I really wanna snorkel

[3jdavis]

Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer(I reallllly want to take a cruise) davis. Ok here is the situation I am reallllllllllllllllllllllllllllyyy trying to convice dh to this bazaar dream and infactuation of mine to CRUISE AHHHHH!:o I mean i am almost well i am obsessed with the idea. :D I want to go for my bday (FEB 15) but he is the pessimistic type(what if we loose luggage?, what if we miss the flight?, boat etc. you know the type i hope. Ok so. I have been researching for like yrs to find the perfect one and to just learn all that i can, but my Question(s) becuz i have had a lot answered by reading this AWESOME forum.i just having found this question.

If i talk him into it ( i will trust me:D:D:D, i think i am breaking him downnnnn) lolol:D anywhoo, I see lots of excursions that we would like (snorkeling number 1 on my before i die list) and other things that I know my 3yr (at the time we sail) could do ,without being selfish which i am sure i am about to sound that way. (warning a selfish question) WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR PRECIOUS BABY WHILE YOU SELFISHLY ENJOY SNORKELING OR OTHER THINGS TO YOURSELF? I see where you do tours with your child and the beach but (pouting) i really wanna snorkel. ok back to adult voice now.

Seriously is there a babysitting service you could use for a couple hours to do any watersports and then go and get your child to enjoy some more time at that port? not sure just really trying to answer alot of questions before my dh even ask. i am want to really present this to give dh some things to think about. As far as the ship, ports, and excursions i am still researching havn fun doing it to lolol.

dh- is a awesome photographer and i believe leaving Wis to take pic of other things would do him good.

so if anyone can please help with the selfish question, and any advise on changing the mind of a man who wants to travel but is afraid to venture out.

Thank you in advance- hoping feb -mar 2012 is my year to burst the cruise cherry.

[6rugrats]

O.k. you are saying you have a bizarre dream and infatuation with crusing, that you have a child and you think it may be selfish to want to do an activity without this child, that you husband worries, and you want to cruise in Feb/Mar 2012? I am not 100% sure this is a serious post, but I'll take it as such.

 

Since snorkeling is your number one thing, you will be able to do this on pretty much any Caribbean cruise. Choose a cruiseline that has a kid's club your daughter could utilize on port days so you could do adult activities, or one that offers babysitting.

 

You may want to read the posting guidelines; don't put personal information such as your name in a post, and be careful of phrases you use. There is one in your post that people will find offensive.

[crusinmama06]

This is an EASY one. You can do one of TWO things.

 

1) Book a snorkeling tour and take the 3 year old - take turns watching the child, playing with her on the boat/beach/water while the other parent snorkles.

 

2) Book a cruise line with a kids club that is open while you are in port (RCI/Disney/Carnival etc) and who doesn't charge while you are in port (those named) and get off the ship for your excursion while the child is in the kids club (this takes a level of comfort that some parents just don't have, so you might want to book this excurson with the cruise line)

 

Why obsess, just do it!

[sandytoes03]

HI! :)

 

Another idea is to book a cruise that goes to a private island--many do. If the kids club is operating on the island, and there are snorkeling excursions offered, you could leave your DD at the kids club, and snorkel there. This way you don't have to worry about being away from the ship, in a different country, while your child is on the ship--you could all be on/around the island together. I know my DH and I thought about this for when/if we ever take a Disney cruise.

 

Have fun!

[cb at sea]

Just be aware that MOST kid's clubs require a child to be 3 years old...some will go as low as 2 years. Under that...and you're out of luck, in most cases. Your other option is to have a grandparent babysit while you and hubby "reconnect"!

 

Do your due research on whichever line you choose.

 

Cruising is great...you AND your doubting hubby will have a great time!

[crusinmama06]

HI! :)

 

Another idea is to book a cruise that goes to a private island--many do. If the kids club is operating on the island, and there are snorkeling excursions offered, you could leave your DD at the kids club, and snorkel there. This way you don't have to worry about being away from the ship, in a different country, while your child is on the ship--you could all be on/around the island together. I know my DH and I thought about this for when/if we ever take a Disney cruise.

 

Have fun!

 

Heyyy, that's a GREAT idea!

 

Disney and Royal Caribbean move their kids clubs to their private islands - so you could easily enjoy a day of snorkeling and the child could be in the kids club on the island.

