Anyone ever had a bad experience with a ray?

[cws1966]

We have booked our excursion thru Capt. Bryan's and will be going to see the stingrays. I was a little nervous about it, but kept hearing that it was a must do, so we decided to do it. Our 12 year old daughter, who is normally a try anything daredevil, is scared to death of being in the water with the rays bec. of the Steve Irwin incident. I told her I'm sure she can stay on the boat if she wants, but if she does decide to get in, isn't the water shallow enough just to stand there and watch them swim around without getting down in the water with them???? I would like her to experience this, but would kind of like to know how things work to prepare her.

 

I'm also curious - Has anyone ever had a scary experience with the rays? Have you ever heard of anyone being stung???

[Eliot Ness]

...........but if she does decide to get in, isn't the water shallow enough just to stand there and watch them swim around without getting down in the water with them???? I would like her to experience this, but would kind of like to know how things work to prepare her.

 

I'm also curious - Has anyone ever had a scary experience with the rays? Have you ever heard of anyone being stung???

The water is about 3 or 4 feet deep, depending on exactly where you stop, but most people can just stand up comfortably. The rays are kind of like big gentle dogs that may or may not bump into you, depending on if you're close to someone feeding them or not.

 

I've yet to hear or read about someone getting stung by a ray in GC, and it is a very neat experience that I bet she'll enjoy once she sees the other people in the water with them.

 

John

[cws1966]

:D thanks eliot,

I'll have to show her your post!

[bruce-r]

I'm also curious - Has anyone ever had a scary experience with the rays? Have you ever heard of anyone being stung???

I've never heard of anyone getting stung at SRC either. The worst I've heard about is people getting a hickey. The stingrays have quite the suction power when the suck up the squid chunks.

[chris209]

Please be aware that if you happen to be at Stingray City at high tide, especially on a day when the seas are rough, your daughter may not be able to stand up! We were there a couple of years ago and are all quite experienced snorkellers and swimmers but found the expereince less than enjoyable. The waters were rough and we were at high tide and I could not stand (had to swim or tread water) and I am 5'8". My children found the experience difficult, especially as it was so extremely crowded. They were trying to swim and see the rays and not drift in the current and had people bumping in to them and had to avoid swim fins etc. My daughter and I gave up and went back on the boat (we were with Capt. Marvin I think).

[Nliedel]

I too have never heard of anyone being cut, which is what they really do. Those barbs are sharp. Mostly, it's an issue if you step on them. I've done it many times. I still get all woogey at them swimming between my legs, but that's not a big deal.

[mauimary]

When we did this excursion you could see the rays quite well just sitting on the boat. There were several people who did not get in the water. We went out early in the am and were the first boat there. It was really neat to see the rays follow us-as they knew they were about to get fed.

[Ivy86]

I am so scared of them after the irwin incident....i would not recommend that excursion for children:eek:

[Nliedel]

I am so scared of them after the irwin incident....i would not recommend that excursion for children:eek:

 

Why not? According to USA Today, stingray deaths amount to somewhere between 17 and 30 worldwide, ever. Some Austrailian papers put the number higher, but the majority of them happen in Austrailia. That's ever (since 1860), not a year.

 

In the Cayman's stingrays come to you. They are used to humans and injureies are almost unheard of. If there are any, they are minor, but intensly painful, scrapes. VERY rare. This is from Cayman Watersports, but they have strict reporting laws.

 

The odds are much better that my boys will be hit by a car, or have a tornado hit our house. MUCH better.

 

Yes, it's the wild and things happen in the wild, but I'm happy to take my kids to see these amazing animals. Many more people die from bee stings in a year, than stingrays, ever.

[bruce-r]

I am so scared of them after the irwin incident....i would not recommend that excursion for children:eek:

 

What? You're kidding, right?

 

The kind of stingray that got Steve is not the same kind of stingray in Grand Cayman. Additionally, the stingrays in GCM are so used to humans and being fed that there was a realistic fear that some of them would die right after hurricane Ivan because tourist trips to SRC were suspended while recovery efforts where underway.

[bbaileyfamily]

I am so scared of them after the irwin incident....i would not recommend that excursion for children:eek:

 

I'm sorry, I know every person is entitled to their own opinion. But, I think your reaction is a definite over reaction. Comparing Sting Ray City to the Steve Irwin tragedy is like comparing petting a neighbor's cat to trying to pet a bobcat in the wild. It's two totally different things. I would hate for your opinion to scare somebody off from doing this activity. So, please let me express an alternate viewpoint.

