Advice Wanted: Cruising Mexico with small kids

[helenb]

We are booked on the Sapphire Princess Mexican Riviera, January 7th, 2006. My husband and I love to cruise and this will be our first cruise ever with our kids (ages 3 and 5). We picked a time of year and itinerary that were a little less intense to introduce our kids to this experience. We are hoping that they will enjoy the trip and also learn how to behave on a cruise (eg: in the dining room, at the shows, etc.) before we drag them off to Europe. :)

 

We purposely waited until our youngest was 3 so he could participate in the kids progams.

 

So now I'm looking for advice, both on the kids programs (and information on how other younger kids reacted to them) and what to do in the ports. Although my husband and I are big cruisers, we have never done the Mexican Riviera so these ports are new to us. What would be good to do for first-timers with small kids?

 

We are booked in a mini-suite. Will this be enough room? Unfortunately none of the full suites (except for the BIG suite) can accomodate 4 people, even if one is only age 3. :( What is the upper bunk like? Does it have a rail? Is there a ladder?

 

What are the kids' menus like in the dining room?

 

I'm also looking for advice on how to prepare the kids. Currently I am trying to train them (at the dinnertable at home and in family restaurants on the weekends) on the kind of behavior required in the dining room. So far so good, but any suggestions would be appreciated. We do not want our kids to disrupt other cruisers' vacations and I think advance 'training' will help with this a lot.

[Travelgrrl]

What are your ports? (Too lazy to look them up)

 

I can recommend an easy day in Cabo San Lucas, if you're going there.

[helenb]

The ports are Cabo, Mazatlan and PV (the original Love Boat itinerary, LOL).

[MNfamilycruiser]

We are booked on the Sapphire Princess Mexican Riviera, January 7th, 2006. My husband and I love to cruise and this will be our first cruise ever with our kids (ages 3 and 5). We picked a time of year and itinerary that were a little less intense to introduce our kids to this experience. We are hoping that they will enjoy the trip and also learn how to behave on a cruise (eg: in the dining room, at the shows, etc.) before we drag them off to Europe. :)

 

We purposely waited until our youngest was 3 so he could participate in the kids progams.

 

So now I'm looking for advice, both on the kids programs (and information on how other younger kids reacted to them) and what to do in the ports. Although my husband and I are big cruisers, we have never done the Mexican Riviera so these ports are new to us. What would be good to do for first-timers with small kids?

 

We are booked in a mini-suite. Will this be enough room? Unfortunately none of the full suites (except for the BIG suite) can accomodate 4 people, even if one is only age 3. :( What is the upper bunk like? Does it have a rail? Is there a ladder?

 

What are the kids' menus like in the dining room?

 

I'm also looking for advice on how to prepare the kids. Currently I am trying to train them (at the dinnertable at home and in family restaurants on the weekends) on the kind of behavior required in the dining room. So far so good, but any suggestions would be appreciated. We do not want our kids to disrupt other cruisers' vacations and I think advance 'training' will help with this a lot.

One thing I would suggest is to ask this same question on the Family Cruising Board - it is listed under the Special Interest Cruising. Lots of people who have cruised with kids and are willing to share information.

 

Some of your questions I can't answer for sure, because we are looking forward to our first Princess Cruise - but we have been on other lines with our children - and I think many things will be similar.

 

Kids Programs - generally kids love them, love to be there. My two were 3 and 5 and then 4 and 6 on our last two cruises and they had a blast. It will be easier on your 3 yo because older sibling will be in the same "group".

 

Shore Excursions - the beach and swimming! I don't know anything about your specific ports but I know kids generally don't like bus/scenic tours or shopping. One of the nice things about Princess (and Royal Caribbean) is that you CAN leave your kids on ship at port while you go on shore. I don't know if you would be comfortable doing this, but after you see how they like it, you might like to go ashore at one port to do a little sightseeing or shopping without them.

 

Kid's menus - again don't know specifically about Princess, but usually kids menus are things like chicken tenders, hamburger, hot dog, spaghetti. They can order from the kids menu and also try anything from the adult menu. Good way for them to try new things!

Dinner - one thing we found worked for us, was to have the waiters bring their food as soon as they were ready for it. For example bring their meal at the same time we had our appetizer course, bring their dessert while you have your main course. They can get done at their own timing without a lot of waiting and then you can bring them up to the kids program at 7:00 while you leisurely finish your dessert and coffee!

