Caribbean cruise guide

There are many small countries around the Caribbean, many of which are countries in North and South America, with a very long history and cultural atmosphere. However, due to special historical reasons, these countries are still relatively poor, of course, compared with their northern neighbors. Here is a detailed strategy for you.

Starting from Miami, USA, I took a 7-day cruise to the Caribbean and visited Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Mexico and Cuba.

Precautions:

Cruise ships departing from the United States for the Caribbean do not need to apply for any visas, except Cuba, but it is very easy to fill out forms and pay money on board.

Let me show you the itinerary of the cruise ship (click to enlarge for details):

Before boarding the cruise: Miami

Several ports in Florida offer cruise tours. Miami, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale are the three most common departure places. If I am a friend who specially travels to the United States, I would recommend taking my baby to Orlando, because there are Disneyland and Universal Studios. Besides, it is worthwhile to play Disney there and then take a cruise all the way to America.

I chose Miami this time because I wanted to go to Cuba. On the cruise to Cuba, the only time was MSCArmonia from Miami.

In Miami, the main places for children to play are swamp park and aquarium.

Everglades Park

There are "floating on the water" motorboats, which can come and go freely on the overgrown water in the swamp. You can see all kinds of wild fish, waterfowl and crocodiles along the way. This is Xiao Chang's first close contact with a living crocodile (when learning letters, the word A is basically either an apple or a crocodile, so I am familiar with this word). It's like meeting an old friend. He was very excited.

The following video was taken on an airship. You can feel the pleasure of "taking a ride" when the ship is sailing and the feeling of close contact with crocodiles.

After taking the motorboat, you will go to the crocodile farm to listen to the introduction and performance of crocodiles, and you can also take pictures of small crocodiles.

Miami Seaquarium

Miami Aquarium is different from the New England Aquarium we often go to. Each exhibition hall is in a different building, so it takes a long time to walk outdoors when visiting. It's very hot. The marine animals on display are not as rich as those in the New England Aquarium or Beijing Zoo, but you can see some large marine animals like manatees, which are usually uncommon.

Personally, I think this aquarium can be used to kill boarding time in the morning (boarding time is in the afternoon). If you have no time, you won't lose too much if you don't go.

Xiao often finds a lot of shooting materials in the aquarium, holding his precious camera to shoot left and right.

The following are the photos of flamingos he took with his baby camera:

We didn't take many photos because we went to the aquarium to kill time.

Below is the turtle's release pond. These turtles have congenital or acquired defects for various reasons, or their shells are severely deformed, or their limbs are incomplete. The aquarium deliberately blocked a place in the artificial river to let these turtles die. Because this place is full of humanistic care, we took a photo to see it.

(Looking at the exhibition photos at the aquarium)

Generally speaking, Miami is more suitable for adults to spend their holidays (lying on beach chairs, sunbathing and drinking by the beach or the swimming pool of the hotel below, which is very pleasant), but it is not worth a special trip for families and children. It is enough to spend one day shopping before the boat trip.

(The famous Biltmore Hotel in Miami)

Day 1: Boarding/Day 2: Sailing at sea.

The cruise ship we took this time is MSCArmonia, which is relatively small among cruise ships (because Cuba's ports are relatively old, and ships going to Cuba are generally not too big), but it can also accommodate more than 2,000 tourists, and the facilities on board are very complete.

It's not easy to take a normal photo. It's a grimace.

The boarding procedure is very simple. Take your baggage passport, go through the security check, follow the instructions, and board the ship after successfully completing the formalities (the whole process is a bit like the combination check-in of a train hotel).

The above are some photos of our room, including a desk, wardrobe, TV, bathroom and mini-bar, which is smaller than the average hotel area, but we still have everything.

After settling down, there will be an escape drill. Learn to use life jackets and be familiar with the escape route when an accident happens, just in case. This is stipulated by law, and everyone must attend. After the exercise, the ship officially set sail.

