Grand Cayman: morning Stingray City

[Dutch Diver]

Given our small "window of opportunity" on Grand Cayman, we (DW & me) would like to dive at Stingray City in the AM. We had a reservation request with Shoretrips, but they cancelled because their dive op (Diversdown) doesn't do morning SRC trips after March 9. :(

 

I've checked other dive centers, but most of them only do SRC in the afternoon - and we can't do that, because we have to be back at 14:30 (local time) for the last tender departure.

 

Does anyone know of a dive op that will go to SRC in the morning? :confused: Or do we have to skip "one of the world's best shallow dives"?

[DiveMaster]

Just snorkel SRC or stand on the sand bar to avoid the time conflict. Have plenty of squid.:D

 

Given our small "window of opportunity" on Grand Cayman, we (DW & me) would like to dive at Stingray City in the AM. We had a reservation request with Shoretrips, but they cancelled because their dive op (Diversdown) doesn't do morning SRC trips after March 9. :(

 

I've checked other dive centers, but most of them only do SRC in the afternoon - and we can't do that, because we have to be back at 14:30 (local time) for the last tender departure.

 

Does anyone know of a dive op that will go to SRC in the morning? :confused: Or do we have to skip "one of the world's best shallow dives"?

[Dutch Diver]

Hur-ray! I got a 09:00 reservation with Off the Wall divers through Grandcaymanshoreexcurions. :D+:D+:D

[reddi]

Esselandden,

 

Congrats on getting the dive you wanted. Just for your information, one of my buddies at work did the SRC dive and I saw the video. The rays can get very aggressive, coming at you from all directions when you are holding the squid in your hands to feed them. So you need to be expecting this. He said it was neat but kind of eerie. Have fun!

[gmcrow]

I actually preferred to NOT feed the rays. It's more fun to watch everyone else. They are VERY agressive going after the food.

[bullydogsmama]

We did sting ray city on our NCL cruise three weeks ago and it was awesome! We didn't find the stingrays aggressive at all. They won't let you wear fins in the water just your mask and snorkel. Beautiful creatures, we crusied for 3 weeks b2bs and this was one of the best times we did during our cruises. Don't miss it!

[reddi]

Most, if not all of you, are talking about the snorkel trip where you are standing in the water. The OP is talking about a scuba diving trip. It is totally different and not the same experience.

[xSandman3`]

Honestly, SRC is a pretty lame dive, and not worth the effort to gear up for. A much better option is shore diving right behind DiversDown. You can see a ton of cool stuff there. SRC is 12' deep, dirty, and ugly. If you wanna see rays, go to Kona and dive with the mantas...it's worth the cost of the trip.

[Denise&Paul STL]

I am planning a trip in December and am curious. Reddi on this thread mentioned a big difference between diving with the stingrays and snorkeling with them. Could someone please elaborate? I have done the snorkel twice, and am considering diving with them, but since the area is so shallow, I am unsure whether or not it is worth suiting up.

[Dutch Diver]

Let me say up front that I haven't been there (yet!) so all I know is from magazine articles and reviews.

 

It was first described as the "world's best 12-ft. dive," by Bob Hollis, in a September 1987 article by acclaimed underwater photographer/ writer Geri Murphy, in Skin Diver Magazine.

 

Here's an article from Skin Diver describing SRC:

 

http://www.skin-diver.com/departments/DiveTheWorld/CarribeanAndBermuda/CaymanIslands/SurroundedByStingrays.asp?theID=456

 

And from Caribbean Magazine:

 

http://*****.com/2qofjh

 

So yes, I expect it will be touristy, crowded, sandy waters with poor viz. But if you know this in advance, you can take it into account. I expect that interacting with the stingrays will outweigh all the negative aspects mentioned. I'll let you know when I get back.

[reddi]

Denise & Paul & others:

 

I will elaborate a little bit on the differences between the snorkel and dive. I've been on a snorkel trip to SRC twice. You don't really snorkel at SRC - they stop at 1 or 2 other nearby locations for snorkeling. At SRC, you stand in water between waist and chest high. The majority of people don't wear masks, and like someone said you are not allowed to wear fins either as they don't want you unknowingly stepping on rays. When a boat pulls in with tourists, they usually give everyone who wants a couple of pieces of squid to feed the rays - you're basically doing it while standing up with your head out of the water. The guides hold onto rays for you to touch, etc. It is pretty fascinating. When there is no squid left, the rays are gone and off to see the new arrivals. There are a lot of boats/tourists there at the same time. We really enjoyed it and our kids did too, but there isn't a whole lot of interaction between you and the rays (as compared to the dive) - you view them from above and feel them swimming around or against you.

 

I haven't done the dive, but my coworker has. He said it was probably 40 to 50 yards away from the snorkeler's site. There was no crowd whatsoever. Just his small group of divers who all spread out, so he was virtually by himself (which he enjoyed) with the rays. He was on the sand bottom in 12 ft of water with one full bag of squid. He doled it out slowly and stayed down for nearly an hour. He could see the rays from all angles, touch them (carefully), etc. The other poster is right in that it is primarily a sand bottom with nothing else to see as far as a dive site goes. It's all about interaction with the rays, which is enhanced because of being at depth. Just make sure you carefully hold onto and guard your bag of squid - I saw a lot of people panic and drop theirs when the rays started sucking at their hands! Maybe others can add more insight on their dive experiences at SRC. My coworker really enjoyed it! Of course, it just depends if this appeals to you or not.

 

Hope this helps.

[Denise&Paul STL]

Thank you for the article! That was awesome! Have a GREAT time on your trip. I look forward to reading your reviews of diving at the ports. I am guessing that since you dive at different ports, that you have a roller bag for your gear. Can you recommend anything that has worked well for you?

 

Thank you also reddi for elaborating. That was also helpful.

[Dutch Diver]

Well, I used to have a roller that would fit our dive gear (BCD, suit, boots, fins etc / times 2) easily. It was just a large canvas duffel bag on wheels, not a special dive model or anything. I won it in Vegas ;) so I don't have a make or model.

 

For this trip, we plan to use mesh backpacks: http://www.oceanicworldwide.com/p_bags_caribe_backpack.html

[Dutch Diver]

I promised to write about my SRC trip. However, on the day that we were supposed to go, the wind and waves were too high so all trips were cancelled. I guess that's the downside of a cruise vacation: you only get one day per port.

 

We went to Turtle Reef (Sundivers) instead, which was a very nice location with good staff and a cozy restaurant - albeit a little far away for cruise pax. We barely made it back in time because we had to wait over 45 minutes for a taxi. :mad: