Swimming with the stingrays a MUST?

[SportsMomof4]

We are going to GC in December. We have never been there. Is swimming with the stingrays a must do?

[smilton]

I did last November and loved it! We went out on a catamaran called the Allura. I think that was my most favorite excursion of the cruise :)

 

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[Capt_BJ]

I've been visiting GC since the mid 80's and have never felt the need . . . regular snorkeling and diving is more my cup of tea.

[CDNJehn]

If you've never done it, maybe. We have snorkeled with stingrays in Grand Cayman and Belize. The stingrays in Grand Cayman were more aggressive, all up in your business. I think it's one of those things to do, but once was enough for me. This is my hubby giving the stingray a ride...but the stingrays did this on their own...

[Beulah]

Loved swimming with the stingrays. Would recommend it to everyone. It is a very thrilling experience for anyone who loves the sea.

[lovevacadays]

I don't this it is a MUST. It depends on what you like to do. I have not done this on my trips to Grand Cayman and I don't feel like I have missed out. There are many who love this and many who didn't like the crowds, aggressiveness of the sting rays, etc.

[cb at sea]

It's only a "must" if you want to do it! I lived at the beach and encountered rays frequently.....swimming with them on purpose is not a "must do" for me!

 

If you aren't sure of what to do, get yourself a guidebook, read up on what's available in each port...THEN you can decide what excites you! Water stuff is NOT for everyone! There are plenty of other things to do, if you must do something!

[SportsMomof4]

Thanks. I think I would like to do it. I'll see what other excursions are available.

[CDNJehn]

Thanks. I think I would like to do it. I'll see what other excursions are available.

 

When we stayed on the island for 2 weeks we used Tours Cayman. They were very good and had a decently priced 3-stop snorkel tour that included Stingray City. They take cruisers out in the morning and island vacationers out in the afternoon.

[capncarp]

I would advise that if you have any interest in it at all, go and do it. I became a rabid fan after my first experience, but you can form your own opinion. Check out other threads here in CC re: stingrays, and make up your own mind--lots of good advice there.

[OCruisers]

While swimming with the stingrays is not a must, it is something most enjoy doing at least once in Grand Cayman. :)

 

LuLu

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[cruzegurl104]

It's definitely a once in a lifetime thing IMO... GO!!! I'm sure you won't regret it:)

 

Wish I was there now....:rolleyes::cool::D

[RACexplore]

Yes. At least once. I did it once when I was 16 and once when I was 26, and I would definitely go again if I had time.

[mustardgirl]

I would say yes for sure... do it at least once and make some great memories! I loved it, yet I love marine life. So glad we got this photo of me with the stingray!!! Love it!!!

 

[wrigley80]

Yes it is an absolute must....we have swam with the stingrays 3 times now in Grand Cayman and we will be doing it again in December. It NEVER gets old....we absolutely love it

[mitsugirly]

It's only a "must" if it's the type of thing you like to do. We love the ocean and any ocean animals we get a chance to swim with, we do it. :D

 

Here's another thought though... the place you go to "the sandbar" is very neat and unique in itself. Think out being out in the middle of the ocean and there's a sandbar there were the water is simply beautiful and crystal clear that you can see the bottom ocean floor AND you can get out and stand there...in the middle of the ocean. It's really neat just to think about it.

 

Also, you are out in the ocean and stingrays are coming up to you to be fed. They are not in a pen being held captive like in most ports that you get a chance to swim with them. They are in their natural habitat.

 

We never found them to be aggressive and didn't bother you unless you had food (squid) in your hands. They know everyone comes there daily to feed them and that's why they show up. We had our then 3 year old with us and she loved it.

 

 

 

 

[capncarp]

Also, you are out in the ocean and stingrays are coming up to you to be fed. They are not in a pen being held captive like in most ports that you get a chance to swim with them. They are in their natural habitat.

 

Darn, I was just rereading the thread and wanted to add the fact that almost nowhere else will you be able to interact with them in a natural environment, no trainers or handlers or other interventions. Mitsugirly beat me to it. Weigh your options and make your own decision--if you choose to do it, I and many others who have "been there, done that, would do it again" are pretty sure you will enjoy yourselves to the max and have a truly memorable experience! Go for it! Then come back here and tell us about it!:)

[CaribbeanBound]

I'll suggest that if you swim with the rays via a private excursion, it will be one of the highlights of your cruise.

[Kathie13]

One of my best memories of our cruises EVER!!!!

 

 

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[suzski]

It's only a "must" if it's the type of thing you like to do.

 

Absolutely agree! With that said, on a family cruise a few years ago we had everyone from ages 10 - mid 60's. My mother-in-law did not want to go as Steve Irwin had recently been killed by stingray (albeit a different species). We finally convinced her to go and she LOVED it!

 

We used a private tour operator as opposed to the ship's tour...there were less than 20 on our boat while there were about 100 on the ship's tour. Definitely got a completely different experience!

[averysmama]

For all of you who have done this and took pictures... what camera did you take/???

[smilton]

For all of you who have done this and took pictures... what camera did you take/???

 

I used an Olympus Tough - waterproof - took gorgeous pictures underwater!!

[averysmama]

I used an Olympus Tough - waterproof - took gorgeous pictures underwater!!

 

Thanks so much... that is one I was looking at but it only get 3/5 stars on Best Buy...

 

So the pictures are clear??

[smilton]

Thanks so much... that is one I was looking at but it only get 3/5 stars on Best Buy...

 

So the pictures are clear??

 

I've uploaded a few to my imgur account so you can see. Some of the stingray excursion, others of just some scenery choices. I actually take a lot of close up photos with the camera for my jewelry I make so it does an excellent job with that as well :)

 

Keep in mind I'm a "point and shoot" kind of person. I like how something looks, I just snap a picture. I don't wait around to get people to pose so a lot of my photos may seem quite random to most people LOL!

 

ok well it seems I can't get my imgur link to work correctly here. Let me try this:

 

http://________/a/EJ2EZ

 

Where the blank is - should be "imgur dot com"

[Lionesss]

We so love swimming with the stingrays.

Every time we have gone to Grand cayman we stop here.

It is a fun swim, then our package included a stop to snokel at a reef.

Definetely a bucket list item.

Enjoy we did.

What amazed me the last time is we were actually the first two boats to arrive, and all the stingrays arrived almost instantly we got so many pictures, and were able to interact and do alot of picture taking and feed them until many more excursions arrived.

 

Take your time to look in the water we also saw CONCH shells and a variety of marina habitat.

Enjoy

We did

Sea Ya