excursions for 6 and 8 year old Western Caribbean

[Icecoldcranberry]

Hi everyone,

 

My dh and I just booked on Harmony of the Seas Western Caribbean for next winter. We will be travelling with our two boys who will be 6 and 8 years old at the time of sailing. I am looking for suggestions for excursions to do with them in Cozumel and Falmouth. I don't think that they will be ready to climb Dunns River (and I have already done it anyways). They are not super tall either. Any suggestions re good excursions to do with them? Also is there an excursion worth booking in Labadee?

:)

I am super excited!

[Clarea]

Labadee is a great beach day, no need for any excursions. A BBQ lunch is provided.

[billybob123]

My kids loved Playa Mia in Cozumel. They have a pretty impressive spray park that might be too juvenile for your 8 year old, but also have twister waterslides, pools, a beach, and a swim-out inflatable climber that would interest both kids. We're going back in March with 8 and 4 year old this time.

[matj2000]

You are not required to do "Excursions".

There is nothing wrong with just getting off the ship and checking things out.

No need for some pre-arranged organized activity.

We hardly ever do anything like that....

[Cel_cruise]

We traveled to both places in 2015 with a 4 and 8 year old, and this year we are heading back to Cozumel - so our 4 yo is now 6.

 

Our youngest was not up for the falls, so we did a private tour to the Green Grotto Caves in Jamaica. We enjoyed it - it took just a few hours, then we walked around the port a bit, I got a chair massage, and we headed back onboard. I would recommend it.

 

We originally didn't have plans for Cozumel but when our Grand Cayman visit was cancelled for high waves, we ended up adding a trip to Chankanaub to swim with the Dolphins. We did the expensive option and everyone had a blast. It's a nice facility - after our dolphin experience we enjoyed some time at the pool, their fake ruins, their historians, and the sea lion show!

 

 

 

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[Icecoldcranberry]

We might stay on the ship but am a planner so I like checking out the options. I saw the playa park and that does look great! We will likely get off the ship and just walk around in Labadee. Has anyone every paid to rent a cabana? Are they worth it? Has anyone done a tubing excursion in Jamaica? Are they safe? Keep the advice/input coming!

[Cel_cruise]

My kids loved Playa Mia in Cozumel. They have a pretty impressive spray park that might be too juvenile for your 8 year old, but also have twister waterslides, pools, a beach, and a swim-out inflatable climber that would interest both kids. We're going back in March with 8 and 4 year old this time.

 

 

I'm pretty sure we are going to Playa Mia in April with our 6 and 10 year olds. Glad to see that your family liked it!

 

Do you take a taxi there or do you go thru the cruise line?

 

 

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[Icecoldcranberry]

The Green Grotto caves sound interesting! Did you book with someone private just by walking off the boat and finding a guide?

[billybob123]

I'm pretty sure we are going to Playa Mia in April with our 6 and 10 year olds. Glad to see that your family liked it!

 

Do you take a taxi there or do you go thru the cruise line?

 

 

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We took a taxi right outside the pier. The driver took us to the admission gate, I think we got a slight discount or he got a commission (or both). Was far easier and cheaper than cruise excursion. Best part was we could leave when we wanted. That being said, half the loungers on the beach were reserved for excursions.

 

Plenty of taxis in the parking lot when it was time to go. We did have to switch taxis when the first one didn't have seatbelts. I didn't bring booster seats but I will draw the line at no seatbelt!

[LisaT91403]

We did that same Harmony sailing in December with my 8 year old. He really enjoyed the Jamaican bobsled and zip lining excursion in Jamaica. We booked through the ship, as it was less expensive than going on your own.

 

Our whole family had a great day at Paradise Beach in Cozumel. The water park would probably be challenging for your 6 year old, as the inflatables are hard to climb up on. My son loved them. He also thought the pool was great. We did this on our own (just take a taxi, very easy).

 

My son liked the water slide on Labadee, although I have no idea why. It looked kinda boring to me, but he slid down it all day long. All. Day. No joke. We had a cabana, and it was fantastic.

 

Enjoy!

[Cel_cruise]

The Green Grotto caves sound interesting! Did you book with someone private just by walking off the boat and finding a guide?

 

 

We booked ahead of time with Yardie Tours. I would recommend them but with a word of caution. They were easy to work with prior to the cruise and our tour. The van we were in was clean and air conditioned. Our driver handled everything at the caves. At the caves we were paired up with another couple for the walking tour.

 

This is where the caution comes in. After leaving the caves, the driver took us past a few sites and took a few pictures of us. That was all good. Then he said he would take us somewhere to eat and stop for cheaper souvenirs than at the port.