[staceyeileen]

We went snorkeling on Castaway Cay (Disney's private island) while my 9mo son stayed in the nursery on board. It was great because the pager they gave us still worked since we were so close to the ship. Not sure I would do it unless on a private island, but a lot of cruise lines have them! :)

 

Disney - Castaway Cay

RCL - CoCo Cay, Labadee

Carnival/Holland - Half Moon Cay

NCL - Great Stirrup Cay

[mitsugirly]

Just do a lot of research on the boards and find a port that you can snorkel right from the beach area (no excursion/boat needed to get there). There are tons! You walk right in the water and there are the fish.

 

We have found multiple places that are like this and you can go really far out and it's still only about 5-6 feet of water with tons of coral and fish.

 

We took our youngest on our last cruise less than 2 weeks ago fully intending on paying to have the kids club watch her while we were in port for 1 of the 4 ports we were visiting. We LOVE to snorkel and take pictures while snorkeling. So, we thought we would just leave her on the ship on 1 of the ports. (They watch them for a fee on port days).

 

Well after A LOT of research, we decided we were taking her with us to all the ports. We would just have to compromise and 1 would snorkel while the other watched the little one and then switch.

 

Well, we knew our daughter LOVES the water but...1) she had never been in salt water before...and we all know what that taste like and 2) she hasn't learn to swim by herself.

 

We ended up buying (from the suggestion of these wonderful cc people on here) a "puddle jumper" life jacket. We had tried EVERYTHING...to get her to float and feel safe in the water. We tried the regular orange boat life jackets, it turned her belly up and she couldn't get back down. We tried the life "vest" that go all the way around the body...they flipped her head down in the water. We tried arm floats....worked but wasn't safe in my opinion and if she didn't keep her arms straight down, she got a mouthful of water.

 

After getting the puddle jumper...it was a miracle I tell ya!! She tried it out several times prior to our cruise at home in the pool and got comfortable with it.

 

So, once we got to the ports (and we swam in 3 of the 4 with the 4th still being a water related activity-cavetubing) and we both went in with her and guess what....she swam right beside us the entire time...snorkeling with us, but only stuck her head under the water a few times. She amazed us! She went everywhere we did and if she ever got a little tired, she would hop on my husbands back while he continued to snorkel. She would hold my hand along the way too. I still can't believe how well she did.

 

So, play it by ear and see how things go. You can always take turns. But, little ones just might amaze you after all. :D

 

And a video just for fun of her:

[NanciRDH]

I agree with the private island idea, my kids had fun on both cruise lines doing this, and we took the time to snorkel when they were in camp. That being said, if you're deciding between cruse lines, my kids enjoyed RCI over Disney, at all age levels for the onboard camp. For our family cruising works well because there's something for everyone, and mommy gets a break, which never happens on a land based vacation. Sending my kids to camp was never a punishment to them, keeping them out of it was, they have that much fun, lol. We took our first family cruise when our oldest was just shy of 3, on Carnival who's kids program starts at 2, and over the years she's had so much fun she's now a performing arts major in college with the goal of becoming a cruise ship dancer. So your dream isn't really that bizarre, not around here anyway. :p

[3jdavis]

O.k. you are saying you have a bizarre dream and infatuation with crusing, that you have a child and you think it may be selfish to want to do an activity without this child, that you husband worries, and you want to cruise in Feb/Mar 2012? I am not 100% sure this is a serious post, but I'll take it as such.

 

Since snorkeling is your number one thing, you will be able to do this on pretty much any Caribbean cruise. Choose a cruiseline that has a kid's club your daughter could utilize on port days so you could do adult activities, or one that offers babysitting.

 

You may want to read the posting guidelines; don't put personal information such as your name in a post, and be careful of phrases you use. There is one in your post that people will find offensive.

no i was really hoping the posters would take me serious- sorry if anything offened anyone i just wanted you guys to know i REALLLLYYYY want to take a cruise. I dream of taking one and I have an infactuation to take one. So i have been planning one and the one problem i was afraid that i wouldn't be able to snorkel(something i really want to do) because I would have my 3yr old with me. So please 6rugrats don't take offense I was excited to ask a question and find these boards. as far as personal info sorry about that to i have seen some people introduce themselves. so you can call me 3jdavis thanks for the information even though i confused you.

