Stingrays

[cruiserguy11]

Show him this picture, my daughter was 5, son was 11....totally amazing experience for them. They are 10 and 16 now and still talk about it.

 

Beautiful picture of your family. I love pics like this. But I'm old enough to hate that bra on your head. :p

[WestTxCruiser]

Beautiful picture of your family. I love pics like this. But I'm old enough to hate that bra on your head. :p

Thank you very much, it is my most FAVORITE picture of all our cruises.......oh and the bra on the head is my hubby.......I was taking the picture!:p:)

I highly recommend swimming with the Stingrays to anyone, very safe and one of those you gotta do at least once in your lifetime kind of things!:)

[Shake]

If you look at the pics another cruiser here posted, you will see that the stingrays do not have the "barb" on the end of its tail unlike the one that killed Steve Irwin.

 

I am about to do this excursion in a couple of weeks and I am so looking forward to it.

 

No Crash the Stingrays you swim with ""do have barbs"" but you won't get jabbed unless you are handling them too aggressively or you step on one. I did the swim with the Stingrays in Grand Cayman and would recommend to anyone that is not scared and enjoys adventure. It is kind of Eerie to swim with them though and they do get frisky when your holding a squid, their suction is really strong.

 

Swimming with the Rays is not for the squeamish types !!! :cool: :cool: :cool:

[laurenpie]

I come from the land of where Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray, and due to the press that it got here (& everywhere) both myself and my husband were quite skeptical.

 

Coming on here though re-assured me...

The company that does the tour are fabulous, and the stingrays are quite good (granted at one point, something touched my leg, i screamed and jumped on my husband because I thought it was a stingray coming at me - turns out it was just the rope of the catamaran that touched my leg lol).

 

We had a great time, its safe to touch them etc and its a very good excursion :)

[WestTxCruiser]

No Crash the Stingrays you swim with ""do have barbs"" but you won't get jabbed unless you are handling them too aggressively or you step on one. I did the swim with the Stingrays in Grand Cayman and would recommend to anyone that is not scared and enjoys adventure. It is kind of Eerie to swim with them though and they do get frisky when your holding a squid, their suction is really strong.

 

Swimming with the Rays is not for the squeamish types !!! :cool: :cool: :cool:

Yep, I agree with the suction thing, kind of freaky at first. Hubby said they seemed to love the hair on his legs......so glad I shave my legs. :rolleyes::p

[welldone60]

I accidentally stepped on a stingray once in the Gulf of Mexico and got stung. It hurt a LOT! I would be afraid to do this tour.

They told us to shuffle our feet in the sand when we moved. Said that stepping on one would be the only reason they would sting you.

 

[bugspost]

This is why you should do the stingray shuffle.

 

My hubby & I did this.....we were told to do the shuffle but the water was too deep so you couldn't. the stingrays were swimming around everyone's legs & many got sucker marks....scared the heck out of me so out of the water I got...HA HA....I did sit on floating dock & was able to pet & feed stingrays. My hubby went further out where he could stand & he held them & enjoyed it very much (btw my hubby cannot swim so this was a big deal)

 

It was explained on our tour that the reason Steve Irvin died was he had the stingray in his hand while a photographer w/bright lights was filming...it startled the stingray which caused the tail (barbs) to pierce his heart....definitely a freak accident.

[RedbirdFL]

This is why you should do the stingray shuffle.

 

Yes, the resort where we were staying in St. Pete told us that, but we were coming out of the ocean and I forgot. I was in water that was below my knees at the time it happened - maybe 12-18" deep. People were sitting in the area playing with their infants and toddlers.

 

I thought at first I had stepped on a bottle or something, but the lifeguards at the resort recognized it as a stingray sting. They had me soak my foot in the hottest water I could stand with dishwashing detergent in it. It hurt really bad for about 24 hours and took a couple of weeks to heal.

[TMWTim]

I hate flying...scared to death of it. I know nothing will happen but that doesn't stop the fear so I know what your husband is going through.

 

However, like everyone has said, the stingrays are totally tame. Yes they do in fact have barbs. We booked through Capt Marvins (don't unless you bring your own camera) and their guide picked a rather large ray up mostly out of the water and separated the barb from the 'tail' to show us exactly what it looked like. That right there proves how tame they are.

 

I couldn't even guess how many people handle these rays on a weekly basis. I would think literally thousands and if there was ever a 'real' injury you would hear all about here on CC. I can't stress enough what a cool excursion it is heading out to the sandbar. It is something, in my opinion, is a MUST DO in GC!