As a reminder, on the first day on the ship, you must remember to go to the designated service desk and associate the credit card with the room card/room number. From now on, all the expenses on the boat need to be paid with your room card. The cost of this voyage includes accommodation. All the cafeterias are free, and the designated restaurants are also free every night. Visitors can choose to eat in designated restaurants or cafeterias. Although the food and drinks provided by the cafeteria are free, the drinks/juice/coffee in bars and cafes are extra.

After all the arrangements were made, we began to move freely. At this time, the advantages of cruise ships are reflected. If it is a land tour, because of the language barrier, the elderly must be inseparable for a moment. Cruise is a relatively safe and closed environment, and the elderly can walk freely and participate in any interesting activities. For example, Grandma Chang was overjoyed to see the welcome party by the pool: Isn't this a square dance? I immediately joined in and experienced an international square dance:

After this pleasant experience, she will look at the daily program distributed on the ship every day to find dance lessons (actually, it is a more advanced expression of square dance). In addition, she can take a bath in the swimming pool and hot springs. Basically, I don't have to worry about the old couple's free time on the boat.

Another rescuer is the youth club on board, which is a bit like a "child care center". There are all kinds of toys here, such as Lego. You can take care of your children here and catch your breath. This is very important, because we will sail at sea all day the next day. If there is no place for children to play, parents should look after them all day. Children are bored and adults are tired. With a place where children can play together, children have fun and parents are happy.

Meeks often has a good time in the youth club. On the last day, the farewell party drew a box of colored pens, which made him very happy. And I am also very happy to take this opportunity to drink coffee and iced fruit juice rum and read books, as if I were back on a cruise ship without a baby ten years ago.

There are also swimming pools and water parks suitable for children, which are not large in scale, but children naturally like to play with water, so they have a good time:

An open-air water park where you can play with water guns and slides. The weather is particularly sunny. It's best to put on a swimsuit top and do a good job of sun protection. )

Day 3: Jamaica

The first country we arrived in was Jamaica, and the ship docked at the port of Ochorios, a tourist city.

Jamaica was originally inhabited by Indians, then became a Spanish colony, and finally became a member of the Commonwealth. At present, more than 90% of Jamaica's population are African blacks and mulattoes.

The most famous scenic spot in Jorris is Dunne River Waterfall. Ten years ago, my mother and I climbed this small waterfall, which was very interesting! However, this time, I was afraid that the elderly and children would climb the waterfall too hard, so I didn't choose this scenic spot and chose a more relaxed bamboo raft tour. If your child is older (grade two or three in primary school), it is recommended to choose this scenic spot, because there is no more interesting place in Ochoarios.

(The picture is from the Internet, so it's a pity that I couldn't go to Dunne River Waterfall this time. )

Our choice is to sit on a bamboo raft in the deep mountains, which is not so active and has a different flavor.

I recorded a small video of the young man singing while supporting our bamboo raft:

The young man was strong and young, so although we started from the back of the line, we arrived at last. This makes Xiao Chang, who is full of competition consciousness, particularly happy. When he goes back, he will tell everyone that we won the boat today!

Before leaving, I bought an identical handmade model as a souvenir, and went home to play in the basin:

Day 4: Cayman Islands

People who study finance have an inexplicable affinity for the Cayman Islands, because many China companies listed overseas are either registered in the Cayman Islands or in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

/kloc-It was discovered in Columbus at the beginning of the 6th century, and was then called Turtle Island. Later, the British navigator Derek arrived here and named it Cayman Islands. Since17th century, it has been a dependency of Britain.

It is also the fourth largest offshore financial center in the world and is known as a "tax haven". 1978 was granted a royal decree by the United Kingdom, exempting it from paying taxes permanently. So there is no direct tax, no foreign exchange restrictions, and large foreign companies come to the island to engage in financial business.

