Anyone ever had a bad experience with a ray?

[simkoreb]

I've been there twice, and absolutly loved it!!! I'll admit to being a bit nervous when they touch your legs, but I would go again in a heartbeat!

Never have heard of anyone getting stung or anything.

[Penny's Loafer]

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.

I think you make a great point. Furthermore, wasn't Steve Irwing trying to ride the stingray?

[bookbabe]

Here's another suggestion for a "test" of how you or your child might react at Stingray City...go to one of the animal parks or petting zoos that let you go in the pen with the deer (or sheep or goats or whatever) and feed them.

 

I've always thought that being at Stingray City is a lot like being in the pen with the deer. As long as you're not holding any food, they'll mostly ignore you. But if you're the one with that cone full of deer food, they'll likely mob you. :D You're their absolute best friend in the world if you're holding food, after all.

 

It's much the same type of experience, but you're in the water with stingrays rather than in a pen with deer. It's about the same scariness/danger level, too...you might get knocked over accidentally, and it's sometimes disconcerting to be in the middle of the mob, but the animals themselves are harmless.

[bbaileyfamily]

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??

 

Hey there JennLynn---Yes, you can definitely book Capt.Marvin's online. Try this:

 

http://www.captainmarvins.com/

 

For $4 more, I highly recommend the Half Day excursion over the Short Excursion. The difference is one more snorkel stop on the Half Day. The Short gives you 1 snorkel stop and the Sting Ray City stop. The Half Day is one more snorkel spot added to that. All of these snorkel spots and Sting Ray City are very close to each other. You can see each from from the other.

 

When I was checking in during our second visit to them, they actually said "Welcome back. We're glad you decided to return and visit us again." It was a nice surprise.

Also, the walk from the pier is much shorter than they even say. Their "two blocks" are very short blocks. It was closer from the end of the pier area to their shop than it is to my cafeteria here at work. Seriously.

later, Brad

[Nliedel]

I'm with Brad on the half day with Captain Marvin's. It was a heavenly day.

[aprildawnmwc]

I'm pretty sure that your kid could just hang out on the boat if they were too afraid to get into the water. In my opinion, I would take my kid at that age. FYI, somebody had a 3 year old on our cruise and carried the kid into the water for a little bit. Personally, I would be warry with a kid that age, but yours is much older.

If your kid is too afraid, they can stay on the boat and watch. You could definitely see them from the boat.

 

I was freaked out about it beforehand, but everyone on here said it was a once in a lifetime experience and not to miss it. I'm so glad I listened. It really was the highlight of our cruise, and probably the coolest thing we've ever done! Once I was in the water, I wasn't really freaked out. Yeah, I screamed (just a startled little scream) when they'd brush up against me. But it was fun and not scary.

 

However, I wouldn't "push" my kid to go in if they were afraid. I will say that you can't really go into the water and try to avoid the rays. Most likely your tour guides will start letting people feed the rays and this will attract them to your area. Its hard to get away from them. At one point I tried to go back into the boat to grab a snorkel mask and I was encircled by like 5 rays and literally couldn't move anywhere. If I was a kid and afraid already, this would be overwhelming.

 

Oh, and when we went the water was about 4 feet or so. It was a rainy day and the water wasn't too rough, but I felt like it was hard to keep still at times because it was choppy.

[DandyTwister]

We were there in May and it was an incredible experience. We also did a dolphin swim encounter and this was the one I was most looking forward to, but in the end it was the stingrays I loved the most!!! I felt totally safe, found it easy to stand and swim (although it was crowded...our guide wanting us to stay together) they would swim past us, sometimes between my legs!! Got to hold them, kiss them, pet them and the guide even put one on my head!!! I loved it and I would do it again in a heartbeat. We did research because our foster son, who didn't come with us, was worried about us with the rays because of the crocodile hunter and they are different rays and very safe. Some people did just stay in the boat, and there were a few people in the water that made little squeals when a ray brushed by them...but I think the people in the water and the ones that stayed on the boat all had a good time. (our boat had life jackets available for anyone who wanted to use one - part of a tour so not sure what boat or captain...but it would seem to me they would all have them if your daughter wanted to use one). I wouldn't hesitate for a moment taking a child there...it would be an incredible experience for them in my opinion.

Have fun

Tracey

[ddintex]

We did research because our foster son, who didn't come with us, was worried about us with the rays because of the crocodile hunter and they are different rays and very safe.

 

I was going to do some similar research. Can you elaborate on this so I won't have to. My children are a little worried too, as we plan to take them with us. I already told them it was surely not the same or this would not be offered. I think if I could tell them the difference in the type of ray or what was going on that may have caused this problem, they would feel more at ease.:D

Thanks,

Deanna

[gigem85]

I did this just this past week. My 12 yr old daughter only lasted a few minutes in the water with the rays. She is usually a daredevil but for some reason all the rays swimming around freaked her out and she got scared so she got back on the boat. In general it is a cool experience and I will take her back there some day.

The rest of our party enjoyed the rays. There were quite a few people going in and out of the area. usually around 75 people spread out over the sand bar. It was cool to see them up close and watch them swim around.