 

I would book the excursion and if he doesn't want to get out of the boat then he doesn't have to. Most of the excursions stop at some of the nice snorkeling hot spots so there will be something for him to do if he wants to skip the rays. I would be willing to bet when he sees a 4-5 yr old girl handling a ray twice her weight, and she has a HUGE smile on her face, that he will soon jump in and check it out for himself!

 

Again, I highly recommend doing it. We will be there for our 2nd time this Nov. Yes, it is worth doing it twice.

[TMWTim]

Also, I am a HUGE fan of Steve Irwin. Huge. There is a major difference in what happened to him and the rays we are talking about. He was dealing with a totally different breed that have probably never seen a human. We will probably never know exactly what happened with Steve but I know he knew the risks and his death was really a freak accident. I do not subscribe to the thought he might have been too aggressive before he was stung.

 

Point being, the rays we are talking about and the ray that nailed Steve are two different ballgames.

 

I stepped on a ray on PINS (Padre Island National Seashore) and it stung like a bad dog for a few hours. It was the size of a dinner plate. I can't imagine what a rather large ray sting would feel like. :eek:

[LynneL]

I've done the stingray tour a number of times & it is one of my favorites. Initially I was so squimish to even think about getting in the water with these creatures but I used mind over matter to overcome it. I thought if I had never seen a dog before in my life I would think such a furry creature with big teeth was a nightmare. Yet I loved my own dog beyond description. What's so different then about this creature except I'm not familiar with it. Once I went in with that frame of mind I petted (as someone described it feels like stroking velvet), fed it, let the guide rest it on my back for a "stingray massage" & just enjoyed how gentle they were. I was careful not to step on them by shuffling not only for my protection but for their's. I also wore water shoes.

[billie5]

I stopped on a very large sting ray in French Polynesia. It was in fact fatal -- to my Canon camera, which I dropped into the ocean because I was so startled. The ray, on the other hand, scurried away without causing any harm to me. They were used to being fed by tourists (In fact, at the time I was trying to film my wife feeding them) and so were quite tame.

 

Bill

[Sargent_Schultz]

The rays hunt by scent, so if someone handles squid, then rubs their arms or chest, the rays will "climb" that person to suck at where the squid scent is......no teeth, they have cartilinginous jays.

 

Yep. You would have to coat yourself with squid for that to happen. Something like you might see in one of the "*****" movies.

 

Steve was killed by a type of ray you won't see at Sting Ray Sandbar. I was on a cruise that stopped in Grand Cayman the day after he was killed. You should have seen all the people in line at the Shore Excursions desk asking if they were going to die.

 

There have been accidents at Sting Ray Sandbar, most due to idiots trying to stomp of the rays or sometimes waves and wind so bad that rays could get launched. Now Grand Cayman closes the sandbar if the conditions warrant.

 

We'll be doing the rays again next year.

[GlendaleCruiser]

The sting ray that killed Irwin is also a different kind of stingray. Kind of comparing a German Shepperd to a Pomeranian.

 

 

 

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=27.651884,-97.385497

 

 

It was also quite large. These rays are babies, only about 2 feet across. Our guide held them up so we could see their little mouths on the bottom.

[wyndfire]

You don't get to swim in amongst them, but Sea World San Diego has a ray pool, and you can lean over the edge to feed and pet them. It is my absolute favourite part of Sea World, no question. They are gentle, amazing animals. They only use their barb as a defensive/protective measure - they don't use it to hunt or to stun prey, etc. Accidents happen, of course, but if you are attentive to instructions given and you are as careful as you can be, I think it will be amazing experience!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

here's another picture.

 

 

Bill

[crusinpsychRN]

Just watched a History channel Ancient Mysteries about giant sea monsters. It gave me the creeps! Now I'm sure I'm not doing stingrays! And I grew up snorkling Miami and the Bahamas.

[Red-Headed Grandma]

We have done this 3 times with Capt. Marvin. They have been taking tours to stingray city since 1951 and have never had an injury. We also have never had stingray 'hickies'. The stingrays come up and pet you - kinda like a cat rubbing up against you. They are very soft and smooth. We took our 10-year-old grandson and never had one fear. It is an absolutely incredible experience. However, you can stay on the boat and watch if you so choose. If you go with Capt. Marvin they will bring a stingray over to the boat for you to touch if you want them to.

[PlanningToCruise]

My husband is afraid to do a stingray tour because he thinks he will be stung and killed :rolleyes:. Obviously he thinks they are dangerous because of Steve Irwin being killed by one and I told him it was a freak accident, but he is skeptical. Do any of you know of any tourist who has ever been killed by a stingray on a tour? Can you help me ease his mind?