[3jdavis]

OMG I am sooo in love wth this site thank you all CC members for the input none of the answers i received ever came to mind. I plan to research ALL the options i was given. i thought you could only snorkel at different islands. whew i am so happy to know i have options the private island is a great one because i was trying to avoid the cruises with those but now i see an opprtunity. thank you all I will let you now if my bday wish comes true. ;););) thank you again I really hope no one was offended

[khm1]

What about one of these? I found out about them here on the CC family boards.

[sandytoes03]

OMG I am sooo in love wth this site thank you all CC members for the input none of the answers i received ever came to mind. I plan to research ALL the options i was given. i thought you could only snorkel at different islands. whew i am so happy to know i have options the private island is a great one because i was trying to avoid the cruises with those but now i see an opprtunity. thank you all I will let you now if my bday wish comes true. ;););) thank you again I really hope no one was offended

 

NOT offended at all! I think it's great that you are really excitied to take a cruise with your family!!

 

Good luck and let us know what you decide!

[mitsugirly]

Yea really, you must come back and let us know if you finally get to book that cruise. :)

[carhopsrock]

mitsugirly...what port were you at in the video you posted?

[mitsugirly]

mitsugirly...what port were you at in the video you posted?

 

It was in Cozumel at Chankanaab Park. :D

[ladeeesquire]

What about one of these? I found out about them here on the CC family boards.

 

this is what we use. Our dd loves to snorkle with us. We first took her out last year, on her first cruise, when she was 2.5 yrs old. We'll be leaving for her third in 2 weeks!

[qshari]

What about one of these? I found out about them here on the CC family boards.

 

I bought and used this on our trip to Cozumel last year for my daughter who was 20 months old at the time, she loved it and even fell asleep while relaxing on her raft. I plan to bring it again for our cruise in February.

[Julienatul]

It was in Cozumel at Chankanaab Park. :D

 

Great Video and your DD seemed to love it. Those fish were amazing!!

[Julienatul]

Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer(I reallllly want to take a cruise) davis. Ok here is the situation I am reallllllllllllllllllllllllllllyyy trying to convice dh to this bazaar dream and infactuation of mine to CRUISE AHHHHH!:o I mean i am almost well i am obsessed with the idea. :D I want to go for my bday (FEB 15) but he is the pessimistic type(what if we loose luggage?, what if we miss the flight?, boat etc. you know the type i hope. Ok so. I have been researching for like yrs to find the perfect one and to just learn all that i can, but my Question(s) becuz i have had a lot answered by reading this AWESOME forum.i just having found this question.

If i talk him into it ( i will trust me:D:D:D, i think i am breaking him downnnnn) lolol:D anywhoo, I see lots of excursions that we would like (snorkeling number 1 on my before i die list) and other things that I know my 3yr (at the time we sail) could do ,without being selfish which i am sure i am about to sound that way. (warning a selfish question) WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR PRECIOUS BABY WHILE YOU SELFISHLY ENJOY SNORKELING OR OTHER THINGS TO YOURSELF? I see where you do tours with your child and the beach but (pouting) i really wanna snorkel. ok back to adult voice now.

Seriously is there a babysitting service you could use for a couple hours to do any watersports and then go and get your child to enjoy some more time at that port? not sure just really trying to answer alot of questions before my dh even ask. i am want to really present this to give dh some things to think about. As far as the ship, ports, and excursions i am still researching havn fun doing it to lolol.

dh- is a awesome photographer and i believe leaving Wis to take pic of other things would do him good.

so if anyone can please help with the selfish question, and any advise on changing the mind of a man who wants to travel but is afraid to venture out.

Thank you in advance- hoping feb -mar 2012 is my year to burst the cruise cherry.

 

Go and enjoy your birthday. There are kids programs on almost all the mainstream cruiselines where you can leave them on port days if you are comfortable with it.

[mitsugirly]

Great Video and your DD seemed to love it. Those fish were amazing!!

 

She did and she talks about it non-stop.

 

My favorite picture ever (and I'll probably never in my lifetime be able to capture something like this again...

 

 

Just the two of them starring at each other was PRICELESS! :D