[gigem85]

I did this just this past week. My 12 yr old daughter only lasted a few minutes in the water with the rays. She is usually a daredevil but for some reason all the rays swimming around freaked her out and she got scared so she got back on the boat. In general it is a cool experience and I will take her back there some day.

The rest of our party enjoyed the rays. There were quite a few people going in and out of the area. usually around 75 people spread out over the sand bar. It was cool to see them up close and watch them swim around.

[Ripley]

We did the rays tour two years ago when my daughters were 11 and 13. The younger one is very small for her age and neither is much of a daredevil, and I can tell you that both girls absolutely LOVED the experience, as did my husband and I. We went with Nativeway and the guides were very skilled in getting the kids interacting with the rays. If you let them know your daughter is nervous about it, they'll be sensitive to that. To be honest, my older daughter got sucked by one (slid her arm under its mouth while maneuvering to hold it ), but it just left a "hickey" that turned into a bruise as the week went on. Really, the rays are so gentle and used to being around people, they're practically domesticated.

If she just isn't up to it this trip, do plan to go back in a few years...it's not to be missed!

Have a great cruise.

[DandyTwister]

Deanna,

From the research I did Steve was killed by a "bull ray" which is not found in the waters in the Carabbean. Also everything that I read said that his death was a very rare accident and most say that he must have been being very aggressive with the ray as all rays instinctivly swim away when in danger and only attack when given no other choice. Their tail is designed to try to protect them from sharks who want to eat them for lunch. I also read that sometimes people get "stings" from rays because they step on them as they like to sleep under the sand. To prevent this it said to shuffle your feet as you move rather than step - but that even if you do step on one they will most likely just swim away because that is their instinct. One article said that it is believed that most people who get stung when they step on a ray probably just have the bad luck of stepping right on the stinger. I can also say that I highly doubt that there were any rays sleeping there as they all want to be fed!!

I agree with the other lady about making your guide aware that you or your daughter are a little hesitant about this and that they will keep that in mind. One lady in our group was really scared, but came in because hubby convinced her to. The guides were very good with her...offering her the same chance to pet the rays they held, but not pushing her to do so...once she said no they just let her be and seemed to keep an eye on her in case she became really paniced.

I also showed my son pictures of the stingray city - lots on the web - and he could see how many people were there and understand that they wouldn't let people do this if it were dangerous....that the tour would not make money if people were getting hurt by the rays because then others would not come to the attraction.

It also seemed to help him when I showed him where Australia was and where we were going on a map so he could see for himself that it was a very different place and the bull rays wouldn't travel that far.

If you get there and she really doesn't want to go in the water then let her stay on the boat...several people chose to stay in the boat but they still seemed to enjoy themselves because the water is so incredibly clear you can still see the rays swimming around and that in itself is awesome.

Hope this helps some

Tracey

[ddintex]

Thank you so much for that information Tracey! My daughter is quite the daredevil, and loves animals. My son loves the animals, but is not as much of a thrill seeker. She just finished doing a sea lion interaction at Sea World and he did a beluga whale interaction and they both loved it. I thought they would be excited when I told them we were going to swim with the stingrays, but her response was "No we're not!". When I asked why I got the "Duh! Corocodile Hunter!" response. They calmed down when I gave the lion and housecat example mentioned earlier in this thread, but I really wanted to give them some more concrete information (like what you just shared). I appreciate the detailed response!

[Mistletoe76]

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.

 

I was wondering if you have to wear Life Vests while doing the sting ray excursions? I am a plus sized girl and I have purchased my own life vest (due to a previous embarrassing situation while snorkeling in Punta Cana and the vest not fitting). I want to book the Sting Ray City excursion for our upcoming Liberty of the Seas trip (leaving Saturday) and thought I'd ask before I take it off the boat with me and then I may wind up not needing it.

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

 

Melissa

[Javalava]

We wore snorkeling vests. They're not as bulky as a regular life vest and have a little valve which you can blow into to inflate or deflate if you want to go under. There were several plus size ladies on our trip....I don't remember any of them having a problem with the vest.

[Nliedel]

I was wondering if you have to wear Life Vests while doing the sting ray excursions? I am a plus sized girl and I have purchased my own life vest (due to a previous embarrassing situation while snorkeling in Punta Cana and the vest not fitting). I want to book the Sting Ray City excursion for our upcoming Liberty of the Seas trip (leaving Saturday) and thought I'd ask before I take it off the boat with me and then I may wind up not needing it.

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

 

Melissa

 

I didn't have to wear a life vest, but snorkeling vests were optional. I don't think you'll have a problem. I'm a size 12 now, but I went on an excursion in 1999 and was plus size (320 pounds). I wore a snorkeling vest and had no problem.

[DandyTwister]

We didn't need to wear any kind of life jacket or vest - I just know that our ship had them for people that wanted them. Frankly you can stand in most places, so if you can swim at all and are comfortable in the water I wouldn't worry about them.

[MamaParrotHead]

There were 6 of us going. Before Steve Irwin, we were set to do Stingray Sandbar. Afterwards, mostly everyone chickened out. I was making crap of them for MONTHS. So we chose a Jeep tour as an alternative, that made a stop at Rum Point for a hour or so. So we literally ran to the edge of the water and threw on our snorkel gear and off we went.