 

I did see some pictures of the mini-suites on Webshots Community photos.

If you don't get any answers here on the boards, you can do a search to see if you can find any pictures showing the bunks.

[ghgeckos]

This was the first cruise we took with our boys. They were age 7 and 4 at the time. We had a minisuite on the Star which has the same size cabin and had plenty of room.

1. bedding - Two beds can be put together to make one queen size bed for you and your spouse ( even though the personalizer says non-converting twins), a sofa bed, and a bunk with a railing above the couch.

2. Menu has the standard kids menu fare.

3. room- plenty of space for the kids.

4. Excursions. - we did the Pivate ship in PV, lots of fun, CAbo we did a beach day.

[Out@C]

The upper bunks do have a very small railing - about 4 -6 inches over the mattress and about 2 feet long. We always bring a collapsable child's travel railing with us. It fits perfectly in the bottom of the suitcase and feel much safer with my child in the upper bunk with the larger railing. There is a ladder to get up there.

 

We did the Mexico itinerary when my daughter was in kindergarten. We took a tour in Mazatlan with cliff diving and acrobatic show, walked around Puerto Vallarta on our own and did one of the boat tours in Cabo out to Lands End then walked around town.

 

Kids menu is standard and kid friendly.

[helenb]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful responses.

 

I was hoping that the kids menu would be 'standard' stuff. My 5 yo likes pasta 'with white sauce' and I know fettucine alfredo will be available every night so I think that should work out. She will eat hot dogs or chicken the rest of the time. The 3 yo could live on pizza and yogurt if we would let him so I'm planning on taking some yogurts from breakfast and keeping them in our cabin fridge. Obviously I will try to get them to eat new foods but I want backup just in case! Nothing is worse than a cranky kid who refuses to eat.

 

The collapsible bed rail sounds like a good idea. I will check into it! 6 inches high is pushing it given that the boat moves/rocks while we are sleeping. If it were a land hotel I'd probably be okay with it. But only 2 feet long isn't going to cut it either.

 

I keep hearing how kids LOVE the kid programs, so I'm hoping mine will too! They're both in preschool at the moment (5 yo goes to Kindergarten in the Fall) so hopefully that's a good introduction to this kind of environment.

 

Anyone know what they DO at the Princess kid programs?

 

The Pirate ship in PV sounds like something the kids would enjoy. I'll check into it.

[Out@C]

In the "Fun Zone" they're in age groups and the activities vary by group, but for the most part they do arts & crafts, play games, do fun contests (lots of winners during the week), face painting, go to the disco one night before it's open for adults and do freeze dance, etc. They usually have an ice cream sundae party and have a pizza party. You'll get a schedule of all the activities for the week the first day. They can stay for the entire session (morning, afternoon or evening), or can only go for activities they're interested in. They also usually offer pagers so if there's an issue they can page you, especially with younger kids.

 

Leave space in the suitcase for all the extras they'll bring home from the "Fun Zone".

 

My neighbors were on the Sun Princess a few weeks ago and took their 4 yr old for the first time. She just loved every minute of it and couldn't wait for it to open each day.

[Cruisin'40]

They do have standard kids fare menu, chicken tenders and fries are wonderful. Sometimes we got fries with our adult menus. Ice cream sundaes for dessert are very kid friendly. You may want to consider going with traditional seating rather than PC, Princess staff are wonderful at accomodating peoples needs and quickly get to know your children and their likes and dislikes. They also have homemade icecream sundaes in the horizon court around 3:00.

 

We did this cruise Jan of this year, had a great time. Our kids are older but it's a very laid back cruise. It was pretty cold the first and last sea days so you may want to pack some sweaters/sweatshirts. Also the pools are pretty deep (start at close to 5") so you may want to bring some floatees for the kids.

 

I don't know if your kids are old enough but one excursion you should consider sometime (age permitting) is a dolphin encounter/swim. One of our most memorable cruise excursions. But it's expensive so probably better that they are old enough to appreciate the experience.

 

Have a great cruise, the ultimate family vacation!

[ghgeckos]

On his first cruise my youngest son won a prize for saying his name the loudest. They had lots of fun in the children's center. We always bring his life vest because of the pools depth and the fact that he has no fear. He thinks he can swim better than he can.

