Best ports for a 6 year old (east vs west)

[skyw]

Hi

I want to start cruising with my 6year old. We have done DCL before but due to the price I think we will do RCCL on one of the Freedom class ships. I figure my son wont care what island he is on just the activities for him. We would like to snorkel off a beach. And he loves interactions with animals and sea creatures.

 

I would love to hear about your experiences. My DS6 would love to go to a beach but after 2 hours he may say he is done. (us too). Some of the excursions seem to take you there and back and you are stuck. (Belize).

 

I am a safety freak too!!! I would like to be secure and be able to get to medical help if we needed it. Not stuck waiting for a boat to pick us up.

thanks everyone!!!!

[A&Jfamily]

Personally, I like Western as it feels more exoctic. We have done Chankanaab park for a dolpin encounter, some snorkeling/kayaking in Belize, the sting rays in both GC (wild), seen the ruins in Costa Maya (Carnival Port), and in Houndouras played with the monkeys at Gumbalimba park and done a beach/snorkel @ Tabayana beach.

 

On the Eastern trips we have gone to the zoo and played with the sting rays in Nassau (fenced in/debarbed), taken a great island tour in St. Thomas w/ Henry @ EEE (my kids still talk about him - they even passed up the beach to keep riding around with him!) and done snorkeling in Grand Turk.

 

Really, you can't go wrong either way.

[cb at sea]

Before you start booking beach "excursions", get a guidebook---many beaches are easy to do on your own...and at your own timetable! A guidebook will fill you in on which beach is good for you, how to get there, what it costs, if there's food/drink/bathrooms....all that stuff!

[CruiseDad-NYC]

I saw your post after I did a search trying to get some information about Western cruises.

 

I just got off the RCCL Independence of the Seas with 5 and 7 year old boys. We were on the eastern (St. Maarten, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Labadee). We chose this trip in large part because the ports are easy to get around with kids, and I don't like taking cabs because we don't bring car seats with us (and, on some of these islands, the roads aren't great and the traffic a bit crazy).

 

We really like St. Maarten, because you can walk to a perfectly nice beach off the ship or take a short ferry ride (it's the beach along the promenade in Philipsburg - sp?).

 

In St. Thomas, we took a not-scary cab ride to Emerald Beach, which was great because it was at a hotel, and you could use the bathrooms and buy food/drinks from the hotel restaurant and bar.

 

In San Juan, we enjoyed walking off the ship in strollers and walking around the old part of the town.

 

Labadee is a walk-off, too.

 

So, Eastern has been a great itinerary for us. Trying to decide if I can squeeze in an extra cruise this year, and wondering if I should give the Western a try.

[Peace2U]

I think any of the eastern ports are okay for kids. St Thomas has Coral World, which is fun for kids. As for western ports, I haven't been there but have heard that Jamaica can be pretty rough and it isn't advisable to take kids onto the island. When we go we will probably leave our son on the ship. We went to Cozumel and as you heard before, Chankanaab is a nice place to go with kids. Costa Maya doesn't have much for kids though. Good luck!

[airlink diva]

Thanks for the great info!!

My nephew will be six next year. My parents and I are going to take him on a cruise with us. They did the Disney 3 day two years ago. While they loved it, the price was very high.

I'm in the process of looking at 7 day cruises for us right now and the info is great! Thanks!!

[broberts]

Labadee and Half Moon Cay are private beaches. Both have a kids area.

 

You need to take an excursion or taxi to a beach in St Thomas. But it's very well organized and regulated. Near the open market area in Charlotte-Amalie there is a guy in a wild costume with a decorated donkey. He makes his living posing for pictures with tourists. As another poster mentioned, beside Coki beach is Coral World which your child will likely enjoy. Another place to consider is the butterfly sanctuary.

 

One can walk into Philipsburg in St Maarten, about 20 minutes. Lovely beach runs the width of the town. Backed by a boardwalk lined with resorts and outdoor eateries. The only caveat is that European mores apply here and topless, even nude, bathers are not unheard of. If you feel that partial nudity on a beach is not appropriate for children then you probably do not want to include St Maarten as a beach stop.

 

Grand Turk is pretty much a beach stop. Walk off the ship and there is the beach. Margaritaville at the end of the pier. It has a lovely 4' deep winding pool.

 

In Grand Cayman a relatively inexpensive bus/taxi ride gets you to 7 mile beach. Pick where by how much you pay for the ride. Good shopping where you get off the tenders, even a few ice cream stores. If I recall correctly there is also turtle farm. One excursion you may want to consider is the semi-submersible. Big windows let passengers see fish and coral under the water.

 

To get to a beach in Nassau you pretty much have to buy a day pass at one of the many resorts. The Atlantis resort has lots of activities that might interest your child. In the downtown area there is also some site seeing that might appeal to a 6 year old - a pirate museum and a couple of forts.

 

In Ocho Rios the main attraction is Dunn's River Falls, not suitable for a 6 year old. There is a small beach just off the pier area as well as a Margaritaville with a water slide and pool. Some good open market shopping downtown. It's walkable, 15 - 20 minutes. Some people feel uncomfortable in Ocho Rios. I personally didn't feel uneasy, but I wouldn't stray from the main tourist area.

 

In Antigua a taxi or excursion will get you to a reasonably nice beach. If I recall correctly there are no beaches near the pier area. There is, of course, lots of shopping.

 

A taxi or excursion is required in Cozumel to get to a beach.

 

San Juan isn't really a beach stop. Very nice historical city. San Cristobal has stacks of canon balls and some canon the your youngster will probably find interesting. Many fly kites on the expanse of the land approach to El Morro.