 

Well...we all kind of did our own thing when we were snorkeling, keeping sight of one another, just exploring. My DH waved me over to the pier at Rum Point and there was a fairly large stingray buried in the sand, just hanging out. Well, pretty soon others came over and the ray got spooked and swam off.

 

Fast forward about half an hour. I'm still doing my own thing, when i turn around, this ray is FOLLOWING me. My friend was on the pier, she doesn't snorkel, and was laughing at me, as I was yelling through my snorkel. The thing would NOT go away. I think they're so used to being fed that they hang around and expect it from all humans. I couldn't swim away, because I was too scared to not have my eye on the darn thing.

 

So all in all, I can see where people liken their personalities with cats. But then again, I don't like cats, either. LOL

[cruisefamily2]

Just visited SRC last week, we used Capt. Marvins. The rays are wonderful to see and hold, we have pictures kissing them and of our kids holding them. No one should miss this excursion. The water is only about 3' deep and is clear so you can see where the rays are. There was lots of little kids there and I didn't see anyone have any trouble. Capt. Marvins did a great job with the snorkling and SRC tour.:)

[cws1966]

Hey everyone,

just wanted to say that we did the excursion with Capt. Bryan's and loved every minute of it. Once our daughter saw how cool it was and how everyone was having so much fun with the rays, she actually jumped off of the boat. She fed, held, and kissed the rays. The rest of us did too. Thanks for your reassuring words. This is definitely a must do activity!

 

I agree with another poster about the free water onboard the catamaran. it was nasty. Bring your own or you can buy Cokes, etc. from the cash bar. They also had chips. Some folks brought their own drinks, sandwiches, etc.

 

I highly recommend this trip with Capt. Bryans. We also went to the reef and the Coral Gardens. Don't forget to bring dog biscuits. We fed the fish at the reef and the gardens and they were everywhere. Beautiful!

[Nliedel]

cws1966,

 

I loved everything about your post, till you got to the last line. I've been a diver for years. The rays are different. These animals are used to hand feeding in the wild, but many divers are vehemently anti fish feeding. There are a ton of reasons for it and there are some good posts on the boards about it. Just as you would not feed bears in the wild, please don't take dog biscuits with you into the water to feed the fish. Small fish are adorable, but like a bear cub, when trained to expect to be fed, they grow and there have been instances of fish taking of the tip of divers fingers, or worse.

 

Good reasons not to feed fish, some with very serious consequenses, are outlined in posts in these threads:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=431734&highlight=feeding+fish

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=330320&highlight=feeding+fish

 

 

 

Rays at Stingray City are an exception for many of us. They have been fed there for over twenty years. Fish, in the wild, are like any other wild animal and should not be hand fed. I'm too tired to be articulate and some people get really grumpy and insist they do feed the fish, but not only is it a bad idea, in many areas, it's against the law and you will get fined, if caught.

[cws1966]

:o thanks liedel for the heads up! i had no idea that it was a problem to feed the fish. I actually got the idea from the boards. The ones we fed were small, but I can see how with large ones it could be a big problem. I am going to read the information on the links you provided after i finish this post.

 

i'm not someone who takes it personally when someone tries to educate me. you obviously possess knowledge that i haven't been exposed to, so i'm glad you shared it. I do not have a desire to get arrested or cause problems while I'm in foreign countries, so thanks again!!!! :)

 

claire

[Nliedel]

:o thanks liedel for the heads up! i had no idea that it was a problem to feed the fish. I actually got the idea from the boards. The ones we fed were small, but I can see how with large ones it could be a big problem. I am going to read the information on the links you provided after i finish this post.

 

i'm not someone who takes it personally when someone tries to educate me. you obviously possess knowledge that i haven't been exposed to, so i'm glad you shared it. I do not have a desire to get arrested or cause problems while I'm in foreign countries, so thanks again!!!! :)

 

claire

 

Claire,

 

Whew,

 

I get so nervous when I post something like that. I don't want to be a dictator, we all have to make our own chocies, but I also like the tips of my fingers. :D

[NthernLgts]

Young people should experience nature as a part of their growing up process. I took my youngest on his first wilderness canoe trip at 18 months. He saw his first wild moose 10 minutes into that trip. Even for myself, I will have been to Grand Cayman 3 times now and this will be my first trip to SRC. We are so excited, and I am so happy my son is getting to experience things like this while still in his teens. Not to have an occasional adventure (and this one is about as safe as it gets) is to miss something special in life.

[vfb2girls]

I am so happy to have some one bring this subject up, last night my husband and myself were discussing different options for the Cayman Island and I mentioned the sting ray excursion, well needless to say he would have no part of it. I asked him why and he made the same reference to the Irwin experience. Now after reading through the messages on this thread I know I can book this excursion with out worrying about it. I think the whole excursion sounds like an awesome time. Question for those who have done this tour, have most of you booked independent or gone through your cruiseline? We will be sailing with Carnival so if anyone has done this through Carnival I sure would like to hear about your experience, I much rather book independent.