Which ports with 2 small kids?

[mama_2_boys]

My boys will be 2 and 4 when we cruise this fall. We can't decide which cruise to pick. Which ports might be more kid friendly...Nassau/Freeport in Bahamas or Belize/Isla Roatan/Cozumel? Also if you could suggest any excursians on these ports I would really appreciate it. This is our 3rd cruise and 1st with our kids. Thank you!

[A&Jfamily]

My boys will be 2 and 4 when we cruise this fall. We can't decide which cruise to pick. Which ports might be more kid friendly...Nassau/Freeport in Bahamas or Belize/Isla Roatan/Cozumel? Also if you could suggest any excursians on these ports I would really appreciate it. This is our 3rd cruise and 1st with our kids. Thank you!

 

Belize is not great for kids - unless you can take an excursion that is beach based, or go to the zoo. I would book through the cruise line, as Belize appears rough outside the port gates. Roatan is great for kids - Tabayana beach makes for a fun day, as well as Gumbalimba park to see the birds and monkeys. Chankanaab park is good for kids, particularly if you want to combine it with a dolphin encounter. My 4 year old had daddy hold him while we saw the dolphins.

 

There isn't much in Freeport, and Nassau is not my favorite, though they do have Adastra gardens which is a cute zoo. We have also done the sting rays in Nassau (Yellowbird) and liked that.

[cb at sea]

Your kids won't care (or remember) where you go...pick what YOU'D like to do! As long as you're content, they will be, too.

[A&Jfamily]

Your kids won't care (or remember) where you go...pick what YOU'D like to do! As long as you're content, they will be, too.

 

Sorry, but I gotta differ with you here. There are not too many 2 and 4 year olds that you could take on a 7+ hour Mayan ruin tour in Cozumel.

 

I agree that the kids won't remember, but it has to be something family friendly.

[sandytoes03]

Not sure if this matters too much to you or not, but I remember Belize having a long tender ride. Not that you can't do that with kids, but it adds time to your day. Have fun whichever you choose!

[tocruzagain]

If you go to the eastern caribbean side and do St. Thomas you could take the kids to Coral World which is an outdoor aquarium and touch pools. Plus, it's located right on the beach (Coki) so all you have to do when you're done is walk down a few steps and you are right on a nice small calm beach to play. The next stop would be St. Maarten which docks right there in Phillipsburg. You can get off the ship and walk right down to catch the water taxi across the bay dropping you right there at the beach. You could choose to either walk around and do some shopping or just get a chair and umbrella right there and stay on the beach to swim and play. My son loved just walking down the beach searching for shells and playing in the clear water. I believe the water taxi is a $6 ticket that allows you to go back and forth between there and the ship's dock as many times as you want/need during the day. It was very convenient!

Good luck on choosing a great vacation!!

[MamaParrotHead]

Agree that Belize is a LONG tender ride (and even longer process), and wouldn't recommend it with small kids. Roatan is great (Tabayana is wonderful) as is Cozumel. If you want to do this route, I'd probably opt to stay on the ship for Belize.

 

Bahamas is fine, pretty tame beach days.