[dodieh]

I have no suggestions...just want to say, however, that you sound like terrific parents and other cruisers will enjoy being with your well prepared children. So many parents today do not teach kids how to act in restaurants and other public events to the detriment of those around them....Have a wonderful trip.....Your kids will have a great time..The very first cruise we took was the

Mexican Riviera one many years ago (on the Love Boat!) and there was only one little girl on the whole ship....she was a darling and everyone enjoyed her.

[cynbar]

We did the Mexican Riviera last January on the Diamond Princess, and here.s a link to our webshots album: http://community.webshots.com/user/cynbar101. Notice that there is also a link to our private tour in Mazatlan -- this was with a local gentleman whom we connected with through these message boards, he is a wealth of info and is glad to design private tours to fit anyone's interests. Here is a link to his website:http://www.mazatlan-frank.com/. Frank can also give you info on all sorts of things in Mazatlan. We did not have our children with us on this trip, but we did chat with some people who did. The kids' program seems to include at least one kids' only dinner during the week. It also starts its eveing programs at about 7:00 pm -- some people we spoke to ate in the DR with their children some of the time, but also picked some nights when they would feed the kids first at either the buffet or the grill/pizzeria, then send them to the evening programs while the adults had a leisurely meal alone. All of these children seemed eager to get to their evening activities, although I admit that this may vary from week to week, depending on how many kids sign up. Hope this helps---

[helenb]

Thank you for the compliment Dodieh! I am actually a little worried because I know that the general attitude among cruisers for young kids is 'leave them at home'. I have seem a lot of animosity on these boards from people who don't want to have kids on their cruise. While I don't think these people should rule me life/vacation, I do understand some of their points. So I'm making a decent attempt to be considerate to these folk. :)

 

Realistically though you are right. If small kids don't learn how to behave in public, then how will they learn to behave as young adults (or older adults)? I'm just trying to choose a freindly atmosphere in which to teach them.

[michmstr]

You will have a blast! We did the Mexican Riviera cruise on the Diamond last year with our 3 year old daughter and we all loved it. We are leaving on the Diamond to Alaska in 2 weeks! Our daughter wanted to be in the kid's program all day. We were a little concerned, because she had just turned 3 and had never been in preschool, but she made a friend right away and really enjoyed it. They did arts and crafts, songs, games, showed movies in the afternoons, had a talent show . . . There is a ball pit and video games, as well as toys, books, puzzles, art supplies in the kid's club. Your kids will be together which is good.

 

I don't know about the kids menus, because one of the things I hate about travelling is those restaurant kids menus with the same five unhealthy items - (hot dogs, chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, grilled cheese and hamburgers, and of course always with fries!) Our daughter just eats what we eat, and there are always many options to choose from - pasta, chicken, meat entrees . . the nice thing is you are not paying for it if your kids don't eat it, or want to try something else. You can always feed them at the buffet (lots of options - always PB&J) first and then send them to kid's club (opens at 7:00) and eat with your husband. Definately do PC dining, even though you do have to make reservations ahead of time. Another idea for a more relaxing dinner is a portable DVD player. We occasionally just plugged the headphones in and let our daughter watch a movie when she started figeting. (Generally, she is fine - she is used to going out to dinner with us.) Make sure you have crayons, books or quiet games to do at the dinner table.

 

As far as shore excursions, in Puerto Vallarta we were allowed to use the pool and beach at a nice hotel - the ship will tell you about that. Otherwise, we just walked around and took our daughter with us. You can also leave them on the ship, which we plan to do in Alaska since we want to hike.

 

Have a wonderful time!

 

Michelle

[michmstr]

Oh by the way, there were a TON of kids on our cruise, but it was Spring Break.

 

Michelle

[Bruin Steve]

We took our kids on their first cruise when they were precisely 3 and 5 as well...

We've now been on at least 10 cruises with them (they're now 19 and 21)...

....And we've done the Mexican Riviera several times...

 

First, the dining room and menus...Every ship we've ever been on has a fairly standard kids' menu: Pizza, pasta, burgers, hot dogs, fries, chicken strips...

