Excursion tips for Cayman with a 7 year old

Hey people

On my next cruise my son turns 7. We are going to Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman. I've never been to GC and need your help on activities I can do with my son. He is truly a beach kid but I want to throw in some other activity as well.

I already have a plan for Ochi BUT wouldn't mind ideas for a back up plan.

Thanks

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Lots of nice beaches on GC. Last time took island bus and negotiated for chair and umbrella.

Would not think a 7 year old would enjoy an island tour.

Stingray City is absolutely fantastic. Our kids loved it! There are lots of ways to do it, Carnival offers excursions there, or you can book with a local vendor. We booked with Captain Marvin and it was great! (Much less expensive than the Carnival offering).

Another great option was snookeling. It is a combination of snorkeling and scuba. Seafarer Adventures was absolutely fantastic! They go right in the harbor where the cruise ships dock, so it's easy access to the downtown area when you are done. And there are some breathtaking coral formations in that harbor.

And, if your kid is a beach kid, there are some great beach options. You can always spend some time on 7 mile beach, which is absolutely beautiful. There are some great snorkeling spots along that beach too. That is the main beach in Grand Cayman with lots of resorts, but the beach is public access.

Or, if you want to spend the day on the beach, you could go to Rum Point. It's on the northern side of the island. It's about 45 minutes away from port, so you would want to make a day of it. Great beach to just relax and hang out for the day. Lots of shade, some little shops and bars/restaurants. Starfish Point is near there too. You might be able to get over there if you go to Rum Point. There are also some tours that combine Stingray City and Starfish Point into the same excursion.

There are lots of great options! Just keep Googling and checking Trip Advisor, and asking on the boards!

Have a great trip! We love the Caymans!

Brian

We spent a week in Grand Cayman with our son who was six at the time. You might look into the Turtle Farm or a Stingray, Starfish beach, reef snorkel excursion. Both are probably very popular with cruisers, but both were good activities. (We had the luxury of doing both on non-cruise ship days.)

Personally, we book everything outside of the cruise line, but you might see what options Carnival has if that makes you more comfortable.

Hey people

 

On my next cruise my son turns 7. We are going to Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman. I've never been to GC and need your help on activities I can do with my son. He is truly a beach kid but I want to throw in some other activity as well.

 

I already have a plan for Ochi BUT wouldn't mind ideas for a back up plan.

 

Thanks

 

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We went to the turtle farm, I'm sure a 7 year old would love it.

Thank you!!!! Let me research the turtles and the stingrays!

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We did the turtle farm with my 6y/o and it was a lot of fun! Booked it through Carnival.

We also used Capt. Marvin to book our sting ray/snorkel adventure.

They have other tours as well and were less expensive than Carnival.

They were very very reliable since the ship had to dock at a completely different area of the island due to bad weather and Capt. Marvin knew about the change and was waiting at the new area for us.

Ok im learning to swim so snorkeling makes me nervous lol. My son on the other hand just thinks he ready for the Olympics. So the snorkel portion of the tours.......yeh i dont necessarily have to do that part

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Ok im learning to swim so snorkeling makes me nervous lol. My son on the other hand just thinks he ready for the Olympics. So the snorkel portion of the tours.......yeh i dont necessarily have to do that part

 

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There are snorkeling opportunities at the turtle farm but they are certainly not required. If you do them though, you do wear a snorkel vest similar to a life vest and in many places you can touch the bottom. It is also in the farm, not in the ocean so you are not dealing with currents waves etc. It is pretty cool to swim with sea turtles. They also have touch tanks where you can touch or pick up smaller sea turtles.

I have to agree that the turtle farm and Stingray City are a must, especially for a 7 year old! It's VERY shallow on the sandbar at Stingray City, so I don't think your swimming ability would come into play.

Would also agree with Stingray City and Turtle Farm. and use Captain Marvins!!! Have used them with excellent results 3 times!!

my 16 year old LOVED the turtle farm!!!

Sooo do you all think its possible to do Stingray, Turtles, and beach (with food in there cause well......I gotta feed the kid). OR do either Stingray/Beach or Turtles/Beach?

I'm trying to maximize the fun and of course tire him out.

Is Cayman rum any good? Any place to eat that I just have to try??

OK I have another question. Every tour I'm seeing thus far for Stingray City involves snorkeling. I don't want to snorkel. I can barely swim, my son is still learning so I have yet to introduce snorkeling. Is there any way I can do Stingray and then beach without any issues??

We went to Turtle Farm in January and definitely going back on next cruise. You can take public transportation(van) for $2.50 each way there and back. Great bargain. They have so many things to see and I loved snorkeling with the turtles. Check it out.

Good luck.

After quite a bit of research and my second time in Cayman via Carnival, I booked the Stingray excursion with Carnival. While I typically book independent tours, one of the things I liked best was the boat the company used as it had a platform entering the water. You exited down a few stairs into the shallow clear aqua water. Even in shallow water, I wore a vest as it made me feel more secure. Lots of other boats and LOTS of children. We have no regrets. You would still have time for a short visit to a beach depending on your length of time in port.

If it's still around, everyone in our (rather large) group enjoyed the pirate boat excursion on my first cruise. That was admittedly 10 years ago, but it offers an alternative to some of the other options. Plus it still leaves time to go to the beach or whatever you want to do after.

We were so impressed we (and family) have now used Moby Dick's excursion to Stingray City 6+ times. They are informative, very safety conscious - and if you don't want to snorkel, you can stay on their boat and soak up the sun/watch others. They don't force anyone out at the reef! The sandbar and stingray excursion is really fantastic. Be sure to wander away from where the crowds gather with the food/rays so you can observe fish and see shrimp ambling along in the water for yourself! Their price is great and Mark is a guide suited to what he does: show off his part of the wonderful blue Caribbean.

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We did Stingray City and the Turtle farm through Discount excursions and had a great time!! The tour group was small and more intimate. It was wonderful. We had my then 5 year old and our friends son who was almost 7 at the time. I would definitely recommend them! There is a snorkeling stop after Stingray City, and it's relatively short. You could stay on the boat and just enjoy the scenery if you don't want to snorkel.

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Nativeways Tours Rays, Reef, and Rum Point tour. They were fabulous! We had 3 year old twins, a 6 year old, and a 8 year old, 4 parents, as well as grandparents. Our children still talk about it!

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OK I have another question. Every tour I'm seeing thus far for Stingray City involves snorkeling. I don't want to snorkel. I can barely swim, my son is still learning so I have yet to introduce snorkeling. Is there any way I can do Stingray and then beach without any issues??

On Nativeway, several in our group didn’t snorkel. The guides free dove and brought up conchs, sea urchins, and starfish for those on the boat to enjoy.

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