Over 70 Participation in Excursions

While watching reruns of NCIS, I was able to gleam the following information from various local Cayman news services:

According to records examined by a local Grand Cayman news agency, 22 of 26 water-related fatalities occurring between 2003 and 2011 involved victims who were over age 50.The youngest victim in that group was 39.

During the five years between 2007 and 2012, water sports-related fatalities in Cayman averaged between nine and ten cases per year. That includes swimming, snorkeling, diving and boating incidents. However, we are really only interested in snorkeling and diving incidents.

2015

The death toll for 2015 was 14 water-related fatalities.

2016

A total of 17 people died, or were presumed to have died, in water-related incidents in the Cayman Islands during 2016.

Five of the individuals who were presumed dead were boaters.

Two were locals. One was a young Caymanian man, age 24, who died after getting into trouble during a swim near Spotts Beach and the other was a longtime work permit holder who apparently was fishing.

Nine of the 10 victims were tourists, including frequent Cayman visitor and former PepsiCo chief executive Roger Enrico, age 71.According to comments by people who knew him, Enrico was in great shape for his age, and was a skilled diver and snorkeler.

2017

In 2017 a total of 8 people died on Cayman’s waters.

1. In January a 49-year-old local man received fatal injuries after a boating incident in the north sound. (Local not drowning)

2. In March a 44-year-old Thailand chef, died after being pulled from the water near Rum Point.

3. Also in March a 71-year-old woman encountered difficulties in the water while snorkeling she was taken to the Cayman Islands hospital where she was pronounced dead.

4. In April, a 77-year-old visitor from Mexico passed away at the George Town hospital one day after experiencing problems snorkeling in the North Sound.

5. Also in April a 72-year-old man died in the water of the North Side coast in sand point road.

6. In August, a 70-year-old cruise ship visitor died while snorkeling.

7. November 4, 2017 a 64 year old man died while swimming with a friend.

8. In December a 59-year-old encountered difficulties while riding a wave runner off of Austin Conolly Drive. He fell off and had to be rescued. He was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. This might have been a case where a breathalyzer might have helped.

2018

1. February 5, 2018, 72 year old man, snorkeling off 7 miles beach

2. February 12, 2018. A 65-year-old man was found unresponsive in the water.

3. February 13, 2018. A 60-year-old man drowned off Rum Point in North Side while snorkeling when he got caught in a current.

Maybe someone with math skills can determine if statistically an age of 70 is arbitrary.

It does appear that the age skews toward older as far as fatalities. One would have to know the denominator of the total number of people engaging in water sports, as well as breaking it down by age, but it appears the chance of fatality does increase with age, particularly since one would expect that there are more younger people engaging in these sports. Not sure a doctor's note would be of any benefit, but I suspect the tour operators are trying to cover themselves as much as they can.

Wow - thanks for posting that information - so interesting. Still wondering how people in 3-5 feet of water, feeding stingrays fell into the category of diving and snorkeling and how a doctors note would have prevented these deaths. Wouldn't signing a release form work just as well?

The “Stingray Sandbar Swim” and the “Grand Cayman Snorkeling” have a snorkel component of the excursion and have the doctor’s note requirement. The “Turtles, Stingrays Land and Sea Adventure” does not have an age limitation requiring a note from your doctor because it does not include snorkeling.

Our experience has been that the boats take turns on the sand bar so as to avoid excessive congestion. Your group may snorkel while another is playing with the rays. It can be similar to a Los Angeles freeway on some days. However, the crews all seem to work together to avoid problems.

We have been there when the winds whipped up the waves creating a very unstable condition even in the shallow water.

I don’t want to get into waivers and liability. It does weed out a lot of folks who don’t want to go to the trouble of bothering their doctor for a note. People 70 and over who don’t want to go to the trouble of getting a note can still play with the rays by signing up for “Turtles, Stingrays Land and Sea Adventure”.

Thank you for the information on the Stingray Sandbar swim. Despite the fact that I'm a better swimmer than I was 20 years ago, the snorkeling in Grand Cayman sounds difficult and I'm a mediocre swimmer at best. The only reason I brought up the age thing is due to the average age of Regent passengers and wondering why Regent would have a tour operator with an age restriction. Your list of incidents in Grand Cayman definitely answered my question.

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I was just browsing through some of the Splendor itineraries and noted that in Grand Cayman there are two excursions that require a doctors note to participate in if you are over 70. Given the extremely active passengers on Regent - many above 70, what do you think of this restriction?

 

Below is a description of one of the excursions (2 person activity level)

 

STINGRAY SANDBAR SWIM

 

Experience the graceful beauty of one of Grand Cayman's undersea denizens up-close during this stingray swim and snorkeling tour.