 

We turned down food but he still stopped in a souvenir store - it was just us there and everything was pretty dusty. It was hard to leave there without buying something (we did buy something!). I should have been more assertive about not wanting to stop there. I didn't expect it to be empty of just us at this store. I'm confident that if I had said 'No Thank You' to the stop - it would have been fine and we would have gone straight back to port.

 

Many people really do enjoy stopping at some of the famous places on the island for Jerk Chicken - but my family is just not a fan so it wasn't in our plans.

 

 

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[Cel_cruise]

We took a taxi right outside the pier. The driver took us to the admission gate, I think we got a slight discount or he got a commission (or both). Was far easier and cheaper than cruise excursion. Best part was we could leave when we wanted. That being said, half the loungers on the beach were reserved for excursions.

 

Plenty of taxis in the parking lot when it was time to go. We did have to switch taxis when the first one didn't have seatbelts. I didn't bring booster seats but I will draw the line at no seatbelt!

 

 

I hear you on the seatbelt thing!

 

Did the excursions have 'the best' loungers reserved for them? Or just 'half' of them? This sounds promising...prices thru the cruise planner are much higher than the prices on the playa Mia website!

 

 

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[billybob123]

Did the excursions have 'the best' loungers reserved for them? Or just 'half' of them? This sounds promising...prices thru the cruise planner are much higher than the prices on the playa Mia website!

 

They basically cut the beach in half. In the image below, the loungers on the left of the pier were the reserved ones when we went.

 

We got lucky with the Superbowl sale on our planner. The excursion was about $32 including transportation, so I jumped on it. At current price (40+ pp) it's not worth it.

 

Enjoy it, your kids will love it!

 

[billybob123]

Also forgot to mention it was pretty busy when we went, but only three ships in port. When we go this time, 6 ships... Yikes could be packed!

[schmeed]

Hi everyone,

 

My dh and I just booked on Harmony of the Seas Western Caribbean for next winter. We will be travelling with our two boys who will be 6 and 8 years old at the time of sailing. I am looking for suggestions for excursions to do with them in Cozumel and Falmouth. I don't think that they will be ready to climb Dunns River (and I have already done it anyways). They are not super tall either. Any suggestions re good excursions to do with them? Also is there an excursion worth booking in Labadee?

:)

I am super excited!

 

 

Check out Paradise beach in Cozumel. 5 miles from the cruise port which is nice so that you don't have to stare at cruise ships on the beach. Playa Mia is RIGHT NEXT to the cruise port, but you won't see that in their advertised pictures.

 

Labadee is a definite beach day. It's actually pretty sad to see the kids outside the barb wire fence banging on their plates looking for food while you scarf down at the buffet. Haiti is a disaster. :(

[melski]

I have 4 kids who were 16, 12, 9 and 4 and we went to Blue Hole in Jamaica last year. My kids loved it. The guides were really helpful with the younger 2, picking them up and carrying them over rocks if needed. I did bring my own life vest for the youngest but they did have them available. The younger 2 didn't jump from the tallest falls but it was a great time. I did research drivers as I wanted a private car and I can highly recommend Winston at Tour Jamaica Today. He was a really careful driver and it took us a bit longer to get to Blue Hole because he was safe on wet roads. He is able to take you anywhere if you are up for a tour and he wasn't pushy about what to do (i.e. he offered to take us to a market but we said no and it was dropped immediately).

 

In Cozumel, we've done Playa Mia twice. It is a great facility, however, the buffet food is terrible. I know food is subjective but I'm not a foodie and find MDR food good. I'm thinking we'll go to Mr. Sanchos for our March trip.

[billybob123]

Playa Mia is RIGHT NEXT to the cruise port, but you won't see that in their advertised pictures.

 

Not true at all. Paradise Beach and Playa Mia are next to each other. 10+ km from the ships (6 miles or so). If you can see the ships from Playa Mia, your eyes are better than mine, especially being able to see through the island and trees that are between the ships and the beach.

 

 

In Cozumel, we've done Playa Mia twice. It is a great facility, however, the buffet food is terrible. I know food is subjective but I'm not a foodie and find MDR food good. I'm thinking we'll go to Mr. Sanchos for our March trip.

 

 

We just bought à-la-carte from the restaurant. The buffet looked entirely unappetizing - the food from the menu wasn't fantastic but it worked for us.

