Stingrays WITHOUT Snorkeling?

[BottledRed]

This might sound like a bizarre request, but is there a Stingray Tour that doesn't involve any snorkeling? My fiancee doesn't do water stuff, but I don't want to miss out on the Stingrays!

 

I'd like to take a private excursion, and we don't care if alcohol is available.

[sshuttle]

We did the Bucanner Catamaran excursion with grandcaymanexcursions.com. We loved it. Yes, there was snorkling involved but you don't have to snorkel. Several people stayed on the catamaran and just enjoyed the boat, the sea, and the sun. It was a small excursion so there were not a hundred people on board which we loved. They made two snorkling stops, long enough but not too long, and then went to Stingrey City which requires no snorkling at all, you just stand in the water. I would highly recommend the tour. It was $35.00 a person and was the highlight of our cruise. They had drinks available. Water was free and soda was available for purchase during the trip out and snorkling and then on the way back you could buy beer if you wanted.

[dbarry]

My family has also gone out to stingray city sandbar with Captain Bryan, the Buccaneer. We had a great time. What a wonderful crew, Javin was the captain and Lee was the mate. Lee was a terrific guide! He made sure that we all got to hold and "kiss" a stingray. After the stingray stop we went to a couple of snorkle spots. Lee was great here as well, pointing out all kinds of underwater plants and sea life. He even coaxed a couple of eels out of there homes. I chose not to snorkle after the stingray encounter. I stayed on the boat and thoroughly enjoyed the sea breeze, the sun, and watching everyone else snorkle. I had a wonderful time. And I didn't miss a thing! I requested that a videographer go along on our excursion and she did a great job! She uses a camera that can go under the water as well as above the water. Like I said she did a great job documenting the whole trip. Everyone had equal time on film, not to mention that she went snorkling when I didn't. I still got to see everything even though I stayed on the boat! The video is worth every penny of the $50 charge. It even has great music in the background. Go and have a great time.

 

Darlene

[gramshup]

We did Capt. Bryan in April and my husband couldn't snorkle so he just watched us from the boat and worked on his tan a little. I would highly recommend Capt. Bryan. the crew was great and there were maybe 25-30 of us so we didn't have all the waiting of the cruise line tours.

[montgomeryfamily]

I assume from your post that your fiance doesn't want to actually get into the water, not that he doesn't want to snorkel. (You don't have to snorkel to go to Stingray City--most of the people there don't snorkel. Instead they just stand or swim with the stingrays swimming around them.)

 

There is a Nautilius semi-submersible tour excursion where you may see stingrays, although you don't go to Stingray City. They offer two tours. (You can book directly through their internet site and get a discount.) The morning tour is strictly a viewing excursion and the afternoon excursion is longer and offers snorkeling for those who want to go snorkeling. We took this excursion and saw some stingrays, sea turtles, and lots of fish. However, we did not go to Stingray City.

 

Another posssiblity is that Capt. Marvins is now offering a glass bottom boat excursion. I don't know whether this excursion goes to Stingray City, but you could contact them and ask.

[BottledRed]

He'd like to get into the water, but doesn't want to snorkel. I'm up to snorkeling, but haven't done it before.

 

I'll look into the Bucanner Catamaran...thanks, guys!

[spanky]

We just came back from Stingray City via RCCL's Voyager. I did the Stingray City snorkeling trip as ordered from RCCL. As I wear contacts and had a disposable underwater camera, I chose to wear the mask but the majority of the people just stood in the water as it was only 4 ft or so. I preferred having the mask but it certainly wasn't necessary.

 

spanky

[trvlhorse]

I couldn't get the website (grandcaymanexcursions.com) to open. How long ago was it that you went on the Buccaneer? Did you arrange this ahead of time? Did they pick you up at the pier?

We'll be there in September and would like to do this if I can contact them for more info.

[llund]

We took Captain Marvins. If he wants to get into the water, but not snorkel, he can definitely go to the stingray sandbar. It is only about 3 feet high and he can still enjoy the stingrays without snorkeling. They do stop at the reef on this trip, but many people stayed on the boat. Captain Marvins can also arrange a trip to Hell, the Turtle Farm, and 7 mile beach along with the stingray trip. They were great. We are going back to Grand Cayman in January. We have a party of 8 and one does not want to even go into the water. I checked on the glass bottom boat with Captain Marvins, but it does not go to stingray city. They are able to take those who want to go to stingray city on that boat at the same time that the glass bottom boat goes. Then, they can all meet up to go on the land tour,

 

Atlantis also has an island highlight tour with stingray city observatory. It is a glass viewing chamber and you can see the stingrays without getting wet. They also see the land tour. Their website is http://www.atlantisadventures.com