 

I am also willing to bet that by the wording of your post, you've never actually been there. Because, I can't imagine that anybody that's been there would have that opinion.

 

Going to Sting Ray City is a MUST in my opinion if you are visiting Grand Cayman! In fact, this is the only shore excursion type thing that I've actually repeated and done twice. We didn't have our kids with us the first cruise, so I certainly wanted them to do it when we were there again. And, if we are doing a Grand Cayman stop again in the future, I'll go a third time. (Also because the snorkeling is so good out by Sting Ray City and I love to snorkel. So, BTW, I highly recommend Capt. Marvin's snorkel/Sting Ray City trip.)

 

As for the safety questions, here's what we experienced: The water the first time we went was about 4 ft+ deep. The second time it was maybe 3 feet deep at most. I'm 6'4" and had no problems either time. Some shorter folks were bobbing a little bit in the 4' water. Even kids didn't have problem in the 3' water. The water was super calm and smooth both times we were there.

 

As for getting stung or barbed, you'd have to really go out of your way to do this. The only way is to step on the top of the rays while they are in the sand. But, they tell you to shuffle your feet so this doesn't happen. You also don't wear water shoes or flippers so that you don't stir up the sand or hurt the rays. With the water being crystal clear and the sand being white, white, white, you can see anything on the bottom without a problelm. I've even rubbed down the spine of the rays to feel the roughness of the spine.

 

These creatures are extremely house trained and know the drill very well. They rub up against you like a cat wanting petting. They will let you hold them and pet them. They are there to eat and not wanting to hurt you at all.

 

So, unless you aren't tall enough to stand in the water, I wouldn't worry at all about safety.

 

I'll get off my soapbox now. Sorry. It's just that it's such a COOL thing to do, I don't want anybody to get a wrong impression.

[Nliedel]

I'll get off my soapbox now. Sorry. It's just that it's such a COOL thing to do, I don't want anybody to get a wrong impression.

 

Very, well put. I am mostly agaisnt people interacting with wild animals. I don't know why Stingray city is different, but my appreciation of the ocean was born there, nurtured there and has become one of the highlights of my life.

[ronrythm]

I am so scared of them after the irwin incident....i would not recommend that excursion for children:eek:

The rays that Steve Irwin was dealing with are a totally different type from the rays in Cayman. Are you afraid of house cats because people have been killed by lion? They ar both cats.

[Guest Spo]

Very well said, bbaileyfamily! It was definitely the highlight of our entire cruise last year even though the weather while we were in Grand Cayman was awful!! I also second your recommendation on Capt. Marvin's excursion -- very entertaining!! I love trying different things, but this is one thing I would definitely repeat again -- with the children, too!!

[bbaileyfamily]

Very well said, bbaileyfamily! It was definitely the highlight of our entire cruise last year even though the weather while we were in Grand Cayman was awful!! I also second your recommendation on Capt. Marvin's excursion -- very entertaining!! I love trying different things, but this is one thing I would definitely repeat again -- with the children, too!!

 

Hey there Spo---Yeah, it was the highlight of our cruise also!! Prior to going on that cruise, it was my father-in-law that wanted to do the Sting Ray City thing so bad. I honestly didn't have much desire to do it. But, I wanted to try snorkeling in the Caribbean for the first time. So, I arranged the excursion for our group thru Capt. Marvin. To make a long story short, it blew us all away!!

 

When heading back to dock after snorkeling and visiting the Sting Rays, I distinctly remember turning to Bill (my father-in-law's wife's son, who I had just met on the cruise for the first time) and saying, "I want to thank you for being a part of one of the best, most fun days of my life." It really was that good, wasn't it? :D

 

Bummer on you guys having bad weather. Luckily ours was perfect both times.

[Javalava]

The water is about 3 or 4 feet deep, depending on exactly where you stop, but most people can just stand up comfortably.

 

This is what I expected since just about every picture I've ever seen, the people were in waist deep water. We were there last Thursday, and I guess it was high tide, because the water was well over my head. We swam for a little while, but the water was rough and everyone was on top of each other, so after getting kicked a few times we went back on the boat. It was still a great experience and I was proud of myself for doing it.

[bookbabe]

We were there last Thursday, and I guess it was high tide, because the water was well over my head.