[waterfever]

We've been to Cozumel a few times. Some of the things that your kids might like are the Atlantis submarine which goes about 130 feet down, or the Explorer semi-sub. That's a boat where there are side-view windows about 6 feet under the surface of the water; it doesn't go under the water like the sub does. It has much better views than a glass bottom boat if you've ever been on one of those because you're looking out into the distance, not just looking at the bottom. In both of them you get great views of the coral & fish. We've also done the dolphin swimming there one Christmas when it was only 59 degrees. That wasn't a whole lot of fun, but we've done it in Anguilla when it was warm, and it was great. You can also take a cab downtown & walk around in the shops. You can also take a horse and buggy ride which your kids might like.

 

Falmouth is a relatively new port which has a shopping area built for the ships. The time I was there, we went to a beach. I don't remember the name. It wasn't spectacular.

 

Labadee, as others have mentioned, is Royal Caribbean's private beach area. One hint for there is don't go to the beach that is the first one you come to when you get off the ship. It is very rocky. If you walk down a little farther, there is another one that is sandy & much better on the feet for the kids and you. Each beach area has a different name. I don't remember the name of the nicer one, maybe Columbus Cove, but it is very close to the Haitian Market area where all vendors are selling you the "hand made" items that their dear granny made, but they're all the same. Those people are very pushy. But I digress. You will be able to get a map of Labadee from the ship (or you can fine one online), so you can see the things that are available there.

[Gabruska]

We have been to Cozumel twice and both times went to Paradise Beach it's the best deal out there for all you get. Huge pool, clean bathrooms and you don't have to buy all inclusive like other resorts. 10 minute taxi ride $15 each way for the 4 of us.

 

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[Iluvjo]

Playa Mia- Nuff said.

Really though, it was the cleanest beach experience i have ever been to. Yes, it is not free so oh-well, your little ones will have have a ball. My girls were 5 and 7 when we there and loves every minute of the experience.

 

You can't go wrong with this place.

[SarahD112]

I second Playa Mia. We've been twice and it's great. Lots to do. We did basic entrance only and bought lunch off the menu. They have things like chicken fingers and cheeseburgers if your kids don't like Mexican.

 

 

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[Mrsdigi]

We traveled to both places in 2015 with a 4 and 8 year old, and this year we are heading back to Cozumel - so our 4 yo is now 6.

 

Our youngest was not up for the falls, so we did a private tour to the Green Grotto Caves in Jamaica. We enjoyed it - it took just a few hours, then we walked around the port a bit, I got a chair massage, and we headed back onboard. I would recommend it.

 

We originally didn't have plans for Cozumel but when our Grand Cayman visit was cancelled for high waves, we ended up adding a trip to Chankanaub to swim with the Dolphins. We did the expensive option and everyone had a blast. It's a nice facility - after our dolphin experience we enjoyed some time at the pool, their fake ruins, their historians, and the sea lion show!

 

 

 

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What does the Green Grotto Cave excursion consist of? It's kinda vague description in the cruise planner. My boys are 4 1/2 and 9. Thanks much!

 

 

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[SandInMyShorts]

Paradise Beach!!!! Awesome pool and beach. VERY kid friendly. We loved it there. We had 3 kids with us. 7,5,3 years old. They didn't want to leave.

[SarahD112]

What does the Green Grotto Cave excursion consist of? It's kinda vague description in the cruise planner. My boys are 4 1/2 and 9. Thanks much!

 

 

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We did it years ago combined with climbing the falls. It's a dark cave and we walked through. It was neat but might not be too great as a stand alone excursion. The falls are fantastic. Everyone holds hands to climb up - the kids could do it but I can't remember if there's an age minimum. The other thing we've done - and loved - in Jamaica was Mystic Mountain. It's zip lining though and not sure about an age minimum, although there were young ones doing it. I think they zipped tandem with one of the guides. You ride up the mountain in a ski lift type chair. There's a coaster type ride, which is one person but they can hook two together if you want. And then we zip lined. There were at least nine zips. It was AWESOME. One of the zips is straight down, maybe twenty feet? The guides control the ropes so it's not too scary. One of our favorite excursions ever of the five or six cruises we've done with the kids.

 

 

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[sprint180]

We took a taxi right outside the pier. The driver took us to the admission gate, I think we got a slight discount or he got a commission (or both). Was far easier and cheaper than cruise excursion. Best part was we could leave when we wanted. That being said, half the loungers on the beach were reserved for excursions.

 

Plenty of taxis in the parking lot when it was time to go. We did have to switch taxis when the first one didn't have seatbelts. I didn't bring booster seats but I will draw the line at no seatbelt!

 

 

Do you remember how much the taxi was? Or about anyway? Also what kind of money do you pay in