Rhapsody-Sting ray excursions-info please

[noah10]

We want to take the kids (7 & 9) on the tour that you feed the stingrays in grand cayman...but one excursion is 8 years and older. Do you know the exact name of that excursion....or/and which one is best? How much time on the boat? How much time at the sand bar...is it crowded...what time of day?Any suggestions on how to be prepared? Can we do more than one excursion on that day?? Thanks for your help...any info is greatly appreciated!

[blyle]

Its been awhile but here are my suggestions. The ship usually offers 2 types of excursion. One is snorkel and sting ray city the other is sting ray city and then sometimes a snorkel and tour of cayman. The most important thing is to be sure you take the one that goes to the sandbar where you can stand in shallow water. I suggest the earliest tour when the sting rays are hungry and the other boats have not arrived. Last year someone said that they were in kind of deep water and that would ruin the experience. Once your 8 year old sees them they will want to stay. It is a wonderful experience!

[BillfromWV]

If the water is not to choppy it is a good experience. i would suggest booking an independent tour. They are not crowded and you get wonderful service. Check out the Grand Cayman board.

Bill

[JohnKerr]

We usually book independent tours when we can but opted for the one provided through RCCL. We did not book the tour until the morning of the excursion. We had no problem even though they do recommend doing it in advance.

 

My mother is scared to death of any water above her knees but the sandbar was the perfect solution. Our group was approx 40 people but the catamaran never felt crowded. The boat ride was great and took approx 1/2 hour to reach the sandbar. There were many Rays around when we were there. We were not the only tour group out there at the time but I can really say it never felt crowded anywhere on the sandbar. The rays were still feeding well at 2pm. This by far was the best excursion I have done. I noted many children really enjoying themselves. The youngest was probably 5.

 

Hope this helps. It was the Stingray City Adventure for $45.00.

[Boo's Mom]

Hey Noah10....

 

We did the stingrays with a private excursion. It was awesome. We also snorkeled and sailed....and had a great lunch onboard the sailboat !

 

Here is a link to my review:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=153109

 

We were on the Rhapsody also !

 

PS. Welcome to Cruise Critic !

[noah10]

Thanks for all the good info...we will do the sting ray city adventure...if that is the one that spends time on the sand bar! I really appreciate the info...glad to know they do feeding all day!

[johnjen]

Pardon me for this question - but can those rays harm you in any way? Is the barb removed?

[JohnKerr]

They are in their natural environment. ( The rays are not penned in at all..they come to the sandbar on their own free will since the "buffet" is so good..lol)

 

The do have the long barb but they "float" past you so it seems pretty safe. You can pick them up or swim with them. Our tour guide informed us how to behave while in the water. He told us that the only way one could get harmed by the barb is if one were too step down right on top of the ray. You are very buoyant in the water so it would be hard to actually step hard on one of the rays even in the shallow water. I just kept an eye on my feet and let them glide by me. They were very friendly and would "kiss" you if you placed your hand out flat. They did not seem to startle at quick movement at all. The children seemed very calm around the rays and I did not note a lot of jumping around and splashing from the kids.

 

Of course I am sure if one were not careful one could get hurt but my mother, as nervous as she was, never felt in danger and soon became quite relaxed once she noted the Rays seemed very comfortable around humans.

 

Hope this helps.

[p2lockhart]

I have had good experiences with both Native Way and Capt. Marvin's. They were never as crowded as the ship's excursions when we went. Do a search engine search to find their websites.

[blyle]

In all my years of cruising last March was the first I heard of anyone being hurt. You would have to step on or grab the barb to be injured. The sting rays do not really sting you so to speak. The barb is not at the tip of the tail it is at the top of the tail near the body. That's why you want an area where you can stand still! Sting rays normally lay on the bottom under the sand and because they are feeding they are above the sand at sting ray city.

[teajak]

I totally agree, the independant tour operators are on the dock as the tender comes in, we also paid $45.00, had only 20 people. The young man running the boat even made a turn and took us past the huge homes owned by famous people, like Gene Hackman. Much better than the ship excursion that packs a lot of people on a bus and is a lot more expensive.

[jeff Schaber]

Stingray City is "Not To Be Missed!" You have more of a chance getting hurt in your car than you do from a Stingray. These guys are almost like puupy dogs and they'll eat right out of your hands. One of the best experiences in my life and I would highly recommend an independant "private" tour rather than the cattle car shore excursions. The only thing that startled me was when I was feeding one, it kind of sucked my fingers up into it's mouth and chomped down! Didn't hurt because their mouths are mostly hard cartilage but still a bit of a suprize! They are really awesome creatures and have been fed there for so long that they do not fear you. They will come right up to you, brush against you and some even like to be scratched between the eyes (our dive master called him Darth Vader because he was black on top).

 

The bottom side of the Ray is smooth as silk and the top is like sand paper. I chose to go with a guy named Peter Milburn, great guy and personal service.

 

Your kids will love it!