 

Were you maybe at the snorkelling location rather than the sandbar? Or was it really crowded and maybe your boat stopped at the far edge of the sandbar where the water is deeper? :confused: I just can't picture there being that much of a difference in depth at the main part of the Sandbar, even if it was high tide.

[Javalava]

No, I don't think so. We did snorkeling first at a different site, then they took us over to Stingray City. Actually there was only one other boat there at the time....a catamaran. The crowding was just from the people on our boat all being in the same area.

[margincall]

What time of the day does high tide usually hit the sandbar.We are going to go through Carnival and take the stingray and island tour together. I know the tour is from 930 am to 2 pm but not sure what time the stingray part is. This will be in the fall

[Javalava]

Tides change daily. High tide and low tide each happen twice a day and I know that here in central Florida, and I assume everywhere else, it changes about an hour each day. That is, this morning high tide was at 9:34....tomorrow it is 10:27. Low tide is about 6 hours later. It has to do with the forces of the moon and sun.

[earl&vesta]

There are deeper and shallower parts. I'm 5'11". Most of the time I was in about waist deep water. We were there on a very windy day and the waves were overpowering. They pushed me around a lot which I found frustrating because I was worried about stepping on a ray. One of our dinnermates, who is 5 feet, said she had a hard time keeping her balance.

 

As far as the rays experience, I was nervous about being in the water with them. We went by waverunner and I had a bit of a time making that first leap off of it seeing all of the shadows swimming below. After repeating my "I'm a big girl" mantra, I lept off and moved to a more shallow part of the sandbar where our tour guide was. To me, the most difficult part was being startled by them. If your group has food, they will come around more. They tend to rub against you like a cat and if you aren't really aware it can startle you.

 

I interacted with them a lot, held them, etc. I did not feed them although I might have eventually. We had someone in our group who fed them and made a major deal over their suction and danced around and cussed after he fed them. I did see someone with a hickey on their hand from feeding them.

 

[margincall]

your right-i should have remembered that-i better not tell my brother-he s a science teacher-lol

[earl&vesta]

We have booked our excursion thru Capt. Bryan's and will be going to see the stingrays. I was a little nervous about it, but kept hearing that it was a must do, so we decided to do it. Our 12 year old daughter, who is normally a try anything daredevil, is scared to death of being in the water with the rays bec. of the Steve Irwin incident. I told her I'm sure she can stay on the boat if she wants, but if she does decide to get in, isn't the water shallow enough just to stand there and watch them swim around without getting down in the water with them???? I would like her to experience this, but would kind of like to know how things work to prepare her.

 

I'm also curious - Has anyone ever had a scary experience with the rays? Have you ever heard of anyone being stung???

 

I just re-read your post. First of all, I don't know your child--only you do. From your brief description, she doesn't seem to have irrational fears. I want my children to experience things, too, but they also have to listen to their own "gut" for what they feel comfortable doing. Discuss what the people have revealed on the board and if she's still really scared, I wouldn't push her with it. From what I understand there are plenty of other really great things to do in Cayman. Sting Ray City is a very unique experience, but if she isn't ready...

 

AND from my experience, you really can't see much if you don't get into the water--just dark shadows when they are swimming. You can see them when people are holding them, etc. but it isn't too exciting.

 

Also, I don't know if it was unique to our day, but there were a lot of people screaming (startled type) when we were there. There was one woman--40's ish-- who was hysterically screaming and crying when someone in her group picked up a ray and rubbed it on her back.

[Cruise Gypsy]

We loved our experience in Sting Ray City and I highly recommend it to anyone. But...

 

The one thing that can really get to some people and I think children, is that they can swam around you if get in the middle of people feeding. This can be overwhelming to quite of few people. They seem to be all around you and can kind of "climb up " on you.

 

I would go slow with your daughter - first off the boat, then on the outside of the feeding group and if things go really well move toward the feeding areas.

 

Also, here is another idea. I wear a dive skin when go snorkeling even in warm water to protect me from sunburn (I burn easy). It might be worth having your daughter wear one and that way it will seem like there is a layer of protection between her and the rays.

 

I hope you have a great time.

[JennLynn]

We've been to Cayman many times, but never did the stingray trip until last fall.....it was the most incredible and not scary thing I've ever done. Highly recommend! I held one and even gave her a little kiss!:eek: Great photo!

 

Brad, can you book Capt. Marvin's on-line??