Valor in July w/ 4 kids & want to do ruins...

[sarahsema]

We are cruising on the Carnival Valor on July 6th with 4 kids,

ages: 3, 13, 14, and 16....

My husband wants desperately to see the ruins in Cozumel and in Belize and I want to arrange all of our excursions ahead of time.

Does anyone have any insight?:eek:

[caribbean dreams]

Send the teens on a Carnival sponsered teen excursion, put the 3 year old in Camp Carnival and you and your Husband go see the ruins through a ship sponsered tour.

[georgiacruizer]

For more information on these ports, check out the treads under Ports of Call.

Belize: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=109

Cozumel: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=210

 

We toured some ruins in Belize with my then 4 and 7 year olds. Keep in mind, in July it will be hot. There was also a lot of walking. I would second the idea of letting your 3 yo stay in Camp Carnival.

[Stircrzy]

Send the teens on a Carnival sponsered teen excursion, put the 3 year old in Camp Carnival and you and your Husband go see the ruins through a ship sponsered tour.

 

Perfect advice!

[KenMo]

I agree with the other posters.

 

Any ruins tour I've done has been a long, hot day. Way too much for a 3 year old. The teens would probably be okay....if they were interested in ruins.

[sarahsema]

We are doing this cruise as a FAMILY! I would never book a trip or excursion that we could not all do together. She has traveled with us all over the country and is a great traveler.

I guess my questions are not about the feasability of taking a 3 year old, but rather if anyone has insight about which tours are better than others...

We are looking for ruins in Cozumel and Belize and beach days at Grand Cayman and Roatan...

[Dee777]

We are doing this cruise as a FAMILY! I would never book a trip or excursion that we could not all do together. She has traveled with us all over the country and is a great traveler.

I guess my questions are not about the feasability of taking a 3 year old, but rather if anyone has insight about which tours are better than others...

We are looking for ruins in Cozumel and Belize and beach days at Grand Cayman and Roatan...

 

I just got back from a sail with the Valor, and we stopped in Cozumel. Took the trip to Tulum to see the Mayan ruins. Keep in mind, it is mid- January. It was hot. When I say hot, I mean HOT. July? You figure it out. No one is discussing the feasibility of whether or not you should bring children. The tour is long, I booked it through Carnival. I think no matter who you book it through, it would be long. Over 6 hours start to finish. How happy are your kids going to be? We had three kids with us, ages 11, 12 and 14. They were bored out of their everloving minds. I asked them when we returned to the ship if they enjoyed their day, and they TOLD me they would have been happier on the ship doing kid stuff with their new Carnival friends.

 

I was ready to trade them off for some Mayan souvenirs, but their parents would have been pissed, I figured.

[KenMo]

We are doing this cruise as a FAMILY! I would never book a trip or excursion that we could not all do together. She has traveled with us all over the country and is a great traveler.

I guess my questions are not about the feasability of taking a 3 year old, but rather if anyone has insight about which tours are better than others...

We are looking for ruins in Cozumel and Belize and beach days at Grand Cayman and Roatan...

 

 

Well.....you asked if anyone had any insight and we gave it to ya!!!

 

I guess we all read your post the same way....how would the kids handle it. Because those of us who have been there know how hot it gets in Mexico.....traveling all day in Mexico is not the same as traveling all over the US. It's freaking hot down there.

 

Now to answer your question more specifically.....

 

Roatan: I haven't been to a beach there, yet. We zip lined. So can't help you with that.

 

Grand Cayman: I'd look into a Nativeways excursion. It's not totally a beach day. They'll take you snokeling, play with the stingrays (kids and adults love it! I'm about 5'3" and the water comes up to my chest at the deepest level.) and then to Rum Point Beach. A beautiful beach, BTW. A meal is included....waiting for you at the beach. Or you could go to 7 Mile Beach. I haven't made it there yet either, but lots of people enjoy it.

 

Ruins: I've been to Tulum via Cozumel and Lamanai via Belize. Both all day excursions. And beautiful for different reasons.

 

Tulum: It's on the beach. You can't climb the ruins at all. Have you ever seen the movie "Against All Odds"? Some of the filming was done in Tulum. It's a really open area....not too many trees.

 

Lamanai: These ruins are in the jungle. Some you can climb. There was a troop of monkeys jumping through the trees when we were there. You go in a van, then on a boat up river to the ruins. A meal was also included here.....I booked it independently.

 

HTH

[caribbean dreams]

traveling all day in Mexico is not the same as traveling all over the US. It's freaking hot down there.

 

 

Umm Ya, i want to second that by saying.....I thought i was going to have a heat stroke last time i was there in July and i was only outside for an hour or so.

[NCTribeFan]

We went to Tulum on our first cruise, which was mid-April. It was incredibly hot. And then there was a ferry ride back over to Coz when the crew passed out the little white bags.

 

You might want to post this on the Ports of Call for the ports in question or on the Family board.

 

It's a long, hot, tiring trip for anyone. My friend's 13 yo DS was bored to tears by the end of the day, and he started off with a great attitude.

[sarahsema]

Sorry to have angered anyone...

 

We just really want to have a positive family experience. My husband's family has Mayan heritage and the kids have never experienced it, so July or otherwise, we are going!

They live in Las Vegas, so we are used to hot summers!

 

Thank you for all of the advice though, we will bring bathing suits and lots of water!

[BSQ]

just so you are prepared with what ever tour you take, July in Las Vegas (115) will feel cool compared to July in the Yucatan. The phrase "it's a dry heat" speaks volumes down there.

 

The key to getting the most out of your trip to the ruins is going to be with having a good guide that can enrich your trip with noth just what the structures are, but with the lore and the stories of how the maya then lived, and what has carried over into today.