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Western Caribbean Excursions

melly&jimmymelly&jimmy
in South Florida Babies

We're going on the Western Caribbean Cruise in December and trying to decide which excursions are best for our family.  Any recommendations?  The itenerary includes; Grand Stirrup Cay, Ocho Rios, Grand Caymen and Cozumel.  I'd greatly appreciate any tips and advice. 

 This will be our first time cruising as a family of five.  Super excited and nervous at the same time.  Thanks!

 

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Re: Western Caribbean Excursions

  • southmiamiwifejensouthmiamiwifejen

    I'm pretty much a beach bum so when it comes to places like Grand Cayman and Cozumel, I just like to hit the beach. When we cruised in June, we went on a beach excursion in Cozumel that was really nice. Basically a bus picks you up at the port and drives you to this little beach resort about 20 minutes away. They have tons of great ammeneties (sp?), like plenty of lawn chairs and umbrellas, a full bar, rentals for water sports, a nice pool, clean bathrooms, gift shops, etc. They served us a buffet lunch in their outdoor seating area which was really nice.

    Grand Cayman has 7 Mile Beach which is gorgeous. There should be several excursions similar to what I described in Cozumel where they bus you over to one of the resorts on 7 Mile Beach and you just get to relax there all day and have lunch. The other huge thing to do in Grand Cayman is Sting Ray City. I was always super scared to try this, but we did it on our honeymoon and it was honestly an amazing experience. I am dying to do it again. Having said that, I don't know if I would do it with kids...especially if it was just myself, my husband, and our three kids. I would be scared that my husband and I couldn't keep an eye on all three kids and I would be worried about one of them getting stung :( Apparently the odds of getting stung are something like a million to one, but I don't know. Maybe I'm being too paranoid lol. I know families with little kids do it all the time. Like I said, it's a super cool experience, so if you guys are feeling adventurous it might be worth looking into.

    In Ocho Rios the thing to do is Dunn's River Falls. The last time we went, we did an all day excursion which was half the day at a place called Dolphin Cove and then half the day at the falls. Dolphin Cove is amazing! You can purchase a package to swim with the dolphins. There were some people doing it when we were there and it looked like SOOOOOO much fun. The package we had basically involved getting into the water on this little platform where the water is about knee-deep, and then a dolphin trainer has a dolphin swim right up to you to do tricks and you get to pet it, "shake" its fin, give it a kiss, etc. Really amazing experience. The baby LOVED it. The falls are awesome. People climb it with kids all the time but, again, the cautious side of me would probably hesitate to attempt climbing the whole thing if it were just my husband and I with three kids in tow. However, for "non-climbers," there is a part about half way up the waterfall that's not steep at all. They have a little "observation deck" overlooking it and you can actually climb down the observation deck and into the water. It's really hard to describe and I'm probably doing a terrible job, but it's really cool. When we went in June, my dad, husband, brother and his girlfriend all climbed the waterfall whereas my mom and I stayed on that little observation deck with the baby. I ended up going into the water with her and it was incredibly fun. If you think your oldest son would be up to it, maybe he can climb with your husband and you can stay with the younger two on the observation deck. I've seen people climb the waterfall carrying toddlers so it's doable, but I think I'd be too scared to actually attempt that.

    Sorry this was so long! Hope it helped.

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  • melly&jimmymelly&jimmy

    Thanks for the great reviews!  I am a beach bum myself...I've heard of Dunns River Falls but was nervous about the climb - glad to hear you can just climb half up and just relax in the water.  The kids would love that!  I asked my eldest son if he'd like to swim with the dolphins - and was immediately shot down with a NO!  Chelsea however would love to but you have to be at least six...I get nervous about the sting rays but recently there have been some news reports about people being stung by them...I think it would be nice to see and pet them though.  The kids did enjoy the sting ray tank at the science museum so thanks for sharing that it was a great experience for you...In the Caymen - there is a Jolly Roger pirate ship replica that I think the kids will enjoy - I'm going to google for some reviews.  Thanks again! 

    Any other tips for cruising with little ones??

    BTW  - we're actually going with my family so thank goodness it won't just be me and MH - we're definitely outnumbered!

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