Anyone swim with the stingrays in Antigua?

[kmdintx]

Has anyone ever done this excursion? Is it fun and worth the $$$???

 

TIA

 

Kim

[wireman180]

I did it in Grand Cayman and it was the highlight of my cruise. Don't miss it.

Corky

[Diva Onboard]

Yes, we booked this shore excursion in Antigua through Royal Caribbean. It was awesome. We would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

The rays will swim right next to you, brush up against you. They feel like giant portabello mushrooms. You get to hold them and they have someone take your picture with them. We were able to hold starfish and sea cucumbers too. We certainly felt it was well worth the money and it was the highlight of our cruise.

[Penguin69]

We absolutely loved it and would do it again in a heart beat. We didn't swim with them in Antigua however I believe it was in Grand Cayman.

 

They are definately friendly creatures, let me tell you (more about that later). They advise you that you cannot wear water shoes while swimming with them but you are out in the middle of nowhere standing on a sandy ocean floor in only 3 ft of water. That along was a great feeling and beautiful site.

 

They have about 6-8 different charter boats each having their own little section that the sting rays come to and swim around you. Of course I'm sure them feeding them squid everyday helps. Yes, I fed them and actually held a BIG one while he was looking right at me. My DH took a picture of me kissing him (which is now in a frame):D .

 

They advise you ahead of time DO NOT step on their long tail/stinger and you will be fine. When they advised they were friendly, they were not kidding:) And they do indeed feel like a thick piece of liver - with eyes. Well I found out how friendly there really are..... I was standing there looking out at everyone else and DID not feel him, but he actually swan or suctioned himself all the way up my swim suit and was looking straight at me. I finally happen to look down and my husband said the expression on my face was to die for. I wasn't afraid, I'm sure I scared him more than he scared me. After about 10 sections, he just slide back down into the water. I will never forget that and the fun we had. Best excursion to date.

 

They eat from the underside of their body. It's actually like a vaccum type of suction hole. You just hold the squid in your open faced palm and they swim over and gently take it out of your hand. Awesume experience and one I will NEVER forget.

 

Go and have fun. You will never stop talking about it.

 

Happy Cruising to all,

[midnightsun]

Is that a Stingray in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me? :D

 

 

(couldn't resist)

[alborn63]

We swam with the stingrays in Antigua and thought it was the biggest waste of money we had ever spent. Before ya'll start yelling at me, let me explain. We did the Shark Ray Alley swim in Belize the year before. We swam in the open ocean not in a fenced area like Antigua. The stringrays came right up to you in Belize along with 10 feet nurse sharks. If you have never experienced swimming with the stringrays you will probably enjoy it very much. The people that were with us on the excursion are still talking about it 2 years later.

 

My daughter did the dolphin swim and said it was worth every penny mom and dad paid for it. The only problem is the dolphin swim is about 125.00 a piece.

[SqueakyDust]

Looking on the Net it appears that only the one company do the swimming/feeding Stingrays, and they have a header saying if your ship offers the cruise then you can't book it independantly with them!

 

The cruise line we're using want 25% more booking direct:mad:

 

Does anyone else on the island do the same tour and take private bookings?