Everybody loves Rays

[jamona2311]

Has anyone tried this. It is what we are planning to do in Cozumel. I know its a Carnival excursion. I did Mr Sanchos in February and loved it but this time Ill have my daughters 22 and 19 and they are excited to see the Rays but I love snorkling and beach and drinks :D

 

Thanks for your help :D

[CleveRocks]

We did Everybody Loves Rays last August. Loved it. Highly recommend it. Here's a link to my review on TripAdvisor. In case the link doesn't work, try to find the review using my same screen name as here, review dated Sept. 4, 2012 ...

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150809-d1371536-r139426686-Stingray_Beach-Cozumel_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

[CleveRocks]

On second thought, I was able to cut and paste, so here is my actual review from last year:

 

We chose this as a shore excursion during our Royal Caribbean ship's stop in Cozumel. I highly recommend it.

 

When we were dropped off there, we were at first disappointed by the look of the place. It appeared small and dilapidated and my wife and I couldn't believe we paid for this and committed some precious time to it.

 

But once we got started, we were very impressed, and we were very very satisfied with the entire experience. It was one of the highlights of our cruise. I write this so that you know the "look" of the place in advance and don't get unnecessarily disappointed like we were at first.

 

They give each party a numbered mesh bag in which you store your change of clothes and any valuables, etc. You are given snorkel equipment and water shoes. They present some educational info about stingrays. Then you go into the water. At first you go in barely ankle deep and are handed some strips of squid and taught how to hand-feed the rays. COOL!

 

Then you go in about waist-deep and hold two different rays (two different sizes) and then have the option of kissing (yes, KISSING) a ray by a staffer holding the ray up to your mouth, or touching your cheek if you prefer. They tale photos of all of this. They don't allow you to take any photos until after this point, as they later sell photos to you.

 

After that, you snorkel in deeper water, all within their penned-in area. It looks small at first, until you actually start snorkeling in there and realize it's actually pretty big. A staffer guides you at first to show you some cool stuff, but you can go wherever you want within their penned-in area. I've never seen so many stingrays in one place before ... they're everywhere and they're impressive. We took lots of photos with our waterproof camera at this point.

 

Our educator/guide made the experience a great one, as well. He had a charming personality, a great sense of humor, and was a natural-born teacher and public speaker.

 

After a while you exit the water and are free to lounge on lounge chairs overlooking the water, sit at their outdoor tables and get food and drink from their restaurant, and use their open-air showers (to rinse off, not to bathe) and their vvery small and plain indoor changing area/bathroom.

 

We're suckers for photos, so we bought the CD of ALL of our family's photos (46 pics of the 4 of us, one video of the whole group, plus 13 stock photos of rays and so on) for $45, and for an additional $15 we bought a thin carved wood frame (with the Stingray Beach logo) with a 5 x 7 print of our family.

 

I highly recommend this place.

[1tonysmom]

I second the review by CleveRocks about Everybody Loves Rays. We went on our last trip to Cozumel 2 years ago, as we missed out on snorkeling with the stingrays in Grand Cayman due to a packing boo boo on my part that necessitated a trip to a department store (and it was wayyyy out of town) to buy my then 10 year old daughter underwear. Poor baby had to wear swim bottoms the first sea day while we got her undies washed (fortunately we're Platinum so it didn't cost us anything).

 

Anyway, I was bumming when we went to Cozumel. We actually booked our tour last minute on the pier and saved a bunch over the cruise ship cost. We were the last people to get there and were out with a group from the cruise ship, but I think my daughter and I got to spend lots of time with the rays, because we were still in the water when the other group had to go. My husband wasn't really interested in the stingray interaction (he's kind of weirded out by them) so they just let him keep snorkeling in the snorkel area. They even gave us complimentary Cokes and chips after we were done. The price included cab fare to and from the pier. We just tipped the driver both ways and also the guys at the stingray encounter, as they were awesome. We too got sucked into buying the CD, but the pictures were great and well worth the money.

 

I will say Stingray City in Grand Cayman rocks and it is amazing thing to encounter them in "the wild",, especially if your tour gives you the opportunity to snorkel at one or two other sites, but I really learned a lot about stingrays in Cozumel and our pictures were better than any we have had taken in GC.

[jamona2311]

Thanks so much for both of your reviews. Its so hard to find stuff here about the Cozumel expierence. Its all Grand Caymen so I really appreciate your posts! :D

 

I will have to show my daughters this. I think they think of it as the highlight of their trip already so this will get them more excited. I cant wait!!! :D:D

[Bilge Rats]

We also did this tour in 2010 and I definitely recommend it. We learned a lot about the rays, enjoyed holding them and feeding them, and I even was brave enough to kiss one! At the time, I did not know how to swim and I was nervous about the snorkeling part. Turns out they will give you an actual life vest (not just the standard flotation vest you usually see for snorkeling) if you request it. My sister and I both used them and had a great time in the deeper water, too. The staff is very good and helped us "beginner" snorkelers. The larger rays have had their barbs trimmed, so no one will get "spiked". In general, we found the rays to be very gentle and I was not nervous interacting with them at all. Like others who have replied here, we also bought the CD...there were 3 of us and we shared the cost, plus they let you look at the photos first so we knew what we were getting. After the interaction and snorkeling, we raced hermit crabs on their small beach, had a snack (chips and a coke), and then went on to do some sightseeing on our own before returning to our ship.

 

Because of my experience here, I was not intimidated by my subsequent visit to Stingray City in the Cayman Islands, where we fed and interacted with "wild" rays (who still had their barbs).

[dkc1973]

I agree. We did this excursion in 2012 and loved it!