Stingray+Snorkel w/ 8 Year old who can't swim? PLEASE HELP!

[rogerashley]

I busted my behind to give this upcoming cruise trip to my wife and daughter and I want everything to go well. So, please help this confused and worrysome husband who cannot afford to screw up this trip.

 

I am traveling with an 8 year old daughter and wife who cannot swim well. They are also prone to seasickness as am I. I have seen enough photos of Stingray city that my wife and I can stand on our feet while holding on to my daughter so I am OK with the Stingray part....

 

However, I have my worries about Coral Gardens and Barrier Reef. Can someone please tell me answers to following questions?

 

1. How deep are the ocean in Snokerling areas (Coral Gardens and Barrier Reef)?

 

2. Is there a rock formation or sandbar nearby Coral Gardens and Barrier Reef that my wife and kid can stand on their feet when tired from snorkeling?

 

3. If they have to stay on the boat during the snorkeling portion of the trip, is the water choppy that they will get seasickness?

 

4. Is it better to be on a big catameran as oppose to a smaller boat to guard against seasickness?

 

5. Are life vests for snokeling extra expense on top of $35-38 trip fee?

 

6. When returning, I can ask them to drop us off at any location in Seven mile beach or is there a pier on Seven Mile beach where they dock?

 

7. Of the Captain Marvin, Captain Bryan and Moby Dick Tours and other tour operator, who do you guys recommend for my family?

 

Thank you very much in advance for your detailed answer.

[comxkid]

I busted my behind to give this upcoming cruise trip to my wife and daughter and I want everything to go well. So, please help this confused and worrysome husband who cannot afford to screw up this trip.

 

I am traveling with an 8 year old daughter and wife who cannot swim well. They are also prone to seasickness as am I. I have seen enough photos of Stingray city that my wife and I can stand on our feet while holding on to my daughter so I am OK with the Stingray part....

 

However, I have my worries about Coral Gardens and Barrier Reef. Can someone please tell me answers to following questions?

 

1. How deep are the ocean in Snokerling areas (Coral Gardens and Barrier Reef)? Much too deep for non-swimmers.

 

2. Is there a rock formation or sandbar nearby Coral Gardens and Barrier Reef that my wife and kid can stand on their feet when tired from snorkeling? No.

 

3. If they have to stay on the boat during the snorkeling portion of the trip, is the water choppy that they will get seasickness? The water could be choppy. How prone to seasickness are they?

 

4. Is it better to be on a big catameran as oppose to a smaller boat to guard against seasickness? Yes, the ride will probably be smoother.

 

5. Are life vests for snokeling extra expense on top of $35-38 trip fee? They are included (a blow up type of vest).

 

6. When returning, I can ask them to drop us off at any location in Seven mile beach or is there a pier on Seven Mile beach where they dock? No; this beach is located on the other side of the island.

 

7. Of the Captain Marvin, Captain Bryan and Moby Dick Tours and other tour operator, who do you guys recommend for my family? I did Captain Bryan and they were good.

 

Thank you very much in advance for your detailed answer.

 

My answers in included in your quote.

 

Stingray City can be a challenge in windy weather. I've had to jump to keep the waves from going over my head.

 

My recommendation; skip the snokeling and find an excursion that includes Stingray City and Rum Point (a nice beach). Also hope for low winds and no waves.

[melgray13]

Hello.

 

I have not done this exact excurion (but we are in May) but let me try and help with a couple of questions.

 

My husband is prone to sea sickness as well. We went snorkeling at Grand Turk in the fall and he got sick (even with the patch). We were on a speedboat - mistake. He doesn't have a problem with a slower boat.

 

Hubby, besides being sea sick, is a sucky swimmer. I high recommend the snorkel vest. This was the first time we used one. Basically you just have to kick and steer - the vest holds you a float. We are taking our own (bought 'em on ebay). Remember, you might get a clean mouth piece for your snorkle but I don't think they wash the mouth pieces on the vests (yucky). They fold very small and take up very little space. You might even find your daughter would enjoy it at the beach.

 

Let us know what you deciede.

[jmo1]

I inserted answers in red in your quote.

I hope you get the information you need to make a good choice for an enjoyable time at GC.