What we learned, though, is that our kids were often more adventuresome...no, they weren't eating lobster tails and veal oscar, but they would occasionally want something off the grown-up menu, especially if it's something they loved at home...So, we'd always scope out the grown-up menu for them and if they were serving ravioli or mashed potatos or egg rolls or anything they may like, we'd order that for them as well...and if they didn't like something, no big deal, the waiter would bring them something else...Of course, at 20, my older daughter still often ordered the french fries off the kids menu...Remember, also, that just because something isn't on the menu, that doesn't mean they won't get it for you (or your kids) if they have it...

 

As to the kids' program...they are great...they will keep your kids far better entertained than you can...

 

As to the ports:

 

I'd recommend against many of the shore excursions with kids that small...You're not going to have an easy time snorkeling or ocean kayaking or horseback riding...In a few years, when they are a little older, take them again and do all that...

 

With kids that age, here is what I might consider:

 

Cabo: You can take a short water taxi ride (pick them up right where the tenders drop you) over to Hacienda Beach and spend a beach day...Hacienda Beach is close in, fairly sheltered and a good, calm family beach...also, you can walk into town and go shopping...If you want some good photos and your kids might enjoy a little boat ride, take one of the excursions out to Los Arcos that doesn't include snorkeling or kayaking...You may get lucky and see sea lions and other water birds and animals...

 

Mazatlan: Deer Island is a nice beach but the excursions there usually involve ocean kayaking...I'm not sure how safe this is with the little ones. There's shopping in the "Golden Zone" and some very crowded beaches there. I like the Sierra Madre tour up to Concordia and Copola, but at 7 hours, it may be a bit long for your little ones...It is interesting (to grown-ups - kids may find it a bit boring) and includes no sports or dangerous activities...

 

Puerto Vallarta: When the kids were little, we took them on the Pool/Beach excursion, which is basically a day pass for the facilities at a nice hotel...If your 5 year old can deal with a horse, and they'll let you hold the 3 your old on your horse, you might consider the horseback riding here...our kids did it without us (they were a little older at the time - like young teens) while we went on a tequila factory tour...and they loved it...Otherwise, PV is about the nicest town on the trip...you can puick up taxis cheap at the pier to bring you to downtown...the shopping is great, the buildings quaint, the restaurants good...For lunch, go to Carlos O'Brien's and get a "Taco Tray for Two" - trust me, it will feed all four of you easy...

 

Have fun...

[Travelgrrl]

The Hotel Finesterra is right across from the port; it's a steep walk uphill (or I guess you could cab it from the pier but it's not a far walk at all, though uphill).

 

You can use their facilities, which include several nice pools, palapas, a swim up bar, nice outdoors restaurant, and so on. We didn't need to buy a day pass as long as we ordered drinks and later, food.

[Mindy97]

Mazatlán has a wonderful Aquarium, tons of tanks of colorful fish which your kids should love. Then there is a mini zoo there, and trained seal and bird shows. Plus there is a butterfly cage you can walk into. And its all reasonably priced and age-appropriate.

 

Afterwards you might have a pulmonia (open air taxi, like a VW "thing") take you to the Panama Restaurant in the Golden Zone. Its a coffee shop/bakery. Its for families, and your kids would love it. They serve "choco-milk" which is yummy, and many other things. I like to drink a "fresada," which is a strawberry freeze with fresh strawberries. They have a full service menu. The highlight is that they have ladies come around pushing carts of desserts. You stop them, look at what they have, and point to what you want. They kids would really like that, I think. And they have menus in English too, so its "no problema."

 

I know if I were 3 or 5 I'd love both of these things!

 

Fern

[Tania]

Please talk to your family doctor about immunization.

 

Kids will ask to be fed once ashore and their systems might not fight off germs and viruses like an adult body would. Unless they are to young to be immunzed, hepatitis A and B vaccinations are a three shot six month course of treatment if the children aren't too young. Get it done yourself if you haven't already. An 18 year old in Paris died from hepatitis and France isn't even on the watchlist.

[helenb]

Thanks for all of the info on what to do onshore. Some of those ideas sound great! While a beach DAY isn't for us a couple of beach hours might be along with an hour or so of shopping area.... just enough to keep the kids interested. Since we haven't been there before either we should be interested too.

 

Tania, I appreciate your advice. My kids are 100% up to date on all their vaccinations (including Hep A and B) and my husband and I actually got our 10-year Hep shots last year because we did an Asian cruise. But you're right in that I should mention it to the ped next time we visit to see what she thinks. I guess that and getting the kids passports are on my immediate to-do list!