Western Caribbean with 4 year old

[Candycane83]

Hey everyone! Finally booked for Merrytime cruise on December 21 out of Galveston! It will be DH’s and DS4’s very first cruise! I was initially debating between this and DL and DH chose this. I seriously have so many questions as the last time I went on DCL was 2004!

Anyway, I’m one of those people who loves planning so I have started looking at shore excursions. our stops are Cozumel and Grand Cayman. What are your suggestions?
In
Grand Cayman, I’m interested in Stingray city but DCL does not offer any tours to kids below 5 years old. I have started looking at tours outside of DCL and found Seven Seas Charter. Has anyone here had experience with them? I’ve seen very good reviews on tripadvisor.

Any suggestions for Cozumel? I’ve initially thought of xcaret but it seems too far from the cruise port. I was thinking of Cozumel beach break or Chankanaab? I read Playa Mia is not worth it with DCL?

Thanks everyone! (I’m sure I would have more questions later!)

 

[dcassetta]

Hey everyone! Finally booked for Merrytime cruise on December 21 out of Galveston! It will be DH’s and DS4’s very first cruise! I was initially debating between this and DL and DH chose this. I seriously have so many questions as the last time I went on DCL was 2004!

Anyway, I’m one of those people who loves planning so I have started looking at shore excursions. our stops are Cozumel and Grand Cayman. What are your suggestions?
In
Grand Cayman, I’m interested in Stingray city but DCL does not offer any tours to kids below 5 years old. I have started looking at tours outside of DCL and found Seven Seas Charter. Has anyone here had experience with them? I’ve seen very good reviews on tripadvisor.

Any suggestions for Cozumel? I’ve initially thought of xcaret but it seems too far from the cruise port. I was thinking of Cozumel beach break or Chankanaab? I read Playa Mia is not worth it with DCL?

Thanks everyone! (I’m sure I would have more questions later!)

On Grand Cayman, I can recommend Acquarius https://www.caymanstingraycitysnorkel.ky/

Cozumel has lots of options. I would not do Xcaret just because the travel time is long. Chankanaab is great and there are also a variety of beach clubs.

Nachi Cocum ( my favorite) Very quiet and relaxed. Nice beach and pool with plenty of loungers and shade, food and all drinks (alcohol too) included. Okay off-beach snorkeling (fee if you do not have your own). No water park. About $60 per person, kids are less http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/

Mr. Sanchos (my second favorite) Fun and active. Nice beach and pool area, not as shady near the beach as Nachi Cocum. Food and all drinks included. Ocean floating park for an additional $12 per person. Add-ons like jet skis, parasailing and horseback riding are available. Okay off-beach snorkeling (fee if you do not have your own) About $55 per person, kids are less.http://www.mrsanchos.com/

Playa Mia (excellent reviews from friends) Fun and active, not as shady near beach as Nachi Cocum. Food and all drinks included. Pools, fresh-water water park and slides and an ocean floating park included. Also, non-motorized boats like kayaks and water bikes. Add-ons like jet skis and parasailing. Okay off-beach snorkeling (fee if you do not have your own) About $60 person, including all the kids. https://www.playamia.com/

 

[Candycane83]

On Grand Cayman, I can recommend Acquarius https://www.caymanstingraycitysnorkel.ky/

Cozumel has lots of options. I would not do Xcaret just because the travel time is long. Chankanaab is great and there are also a variety of beach clubs.

Nachi Cocum ( my favorite) Very quiet and relaxed. Nice beach and pool with plenty of loungers and shade, food and all drinks (alcohol too) included. Okay off-beach snorkeling (fee if you do not have your own). No water park. About $60 per person, kids are less http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/

Mr. Sanchos (my second favorite) Fun and active. Nice beach and pool area, not as shady near the beach as Nachi Cocum. Food and all drinks included. Ocean floating park for an additional $12 per person. Add-ons like jet skis, parasailing and horseback riding are available. Okay off-beach snorkeling (fee if you do not have your own) About $55 per person, kids are less.http://www.mrsanchos.com/

Playa Mia (excellent reviews from friends) Fun and active, not as shady near beach as Nachi Cocum. Food and all drinks included. Pools, fresh-water water park and slides and an ocean floating park included. Also, non-motorized boats like kayaks and water bikes. Add-ons like jet skis and parasailing. Okay off-beach snorkeling (fee if you do not have your own) About $60 person, including all the kids. https://www.playamia.com/

Thanks so much for the different info!! I have contacted Acquarius but they actually do not have availability the day we’re there. Have you had experience there? How did you find Stingray City?

For Cozumel, I would definitely check all the different beach clubs you have mentioned! I’m actually also looking at the Atlantis submarine. Not sure if it’s worth it...

 

[KashasMom]

Definitely book on your own or in Cozumel you can just grab a taxi and go. I'd recommend Chankanaab - beach, pool, sea lion show - or take a taxi to Paradise Beach - amazing pool and nice beach area. Shoretrips.com has some excursions that you can check out for all ports.

 

[dcassetta]

Thanks so much for the different info!! I have contacted Acquarius but they actually do not have availability the day we’re there. Have you had experience there? How did you find Stingray City?

For Cozumel, I would definitely check all the different beach clubs you have mentioned! I’m actually also looking at the Atlantis submarine. Not sure if it’s worth it...

I find the reviews on trip advisor to usually be pretty accurate, so I would try to see if Seven Seas has a tour you're looking for.

Stingray City is great. Your little one will probably have to be held, as the water is likely to be too deep for them to stand. The stingrays are all around, and many of the tours give you an opportunity to feed them, which can be a little bit intimidating. Check and see if the other two are you're looking at goes to starfish point. You can easily wait in the water there, and the starfish are everywhere.

No experience with any of the submarine tours, but I guess if I was going to look at one it would be in Grand Cayman where there's more coral reef.

 

[Candycane83]

Definitely book on your own or in Cozumel you can just grab a taxi and go. I'd recommend Chankanaab - beach, pool, sea lion show - or take a taxi to Paradise Beach - amazing pool and nice beach area. Shoretrips.com has some excursions that you can check out for all ports.

Thank you! I’ll definitely check out shoretrips.com. I’m leaning towards either Chankanaab or Playa Mia right now. They seem to be more friendly for kids. I’ll check out Paradise Beach too!

I find the reviews on trip advisor to usually be pretty accurate, so I would try to see if Seven Seas has a tour you're looking for.

Stingray City is great. Your little one will probably have to be held, as the water is likely to be too deep for them to stand. The stingrays are all around, and many of the tours give you an opportunity to feed them, which can be a little bit intimidating. Check and see if the other two are you're looking at goes to starfish point. You can easily wait in the water there, and the starfish are everywhere.

No experience with any of the submarine tours, but I guess if I was going to look at one it would be in Grand Cayman where there's more coral reef.

Sounds like an amazing experience! I’ll definitely try to book Stingray City and starfish beach for Grand Cayman. Thanks for the recommendation and sharing your experience!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We have done this route 3 times...all 3 times with a preschooler in tow.

Grand Cayman has the turtle farm that the kids love. Take a taxi on your own. They also liked the semi submarine.

Cozumel we loved Nachi Cocum, strongly disliked Mr Sanchos, and stayed on the ship for the 3rd go around.

Jamaica we did the port area first time and 2nd time left the kids onboard and did an adult date day with ziplines and bobsleds. It was awesome!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Hey everyone! Finally booked for Merrytime cruise on December 21 out of Galveston! It will be DH’s and DS4’s very first cruise! I was initially debating between this and DL and DH chose this. I seriously have so many questions as the last time I went on DCL was 2004!

Anyway, I’m one of those people who loves planning so I have started looking at shore excursions. our stops are Cozumel and Grand Cayman. What are your suggestions?
In
Grand Cayman, I’m interested in Stingray city but DCL does not offer any tours to kids below 5 years old. I have started looking at tours outside of DCL and found Seven Seas Charter. Has anyone here had experience with them? I’ve seen very good reviews on tripadvisor.

Any suggestions for Cozumel? I’ve initially thought of xcaret but it seems too far from the cruise port. I was thinking of Cozumel beach break or Chankanaab? I read Playa Mia is not worth it with DCL?