We chose to go to the Cayman Islands by land. As the name implies, travel is partly on shore and partly in the sea.

On the trip to the shore, we took a bus and visited several scenic spots, such as the three-color sea, rum cake shop and hell (there is an area called hell, and many people sent postcards saying: I sent you this postcard from Hello. Then postmark hell), and so on.

The most suitable place for children is turtle farm (turtle farm), where you can buy a pack of turtle feed.

As soon as the big turtles saw their food, they all gathered:

In the turtle pond, you can catch a turtle and have close contact with it for a period of time. Of course, don't watch it for too long, in case the little turtle is uncomfortable.

Turtles are one of the traditional food sources in Cayman Islands. It is said that the Cayman Islands is the only place in the world where turtle meat can be legally eaten, but we didn't try it.

The highlight of the Cayman Islands trip was the stingray city that afternoon.

This crystal clear sea area is the famous Devil Fish City, and the dark water is the stingray.

I often go into the water with my baby. The water is not deep, almost over my waist, so I don't need to wear a life jacket.

The close interaction with stingrays became the highlight of this trip:

In fact, the most important thing to visit the Cayman Islands is snorkeling, where you can see many fish and corals. But this activity is not suitable for children, so this time I chose Stingray City. If adults come to play by themselves, it is recommended to choose a combination tour of snorkeling stingray city, which will definitely leave unforgettable memories.

Day 5: Mexico (Sumer Island)

Sumer is located at the junction of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. This is one of the must-see islands in Mexico.

Ask why, just look at the picture, just one word "beauty"!

(Chang Dad's camera level is limited. This is a beautiful photo borrowed from others. )

We went to XCARET Ecological Park, which is a large-scale ecological amusement park integrating Mayan culture and natural landscape.

This is also a park suitable for the whole family, old and young. There are many things to play in the park and good food (you can drink many local specialty drinks in the canteen, but there are no other places). Because we spent a long time in the water during the daytime activities, we didn't take many photos. Here are some pictures for you to see.

(XCARET park gate)

(the remains of Mayan civilization)

The most distinctive feature of this park is actually swimming in the underground river wearing a life jacket. The whole journey takes about an hour. Because Chang's father is a landlubber, although he can't swim in a life jacket, he can play, but because it is particularly inconvenient to take care of children, he will not play for fear of accidents. Grandpa and grandma often go swimming and have a good time. Friends with good water quality can also take the baby to try:

6-7: Cuba

Because Cuba has been in a "semi-isolated" state for a long time, many people are full of curiosity about Cuba. Most of the passengers on this cruise ship are going to Cuba.

But in general, Cuba is not particularly suitable for parent-child travel. Although there are many places to take photos and punch cards, most of them are dilapidated, which can satisfy the curiosity of adults, but it is of little significance to children. So, below I will put some photos for your reference:

(Havana was taken before the cruise ship entered the port, and I thought it was not bad at that time. )

This capitol looks good. This is a replica of the capitol in Washington, but it is one meter taller than the capitol in Washington and the dome is one meter long in diameter.

Old cars on the streets of Cuba are a sight.

Many buildings in Cuba are very distinctive and suitable for friends who like to take pictures. Strolling through the streets of Havana, slowing down and watching local performances is also a pleasant way to relax. But as far as parent-child travel is concerned, it doesn't feel suitable for children.

I chose Cuba this time because I visited three other countries ten years ago and wanted to take this opportunity to visit a new country. Friends who have never been to the Caribbean suggest another route (Royal Caribbean, Caribbean, Princess, etc.). There are seven-day tours to the eastern Caribbean or the western Caribbean. Replacing Cuba with an island suitable for swimming like the Bahamas may be more suitable for families and children.

However, I don't regret choosing this route, because I just got the news that Trump, who fired everywhere, pointed his gun at Cuba again. Since June 5, cruise ships departing from the United States can no longer go to Cuba. We were lucky to catch the last boat.