Stingrays for 6-7 year olds?

[gilligan4]

We are contemplating booking with Captain Marvins but have been advised (by some family members) that the trip is really not for kids. I would really appreciate any advice from those of you who have had the opportunity to see kids on the sandbar. My son will be 6 1/2 and is very comfortable in his snorkle gear.

[CindyinSacTown]

Gilligan - Good question. We took our daughter to Stingray City 3 years ago when she was 11 yrs old. She's an excellent swimmer but it was her first time snorkeling. Our trip was over New Years 2001/2002 and there were about 850 kids out of 2900 people on our ship. Many, many families went to Stingray City and all of them had a great time and were wonderfully behaved. It was an experience of a lifetime and I would recommend it. When it gets right down to it, you know your son best of all and you should be the judge of whether or not he goes. I would recommend it. Also glad to answer any specific questions you might have, if I can help. Hope you have a great time. When are you due to be in the Caymans? Good luck.

Cindy

[jebridan]

If you are able to go, this will be the highlight of their trip. We used Nativeway and they had lifejackets you could wear, and I'm sure the other companies would have them too. Depending on the tide, the water comes up to your chest so your little ones probably wouldnt be able to stand up there. I would imagine it would depend on their swimming abilities and how comfortable they are in the water. The guys from Nativeway were great. They got in the water and would catch the stingrays and bring them to you to hold, pet and look at. They gave us many facts about the animals and then gave us food and instructions on how to feed them. We saw many kids there the 2 times we have gone so take them by all means.

[twinkletoes4445]

[quote name='gilligan4']We are contemplating booking with Captain Marvins but have been advised (by some family members) that the trip is really not for kids. I would really appreciate any advice from those of you who have had the opportunity to see kids on the sandbar. My son will be 6 1/2 and is very comfortable in his snorkle gear.[/QUOTE]

I'd take him on the tour. We used CM's for our snorkel trip and had a great time. The time we went, we were in water that was really pretty deep (it was up to my chin and I was on my tip toes-I'm a little over 5'). However, we did see plenty of little kids. They were on the adults shoulders and just paddleing around. Off in the distance, I could see the water was much more shallow, but I guess it just depends on when you get there, and where you find a spot.

If all else fails, and your son doesn't want to get in, I'd go anyway. You and your husband could take turns sitting on the ledge on the back of the boat. It's such an awesome experience, I wouldn't miss it. There was a child on our boat that didn't want to get into the water, so one of the crew members brought one of the stingrays over to the boat so the child could touch the stingray.

[gilligan4]

We will be in Cayman on Dec. 1st and after reading your responses I will book with CM's tonight. Thanks for the feedback!

[twinkletoes4445]

Have a good time. We were very pleased with CM's. Ruth answered all my questions...and the two crew members who took us on our tour, kept a close eye on us. I found this really cute stingray stuffed animal at CM's store. It's propped up on the top of my computer and everytime I am sitting here, I see my stingray and remember our time in Grand Cayman.

You might ask CM's if they will have someone along to video your tour with them. We were there on New Year's Day, and the company who does this wasn't available for our tour. It would have been a lot of fun to have something like that as a souvenir. :)

[CindyinSacTown]

We're going to be in Grand Cayman on U.S. Thanksgiving. Hopefully, they can handle/want us tourists by then. Does anyone have the phone number or web site for Captain Marvin's. I'd like to check out the site and see if it might fit out needs for this trip. From all of the positive comments, I would like to give them a try. Thanks and I hope everyone has a great time.

[goldsnn]

try [url]http://www.captainmarvins.com/[/url]

We have been several times with CM to Stingray City. I wouldn't miss for the world, the best shore execursion. We're taking our 2 kids and their families in Nov, the youngest grandkid is 3 yrs old. We've been practicing with the snorkel gear in the swimming pool this summer and how to "jump" waves.