The Caribbean Sea around has many small countries, many of which are North and South American countries, with a very long history and cultural atmosphere, but due to special historical reasons, these countries are still relatively barren, of course, is compared with their neighbors in the north, the following to share with you a detailed guide.
From Miami in the United States, to the Caribbean on a seven-day cruise, played four countries: Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Mexico, Cuba.
Notes:
None of the cruises from the U.S. to the Caribbean require any more visas - with the exception of Cuba - but it's very easy to fill out a form and pay on the ship to get a visa.
First, I'll show you the itinerary of the cruise I took (click to enlarge for details):
Before you go on the cruise: Miami
There are several ports in Florida with cruise tours, and Miami, Orlando, and Fort
Lauderdale are three of the most common Departure. If you are deliberately traveling to the U.S., I would recommend taking your kids to Orlando because of Disney World, Universal Studios, etc. Playing Disney there and then going on a cruise is not a waste of coming all the way to the States.
I chose the Miami departure this time, mainly because I wanted to go to Cuba, and of the cruises to Cuba, the only one with better timing is MSCArmonia, which departs from Miami.
The main places in Miami that are good with kids are Everglades Park and the Aquarium.
The Everglades Park
has the AirBoat, which is called the "water float," and allows you to come and go as you please in the overgrown water of the Everglades. Along the way, you can see a variety of wild fish, waterfowl and alligators. This is the first time Tiny Chang has been so close to a live alligator (when I was learning the alphabet, anything that starts with A is basically either an Apple or an Alligator, so I'm more than familiar with the word), and I'm very excited to meet them as if they were old friends.
The video below was taken on the AirBoat, so you can feel the thrill of driving around and getting up close and personal with the alligators.
After the AirBoat ride, you will be taken to an alligator farm where you can listen to a presentation and show about the alligators, as well as take pictures of the baby alligators.
Miami Aquarium
Miami Aquarium and we often go to the New England Aquarium is different, each hall in a different building, so you need to visit a long time in the outdoor walking, especially hot, the richness of its display of marine animals, I feel that not as rich as the New England Aquarium, or the Beijing Zoo's Oceanarium, but you can see some of the usual less common, such as manatees, large marine animals.
I personally feel that this aquarium can be used as the boarding day in the morning to kill time with (boarding time are in the afternoon), if you do not have the time, do not go is not a big loss.
The youngest of the group was able to find a lot of material to photograph in the aquarium, taking his baby camera and snapping pictures left and right.
Here's a picture of a flamingo he took with his baby camera:
We didn't take too many pictures of the flamingos because we went to the aquarium purely to kill time.
Below is a turtle release pool, these turtles are for various reasons, there are congenital or acquired defects, or the shell is seriously deformed, or limbs are mutilated, the Oceanarium specially blocked out a place in the man-made river, so that these turtles will end up in the old age. Because this place has a very humanistic atmosphere, so we took a picture to remember.
(Looking at the exhibition photo at the Oceanarium)
Overall, Miami is more suitable for adult vacations (lying on beach chairs by the beach or pools in hotels like the one below, sipping drinks and sunbathing, is a very pleasant thing), but for family trips, it's not quite worth making a special trip. It's enough to spend a day wandering around before taking a cruise.
(Miami's very famous Biltmore Hotel)
Day1: Embarkation/Day2: Sailing at Sea
The cruise ship we took this time was the MSC
Armonia, which is considered a relatively small one among the cruises (because of Cuba's old ports, the ships that go to Cuba are usually not too big), but it also can accommodate more than 2,000 tourists! and the ship has all the amenities.
(It's not easy to take a normal photo of this ghost face)
Boarding procedures are very simple, take your luggage and passport, go through the security check, follow the instructions, and smoothly complete the formalities on board (the whole process is a bit like a combination of the train + hotel check-in).
The above photos are of our room, which has a desk, closet, TV, bathroom, and a small refrigerator (minibar), which is a bit smaller than the average hotel's, but still has all the essentials.
After settling in, there will be an escape drill to learn to use a life jacket and familiarize yourself with the escape route in case of an accident, just in case. This is required by law and all must participate. Once the drill is over, the ship is officially underway.
