For those doing Stingray with little ones

[dad son team]

I just confirmed with Soto's , and they advised me that it is OK for my son to use those inflatable arm "swimmies". Just an FYI.

[bab15316]

We are booked with Soto's in November. I'm taking my 7 year old daughter. She swims a little, but I know she will be very nervous around the stingrays, and the waves do tend to make the footing hard to hold. Do they have any regular life jackets for children (or adults). I won't need one, but I'd be more comfortable if she wore one.

 

Have a great time with your little ones!

 

Beth

[cruisinqt]

We booked with them too.:) I have a swimsuit with floaties built into it for my 5 year old. They are available at Wal-Mart and most other stores in the section where the pool floats and toys are. They are available for infants all the way up to 8 year olds.

 

I like these floating swimsuits because it is now impossible for my older child to dunk her 5 year old sister.:D Try as she might, she can't get the 5 year old under the water. And my 5 year old is more confident when she gets into the pool. Plus, I feel my child is safer now when she swims.

 

Since it might be a little scary for our children with those HUGE stingrays swimming around them, we plan on holding our children while doing the stingray tour. They are virtually weightless in the water, so even though they are 5 and 7, I don't think it will be a problem. We hold them and play with them in our own pool and the water makes them pretty bouyant. I think having them right there in our arms will make us feel a little safer. And if the water isn't too deep and the waves aren't too big, we will probably let them get down on their own. But that's only if we feel it's safe.

[waterbound]

Thank you OP!!! I never thought of these.. My youngest will be 7 1/2 when we go in March and even though shes a great swimmer these might help comfort her because I figure she may be a little overwhelmed with the stingrays.. Will make sure I get some now while they are being clearanced!

[Maria65]

Two of my kids completely panicked and went right back on the ship when we did the Stingrays. These are kids who are not usually the type to panic. Their problem wasn't the rays but the fact that so many adults in the water were screaming as they got off the boat and had their first ray brush past them. My son was convinced people were being bitten and no amount of trying to convince him otherwise did any good. You may want to tell kids ahead of time that people may scream because they are excited. I'd also advise you to swim away from the crowds as fast as possible. The boats drop you in a very small area, even smaller charter boats go to the same area. It is cool seeing the rays upclose, but it is packed with people.

[pringle]

I would like to take my 4 year old to see the stingrays. Do you think this is advisable? Do most tour companies have an age limit?

[nhfamily]

:eek: The day that we went to Stingray City (we went with Capt Bryan's)... the water was rough, skies were gray, and we had downpours off and on. Disney Magic's morning excursion still took their group out, but refused to actually let them off with the Stingrays due to the waves. One of their employees jumped in and held up a stingray for them to see - that was it. Disney cancelled their afternoon excursion. On the other hand, Capt. Bryan's crew had a rope we could hold onto to grab onto if we needed help getting to and from their catamaran (we felt like Gilligan & Ginger bobbing in the waves). We made it to the sandbar... our 14 year old just stood there- wouldn't go under to look at them. Our 11 year old was fine until they start feeding them.... just as a warning--- sting rays go crazy when they smell food-- in the sense that they swarm you. Very cool if you are okay with it, but our 11 year old freaked when people started screaming(she wasnt feeding them, but one swam up to her and sucked on her thumb- her thumb turned red and raw (like sandpaper rubbed hard on it) and the poor kid practically drowned me and the crewmate from Captain Bryan's getting her back to the catamaran (and she's an excellent swimmer). Several of the younger ones (6-10 year olds) who were all "oh, this is going to be sooooo coooool, I can't wait" were the ones who wouldn't even get off the catamaran at all. Going back, we got pelted by huge rain drops that hurt, and we were all hiding under towels to soften the sting of the rain. Definitely would not miss Sting Ray City--- but just wanted to give a heads up that NOT all trips to Sting Ray City are those calm ocean waters with sunny blue skies that you see on post cards!:eek:

[ss-sunset]

Coming from a lifeguard perspective, I would advise against using the "swimmies". When I lifeguarded at a US Navy swimming pool the only thing allowed what the swimsuits with the floats built in that were Coast Guard approved. These are the best as they hold a child head up out of the water. Floats that go on a child's arms only hold their arms up and are not designed to hold their head/face out of the water. I have also seen them fly off a childs arms when jumping into the water and had to go get the child. Just my 2 cents.

[Maria65]

Due to the number of people in the water and the sea which does move even on a calm day, I wouldn't expect little kids to be able to do any real swimming at all. My youngest daughter was six and she's an independent swimmer in a pool and we pretty much kept her on our arms the whole time. I can't stress enough just how small an area this is and how many people are there. Actual snorkeling is virtually impossible as people are bumping into each other a lot. This is a very popular tour, and many people rave about it, just be prepared for some grid lock.

[DollyCruise]

Tell the kids ahead of time.......everyone, grown ups included..will be screaming with GLEE ( or whatever works).......it's freaky at first.

 

Just tell the kids the adults are screaming with FUN....that will ease their lil minds.

 

It's sure worth it! Dolly