Cozumel and Tulum

[Melora]

We are thinking of a Caribbean cruise sometime next year.

My biggest wish is to see some Pyramids and I know there are some at Tulum. I have found that Disney's Cruise sets an age limit of 5 as the youngest that can go on this excursion.

All the other cruises I have researched do not put an age limit on visiting these ruins.

Has anyone ever taken this excursion with Disney? My son will be 4 and I would hate to go with another cruise line because we couldnt do this with Disney.

Has anyone ever taken the excursion with a young child? My husband went there many years ago and said many people had little kids (as young as 2) without any issue.

Can little kids stay aboard ship while the adults go on a shore excursion? Or do they not allow that?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[CGC33A]

I don't know about little kids ion this excursion, but I have done it with Carnival & would think that most children would find it boring. You can't climb on the ruins & it was very hot when I went in March. & there is a long bus ride to get there. I left my kids on the ship.

 

[mamalle]

we did it on our honeymoon and it was a LONG hot day between traveling and doing the ruins. I dont think I would take my 4 year old on a trip like that but thats just me.

 

[Footnotegirl]

I do not know if they are really strict about things, but my hubby and I went on the western cruise with two friends who had a 4 year old at that time, and he stayed in the kids clubs when we went on /all/ the excursions.

I think, especially if you go during the warm months, Tulum would be way too long and hot of a day. We also had to do quite a lot of walking, both to get to the bus and then to get to the ruins, and over occasionally rough and unpaved ground, as well as across traffic. I don't think that a child under oh, 12 would be anything but crying with fatigue and boredom at the end. It's a great trip for adults and older teens though, and was one of the highlights of our trip. Wear your swimsuit, when we went we got a chance to go to the gorgeous beach there, and I regretted that I hadn't worn my suit under my clothes.

 

[ohiominnie]

My dh and dd went on this in May. My dd was 9 1/2 at the time. She really enjoyed it, but then again, she had done some hefty studying of the Mayan Ruins in school (we homeschool) so it was a great way to put everything together. It was a very hot, very long day with lots of boring transportation (ferry ride, then a long bus ride, then a lot of walking, a tram ride and more walking) Restroom facilities were sparse and you actually had to pay to use them. The tour guide was boring and long winded. The beach that you can go to didn't have chairs, umbrellas or anything except Mexican children swimming in their underwear. It was also a long day and they re-boarded the ship at 5:55---just barely in time to make it fashionably late to 6:00 dinner.

That being said, they had a GREAT time. Dd learned more about the ruins (or at least could see them in real life) and she enjoyed the special time with dad. (ds and I did a dolphin encounter) I don't think they'll do it again--seen 'um once, that's enough.

From what they told me about their day though, I wouldn't take a 4 yr old--YMMV

 

[Melora]

Thanks for the input! I agree that the 4 year old wouldnt enjoy it.. I wasnt really even thinking he could be maybe stay on the ship doing fun stuff.

My 9 year old and teens would enjoy it Im sure.

We are looking at an early Feb cruise because we are going to have to being Florida for a conference anyway. They still have cabins available for the early Feb sailing and if the conference coincides with that week we will probably go. We were supposed to go next weekend for the conference in Palm Beach but the hotel where it was scheduled to held was heavily damaged in the hurricane and they had to postpone it.