Which Stingray City Excursion to Choose?

[StLeCe]

Hi, everyone,

 

My fiance and I are trying to decide between 3 different excursions that will take us to Stingray City. All of these tours are offered through the cruise line; we'll be sailing on the Celebrity Equinox.

 

1. Stingray City & Barrier Reef Snorkel - GC88

2. Stingray City, Barrier Reef, & 7 Mile Beach Lunch - GC91 (This tour is pretty much identical to the one above, except that, for an extra $40 a person, you then board a bus and go to the Beach Colony Club Resort for lunch and probably an hour and a half or so on Seven Mile Beach. Between my husband and I, that would be $80 extra, which we're willing to spend if it's worth it. However, would it be just as easy to find a place to eat lunch near the pier? Or are there few restaurants and things to do near the pier?)

3. Stingray City Encounter - GC27 (This one does not include the Barrier Reef Snorkel, but it seems like you might spend just a little more time at Stingray City. Also, the water on this tour is shallower (3 to 7 feet as opposed to 10 to 12 feet like the other tours). Does this have any effect on the quality of the experience or the number of stringrays we'll see?)

 

Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

Stacy

[bookbabe]

Excursion #2 must go somewhere else, and not to the Beach Club Colony for lunch. BCC was bulldozed a couple of years ago to make way for more condos. My guess is that it likely goes to Tiki Beach, which I think is the same owners.

 

There are lots of restaurants all along Seven Mile Beach and near the port area (right downtown) so you don't need to take an excursion that includes a meal unless you want to.

 

There are two traditional Stingray City stops, one in shallow water where you stand with the stingrays swimming around you, and one where you snorkel with them in deeper water. You're going to get more one-on-one interaction with the stingrays at the shallower site.

[Grandpaul]

I'll second Bookbabe about the shallow water being more enjoyable. Hard to pick up a stingray in the deeper water like you can in the shallow water. Easier to feed them too.