Thanks everyone! (I’m sure I would have more questions later!)

We booked a private tour with Seven Seas Charters in 2013, and I highly recommend them. I believe one of the reviews on TA is mine! What I liked is Capt Sean’s excellent communication prior to our cruise, their friendliness once we were there and the fact that everything went just as they promised.

I believe they are a very reputable company and would not heaitate to book with them again.

Have fun!

 

[Candycane83]

We have done this route 3 times...all 3 times with a preschooler in tow.

Grand Cayman has the turtle farm that the kids love. Take a taxi on your own. They also liked the semi submarine.

Cozumel we loved Nachi Cocum, strongly disliked Mr Sanchos, and stayed on the ship for the 3rd go around.

Jamaica we did the port area first time and 2nd time left the kids onboard and did an adult date day with ziplines and bobsleds. It was awesome!

Thanks for the recommendations! I did look at the turtle farm. I saw a few just okay reviews on it but you’re right, would probably be enjoyed by my preschooler. Maybe I can look at it more. What did you not like about Mr Sanchos?

We booked a private tour with Seven Seas Charters in 2013, and I highly recommend them. I believe one of the reviews on TA is mine! What I liked is Capt Sean’s excellent communication prior to our cruise, their friendliness once we were there and the fact that everything went just as they promised.

I believe they are a very reputable company and would not heaitate to book with them again.

Have fun!

Thanks!! I did see a lot of very good reviews on them! Glad to see someone here who has had experience with them!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Thanks for the recommendations! I did look at the turtle farm. I saw a few just okay reviews on it but you’re right, would probably be enjoyed by my preschooler. Maybe I can look at it more. What did you not like about Mr Sanchos?


Thanks!! I did see a lot of very good reviews on them! Glad to see someone here who has had experience with them!

Mr sanchos was on our 2nd trip to Cozumel. We did nachi the first time. Big difference!
Me sanchos was crowded, a party atmosphere(as in college party), and the food was awful. We left and went back to the ship by noon. If we were 22 it would’ve been fine, but we were traveling as a family. Think college spring break at the beach...

Nachi is limited in how many guests they allow, food is served to you, each family gets their own chair/umbrella set up with space between you and the next and no one in front of you. It was a calm, relaxing beach day. Food was delicious.

 

[Jenlynn3]

We met several people with young children that did the Chocolate and piñata making in Cozumel and loved it!

 

[Candycane83]

Mr sanchos was on our 2nd trip to Cozumel. We did nachi the first time. Big difference!
Me sanchos was crowded, a party atmosphere(as in college party), and the food was awful. We left and went back to the ship by noon. If we were 22 it would’ve been fine, but we were traveling as a family. Think college spring break at the beach...

Nachi is limited in how many guests they allow, food is served to you, each family gets their own chair/umbrella set up with space between you and the next and no one in front of you. It was a calm, relaxing beach day. Food was delicious.

Nice to know! I think I would avoid Me Sanchos then. I’m still eyeing Playa Mia, they have a nice area for kids if not, Nachi would definitely be a nice choice!

 

[Candycane83]

We met several people with young children that did the Chicolate and piñata making in Cozumel and loved it!

Oh I did not even look at this option but it sounds nice! More cultural and different from all the water activities. Thanks!

 

[Jenlynn3]

Nice to know! I think I would avoid Me Sanchos then. I’m still eyeing Playa Mia, they have a nice area for kids if not, Nachi would definitely be a nice choice!

Playa Mia was nice, food was just ok

 

[Candycane83]

Playa Mia was nice, food was just ok

Good to know! Thanks!

 

[hnthomps]

We took a 4 year old in March. I'm working on a TR (a bit late, but I took notes).
We did the natilus semi-sub in Grand Cayman --- it was perfect for her. Fun and engaging but not too long. We didn't want a beach day, and she'd seen the turtle farm on a previous trip just to grand cayman, so that was our best option. It felt like a real adventure to her -- she likes to talk about her trip on a submarine.
We did the dolphin program at Chankanaab in Cozumel. The water was deep enough that one of us had to hold her the whole time (she can't tread water yet, although she's a good swimmer for her age, and the water was too deep for her to stand). She got a little freaked out at a couple points, and the wait had been long and she hadn't had a snack, so she wasn't set up for success. That said, it was a pretty amazing experience. We went to the sea lion show after lunch and then headed back to the boat - we could have hung out there for longer, but the kids were ready to be back on the boat getting ready for pirate night.