One of the most popular excursions on Grand Cayman is a visit to the world-famous Stingray City Sandbar in the North Sound, where you can snorkel and wade among these friendly Southern stingrays. It is one of the few locations in the world where man can interact with these shy creatures in their natural habitat.

Depart the pier for the brief drive to your snorkeling boat. Upon arrival, you will embark your boat and cruise to the sandbar. Here, you will feed and play with these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat, where the water depth ranges from 3-5 feet.

Following your swim with the stingrays, you will be transferred back to the pier and ship.

Please note: This tour is recommended for active guests in good physical condition. This tour is not recommended for guests with limited mobility or guests who utilize a wheelchair. Guests are advised to wear a swimsuit under a cover-up, sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses, and bring a towel from the ship. Snorkeling gear is included, and allows for better viewing of the stingrays. There is neither coral nor fish at the sandbar. The maximum age is 70 years old unless the guest has a note from their doctor that they are able to participate.

 

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Regent has had people sign waivers for years to take some excursions - that is not a big deal In my opinion. The issue many of us have on excursions is people with walking issues taking excursions that require a lot of walking/hiking/stairs. In terms of insurance, people fall and hurt themselves on excursions (and getting onto and off of tenders) - even when they are young and able bodied. Not sure how Regent deals with that.

 

Not sure how I feel about this - just checking to see what the small percentage of Regent cruisers on this board feel. I'm also not trying to argue with you (just to be clear) but thought that it was important to bring up the waivers and the number of "accidents" that happen regularly where age is not a factor.

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I was just browsing through some of the Splendor itineraries and noted that in Grand Cayman there are two excursions that require a doctors note to participate in if you are over 70. Given the extremely active passengers on Regent - many above 70, what do you think of this restriction?

 

Below is a description of one of the excursions (2 person activity level)

 

STINGRAY SANDBAR SWIM

 

Experience the graceful beauty of one of Grand Cayman's undersea denizens up-close during this stingray swim and snorkeling tour.

One of the most popular excursions on Grand Cayman is a visit to the world-famous Stingray City Sandbar in the North Sound, where you can snorkel and wade among these friendly Southern stingrays. It is one of the few locations in the world where man can interact with these shy creatures in their natural habitat.

Depart the pier for the brief drive to your snorkeling boat. Upon arrival, you will embark your boat and cruise to the sandbar. Here, you will feed and play with these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat, where the water depth ranges from 3-5 feet.

Following your swim with the stingrays, you will be transferred back to the pier and ship.

Please note: This tour is recommended for active guests in good physical condition. This tour is not recommended for guests with limited mobility or guests who utilize a wheelchair. Guests are advised to wear a swimsuit under a cover-up, sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses, and bring a towel from the ship. Snorkeling gear is included, and allows for better viewing of the stingrays. There is neither coral nor fish at the sandbar. The maximum age is 70 years old unless the guest has a note from their doctor that they are able to participate.

 

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...

I agree that too many people book excursions beyond their level. I am very careful not to interfere with very active folks, of which my husband is one. So I will stay on the bus when there is too much walking or climbing hills. I wish others would recognize their limitations also.

Sheila

I'm very new to cruise travel, so I'm still figuring things out. I have some physical limitations and I know that a lot of excursions will simply not be possible for me -- and I'm perfectly OK with that. I'm proof that non-smokers can get COPD (in my case, emphysema), and my family's history of early-onset osteoarthritis caught up with me at age 27 and it's been going downhill from there. I'm also prone to migraines (kiwi-sized brain tumor jettisoned in 2014 -- really doing OK, but I now get migraines whenever the barometric pressure drops). I'm acutely aware of my limitations and I try to be realistic about what kinds of activities I can handle. Cruise travel suits me very nicely since once I'm on the ship, I can generally move around as needed, albeit slowly, and if I'm having a not-great day, I can just chill in my cabin.

I'm currently booked on the RSSC "Serene Sunsets" cruise out of Vancouver --> Alaska --> West Coast --> Panama Canal --> Miami -- 28 nights, starting September 12, 2018, on the Mariner.

At this point, I'm not booking any excursions in advance. Even though an excursion might be rated "easy," getting to the pick-up point for the tour may not be. On my first cruise (last September), for example, one of the "easy" tours was a bus ride around the area with stops to take photos. Great! I can do that. However, getting to the pick-up point for the tour required navigating a steep zig-zag gangway, and about 1/4 mile walk. Yeah, that's not going to work -- very tricky knee + breathing issues = not really feasible. I have no idea how I'll manage a tender although I guess I'll find out this summer: 38 days on Holland America through the North Atlantic and back, with tenders required for about 1/4 of the ports. I can handle a few stairs as long as there's a rail or something to hang on to, so getting onto and off of the tender might work OK.

