carbon Posted July 3 #1 Share Posted July 3 (edited) Has anyone done the Destination Highlight: Stingray City Sandbar tour with Celebrity? How many people does Celebrity book on these boats? Edited July 3 by carbon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwcruisers Posted July 3 #2 Share Posted July 3 You might want to ask that question over on the Ports-of-Call (Caribbean) board. I'd like to see the replies, as we are headed there on Summit, next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricketgirl Posted July 3 #3 Share Posted July 3 We just did this one in January. It was a large group, 2 buses and 2 boats, probably around 50 on each boat. Stingray city is amazing, we had done it before and it’s better with a smaller group but it was still good. It gets crowded there, you’re in waist deep water and stingrays all around you. Boat crew will have you get in a circle and go around with a stingray that you can pet, they give you squid to feed them too. All the stingrays are swimming around you the whole time so you will see and touch plenty. Really an amazing experience. Don’t expect much from the lunch afterwards. The restaurant was cute (open-air right on the water with amazing views and cute décor), but the buffet left much to be desired. We had just a few bites and ate when we got back on the ship. We noticed flys on the food when walking by the buffet later on. Use the bathroom as soon as you get there - there was only one stall for women and a long line formed after a bit. When we went to stingray city in 2022 there was an excursion offered without lunch, but they didn’t offer that one this time. If you find the one without the lunch I would go with that, but if the lunch one is all there is it’s still worth it. All just my opinion of course. Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SbbquilterUT Posted July 3 #4 Share Posted July 3 We chose to go on a smaller boat with Captain Marvin - smaller boat, snorkeled away from the bigger groups. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39august Posted July 3 #5 Share Posted July 3 Yes to Capt. Marvin or other private excursion. Ship excursion too crowded. Forget lunch. Eat on the ship. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare keesar Posted July 3 #6 Share Posted July 3 We did the Celebrity excursion and it was one and done. Very crowded. Boat was packed. Another vote for Captain Marvin. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Super27 Posted July 4 #7 Share Posted July 4 By far the worst excursion I've ever been on. Avoid at all costs. If you really want to do Stingray City (which is HIGHLY overrated, by the way, but I understand the desire to see it once) I recommend doing it through a third party private charter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newtocruiseinblue Posted July 4 #8 Share Posted July 4 10 hours ago, carbon said: Has anyone done the Destination Highlight: Stingray City Sandbar tour with Celebrity? How many people does Celebrity book on these boats? We did this one and it was one of my favorite excursions of all time!! I have a framed picture of my husband and I with the stingrays in his office….such an amazing and cool experience! While the boat was full - they typically are for most boating and snorkeling experiences even on private excursions. A point to do an excursion on the water at every cruise when possible because I feel like you never get a true sense of place you are visiting unless you get out on the wall on a smaller craft. ❤️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raudacruise Posted July 4 #9 Share Posted July 4 My first trip to Stingray City was on a Celebrity excursion. Crowded madhouse. The catamaran was huge and packed. I recommend either Captain Marvin or Stingray Sailing. https://stingraysailing.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyntil8ing Posted July 4 #10 Share Posted July 4 Highly recommend the Rays, Reef, and Rum Point tour with Native Way. We have done it twice, the first time being back in 2010, so they have been doing it a long time. Rum Point is gorgeous! https://www.nativewaywatersports.com/our-tours/about-our-tours 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare horseymike Posted July 4 #11 Share Posted July 4 Go with the smaller private companies. Better experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NutsAboutGolf Posted July 4 #12 Share Posted July 4 14 hours ago, Super27 said: By far the worst excursion I've ever been on. Avoid at all costs. If you really want to do Stingray City (which is HIGHLY overrated, by the way, but I understand the desire to see it once) I recommend doing it through a third party private charter. Please expand on why, was it because it was too crowded? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NutsAboutGolf Posted July 4 #13 Share Posted July 4 17 hours ago, carbon said: Has anyone done the Destination Highlight: Stingray City Sandbar tour with Celebrity? How many people does Celebrity book on these boats? It's all about timing, you'll want to contact some independent tour companies to find out if they'll be one of the first boats there. There can be many ship and therefore many tour boats going there which is why it's best to be one of the first boats there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Super27 Posted July 4 #14 Share Posted July 4 3 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said: Please expand on why, was it because it was too crowded? The major issue was too crowded. There are a TON of people there from multiple boats. The other thing is the whole experience just felt very gimmicky. And finally, it's a terrible value in terms of bang for your buck. You will spend far more time packed in a van and crammed on a boat than you will with the stingrays. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NutsAboutGolf Posted July 4 #15 Share Posted July 4 3 minutes ago, Super27 said: The major issue was too crowded. There are a TON of people there from multiple boats. The other thing is the whole experience just felt very gimmicky. And finally, it's a terrible value in terms of bang for your buck. You will spend far more time packed in a van and crammed on a boat than you will with the stingrays. It's understandable which was why I recommended the earliest independent tour which can be cheaper and include an additional stop for lunch and snorkeling. Assuming one likes the idea of interacting with stingrays (not everyone does), for most, this is the best thing to do on the island Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raudacruise Posted July 4 #16 Share Posted July 4 The other tour boat groups didn’t bother us with either Captain Marvin or Stingray Sailing. We kept our distance and there were plenty of stingrays to go around. We each hand-fed the stingrays squid instead of just watching crew lure them in (that’s what the big tours do). I’m booking Stingray Sailing next April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbon Posted July 4 Author #17 Share Posted July 4 According to cruise mapper we are the only ship in port that day. Our port time is 10:30 - 5pm So we will not be able to get there early in the day. I have contacted Captain Marvin and Stingray Sailing and waiting for reply. I am sure things are crazy with the hurricane going throught the area. It looks like Stingray sailing is on a catamaran. Captain Marvin's boat looks like a larger speed/fishing boat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanger727 Posted July 4 #18 Share Posted July 4 We did a third party tour there as well and it was one of my favorite stops. There were 6 people on our boat. We got there before any of the cruise line excursions and our guide helped us all feed, pet, and kiss the string rays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DingoMom Posted July 5 #19 Share Posted July 5 (edited) Our friends did this tour in June on the Beyond. It was WAY too crowded, and the lunch was Not good. Additionally, the day was very windy, and the water was up past their shoulders — way above their waists. Edited July 5 by DingoMom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKCatFan Posted July 5 #20 Share Posted July 5 On 7/4/2024 at 9:14 AM, raudacruise said: I recommend either Captain Marvin or Stingray Sailing. https://stingraysailing.com/ I 1,000% agree with Stingray Sailing. The stingrays know the sound of his boat and you are surrounded by stingrays as soon as the boat stops. The other large boat tours come over to the boat to grab stingrays to take to their group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realnice46 Posted July 6 #21 Share Posted July 6 On 7/3/2024 at 4:36 PM, SbbquilterUT said: We chose to go on a smaller boat with Captain Marvin - smaller boat, snorkeled away from the bigger groups. We too enjoyed Captain Marvin’s tour. We seemed to arrive before the big groups did which was nice. I don’t know if that’s always the norm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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