Captain Marvin's short tour

[Mim Lloyd]

Hi

 

I've just booked the short stingray city tour with Captain Marvin's. It a 11.15am pickup for a 2 and a half hour tour to the stingray city sandbar and then to either the barrier reef or coral reeft.

 

Some questions I have:

 

What's the order of the tour?

How long does it take to get to the sandbar (if it's the first stop)?

How long are you there for?

Do you feed the stingrays?

My husband doesn't swim. The sandbar won't be a problem as it's shallow water, but what about the snorkelling stop at the reef - how long is it for and is there room on the boat for him to sun himself?

 

I hope someone can answer these questions! :)

[twinkletoes4445]

We've done the short tour a couple of times. I don't remember all the details, especially the exact amount of time we spent at each location, or the time we spent getting there, but I'll share as much as I can remember with you... :)

 

You will go to the reef first (I am not sure how they decide which one they go to, but you go there first).

 

It seems like we were there for maybe 30 minutes or so. It probably took 10 minutes to get to the reef.

 

The boats we have been on have a partially covered deck, so part is open and your husband could sit and enjoy the sun. There's also a platform that run the width of the boat that runs across the back of the boat. There's always one or two people that are on our cruise that never get in the water and many times they sit on this ledge and just watch everything that's going on.

 

 

After that, we went to the Stingray Sandbar. It took another 5 minutes or so to get to the sandbar. We were probably at the sandbar for 30 minutes.

 

We were able to feed the stingrays, if we wanted to feed them. The crew carried a bucket of fish (or something) into the water. You put the food on the palm of your hand and the stingray sucks it off. It feels somewhat like a vacuum cleaner.

 

Be aware that it is possible to be in water that is deeper than 2'-3' at the sandbar. The very first time we were there, it was fairly crowded and we were in an area where the water was to my chin (I'm 5'-1") and I was standing on my tiptoes. That only happened once, but I'd read that the water isn't deep, so I thought I'd tell you this. You probably won't run into this, but it is possible...even though most likely you won't be in water this deep. The other times we've been there the water was anywhere from my knees to my mid-thigh area.

 

To get to CM's dock, you'll drive up 7MB and turn next to the Marriott. At least that's where I think we turned. We now go for land vacations there, so we meet them at their dock, rather than at their business.

 

Have a wonderful time! :)

[Mim Lloyd]

Many thanks for your reply. It's given me a lot of very good information. I've been really looking forward to seeing the stingrays - it's one of those once in a lifetime things!

 

It's good that's it's not too deep so that my husband (if he wants to) will be able to go into the water too. I think he was secretly a bit worried that he'd be the only one left on the boat while we're all on the sandbar! We're both 5ft 10ins so the water won't seem as deep to us as it was to you! :)

 

The funny thing is that, despite my husband not being able to swim, he's not unduly aftraid of water and actually taught our two grown up children to swim when they were little!

[twinkletoes4445]

You'll have a wonderful time. Every single time we've done this tour, there are a couple of people that never get in the water...even at the Stingray Sandbar. We've also had people on our excursions that have children and they take turns staying on the boat, while one get in the water. The first time we were there my daughter and her friend hated it and headed back to the boat immediately. It's really just a fun boat ride as much as anything else.

 

You're right, no matter the water depth, you'll both be fine. I am sure you'll be in the shallow water, but I just wanted to mention what happened to us that one time...even though it's not happened again. I don't blame you husband for wanting to know what to expect. The first time we went, I had no intention of even getting in the water, but I did and I loved it.

 

I never tire of seeing the stingrays. It's truly something that is fun to do and beautiful to see. Have a good time! :)

[suezyq50]

Are they always ready to eat? Basically I am trying to figure out if it is one that the earlier the better. And if mid morning is too late.

[twinkletoes4445]

Are they always ready to eat? Basically I am trying to figure out if it is one that the earlier the better. And if mid morning is too late.

 

We like the morning excursions best. Mid-morning would also be fine. We've even done one in the afternoon and the stingrays were hungry. If you can get off the ship and get to their shop for the first one, I'd book it. If not, go for the next time slot. Have a great time. :)

[CRUISENAV8R]

We just did the 1345 tour. We had fewer people than the earlier tour (which we missed because of tendering issues:() and the rays seemed like they were waiting for us!