As a reminder, on your first day on the ship, you must remember to go to the designated desk and associate your credit card with your room card/room number, so that all future purchases on the ship will need to be paid for with your room card. The price of the cruise includes both food and lodging - all buffet restaurants are free of charge, as are the designated formal dining restaurants each night - and travelers have the option of eating at either the designated restaurants or the buffet. While the food and drinks served in the buffet restaurants are free, drinks/juice/coffee in the bars and cafes are paid for separately.
After everything was organized, we were free to go. This time, the advantages of the cruise ship is reflected, if it is a land tour, due to the language barrier, the elderly must be a moment can not leave the people; while the cruise ship is a relatively safe and closed environment, the elderly can be free to wander, see what interesting activities to participate in. For example, the regular grandmother saw the Welcome
Party at the poolside, delighted: this is not a square dance, is not it?
After this pleasant experience, she would look at the DailyProgram issued by the ship every day to find Dancing
Class (which is actually a more advanced version of square dancing), plus she could go to the pool and hot springs to take a bath, so basically, she didn't need to worry about her free time on the ship. I don't have to worry about them during their free time on the ship.
Another LifeSaver is the ship's Junior
Club, which is kind of like a "childcare center" with Legos and other toys, so you can leave your kids here and take a breather. This is very important, because the next day is a whole day at sea, if there is no place for the children to play, the parents have to stay close to the children all day, the children are bored and adults are tired. With a place where the kids can play together, the kids have fun and the parents have fun themselves.
The JuniorClub is a place where you can have fun and win a box of colored pencils on the last day of the Farewell Party, which made you very happy, and I'm happy to take the opportunity to drink coffee and PinaColada while reading a book, which is like going back to a cruise ten years ago when you didn't even have a baby.
There are also pools and water parks on the ship suitable for children to play, not large, but the children naturally like to play in the water, as usual, play with a lot of fun:
(You can play with water guns and slides in the open-air water park, the sun is particularly large, it is best to wear swimsuit tops, and do a good job to protect against the sun)
Day3: Jamaica
We arrived at the first country was Jamaica, where the ship stopped at the harbor in the tourist town of OchoRios.
Jamaica began as an Indian settlement, became a Spanish colony, and finally became a member of the British Commonwealth. More than 90 percent of Jamaica's population is now black African and mulatto.
OchoRios's most famous attraction, is Dunn'sRiver
Fall, ten years ago, my regular mom and I went to climb this small waterfall, very interesting! But this time around, I didn't choose this attraction because I was afraid that it would be too strenuous for my elderly kids to climb the waterfall, so I chose a little more relaxing bamboo raft tour. If your child is older (in the second or third grade), it is recommended that you must choose this attraction, because Ocho
Rios is no more interesting than this place.
(Pictures from the internet, so it's a shame we couldn't make it to Dunn's RiverFall this time)
We chose to ride a bamboo raft deep in the mountains, which is less active and a lot more flavorful.
The young man who was holding the raft for us was singing as he did so, which I recorded:
This young man was young and strong, so although we started at the back of the line, we ended up being the first to arrive. This made the competitive little Chang especially happy, and he went back to tell everyone that we were first on the boat today!
Before we left, we bought a handmade model of the same raft we were on as a souvenir and put it in the water basin to play with:
Day4:Cayman Islands
There is an inexplicable affinity for the Cayman Islands among those who have studied finance because many Chinese companies listed overseas are not domiciled in the Cayman Islands. Many Chinese companies listed overseas are registered either in the Cayman Islands (Cayman
Island) or the British Virgin Islands (BVI).
It was discovered by Columbus in the early 16th century and was then known as Turtle Island. It was later named the Cayman Islands after the British navigator Derrick, and has been a British possession since the 17th century.
It is also the world's fourth-largest offshore financial center, known as a "tax haven", and was granted a Royal Decree in 1978 that exempted it from paying taxes forever, so there is no direct taxation at all, and no foreign exchange restrictions, which has led to major foreign companies coming to the islands to do financial business.
