica: island tour with Levi Barron's Bumpiing Tours. All four of us are going; doing the Roseau Valley Treasures tour which has a minimum of walking (DS can ride on DH's shoulders)

 

Barbados: taxi to Paynes Bay, all take glass bottom boat to turtles and shipwreck. Two adults snorkel while one plus DS stay on boat and look at sites though glass bottom.

 

Hope this helps, and hope we see you on the cruise! If you are going on the 23rd, please join our roll call!

-Stacey

[ljtee]

Hi,

We had a 2 year old and 5 year old in some of the same ports and had a wonderful time. In St. Kitts we took a taxi to the beach on our own. It was very hot and we were ready to come back by about 12. In Barbados we arranged a full day on a catamaran with Silvermoon - and it was wonderful! The kids loved the boat, the 2 year old took a nap on the netting and we had a wonderful day. In general, catamarans have always worked well for our kids on cruises - I would try to book at least one of these days at a port - and can highly recommend Barbados Silvermoon (tons about them on the Barbados port site).

 

The kids are usually amazing - and get so much attention from everyone that they have a great day, no matter what you choose. The real secret is not so much what you choose to do but what you bring... I would say you should try to bring:

- their own lifejacket that fits them well

- you are not supposed to bring food from the boat to shore - and cannot bring fruit.... but we have been known to grab extra little boxes of cereal at breakfast for snacks

- walmart (or other stores) sell colouring books were you just need to fill the pen up with water and "paint" the pages. these have saved us many times - and if you don't already have them I would keep them as a surprise for the trip.

 

you'll have a great trip - and I bet you'll be surprised just how much fun a 2 year old (or almost!) can be when the weather is great, there's tons to see, fresh air tires them out and everyone thinks they are adorable!

 

Ljtee

[sydneysmom517]

Thanks, ljtee! I didn't think they would let a toddler on a catamaran but I'll definitely look into it. She actually got Aqua Doodle for Christmas and I'm saving it for the trip. Great minds think alike, I guess! Thanks again for the tips.

[sunquest76]

Thanks, ljtee! I didn't think they would let a toddler on a catamaran but I'll definitely look into it. She actually got Aqua Doodle for Christmas and I'm saving it for the trip. Great minds think alike, I guess! Thanks again for the tips.

 

We are doing a catamaran trip with our DD (13 months) in Antigua. None of the ship excursions let us bring her due to her age, so we booked privately. We are just bringing her own life jacket.

 

And we have an Aqua Doodle too!

[JenAndDan]

Sunquest -

 

Where did you find out about the catamaran in antigua? We are looking into a cruise that makes a stop there and our son will be 17 months at the time.

[sunquest76]

We are using Eli's Eco Tour. The web site is:

 

http://www.adventureantigua.com/tour.html

 

I emailed them and they were fine with a 13 month old. Our daughter is on our boat all the time so we have a life jacket for her. I can't wait to see her floating around in the ocean!

[ljtee]

Sounds like all of you will have a fabulous time with your little ones!! Enjoy!

[JenAndDan]

Sunquest76 (or anyone else) - do you have a recommendation for a life vest. We want to get one that will at least get us through our Bermuda trip in April and our possible cruise at the end of August (plus summer time fun). He is 22 pounds right now.

[queenL]

Just book privately. We are going to all of the ports you mentioned in March with my soon to be 3 yr old. We don't do ship tours, I've never had a problem with taking her and they typically don't charge for them either.

 

St.Thomas -Coki Beach & Coral World

 

St Kitts-Island tour

 

Barbados- Andromeda Gardens/shopping

 

Dominica- Traflgar Falls/Emerald Pool/black sand beach, Sulphur springs

 

St Croix- Island tour

[jam82]

My 3 year old would have a great time playing on the beach everyday. Don't feel like you have to do anything else, but there are options available. If we want to have an adults only day, we will leave him on the ship. He loves the kids program.

 

We have been to Coral World and can say that we would have had a better time at the beach. It was not anything special. I wouldn't do it again.

