My husband and I want to take our 2 and 5 year old on a vacation in Feb. We were thinking of a Disney cruise, but they are expensive and the idea of small crowded pools scares me. From what we have researched, on days we are at port, we will have to pay to get to a beach. Looking for other suggestions on where to go. We do love Cuba, and have been in the past without kids. WE want the food to be great, and obviously we want to be safe and have clean accommodations.

Alicia please keep an eye on your kids when visiting Cuba and Mexico especially. Their building codes aren't the same as ours.. balcony railings are lower.. and electrical code is sketchy at best. Pools are especially a problem at resorts. http://www.mexicovacationawareness.com/brent.html

I heard the Disney Cruises are quite safe !

What about Disney world and resort in Orlando? There are entertainment for all ages, shopping and many choices of food. If you are renting a car, drive to tampa (1hr) downtown or Clearwater beach they have many good food, beaches

We want to swim in the ocean and standing in line for Disney rides with a 2 year old doesn't sound like fun right now
My 5 year old has his heart on swimming in the ocean

mexico. 100% there's a place just outside of cancun (so just a quick taxi/bus from the airport) that is all inclusive, awesome for kids http://karismahotels.com/Hotel.../ForEveryone/AzulBeachHotel

Love the space coast in Florida - under 90 min from Disney - stay on the uncrowded beach (where there is a lifeguard) and drive into Disney for a day. best of both worlds.

fyi
Alicia my friends have gone there multiple years in a row with kids about your kids' ages - as have another set of my/their friends, who also loved it. the kids programming is so awesome that the parents get to go on actual dinner dates, etc. its a vacation and a break for both people. the food is one million times better than a 5 star resort anywhere in cuba (unfortunately because i also love cuba)...

barcelo maya, great food, huge varied beaches and great kids amenities.

To take transpotrtation to the each beach where the cruise stops can be looked up at cruisecritic.com( a few bucks per person usually). All cruise lines have kids clubs and programs if you find the disney to expensive. Carnival is a great starter spot for cruises. Cheap and family orientated. The most important to remeber is the food on a cruise ship is always a safer bet than a resort

Holiday Inn Montego Jamaica

Check out royal Caribbean's oasis and allure, kid friendly and cheaper than disney. And they have a private island in Labadee, beautiful beach!

Cayo Coco Cuba, The Iberostar Mojito, lovely clean resort and awesome food! Been many times and never heard families with young kids complain about anything!

Barcelo maya beach club...terrific

at Barcelo there are 5 resorts in one location. Beach/caribe were built first and are the cheapest option. They have limited options for buffets and ala cart restaurants but are located closest to the best of the beachfronts, sandy white under palm trees. Tropical/colonial are in the mid range and were built afterward located in the middle of the resort. They have larger pools (and a HUGE kids pool option) more buffet options and extra ala cart dining. if you book here you can use all of the Beach Caribe amenities as well. The waterfront here is a snorkling area with a large walk out pier and many bright coloured fish to feed and swim with. The last and highest priced section is Palace located far on the end of the resort. it has it's own separate pool, with cabanas as well as restaurants but again you can use anything at the resort if you book at this higher tier so not limited at all. Just be warned, there is a black coral shoreline in this section interesting for walking along but no ocean swimming. We usually book in the middle (tropical or colonial) for the pools and xtra eating options and wander down to the beautiful white beach in the afternoons. The coastline is HUGE and never crowded so it's really not a hardship to find a nice spot. and I really enjoy how varied the waterfront is, I imagine kids would love it to. it looked like the beach/caribe section got a major overhaul last year with rooms featuring large balconies w hammock and hot tubs, that's a new feature you don't find in the other areas, and maybe worth trading in a few ala cart options for. really the buffets are pretty terrific and who needs to worry about reservations when you are traveling with kids and on holidays. this is a great site to give you all the inside tips you need for the resort http://www.unofficial-barcelo-maya.com/site/

We took our 4 year old son to Beaches Turks and Caicos. It was great! The resort itself it catered for families with lots of fun pools and slides for the kids and they have a day camp as well where you can drop the kids off and they take them around the resort to do fun stuff. They so offer babysitting services so that you can have a few hours to just relax if you like.

Santa Maria Cuba have the best resorts and very safe for children , iberostar hotel is very good , beautifu water very shallow good for children, .

our review of iberostar in varadero http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g147275...

We took our kids to Costa Rica around that age. Amazing. Manuel Antonio area is beautiful, nice beaches and instead of Micky mouse you get Capuchin monkeys and sloths.

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions!!