Excursions? With 2 year old.

[jrun2008]

How do you do the excursions with a 2 year old?

 

I am currently planning on taking our airline approved car seat which is large and heavy but safe.

 

If you take a taxi in the port cities....where do you put the car seat when you are on the beach,etc without it getting really sandy or heavy when walking around?

 

Also if you book through the cruiseline, we are on NCL do they have car seats in the transportation...do they even have seat belts?

 

Any suggestions for Cabo, PV and MAZ? I would like to not have to pay for excursions in everytown but would like to do some if they are worth the money.

I have read good things about Stone Island in Mazatlan but is it safer with a the excursion or on our own? Looks to be cheaper on our own but what about safety?

Puerto Vallarta some have said the Krystal hotel was within walking distance. Would this a good idea - So we would not have to worry about taking the car seat off the ship?

 

Advice please??? I am getting nervous about car seat safety!

[Kerry's Girls]

In PV the Krystal is perfect for a 2 year old and is an easy walk - even with a stroller. You can search for specific directions on the Mexico boards. It has a wonderful toddler pool, a playground (do the playground first as it gets hot) and shaded beach areas. My girls have loved it there since they were a year old. We bring towels from the ship and have lunch there.

 

In Cabo the Lands End boat tour leaves from the dock, so no car seat would be necessary.

 

I haven't found anything yet in Mazatlan that doesn't require lugging around a car seat. We bring the Eddie Bauer travel car seats and do the Papaslantas Flyers + Beach tour.

 

Best,

Mia

[jrun2008]

Thanks for the info.

 

Do you think the Eddie Bauer Travel car seat is safe and worth the money?

 

Our 2 year old is 23 pounds - will this be safe?

[Kerry's Girls]

The Eddie Bauer seat has been useful for me because we travel a few times a year, but I paid $35 each for mine - I wouldn't pay the $100+ that Amazon is charging now (I see that Albee Baby has it for $40, which would be worth it to me). And it's clearly not as safe as a regular car seat, but it's much better than nothing, so it's a judgement call for each parent. I've been fine with my twin 2 year olds using it to get from airport to hotel and back in cities where we otherwise ride the train (Chicago, London) or in Mazatlan to get from the ship to the Golden Zone.

 

I wouldn't buy one just for the Mexican Riviera cruise since there are things to do that don't require car seats. I know for Mazatlan some people walk to where the little boats ferry people over to Stone Island. Or book a tour with Mazatlan Frank in one of his vans where you can bring your own car seat and leave it on the van. www.mazatlan-frank.com

 

You can also book any tour that uses a bus (no car seats since there are no seatbelts).

 

Have a great trip!

 

Best,

Mia

[mandyq]

We just went on the Mexican Rivera cruise this past June. We have 3 kids that require carseats and we really didn't want to take 3 carseats along with us so we avoided it. We did do the Krystal resort in PV and it was perfect. In Mazatlan, we just stayed on the ship. I believe you can ride a shuttle into town but mostly it seemed like shopping and site seeing. We didn't feel like the excursions were kid friendly but we still enjoyed our time on the ship. Stone Island did look interesting but from what I read, it was a lot of walking and didn't seem to be kid friendly. We have two in strollers. Maybe if we just had 1 in a stroller we would have considered Stone Island. In Cabo, we did the Land's End tour, the only money we spent on excursions. It was well worth it for us, at a great time, and just the right length of time for an excursion for our little ones. You can do a water taxi tour which probably would have been cheaper but probably not as safe as the excursion booked with the ship. We did do some walking around the town in Cabo and got a family portrait with a baby lion. We really loved Cabo. Hope that helps some.

[rnff2]

Our ds is 3 and for our up coming MR cruise we are bringing a backless booster using it to and from the airports and have chosen to do things in port that don't require the booster. (Found a backless booster that starts at 30lbs at Walmart for about $15.) We plan on using a bungee cord to attach the booster to his stroller in the airports and then gate check both. In PV we are walking to the Krystal, in Cabo we are doing a Pirate ship snorkling tour, figure dh and I can take turns snorkling and in Mazatlan we are going to Stone Island on our own, dh and ds want to go to the beach. I have read and researched our ports and think I have found the best solution for our family. I guess I'll find out soon.

[jrun2008]

Our ds is 3 and for our up coming MR cruise we are bringing a backless booster using it to and from the airports and have chosen to do things in port that don't require the booster. (Found a backless booster that starts at 30lbs at Walmart for about $15.) We plan on using a bungee cord to attach the booster to his stroller in the airports and then gate check both. In PV we are walking to the Krystal, in Cabo we are doing a Pirate ship snorkling tour, figure dh and I can take turns snorkling and in Mazatlan we are going to Stone Island on our own, dh and ds want to go to the beach. I have read and researched our ports and think I have found the best solution for our family. I guess I'll find out soon.

 

 

I think we will do pretty much the same. Krystal in PV, Cabo I still have not decided and Mazatlan we will do Stone Island on our own.

Maybe we will see you!~ We are on ncl 9-27-08.

 

Thanks again!

[katerkat]

We're doing the same cruise, but Carnival Pride on the 21st. In PV, we're going to Sea Life Park and doing the dolphin thing with our three-year-old. It'll be a bus over there, but I don't think they let carseats on those. Matazlan, we're going to Stone Island and Cabo, just walking around the port. We're not bringing the carseat on the ship, even. It took up a LOT of space on our last cruise and never left the closet.

[cb at sea]

Just remember that folks rode for years (ever since cars were invented) without carseats! The great majority of us are still alive and kicking! Hey--we didn't wear helmets when riding bikes, either!!! Our jungle gyms were built on blacktop, with no padding underneath!!! We are still ALIVE!! I'm not recommending that you never use a carseat, but on a cruise, you can probably do without!