Has anyone ever done this???

[USnoozUCruise]

I realize it is not an ideal Toddler Excursion, but has anyone EVER taken a toddler to see Mayan Ruins???

 

We have a 17-month old (she will be 19 months when we go) and we REALLY don't want to miss out on seeing them. We KNOW our child will be able to handle it (she travels well and is pretty easy-going). She will manage the boat ride and bus no problem and we are planning to transport her in a Structured Carrier for the hiking portion ....but I can't seem to find any tours offered through Carnival that allow children under 3 to participate???

 

Any recommendations?

 

Here are our details:

We are taking the Carnival Glory 1/23/11 cruise so we have the option to view ruins in either Cozumel or Belize. We'd prefer to go to the ones in Belize if possible since my 5 year old wants to go on the Xcaret excursion leaving Conzumel. Since Belize is a tendering port, we would prefer to book through the cruiseline but we are open to suggestions.

 

We WOULD consider paying for babysitting as she is quite friendly and has no problems going to others (unlike my 5-year old son who to this day STILL has not been babysat by anyone than grandma). But from what I understand, Carnival only offers babysitting for part of the day and we'd need to be back by noon so don't think that's an option.

 

If anyone has gone and can offer any opinions we'd love to hear them. Or if you have read recommendations on other threads, point me in the direction (Ive been reading for days and there are so many so sift through)!

 

Thanks for your help!

[victoriasmommy]

We are taking 3 year old DD in 2 weeks!

 

Found this blog online when deciding whether not not to take stroller..

 

http://photos.fischersplace.com/cpg/thumbnails-104.html

[crusinmama06]

Really? They don't allow it at all? Or they are just considered lap babies? I know that I have held off doing the ruins because from all reviews/opinions...simply put it is just a LOOOONG DAY. There is no easy way to get to any of them. There is a long boat/bus ride. The boat ride can be nauseating (should be fine for baby). The bus ride is a long one. So by all accounts, it is just such a long day.

 

Ironically enough (and I don't even know if I should mention this because I don't want to scare you off) but when we were on RCI Indy, the people who went on the Belize Mayan ruins tour were telling us that their bus trip back was a little harrowing because some tourists were shot at a different ruins (further inland) and they had closed the roads back to the cruise port due to security reasons. :eek:

 

But they all made it back safely and with a story to tell. But it made the 8 hour excursion even longer. The ship held for them too since they had booked it through RCI.

 

I think that is the one thing I would keep in mind -- book it through Carnival if at all possible. You are such a long distance away from the ship. If anything goes wrong, you want Carnival on your side. ;)

[USnoozUCruise]

The famous CruisinMama06! Yay, I was hoping you'd offer some input. Here is the description from the Carnival site (attached). Pretty sure this means she can't come? Not sure if there are other options, but I do agree I should stick to Carnival excursions and I didn't see any other options with them. They all have minimums.

 

Do you know if babysitting is available for the full port day on Carnival? I am reading mixed responses on here. The Carnival site says only until noon. Yet, some on here say that they will care for children through lunch if you are on an excursion? Whats the real deal?

 

Even if babysitting is available, not sure if we could go that route. I would have NEVER even considered it with my 5-year old as he never left our side, but our daughter is a different child all together. Doesn't seem to be fazed by anything and is generally happy anywhere. So we're considering it if its an option, thinking she's nap for half of it anyways.

 

Ideal situation would be to find a shorter excursion where we could take her along!

 

VictoriasMommy - Thanks for the link! :)

[Lessum]

We are going on Carnival in January. From what I understand "babysitting" for children under 2 years of age is only available til noon on port days, unless you get into port later in the day and then it is available til 5pm. On sea days it is from 8am-10am.

 

Not much...but better than nothing. We have a 15mo and a 4.5yo. We are not planning on doing any long excursions for this reason. Probably just beach, shopping, simple stuff...

[gerif]

I'd really try to find an excursion you could take her on. Even if you could leave her on the ship, remember there is absolutely no way they could reach you in case of an emergency and, even if they could, how would you get back to the ship? While the ship will try to wait if there is a delay on one of their sponsored exursions, they are not obligated to do so (just to get you to the next port) - what would happen if you couldn't get back to the ship?

[ladeeesquire]

we actually just did this tour with our 2.5 yr old dd in belize in sept. We went on a private tour to altun ha. We used Island Marketing www.belizecruiseexcursions.com

 

It was about an hour drive in a private car each way. We spent about 2.5 hrs there which included lunch. It was hot and humid but I was very happy to be on our private tour (just dh, dd, and me) which allowed us to move at our own pace with our dd than the busload of people on the ship's tour. They got there about 1/2 hour after us --great for us cuz we got pix of the ruins completely empty! --and then they had to plod around after their guide. Our guide was good --not great --but good and I'd recommend the company to others.

 

The ruins were interesting to me, not that interesting to dd but there's lots of room to run around and she didn't have to be overly quiet. My husband carried her up the stairs to the top. It was a good day. We were back at the tender location with tons of time to spare. Not sure why you'd only want to take the ship tour for this one. Completely unnecessary in my book.

 

It was my trade off excursion. I really wanted to go to Tulum but decided that was just too long of a trip for my little one.

 

Good luck!

 

susan

[crusinmama06]

She can go on the Tulum one and she would be free...but I am not logged into your cruise (obviously..lol) is it available?

http://www.carnival.com/ShoreExcursionDetails.aspx?region=&portcode=CZM&excursionname=Mayan+Ruins+of+Tulum&excursioncode=304022

[USnoozUCruise]

we actually just did this tour with our 2.5 yr old dd in belize in sept. We went on a private tour to altun ha. We used Island Marketing www.belizecruiseexcursions.com

 

It was about an hour drive in a private car each way. We spent about 2.5 hrs there which included lunch. It was hot and humid but I was very happy to be on our private tour (just dh, dd, and me) which allowed us to move at our own pace with our dd than the busload of people on the ship's tour. They got there about 1/2 hour after us --great for us cuz we got pix of the ruins completely empty! --and then they had to plod around after their guide. Our guide was good --not great --but good and I'd recommend the company to others.

 

The ruins were interesting to me, not that interesting to dd but there's lots of room to run around and she didn't have to be overly quiet. My husband carried her up the stairs to the top. It was a good day. We were back at the tender location with tons of time to spare. Not sure why you'd only want to take the ship tour for this one. Completely unnecessary in my book.

 

It was my trade off excursion. I really wanted to go to Tulum but decided that was just too long of a trip for my little one.

 

Good luck!

 

susan

 

 

Thanks Susan! I am definitely going to look into this one. Appreciate your suggestion and help.

[USnoozUCruise]

She can go on the Tulum one and she would be free...but I am not logged into your cruise (obviously..lol) is it available?

http://www.carnival.com/ShoreExcursionDetails.aspx?region=&portcode=CZM&excursionname=Mayan+Ruins+of+Tulum&excursioncode=304022

 

You're right! How did I miss this one? I think I stopped searching through them because we decided to do Xcaret so I switched over to researching the Belize one. I am going to jot this one down on my Alternate list if the one Susan suggested doesn't work out.

 

Thanks everyone for your input!