stingrays

[RenSea]

I need help. Sailing on the EOS 5/22 Western Carrib. Do you suggest swimming with the stingrays in Grand Cayman or in Belize? Have done this in GC befor but want your opinion on which is better. Cave Tubing sounds kinda boring so not sure what else to do in Belize.

[wireman180]

Did the Western Caribbean in March and the sting rays at Grand Cayman were one of the highlight of the cruise. We didn't stop at Beliz so I can't comment on the sting rays there.

Corky

[cruisin-Trish]

I loved swimming with the Stingrays in Grand Cayman and booked it privately with Nativeway.

I did the Shark Ray Alley ship excursion in Belize in March of 2003 while on the Enchantment. It was my first time snorkeling and I loved it! To date it is the best excursion I've ever done! One of the guides stayed within 10-12ft. of me the entire time. She knew it was my first time snorkeling and I also walk with a cane.

There were golf carts available for rental to go into the town of San Pedro. Cost was $10 or $20 depending on the length of time of rental.

The excursion is a full day! We were picked up at the ship and brought back to the ship. I really liked that! If you can ride in the boat that is covered.No sunburn! Many people in the open boats were very sunburned from the ride to the snorkeling site even though they used SPF 30! The ride is about an hour.

Hope you enjoy whatever you decide to do!

[Nliedel]

Grand Cayman hands down. Please bear in mind that GC can be hit or miss since the hurricane last year, they were devastated. I took my first open water dive in Stinray City over 20 years ago and I have never forgotten the experience. It was so amazing.

[grvdggr71]

I cannot speak from personal experience, but I do have a friend that was in Belize and said that cave tubing was a fantastic experience, and well worth the money. Another possibility for Belize is to either visit some Mayan ruins, or I believe they offer a canopy tour there. Both are interesting and fun.

[luvmikidz]

We just got back from W. Carrib. Sting Ray City was definitely worth it! Grand Cayman was our favorite Port.

[RenSea]

Has anyone done Stingray City since the hurricanes? I have heard the island is being redeveloped at a fast pace but are the rays back in quanity? Any other comments about the Shark Ray alley in Belize? I know nurse sharks are harmelss but it must be freaky to be that close.

[cruisin-Trish]

Rensea,

The nurse sharks were about 6 ft. long and came along side the boat when we anchored but when everyone got in the water they swam away! I tried to get close to a couple of them but they were having none of it!

I was leary of swimming with the stingrays as they will brush your legs while in the water. It was an awesome experience looking down in the water and seeing & feeling all the rays! I hope to repeat it many times! I know they have stingrays in other locations but I've read on the boards that none come close to Grand Cayman!

[itskim52]

I've snorkeled with the sting rays in both GC and Belize and I though GC was far better. I have also done river tubing in Belize which was great - but it was a long, bumpy ride to get there.

[Jennygirl]

Ahhh, the stingrays!!! Went swimming with them 2 years ago in Grand Caymen and developed a close personal relationship with one of them :)

He latched onto my arm trying to make me let go of the food in my hand and sucked away until I gently swished my arm around to knock him off. I let go of the food later on. If you drop the food too early they leave you right away and look for more from other people. I enjoyed the experience so much (well not that much, I had a mark on my arm for a day or two) that my husband bought me a gold sting ray charm to wear around my neck. IT was fun though and an excursion I will never forget. Have fun and don't miss it!

[spocruiser]

Has anyone done Stingray City since the hurricanes? I have heard the island is being redeveloped at a fast pace but are the rays back in quanity? Any other comments about the Shark Ray alley in Belize? I know nurse sharks are harmelss but it must be freaky to be that close.

 

We did Sting Ray City with Captain Bryan last week. It was great. I would also echo the previous poster about cave tubing in Belize. A friend on another cruise last week said it was great.

 

We realy enjoyed Captain Bryan as he takes particpants to Sting Ray City on a 50' catamaran. Beautiful boat and nice to be spread out. I think we had about 25 people on board and had ample room to spread out. I saw many other vendors who took people there on boats where they were packed in pretty tight.

 

As for the number of sting rays, I have no basis for comparison, but they seemed quite numerous to me by our boat and there were at least six other boats in the sandbar area all equally surrounded by stingrays.

 

I would also note that the snorkeling by the adjacent reef was fun. Saw a lot of varied fish and even got close (at one point closer than we would have liked) to a moray eel.

 

With respect to the hurricane damage, the interior of the island looked pretty devastated. The combination of the high winds and the salt from the water has really taken a toll on trees. One of the other participants told me he had been there many years earlier and that the island had quite a tropical look to it. Not now.

 

That said, it was my favorite port on our cruise. Seven mile beach was glorious!

[sandyneck]

Cave Tubing in Belize is anything but boring. As a matter of fact, unless you are up for a rather physical day, this is not the tour for you. It was too intense for some people on our tour and they really made the tour guides earn their money babysitting them. We booked with CoralBreeze tours and they were awesome. Stingrays at Grand Cayman were the awesome also.