I guess the bottom line for me is I DO NOT want to interfere with anyone else's enjoyment of the excursion. As much as I'd like to do shore excursions, I really have no idea if it's even possible until I reach the port. If it really isn't possible, no problem -- I'm perfectly content to stay on the ship, hang out on my balcony or an open deck somewhere, sip wine, and take photos of the surrounding area.

Lana in Bellingham, WA

I'm very new to cruise travel, so I'm still figuring things out. I have some physical limitations and I know that a lot of excursions will simply not be possible for me -- and I'm perfectly OK with that. I'm proof that non-smokers can get COPD (in my case, emphysema), and my family's history of early-onset osteoarthritis caught up with me at age 27 and it's been going downhill from there. I'm also prone to migraines (kiwi-sized brain tumor jettisoned in 2014 -- really doing OK, but I now get migraines whenever the barometric pressure drops). I'm acutely aware of my limitations and I try to be realistic about what kinds of activities I can handle. Cruise travel suits me very nicely since once I'm on the ship, I can generally move around as needed, albeit slowly, and if I'm having a not-great day, I can just chill in my cabin.

 

I'm currently booked on the RSSC "Serene Sunsets" cruise out of Vancouver --> Alaska --> West Coast --> Panama Canal --> Miami -- 28 nights, starting September 12, 2018, on the Mariner.

 

At this point, I'm not booking any excursions in advance. Even though an excursion might be rated "easy," getting to the pick-up point for the tour may not be. On my first cruise (last September), for example, one of the "easy" tours was a bus ride around the area with stops to take photos. Great! I can do that. However, getting to the pick-up point for the tour required navigating a steep zig-zag gangway, and about 1/4 mile walk. Yeah, that's not going to work -- very tricky knee + breathing issues = not really feasible. I have no idea how I'll manage a tender although I guess I'll find out this summer: 38 days on Holland America through the North Atlantic and back, with tenders required for about 1/4 of the ports. I can handle a few stairs as long as there's a rail or something to hang on to, so getting onto and off of the tender might work OK.

 

I guess the bottom line for me is I DO NOT want to interfere with anyone else's enjoyment of the excursion. As much as I'd like to do shore excursions, I really have no idea if it's even possible until I reach the port. If it really isn't possible, no problem -- I'm perfectly content to stay on the ship, hang out on my balcony or an open deck somewhere, sip wine, and take photos of the surrounding area.

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA

Lana

I am one of those people who uses a portable mobility scooter that we take wherever we go. It gives me the independence to “ walk” along with others on a tour. I am not confined anywhere. The staff helps me embark and disembark the ship.

If you don’t own one, I suggest you rent one for the ship. But, I don’t know if you can rent a portable one. Most tour buses can store them below.

You should book your tours now and cancel, as necessary. Otherwise you will be stuck without anything.

Today, there are so many solutions for special needs.

I, too,have COPD and use oxygen most of the time. So, folks are always amazed when they see me on my red scooter with my oxygen.

Try it, you will love it.

Sheila

Lana

I am one of those people who uses a portable mobility scooter that we take wherever we go. It gives me the independence to “ walk” along with others on a tour. I am not confined anywhere. The staff helps me embark and disembark the ship.

If you don’t own one, I suggest you rent one for the ship. But, I don’t know if you can rent a portable one. Most tour buses can store them below.

You should book your tours now and cancel, as necessary. Otherwise you will be stuck without anything.

Today, there are so many solutions for special needs.

I, too,have COPD and use oxygen most of the time. So, folks are always amazed when they see me on my red scooter with my oxygen.

Try it, you will love it.

Sheila

Thanks, Sheila --

I'm sure a scooter is in my future. I'm currently at stage 3 emphysema but I'm not yet on oxygen although I'm tested every year to see if I need to start using it. And I'm really OK as long as I don't try to move around too quickly. I want to get another cruise or two under my belt before I bite that bullet.

If I do go that route, I'll have to figure out if purchasing one makes sense (figuring out the logistics of transporting it to/from ports) or just renting one for each cruise. My cruises so far tend to be longer, and I know a couple of the approved rental companies won't rent for longer than 30 days. I've got a 38-day cruise coming up this summer, and a 33-day trip in 2019. After that, I'm looking at an 80+-day cruise in 2020 (circumnavigating South America). So we'll see.

I'm may come back to you for advice when that time comes. :)

Lana in Bellingham, WA

If you need any information please contact me at bubbema@aol.com.

Don’t wait too long to gain your independence.

Sheila