The last two times I was at Stingray City, it must have been low tide, because the water was less than waist deep.

 

I busted my behind to give this upcoming cruise trip to my wife and daughter and I want everything to go well. So, please help this confused and worrysome husband who cannot afford to screw up this trip.

 

I am traveling with an 8 year old daughter and wife who cannot swim well. They are also prone to seasickness as am I. I have seen enough photos of Stingray city that my wife and I can stand on our feet while holding on to my daughter so I am OK with the Stingray part....

 

However, I have my worries about Coral Gardens and Barrier Reef. Can someone please tell me answers to following questions?

 

1. How deep are the ocean in Snokerling areas (Coral Gardens and Barrier Reef)? 8-20 feet deep.

 

2. Is there a rock formation or sandbar nearby Coral Gardens and Barrier Reef that my wife and kid can stand on their feet when tired from snorkeling? No.

 

3. If they have to stay on the boat during the snorkeling portion of the trip, is the water choppy that they will get seasickness? From two previous experiences with Captain Marvin, the water was not choppy, and the boat barely rocked at all. When it is really choppy, the excursions are canceled.

 

4. Is it better to be on a big catameran as oppose to a smaller boat to guard against seasickness? A catamaran will be some smoother, but they also tend to have larger crowds.

 

5. Are life vests for snokeling extra expense on top of $35-38 trip fee? Included.

 

6. When returning, I can ask them to drop us off at any location in Seven mile beach or is there a pier on Seven Mile beach where they dock? The most popular drop off spot on 7MB is Sea Grape Beach that is less than a mile from Captain Marvin's boat dock. There are lots of taxis waiting there to take passengers back to the tender dock.

 

7. Of the Captain Marvin, Captain Bryan and Moby Dick Tours and other tour operator, who do you guys recommend for my family? Captain Marvin and his crew is very patient and accomodating to children, non-swimmers, and people who are aprehensive with the stingrays.

 

Thank you very much in advance for your detailed answer.

[rogerashley]

Thank you so much for that detailed info. I think I will try the Catamaran from Captain Marvin's... unless there is another operator with bigger and better boat.

[jmo1]

Thank you so much for that detailed info. I think I will try the Catamaran from Captain Marvin's... unless there is another operator with bigger and better boat.

Captain Marvin does not have a catamaran, unless he got one in recent months. His boats are 40-50 feet long, single-hull. Bigger is not always better.

[debsite]

Hi,

We did the Captain Marvin 3 stop tour one year and 2 stop tour the next. Both times we had our toddler(non-swimmer) with us, and he got in the water at every stop with a swim vest. His was a swim vest with a buit in intertube which was great. I snorkeled with my arm around him to bring him with me. He got to see a lot of the fish that were swimming towards the top, and I held my mask at water level so that he could see parts of the shipwreck. He had a blast.

We had both kids with us and neither would get in the water with the stingrays. My husband and I each took turns in the water, but they did offer to watch the kids so that we could both get in together. My daughter was 9 or 10, so I wasn't too worried about her staying on with the crew, but I was a little worried the toddler would be a little much for them to manage.

I hope this helps.

[acromom]

The only thing I would like to point out is the size of the stingrays. If your 8 year old is not a good swimmer and/or hesitantsbout swimming with the stingrays, you may want to reconsider. My husband took my son and daughter, then 9 years old, with Captain Marvin. I chose to stay with my youngest who was 3 at the time. My 9 year old, who loves the water and was very excited about swimming with the stingrays, got hysterical when she saw the stingrays. They were bigger than she was. She literally scaled up my husband and begged to be taken back to the boat. My son, in true big brother fashion, was busy taking pictures of his sister screaming. My daughter and another girl her age refused to go in the water again. Instead they stayed in the boat and watched from there. We are going to Grand Cayman again this summer and she still does not want to get anywhere near the stingrays(she's 14 now). My recommendation, make sure this is something your daughter wants to do. Although it is a fun experience for many, for children it can be traumatic. The stingrays are very big. You may want to make sure that she understands the size of the animals that will be swimming around her. If you do choose to take her, be ready for the possibility that she will not want to get out of the boat.