RCCI Deluxe Stingray City Sandbar

My daughter and I will be taking a girls only cruise with some of her friends. We may stick with the Cruiseline excursion on this trip, as opposed to going it alone. Easier for everyone to get registered and pay in advance. The girls really want to do the Deluxe Stingray City Sandbar excursion through RCCI.

I just want to make sure I understand exactly what we are getting for our $56.

Trolley/bus ride from the cruise ship dock to board the Cayman Explorer. Shallow water experience with a million other boats and people on the sandbar. Short time in the water with stingrays. Transportation back to the cruise ship dock, where we should have plenty of time for shopping and exploring.

I believe snorkeling equipment is also included.

People seem to love this excursion, even though it is crowded and a bit chaotic. If you have been on excursion, I would love to read your comments. THANKS!

This option seemed like a calm water experience. We will have 2 girls who have never had any type of water adventure such as this. The description says shallow water. Maybe someone could comment on that. THANKS!

This option seemed like a calm water experience. We will have 2 girls who have never had any type of water adventure such as this. The description says shallow water. Maybe someone could comment on that. THANKS!

We were there in December. Awesome excursion! On the boat ride out to the sandbar the crew will tell you about the stingrays and explain how to use the snorkel equipment which includes a snorkel vest. The water is shallow, about chest high for most of us girls. If you Google Grand Cayman Stingray City a strip of pictures will come up and you can get an idea of what it is like. I noticed in most of the photos vests were not worn, but the boat will have them available and sometimes it is mandatory to wear one to get in the water. Have a blast!

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We did this through Captain Marvin and I am glad I chose them verses the ship excursion. I was not expecting to be that thrilled but this was the best excursion I have ever done. It was not very crowded but we were the only ship in port so that may have had something to do with it.

The sandbar was shallow. Where they stopped it was about 5 feet for a few yards so I had to carry my non-swimming kid. After that it was about 4 feet. The sand is powder soft, water was stunning. The kids loved it up until they brought out the food bucket and the stingrays went into a splashing frenzy....after that they were done, lol. So be aware.

We stopped at two places for snorkeling. It was my first experience and it was great though I was more concerned about my kid who doesn't swim. The water was 10 feet there and he bobbled about in a life vest. HE had a blast and I had to keep yanking him back or he was off, lol. Basically, we loved it. We bought the CD because the pics were fabulous. I felt it reasonable at $50 for 5 of us.

We also paid for the island tour and turtle farm as well. The turtle farm was "meh" for me but the kids loved it the most. They really loved those turtles. We stopped at Hell and the owner totally creeped me out but maybe that was the point. It was cheesy as heck but I expected that and bought a bottle of hot sauce with his pic that still haunts me from the pantry.

I highly recommend but I would tell you to consider Captain Marvin.

Sorry, these are all of my kid.

Creepy guy, lol

I also made a video if you want to see more. Be warned, it's long and meant for family. But Grand Cayman is right at the beginning and you can see a good view of the stingrays and how shallow it is. I didn't catch much snorkeling because we though the camera was on and it wasn't :eek: Anyway, you can just watch the first bit and then stop it after. It should give you a good idea.

Helps if I post the link:

I think we are going to stick with the ship sponsored tour and do the Deluxe Stingray City Sandbar through Royal Caribbean.

I would like to hear from people who have done this excursion through Royal Caribbean. Was the excursion what you expected from the description?

The description on Royal Caribbean's website says you will board the Cayman Explorer....

I searched Cayman Explorer online.

If you did the excursion through Royal Caribbean is that the boat you rode?

The pictures online are of a cool looking yellow boat?

Hi BOAZ5 - Did you take the excursion? I am considering the same tour and want to make sure it is worth the time and cost.

We just did this tour last week through RCCL and would do it again. The thing about this particular tour and boat is that it has a long set of metal stairs, for lack of a better word, that they lower into the water. So you can walk down the stairs rather than up and down a ladder of some sort. Now the waves are sloshing you back and forth, but it's a lot easier than hauling up a ladder.

I'm going to post a longer review on the main RCCL board this evening with more details.

P.S. Yes, it's the blue and yellow Cayman Explorer.