Snorkeling...Can I take my 4 year old??

[shep]

We are going to be on the Wonder for 3 days and hitting Castaway Cay & Nassau...My youngest dd will be 5, 2 weeks after our cruise and she is just as big as my 7 year old dd...
Was wondering if my 4 year old will be able to go...
I understand she probaly won't snorkel but I don't want to leave DW & DD behind while me & my oldest snorkel...

Thanks..

 

[pdarrah]

It is going to depend on the excursion - many DCL excursions (at least on the Western) had a minimum age that they were very strict about. I have found that most independent excursions do not have a minimum age. We did our own excursion at Cozumel with our DS5 - although he ended up not being comfortable with snorkeling, he did enjoy just floating in the water near us. We brought his own life-vest from home so it would be comfortable for him and we did have to worry about if there would be one to fit him.

I hope that helps a little.

Pdarrah

 

[zeldacruiser]

If you are snorkeling at Castaway Cay, I don't believe there would be a problem because no one knows who is really snorkeling. You could just rent as many sets of snorkeling equipment as you want on your own Key to the World card. If your youngest doesn't want to snorkel, just ask for a child's vest so she can accompany you in the snorkeling area (they will loan vests free to people who bring their own snorkeling equipment, so you shouldn't get any questions about it). Note that this would be for regular Castaway Cay snorkeling, not for the CC excursion that takes you out by boat.

 

[Invisible Penguinboy]

when i went last summer we were with a family that had a five year old, she was pretty small, but we took her with us. She wasn't really able to do it by herself but we took turns holding her and letting her stick her head under water and she had a blast. It really depends of if you dd can swim by herself and if not if you would want to hold her so she can see. If you dont mind i would deifnetly say to take her with you.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

In Aug., on the 7 day, we were NOT allowed to take DD4 on the snorkel tour. We even went directly to the tour operator (Doubloon) but they would not risk losing the contract with Disney. (not that I blame them) I just wanted you to know so you would have a back-up plan. We luckly had Grandma. She has been around boats since the summer she was born but they were very strict about the rules.

 

[mrsnesbit]

We are going to be on the Wonder for 3 days and hitting Castaway Cay & Nassau...My youngest dd will be 5, 2 weeks after our cruise and she is just as big as my 7 year old dd...
Was wondering if my 4 year old will be able to go...
I understand she probaly won't snorkel but I don't want to leave DW & DD behind while me & my oldest snorkel...

Thanks..

If your daughter is within 2 weeks of her 5th birthday be sure to ask the club to bump her up to the 5-7 group in the club. She will have wrist band that says 5-7. We took our 4 year old (almost 5) on an excursion in Grand cayman that said 5 and older because we did not mention that she was four. She was in the 5-7 group in the club.

Now before people start shouting at me about breaking the rules... be aware that all the tours online (same operators running the excursions) offer the same trip for children as young as 2. It is only Disney's restriction. I wasn't about to leave my almost 5 year old alone onboard in the club with no way to contact us on the excursion. She is an excellent swimmer and totally enjoyed the stingray city trip. This particular trip doesn't require snorkling. You just float around or walk around with the stingrays.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

That is so true! If I had been staying in St. Thomas and booked the Doubloon myself they would have taken DD4, no problem, it was Disney's restriction. And I agree no way would she have stayed on the ship with me at shore. As it was there was an event in the Kids club she thought she wanted to do, so after we left Grandma took her to the club. Not 10 min later they paged Grandma to get her as she was upset. DD knew we were not close by and got worried. I am SO glad that Grandma was both there and willling to babysit for the afternoon. I know many kids are not at all bothered by being in the clubs and wouldn't give it a second thought but mine did worry and cry. She was very relunctent to return to the club after that too as she thought she was missing something. So if you could bump them up it might work out better.

 

[shep]

If your daughter is within 2 weeks of her 5th birthday be sure to ask the club to bump her up to the 5-7 group in the club. She will have wrist band that says 5-7. We took our 4 year old (almost 5) on an excursion in Grand cayman that said 5 and older because we did not mention that she was four. She was in the 5-7 group in the club.

Now before people start shouting at me about breaking the rules... be aware that all the tours online (same operators running the excursions) offer the same trip for children as young as 2. It is only Disney's restriction. I wasn't about to leave my almost 5 year old alone onboard in the club with no way to contact us on the excursion. She is an excellent swimmer and totally enjoyed the stingray city trip. This particular trip doesn't require snorkling. You just float around or walk around with the stingrays.

Cassie will be within 2 weeks of her 5th birthday...I don't feel right doing something without them....If I can't take my girls chances are I won't do it...

Thanks so much for the advice..

 

[cats04]

I'm with mrsnesbit on this one. No one knows your children better than you. If you think they would enjoy this trip, go for it. I too have 2dds, ages 7 and 5. We're planning on doing stingray city w/them. I know both will love the stingrays, but not sure how my 5 yr. old will enjoy the snorkling. I'm going to buy a snorkling set and practice w/her over the summer before we sail in Sept. Enjoy your trip.

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

We all (4 girls in a family) started snorkeling at age 4. Fortunately it was in Grand Cayman (30 years ago). The water was warm and crystal clear and my parents bought us all correctly fitting masks, fins and snorkels as well as life vests. We all LOVED it, caught on fast, and all four of us still love snorkeling to this day.

I stress that fact that a good fitting mask can make or break a snorkel excursion. Water leaking in or a foggy mask just ruins it. Especially if it is a child. Go to a scuba outfitter and have them fit you kids with good masks and snorkels.....you will not regret it. They will probably cost you around $30.00 for a childs mask, but it will make your trip a more pleasant one.

Don't, though get them fins. They should be able to get them from the ship.
They take up way too much room and are a pain to carry.

Mrsfuzzmo