 

[ESO]

Oh I did not even look at this option but it sounds nice! More cultural and different from all the water activities. Thanks!

We did this excursion with our kids (3 and 4 at the time). It was great! Not far from port and the activities were well organized and perfectly timed. We were a group of grandparents, parents and preschoolers. Everyone loved it. I can't recommend it enough. We saved beach time for Castaway Cay.

 

[mevelandry]

Hey everyone! Finally booked for Merrytime cruise on December 21 out of Galveston! It will be DH’s and DS4’s very first cruise! I was initially debating between this and DL and DH chose this. I seriously have so many questions as the last time I went on DCL was 2004!

Anyway, I’m one of those people who loves planning so I have started looking at shore excursions. our stops are Cozumel and Grand Cayman. What are your suggestions?
In
Grand Cayman, I’m interested in Stingray city but DCL does not offer any tours to kids below 5 years old. I have started looking at tours outside of DCL and found Seven Seas Charter. Has anyone here had experience with them? I’ve seen very good reviews on tripadvisor.

Any suggestions for Cozumel? I’ve initially thought of xcaret but it seems too far from the cruise port. I was thinking of Cozumel beach break or Chankanaab? I read Playa Mia is not worth it with DCL?

Thanks everyone! (I’m sure I would have more questions later!)

If you like beaches, I would highly recommend Royal Palms in Grand Cayman (google it: the beach is amazing)... It's easy to get to without booking with DCL & super affordable.

Now, Chankanaab is nice and the food provided was good but the "beach" is not that great if you compare it to Seven Mile Beach (in Grand Cayman). We had a good time there but I would not go back.

 

[Candycane83]

@hnthomps the sub sounds good too! Did you guys see a lot? It seems more appealing than the Atlantis sub. I myself went to the turtle farm years ago but it didn’t seem to have enough to fill more than a couple of hours at most? We wanted something more than a beach day for Grand Cayman but it is Christmas Eve. I’m wondering if that would affect the number of tours actually operating. Thanks for sharing about the dolphin swim. If we go, we probably would not do the dolphin swim since we have done it once at Nassau. Did you find anything else to fill your day there?

@ESO Thanks for sharing your experience! It is definitely something I’m going to look into and will highly consider for Cozumel. Unfortunately we don’t stop at Castaway Cay

@mevelandry thanks! I wanted more than a beach day for Grand Cayman since there seems to be so many choices of things to do there. I did read that the beach is not good at Chankanaab. How did you find the other activities? I guess it’s a one and done place?

 

[mevelandry]

@hnthomps the sub sounds good too! Did you guys see a lot? It seems more appealing than the Atlantis sub. I myself went to the turtle farm years ago but it didn’t seem to have enough to fill more than a couple of hours at most? We wanted something more than a beach day for Grand Cayman but it is Christmas Eve. I’m wondering if that would affect the number of tours actually operating. Thanks for sharing about the dolphin swim. If we go, we probably would not do the dolphin swim since we have done it once at Nassau. Did you find anything else to fill your day there?

@ESO Thanks for sharing your experience! It is definitely something I’m going to look into and will highly consider for Cozumel. Unfortunately we don’t stop at Castaway Cay

@mevelandry thanks! I wanted more than a beach day for Grand Cayman since there seems to be so many choices of things to do there. I did read that the beach is not good at Chankanaab. How did you find the other activities? I guess it’s a one and done place?

Regarding the Beach Day at Cayman... The beach is the landmark of GC which is why I recommended a beach day.

As for Cozumel, depending on when you are going, there is a "Save a Sea Turtle Experience" that I have done (not with DCL so I don't know if they offer it) which was one of the best experiences of my life and that I would recommend.