Port Review: Allura Catamaran Stingray Sail (Princess)

[sunluva7]

We just returned from a cruise on the Emerald Princess and thought I'd share our experience with the ship’s Allura Catamaran Stingray City tour. DH and I did the snorkel boat to Stingray City back in 2002. This time around it was I and my two DDs who took the catamaran. The bus ride to the boat dock was both pleasant and information, with the driver pointing out sites along the way. Of the snorkel boat and the catamaran, I prefer the catamaran. The Allura is beautiful. There were maybe 60 people or so on the boat, with a friendly, experienced crew of 2. We booked the 11:30 am excursion, assuming that most of the boats head out in the morning, leaving plenty of room for us. Not true. Due to the number of ships in port (4), the sandbar was packed with cruise passengers.:eek: While we had a good number of rays to play with when we arrived (and who were still hungry after the morning tours), the appearance of more fully-packed boats, made the rays scatter off to find new food sources. We had several photos taken with a stingray, and while it was still a fascinating and memorable experience, our previous tour was better due to the number of stingrays and fewer boats in the area. After completion of photos and swimming with those who came to visit, the catamaran’s sails were then raised, and we had a pleasant, relaxing ride back to port, and arrived within 15 minutes of sail-away.