Grand Cayman excursion help

[md10074]

Info sent.

 

Got it. Thanks!

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Hey, we all have our fears and water isn't an uncommon one.

 

My opinion is a little different from some of the those posted. It is definitely a GREAT experience (my daughters and I loved it!) and I hope you're able to participate and enjoy it!

 

Sounds like most of the posters had calm seas on the days they went. The day we were there the waves were pretty choppy and it was impossible to stand in one place. I'm 6' tall and the water was at my arm pits, so it was a challenge--especially for people shorter than 6'. In those conditions, the flimsy little vest they give you was pretty useless. DD was 8 and hung on to me or her sister the whole time.

 

So, I think it depends on the day you go...

 

You might be more comfortable with an actual life vest--like the kind water skiiers wear. Just a thought. :)

[divingmedic]

Got it. Thanks!

Your most welcome.:)

[W5KAP]

I wish we had lakes or pools around here, but I don't know of any. My fear mostly comes from my honeymoon, when my husband said he'd teach me how to swim. Oh, he sure did alright! He let go of me in a pool at Disney World and I dropped to the bottom like a rock. I had contacts in and couldn't even open my eyes to find my way to the surface. I could have killed him. I wish I had a pool in my yard to practice without feeling stupid, but I don't.

 

Mary, my wife is not much of a swimmer either. And she wasn't too sure of going in the water with the Sting rays. It took me 10 minutes to convince her to come in. The water was slightly higher than waist deep and both of us could easily stand on the bottom. She absolutely loved it and talks about it to this day. now I must tell you the boat anchors in about 10 feet of water and you have to swim maybe 15 feet to the shallows. I put my wife on my back and swam her over there. I would suggest Capt Marvin's but their other two stops, Coral gardens and the reef are in maybe 15 feet of water. Just something to think about. There were folks wearing life vests and they did just fine. Trust me, you will love it.

 

Cheers, Kenn

[truchattycathy]

I took two friends to Stingray City that so not like the water. One freaks out when the water is deep. They loved it. The picture that CJack posted is a perfect example of how shallow and calm the water is. I have never been when it was over my head, and I was there once when a hurricane was coming in and the swells never got big.

 

I love, love, love NativeWay in Grand Cayman. The stingray, snorkel, rum point excursion is nice. If you don't want to snorkel, you can stay on the boat, but they do provide life jackets and Rum Point Beach is beautiful and clear and shallow and the excursion provides a nice lunch with it.

 

The dolphin encounter out of Cozumel is suppose to be really great. I did not go, but friends told me it was the best excursion they had ever done.

 

Hope you have a great time, and if you or your daughter decide not to get off the boat in stingray city, they will bring a small stingray to you, if you use NativeWay, but like I said even my friends who don't like water got off the boat and loved it.

[md10074]

Ha, I would ride on my husband's back, but that might kill him. :eek:He's VERY thin and I'm not. Maybe if I hang on his arm or something I could do it, if I have a life vest. I might end up strangling him, which would be good payback or him almost drowning me years ago. :p Who knows, I might love it and end up wanting to learn how to swim after this. If anybody brings a video camera on this excursion, I can just see the video of the fat lady freaking out ending up on Youtube.

 

I would do Captain Marvin's but I think for this trip we want to stick with Carnival, just to make it easier.

[iowagirl411]

I've done Stingray City 5 times & never had water over my head. I'm 5'3".

 

I did it 5 times because each time I was with different family or friends & I just couldn't let anyone miss it. The best way is to use the snorkle gear & float on top of the water & watch them swim below you. My daughter did have one cross over the top of her though!

[md10074]

I have one last question and then I'll stop bothering you all.

 

What is the difference between these 2 (besides the fact that the first one is more expensive):

http://www.carnival.com/ShoreExcursionDetails.aspx?region=CW&portcode=CAY&excursionname=Stingray+Sandbar%2c+Hell+%26+Turtle+Farm+Experience&excursioncode=417019

 

and

 

http://www.carnival.com/ShoreExcursionDetails.aspx?region=CW&portcode=CAY&excursionname=Discover+Cayman+-+Stingrays%2c+Hell+%26+Turtle+Farm&excursioncode=417016

[Lahta]

We just returned from Grand Cayman where we went on the Stingray City/Reef Snorkeling excursion (not through the ship but through grandcaymancruiseexcursions dot com - which I highly recommend). The water came up chest height (I'm 5'6") at the time on me and the sea was somewhat choppy so it was a little difficult to balance. The depth snorkeling was 8 - 10 feet.

 

I completely agree with the posts that say Stingray City is not to be missed. The boat I was on had all the snorkel equipment and vests (blow up).

 

If you are that intimidated by water I don't know that I would recommend the snorkeling though, even though you will miss out on an awesome experience if you don't.

 

Anyway - don't miss Stingray City!

[dmdiver]

I have one last question and then I'll stop bothering you all.

 

What is the difference between these 2 (besides the fact that the first one is more expensive):

http://www.carnival.com/ShoreExcursionDetails.aspx?region=CW&portcode=CAY&excursionname=Stingray+Sandbar%2c+Hell+%26+Turtle+Farm+Experience&excursioncode=417019

 

and

 

http://www.carnival.com/ShoreExcursionDetails.aspx?region=CW&portcode=CAY&excursionname=Discover+Cayman+-+Stingrays%2c+Hell+%26+Turtle+Farm&excursioncode=417016

 

I give up - can't see any difference from the description.

[schmeed]

It looks like this one:

http://www.carnival.com/ShoreExcursionDetails.aspx?region=CW&portcode=CAY&excursionname=Discover+Cayman+-+Stingrays%2c+Hell+%26+Turtle+Farm&excursioncode=417016

 

Has a guided tour. That's only real difference I can see in the description. They could definitely do a better job of noting the differences.

[goldenk]

 

I would do Captain Marvin's but I think for this trip we want to stick with Carnival, just to make it easier.

 

With Captain Marvin's watersports, they are really hands on and, what made me feel better, really could watch everyone. There was 15 - 17 people in our boat. The Carnival one had at least 60. Huge double-leveled boat. My wife is not a snorkeler at all and was my daughter's first time. My daughter had a blast. Took a little talking to get my wife in the water and she was doing fine and have a great pic of her kissing a ray. This year we already purchased gear for it :)

 

We'll be adding the Turtle Farm this year ;)

 

For Belize I may do a Carnival excursion.

[Ehpride]

If you use an independent operator (like Captain Marvin's), you will have a more personalized experience, especially if you're nervous. We had about 20 people on our boat and we had two crew members. That allowed for them to offer a lot more help to novices than a larger excursion. I've gone twice with Captain Marvin's and the only thing I would suggest is to do the two stop (one snorkel stop and Stingry City) as opposed to the three stop (two snorkel stops and Stingray City) because I just don't think you would get your money's worth out of the second stop. The snorkel stops are deeper water than stingray city and more open area as well.

[Scootch]

 

Neither I nor my son swim. He's ok with going into deeper water, but if it goes past my chest, I would probably freak out. :eek: My daughter, who will be 7, has a life preserver type thing she can wear and my husband, who can swim, can help hold her. Which excursion would be better for us?

 

This was good reading because we too want to do a sting ray excursion in GC. We are taking my son's girlfriend this year and I am so excited to do Sting Ray City w/ her.

 

md10074, if I may suggest, and I say this w/ kindness and not critism, one of the coolest things you can do for and even w/your children is swim lessons. :)

 

Happy sailing~