 

I have to admit I was leary at first but read here on CC so many great things and never read anything bad or anyone getting hurt. Of all the places we've been and cruises we've been on it's our favorite excursion, it was awesome.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I have to admit I was leary at first but read here on CC so many great things and never read anything bad or anyone getting hurt. Of all the places we've been and cruises we've been on it's our favorite excursion, it was awesome.

 

We've done it 3 or 4 times. Usually when we cruise with newbies we do it again. If it's just the 2 of us we usually just stay on the ship.

 

we just went there in September with my brother who is not easily impressed with anything and he absolutely raved about it.

 

Bill

[bguppies]

My husband is afraid to do a stingray tour because he thinks he will be stung and killed :rolleyes:. Obviously he thinks they are dangerous because of Steve Irwin being killed by one and I told him it was a freak accident, but he is skeptical. Do any of you know of any tourist who has ever been killed by a stingray on a tour? Can you help me ease his mind?

 

Done the Stingray Tour three times now in Grand Cayman.

(will only do one there, with the wild stingrays. Won't do one with the penned up stingrays in some ports)

 

Please remember that Steve Irwin was an idiot, who poked and prodded animals for his shows and frequently got himself bitten or stung.

(I am always amazed that people who ever WATCHED his show, question how he got himself barbed by a wild bull ray.)

Also the Ray that stung Irwin (I refuse to say the Ray killed him) was a much larger species, the Bull Ray.

 

The stingrays in Grand Cayman have been interacting with humans for over a hundred years, when they learned to go to that sandbar, where the old Cayman fishermen would clean their fish, before heading back into shore.

 

It is by far and away the best excursion I have done in 9 cruises now...

 

I highly recommend Stingray Sailing for a smaller group and excellent personal care from the Captain and his crew... (also did Nativeways excursion once and it was nowhere near as good or have the personal touch we got with Stingray Sailing.

 

Definitely do not miss this excursion.

 

Bill

[2tall]

There's always a risk that you'll be stung...don't forget that...and, as one of the other posters said, I've heard that it is very, very painful. I suspect, though, that death from one is about as likely as death from a mauling by a labrador retriever.

 

My husband and I (and other friends) did a stingray excursion in Antigua and it was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. It even beat out swimming with the dolphins. It was a little...freaky...getting into the water at first but it's incredible how they'll come up and brush past you softly or swim between your legs. They're also very silky, which I didn't expect. If you hold them and scratch them on the tummy, they completely relax.

 

Of course, the tour operators told us that there is almost always "one" who freaks out and ends up sitting on the dock, unable to get into the water. (They said it's usually the big burly guys who end up crying.) That's too bad...since it was an incredible experience. I hope to do it again myself.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Done the Stingray Tour three times now in Grand Cayman.

(will only do one there, with the wild stingrays. Won't do one with the penned up stingrays in some ports)

 

Please remember that Steve Irwin was an idiot, who poked and prodded animals for his shows and frequently got himself bitten or stung.

(I am always amazed that people who ever WATCHED his show, question how he got himself barbed by a wild bull ray.)

Also the Ray that stung Irwin (I refuse to say the Ray killed him) was a much larger species, the Bull Ray.

 

The stingrays in Grand Cayman have been interacting with humans for over a hundred years, when they learned to go to that sandbar, where the old Cayman fishermen would clean their fish, before heading back into shore.

 

It is by far and away the best excursion I have done in 9 cruises now...

 

I highly recommend Stingray Sailing for a smaller group and excellent personal care from the Captain and his crew... (also did Nativeways excursion once and it was nowhere near as good or have the personal touch we got with Stingray Sailing.

 

Definitely do not miss this excursion.

 

Bill

 

another 2 thumbs up for Stingray Sailing. We only had 9 on our catamarran and had a GREAT time.

 

They hold 26 i think.

 

We have also done Capt Bryan and went through the cruiseline the first time.

 

Bill

[JoeMissile]

My husband is afraid to do a stingray tour because he thinks he will be stung and killed :rolleyes:. Obviously he thinks they are dangerous because of Steve Irwin being killed by one and I told him it was a freak accident, but he is skeptical. Do any of you know of any tourist who has ever been killed by a stingray on a tour? Can you help me ease his mind?

If he doesn’t want to go why not let him stay on the ship and/or let him do a different excursion while you enjoy the stingrays? I doubt that by you posting this question, then reading the replies back to him would make any difference. Your husband is an adult and if he doesn’t want to go, why force the issue?

 

While I’ve not seen anyone injured by a Stingray directly, I did experience an Stringray City excursion where an overweight woman had trouble getting up the ladder, fall off, then hit her head on the ladder. Lots of blood, it was not a pretty sight.