 

We have also been on the Silvermoon in Barbados. It was awesome and I would do it again in a second.

 

We did not do the railway in St. Kitts, but from what our shipmates told us it would have been a great thing to do with a small child. Plus, our DS LOVES trains.

 

We have taken him swimming with the dolphins and it was awesome and well worth the money. I know he won't really remember it, but it was a great experience for him. He is old enough now that he remembers the video, if not the actual experience. Some dolphin excursions will allow a small child to come on the adult swim with no extra charge.

 

As for the lifejacket I would get one that is solid foam, not the sheets of foam. At 20 months, he/she might still fit in the kind with the collar on the back. Lifejackets all have the recommended weight on them, so it should be easy to find. I know we have them year round at Wal-Mart.

 

Have a great cruise.

[JenAndDan]

Sunquest76 - how did your tour with Eli go with the infant? We are thinking about booking this as well.

[sunquest76]

Just a follow up. We had a great day on the catamaran in Antigua. DD even slept in the stroller so Mommy and Daddy got some snorkel time (another Mom said she'd keep an eye on her).

 

We ended up having to go back to the ship in Barbados. It was just too hot for DD. We shopped at Port Zante and then went to a beach in St Kitts.

 

Overall, a very successful cruise.

[JenAndDan]

Thanks so much! I wasn't sure we could bring the stroller with us on the Eco tour but that is great knowing we can.

[daphne600]

have you gone on this cruise yet? how was it? what did you do in terms of car seats???

[JenAndDan]

Daphne600 are you asking Sunquest76?

 

Our cruise isn't until August. We are not bringing a car seat and plan on using an ergo when we go in a taxi (hoping to avoid this as much as possible). We are not getting our son a seat on the plane and we would have no where to put it in the stateroom. We are testing this out in April for a land based trip to Bermuda (we were going to bring the car seat there and rent a car BUT found out they don't rent cars there so leaving it behind). I'll let you know how that goes.

 

I am interested in hearing from others who have cruised with a toddler (2 and under) and any tips/pointers they can give.

[williamsk]

Life vest- Get one with the collar that will support the head out of water if the child falls in. Just in case! We have a simple one that we bought at either walmart or K mart. We have used it in the pool on a regular basis and regretted not bringing it on our last cruise. A possible $30 splurge item is a seaview raft- it a blow up raft with handles and a window for viewing under the water. Your child may love it if he/she is already comfortable in the water.

 

Tips:

I always go to the dance shows a little early and find a good seat close to an exit. The vast majority of times my DH has loved the shows and the proximity to the exit made us more relaxed.

 

Go for early dining or freestyle. Late dining is agony past bedtime. Also do not be afraid to request children's meal to be delivered with appetizers or to ask for the desserts to be sent to your room if the child gets fidgety.

 

We brought an ipod nano that worked wonders to occupy our daughter on the plane or other critical times. I downloaded a couple of movies and free Sesame episodes, and paired it with a child's headset with built in hearing protection/ lower max decibels than adult's.

 

I always buy a couple of carter's clothing outfits for the trip. The fabric is soft enough that she can wear it as a nightgown one night and use it as playclothing in port.

 

Bring tear free shampoo- esp. if wrestling with a toddler used to baths in a shower.

 

Bring small play toy set, or call the line and see if they have toys available for checkout. Definitely bring a favorite blanket for your child.

 

Bring a sippy cup, or I bring prebottled juice with a reusable sippy cap (tummy ticklers walmart juice isle). I also buy a box of snacks (like dehydrated fruit in individual packets or cheezits). The tummy ticklers juice bottles don't require refridgeration, are small enough to ice down easily in the ice bucket, and are handy for port days where water is questionable. They are tidier than juice boxes and can be filled with juice or water at the buffet.

 

I also try to find word books with pictures of animals/fish/objects we might see and read them at home. It helps them communicate about what they see.

[JenAndDan]

Great tips!

 

Thanks:)