We booked a trip to Cayman IslandbyLand&Sea, which, as the name suggests, means that part of the trip is on shore and part is in the sea.
Shore journey, we took the bus, visited several attractions, including the three-color sea, rum cake store, HELL (there is an area called HELL, many people especially run over to send a postcard, write: Isendyou
thispostcardfromhello. and then stamped with the postmark of HELL), and so on.
Best for kids is SeaTurtleFarm (sea turtle farm) where you can buy packets of feed for the turtles.
The big turtles all come together as soon as they see something to eat:
At the baby turtle farm, you can also fish for a baby turtle and get close to it for a short while. Of course, don't look at it for too long, lest the baby turtles get uncomfortable.
Sea turtles are one of the traditional sources of food in the Cayman Islands. It's said that the Cayman Islands are now the only place in the world where you can legally eat sea turtle meat, but we didn't try it.
The HIGHLIGHT of the Cayman Islands trip was going to StingrayCity (Devilfish City) that afternoon.
This crystal clear sea is the famous Devilfish City, and the blackness in the water is the Devilfish (Stingray).
I took a small often went into the water, the water is not deep, almost to the waist above some, so do not need to wear a life jacket.
The close interaction with the Stingray was the highlight of the trip:
In fact, the most important thing you can't miss in the Cayman Islands is snorkeling, which allows you to see a lot of fish and coral. However, this activity is not suitable for children, so this time I chose Stingray City.
If you are an adult, we recommend that you choose the combination of Snorkeling + Stingray City, which will surely leave unforgettable memories for a lifetime.
Day 5: Mexico (Cozumel Island)
Cozumel (Cozumel) is located at the junction of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. It is one of the must-see islands when you come to Mexico.
If you want to ask why, just look at the picture and you will know, just one word "beautiful"!
(My father's camera level is limited, this is borrowed from someone else's beautiful photos)
We went to XCARETECOPark, which is a large-scale eco-amusement park that combines Mayan culture and natural landscape.
Also a park for the whole family, there is a lot to do in the park, and the food is good (the cafeteria has access to a lot of local specialty drinks that you can't get anywhere else). Because a lot of our activities this day is soaked in water, so did not take many pictures, here PO a few mean.
(XCARETPark entrance)
(Mayan civilization remains)
The most unique feature of this park is actually wearing a life jacket to swim in the underground river, the whole process is about an hour or so. Because often father is a dry duck, although wearing a lifejacket can not swim can also play, but because of the children with children is particularly inconvenient, afraid of children accidents, did not play. Grandpa and Grandma Chang swam the whole course and had a good time. The first thing you need to do is to get your hands on some of the most popular products and services in the world, and you'll be able to do that with your own personal computer. On our cruise, most of the passengers came for Cuba.
But overall, Cuba is not particularly family-friendly. There were quite a few photo ops to hit, but most of the places were pretty run down, which would satisfy an adult's curiosity, but wasn't very interesting for kids. So, I will put some photos below for your reference:
(Havana taken before the cruise into the port, when I thought it was not bad)
(This Capitol looks good Oh, copied from the Capitol in Washington, but especially made to be higher than Washington's by one meter, the diameter of the dome is a meter longer)
(Cuba's streets of the vintage cars is a sight to see)
Many of the Cuban architecture, more characteristic, suitable for friends who like to take pictures, strolling through the streets of Havana, slow down the pace, see the performance of the locals, is also considered a more pleasant way to relax. But as far as family travel is concerned, it doesn't feel too suitable for small children.
The reason I chose Cuba this time is because I've been to the other three countries ten years ago and thought I'd take the opportunity to visit a new one. For those who have never been to the Caribbean, I would recommend choosing another route (Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Princess, etc. all have great 7-day cruises to the Eastern or Western Caribbean), and replacing Cuba with a water-friendly island like Bahamas, which might be more suitable for a family trip.
But I have no regrets about picking this itinerary, because I just got the news: Trump, who has been firing guns all over the place, is pointing them at Cuba again, and as of June 5, cruises from the U.S. will no longer be able to go to Cuba. We were sort of lucky to catch the last boat.