Stingray city w/ a 1yr old???????

[FIREFLY01]

on our next cruise in NOV, we are going to grand cayman, we would like to do the stingray city,
BUT we are traveling with our 1 yr old daughter, I 'm pretty sure Disney excursions wont allow her, but has anyone had any luck with an excursion there, OR KNOW OF ANY, that take a 1yr old? i dont mind doing nondisney charters,

I would just love to take my DD, she loves the water and animals, I will hold her thats not a big deal......

 

[FIREFLY01]

also if stingray city is not gonna work, where else can u go with a 1 yr old that is fun, i'm sure theres a beach but we live in florida, so i'd rather try other stuff that we don't have......

 

[kcashner]

We loved Stingray City with Captain Marvin's. Also check out Nativeway Sports. However, it's offered as part of a snorkel 1/3 of 1/2 day. The baby couldn't DO Stingray City unless you held her in the water.....

I don't normally say stuff like this, but have you considered placing the baby in Flounders for the 1/2 day while the rest of the family enjoys an excursion?

We also did an island tour thru Captain Marvin's (different trip) that included the turtle farm. It was the highlight of the trip. The turtle farm is at a place called Boatswain's. There are several parts to this park with different color wrist bands indicating what you have paid for.(lazy river, dolphins, etc) Doing just the turtle farm on your own is $30 and you'd still need to pay for transportation. Our tour + turtle farm was $30. At the end of either snorkeling or tour you are offered drop off at Seven Mile Beach, Sea Grape Beach, or back at the tender port.

 

[nenner1]

I don't normally say stuff like this, but have you considered placing the baby in Flounders for the 1/2 day while the rest of the family enjoys an excursion?

This is what we did, although we too went through Capt. Marvins and our DD4months would have been allowed on the excursion had we so chosen.

Just be aware if you choose this option that you have to plan carefully and check Flounder's hours immediately upon embarkation- they were only open in "sessions" morning and evening and closed from appx 2 PM-5PM daily. My DH had to RUN back after the excursion to get her- of course GC tenders so you have to add that time in your planning as well. Even though he did arrive back onboard with 5 minutes to spare (1:55 LOL) the FR CM had our daughter in her car seat waiting with her in the check in area of FR...everything was already shut down.

Just something to consider while you plan! We LOVED this excursion, and are doing it again our next cruise!

 

[MouseLovinMom]

We did a private excursion in Grand Cayman that we LOVED. Eco Outrage was the name, I think. It was a full day and about $400. (if I remember correctly, that was the price regardless of the size of your party). Since it's a charter, you can customize the itinerary and go at your own pace. We fed the stingrays at Stingray City, went snorkeling at a nice reef, visited a beach club for lunch, and then went to a really pretty, calm, shallow beach that had dozens of starfish. The captain was fantastic and even helped with our son in the water. If you want more details, just let me know.

 

[ikelshellmad]

I'm copying a response that I wrote back in June 2009:
I went with Stingray Sailing (website is www dot stingraysailing dot com) mainly because the maximum number of passengers allowed is 25. The day we booked (June 16th), we had the entire boat to ourselves. We had a total of 8 in our party (4 adults, 13 yo, 9 yo, 6yo, and 2 yo). It was like having our own charter at a fraction of the price! The owners (Chip & Michelle Whitney) have 2 young children of their own, so they do provide child-sized life jackets. Michelle met us at the Royal Watler cruise ship terminal at exactly 11am as promised (she was also holding a "Stingray Sailing" sign so we could identify her). We then followed her to a van, and she drove us out to the boat. The company is family-owned and operated, and they were extremely nice. I think their daughters' ages are 3 and 23 months (we met the younger one--adorable child!), so they should have a life jacket to fit your child. My 6yo and 2yo wore life jackets, but we also had to carry them since the water was too deep for them to stand by themselves. We got to feed the stingrays and then went to an area where we could snorkel. Chip got us back to the terminal by 3pm, so we were able to tender back to the ship before the crowds came back.

 

[FIREFLY01]

WOW that sounds great thankyou, I will check them out, I don't mind holding her in the water, its not a big deal, I just think she would love it, she loves animals and the water, we are in the pool with her daily!

The turtle farm is a good backup plan just in case I will check that out also!
thank you everyone!!

 

[15minfromOGDL]

We used Capt Marvin's and took our 18 month old back in 2007. We brought a life jacket from home, and even took her into the water. I guess it depends on the weather and water conditions, but it was so calm we brought her in at the sandbar. The wave motion was so soothing that she fell asleep while the stingrays swam all around. The crew was excellent in helping us in and out of the ship ladder, we even had our 5 year old with us.