sas80 Posted April 23, 2007 #1 Share Posted April 23, 2007 We are doing the Western Caribbean route in august. I would really like to get some water activities in this time and am contemplating doing Stingray City. I am thinking that we would buy our (at the time) 10 month old his own lifejacket and go ahead and do it. What do you all think? Good idea? Bad Idea? Opinions? (we dont want to use the RCCL supplied lifejacket because last month, the one they gave us was from the "splash zone" and we dont feel that is adequate in case of emergency.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy toes Posted April 23, 2007 #2 Share Posted April 23, 2007 We are doing the Western Caribbean route in august. I would really like to get some water activities in this time and am contemplating doing Stingray City. I am thinking that we would buy our (at the time) 10 month old his own lifejacket and go ahead and do it. What do you all think? Good idea? Bad Idea? Opinions? (we dont want to use the RCCL supplied lifejacket because last month, the one they gave us was from the "splash zone" and we dont feel that is adequate in case of emergency.) Ok. I will go ahead and be the first to respond to this one! I already know, someone out there will say I am offering parenting advise or not just sticking to the question at hand. Here goes IMHO: If you really want to get in some water time, then, take turns playing in the water with your little one while the other parent does the swim with the rays. You all can have fun and still know that the baby is safe. Your idea to have your own water life jacket for a 10 mo old is very sound. There are multi sites that offer swim suits that allow toddlers to play in the water while keeping their heads upright. Just check for a coast guard approved item (either swim suit or vest). We have traveled with a 10 mo old that was just learning to walk on her own. She played in the ocean and had a grand time. We only brought a swim float suit and not a life jacket. We do alot of sailing at home on the Bay and agree with you that water and littles ones can be mixed. Safety is the big thing. When it comes down to it, do what feels right for you and your family. Just the idea that you are even questioning things now for an Aug cruise shows you are concerned. Take all the posts you will get (including mine :D ) with a grain of salt. Enjoy your family. Have a wonderful cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas80 Posted April 23, 2007 Author #3 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Ok. I will go ahead and be the first to respond to this one! I already know, someone out there will say I am offering parenting advise or not just sticking to the question at hand. No, it's okay. In my original post I actually said "what is your opinion on this" I am looking for opinons because I know that I dont know everything and couldnt have possibly thought of everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas80 Posted April 23, 2007 Author #4 Share Posted April 23, 2007 There are multi sites that offer swim suits that allow toddlers to play in the water while keeping their heads upright. Just check for a coast guard approved item (either swim suit or vest). We have traveled with a 10 mo old that was just learning to walk on her own. She played in the ocean and had a grand time. We only brought a swim float suit and not a life jacket. We do alot of sailing at home on the Bay and agree with you that water and littles ones can be mixed. Safety is the big thing. When it comes down to it, do what feels right for you and your family. Just the idea that you are even questioning things now for an Aug cruise shows you are concerned. Take all the posts you will get (including mine :D ) with a grain of salt. Enjoy your family. Have a wonderful cruise. I LOVE the idea of getting him a swim suit that doubles as a safety and flotation device! I never would have thought of that! thank you!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julienatul Posted April 23, 2007 #5 Share Posted April 23, 2007 We did stingray city on our honeymoon and the water is pretty deep. The boat takes you out and you have to climb down the wooden ladder into the water where you cant touch ground and swim over to the reef where you can stand. Im not sure you could do that with a 10 month old but perhaps someone here has and can give you better advice. Otherwise one of you could stay on the boat while the other swims with the stingrays and trade off. Stingray city is really neat! Its amazing how huge those animals are. Have fun cruising with your baby. We are going on our 3rd cruise with our daughter in a few weeks and she is only 19 months old! Good luck. Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisiamc Posted April 24, 2007 #6 Share Posted April 24, 2007 If you decide to trade off leaving one parent in the boat with your child, and one in with the stingrays, you will not be the only people in the boat. There were several on our trip who were not too sure about being in the water with the stingrays, and stayed in the boat. The guide brought over a stingray so that those in the boat could get a good look, which was nice. Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas80 Posted April 24, 2007 Author #7 Share Posted April 24, 2007 If you decide to trade off leaving one parent in the boat with your child, and one in with the stingrays, you will not be the only people in the boat. There were several on our trip who were not too sure about being in the water with the stingrays, and stayed in the boat. The guide brought over a stingray so that those in the boat could get a good look, which was nice. Lisa Im wondering if we can use the front carrier to get him on and off the boat - provided he has a life vest on, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisiamc Posted April 24, 2007 #8 Share Posted April 24, 2007 All the kids on our excursion were older than your son - all past the toddler stage, so I should let someone with more experience answer. But Stingray City is not to be missed, so I hope you can work out the logistics! Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitty9 Posted April 25, 2007 #9 Share Posted April 25, 2007 I may be wrong, but many of those tours do have a minimum age requirement to participate, so your child may not be able to do this trip at all. And for what it's worth, the seas in that area can be incredibly rough---GC is the most missed port in all the Caribbean for that reason. I would not recommend taking a 10 month old off the little boat that takes you to Stingray City. Take turns with one staying with the child on the boat. Don't take the chance of waves harming your child. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin Kay D Posted April 25, 2007 #10 Share Posted April 25, 2007 NO!!! Been to Cayman many many times and 4 different tours to Stingray City PLUS we are grandparents PLUS boaters for over 30 years -- say all this to qualify that I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND taking a 10 month old off the boat!!! I don't think I would even bring him/her on this excursion!!!! Your excursion vendor may not be able to anchor in the shallowest water; often the water is up around my shoulders (I'm 5'3" tall). You are in a huge bay where you can barely see shoreline in the distance & you are right near the reef that separates the sandbar from ocean, so the water is wavy to choppy. The vendors want you to stand still in the water to avoid being stung by the ray. They also do not allow you to use water shoes.... Plus the age requirement by the excursion vendor may end all this discussion. I'm somewhat concerned about how my 9 yr old grandson (wearing his favorite life jacket) will handle being in the water with the rays & he's a waterbug, who has been jumping into a deep lake for past 7 years! Problem being how he will keep feet/legs still....kids just naturally kick their legs to keep their heads up, even with a life jacket on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted April 25, 2007 #11 Share Posted April 25, 2007 It just seems too risky to me. I tried and tried to justify taking my just turning 3 year old and 7 year old when we go next week and after reading all of the posts here regarding sting ray city I just couldn't do it. :( The risks outweighed the experience. Now, that being said, I HAVE taken them to the close dolphin encounters...but the water is shallow and they can be held in the pool set up for the dolphins. It's just not the same when you are in an unpredictable situation like stingray city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamAlyce Posted April 26, 2007 #12 Share Posted April 26, 2007 I would say No to taking the baby. Here's my experience: Took our 3 kids, then ages 10, 8 and 5 on the Stingray boat out of Grand Cayman. When we arrived at the part where you leave the boat and get into the water we were told that the water level was high for that day. My husband, who is 6'2", took both the boys - who are about normal size for their ages, one at a time into the water and held onto them as they couldn't touch the bottom and have their faces above water. There was not any way our youngest would go off the boat and he didn't want to try holding her in the water anyway. When he came back up, I went down - I'm 5'3 and took my turn but I will say it was hard for me to stand alone in the water - I am a good swimmer and did fine but I had to be careful. Especially since you need to keep your feet on the ground and shuffle as told. I also would recommend leaving one parent on the ship w/the baby and the other enjoy the outing. It was a great experience but I can't imagine taking a 10 month old out there as they won't really remember the experience anyway. The 5 year old did get to touch one as there was one brought on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuizer2 Posted April 28, 2007 #13 Share Posted April 28, 2007 Have you been to Stingray City? If not, here are some photos ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyz3mon Posted May 1, 2007 #14 Share Posted May 1, 2007 We just got off the Mariner on Sunday, and did the western route. I had wanted to do stingray city, but the excursion through Royal Caribbean had a minimum age of 6. There was not a single excursion through RCI for the stingrays that didn't have this minimum age, so we did not do it. This was our first cruise, so I didn't want to book an excursion outside of the cruiseline. My son is almost 4, and I thought he would have been fine, but I figured there was a minimum age for a reason, so we had to pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves_Dogs Posted May 3, 2007 #15 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I would say no to taking the baby in the water there, simply because of safety. Standing out in the water, those stingrays DO bump into you and they are big. That, with the natural moving of the water, it is easy to get bumped around. My son (who was 15 years old at the time) and I got 'jostled' around a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlestars Posted May 3, 2007 #16 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Have you been to Stingray City? If not, here are some photos ... Thanks SO mucn for posting those AWESOME photos... I have a very tall 4yo DS and a DD 7 who is MAD about all things water. We had been wondering about this excursion but those rays are HUGE!! I would be terrified they would sting me :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuizer2 Posted May 3, 2007 #17 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Thanks SO mucn for posting those AWESOME photos... I have a very tall 4yo DS and a DD 7 who is MAD about all things water. We had been wondering about this excursion but those rays are HUGE!! I would be terrified they would sting me :eek: Those stingrays are as close to a tame wild animal as you are going to get. They can be handled, and are used to it. They know the people there represent no danger to them, and when the people do show up - LUNCH TIME! Here is another view of Stingray City ... Yes, it is very popular. BTW, you don't have to get in the water. You can watch from the boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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