Cayman: StingRay City for 5 yr olds???

[catjammies]

I've seen different ages mentioned for this highly-rated excursion.

Do you think this excursion is ok for a family of 4?:

Including Dad, Mom - who can't swim THAT well,
DD who's a tall 7, & can swim, but you never know in the ocean, and DD who's 5 (She is short & does not swim).....

ie - Is it where we can HOLD a child to do this, or do you think it would be difficult on us considering what I've described above?

OR< do you think we should select a different excursion?

 

[Corey9172]

First off,
Stingray CIty is WONDERFUL.
You'll never forget it.
I recommend using Capt. Marvin's-- rather than DCL for your trip, though- - http://216.119.68.108/secureres/index.html?loadfile=catalog1_0.html

Mom not being a swimmer won't be a problem-- the water at SC is waist deep
That said-- young children do freak out.
I saw a 7YO have a minor panic attack once the rays started to swarm... (and they do swarm).
Anyone that wants to can stay on the boat-- or (as you asked) be held by a standing adult in the water.
The rays are harmless-- and the experience wonderful-- I'd recommend everyone try it.
Once you get past the initial intimidation, it'll be an experience you'll talk about for a long, long time.

Enjoy

 

[Mjasp]

Do the rays bite or sting? I read somewhere that if you step on their tail they sting. How do you know when you stand up they are not going to be under your feet?

Joanna

 

[Corey9172]

No worries.
The rays have barbing underneath their tail (the sting is actually more of a "stab")...
It's there to make them difficult for sharks to eat-- not to sting swimmers.
Your guide will, however, tell you to keep your feet on the ground at all times... (slide, rather than walk)... This will avoid any (unlikely) accidents.

Again, you don't want to miss this.

 

[saturday97]

Also, you can see the stingrays through the very clear water, and you pretty much know when they are coming. I found it very simple to just lift my legs and let them pass underneath. We held DS5 the whole time, it was pretty overwhelming, but when our guide (from Captain Marvin's, which we highly reccommend-- we did the half day tour with three stops) picked up the stingray and started explaining how they eat, etc., he was very interested. We felt that even though it was a little scary at first, it was really worth it.

 

[Masonpips]

We took our DD (3) and DS (had just turned 5) and they LOVED it . Another plug for Captain Marvin's. Neither of mine are swimmers on their own yet, but they had life jackets on for each stop and actually snorkeled at the first site and did very well. The water was a little too rough and they got some saltwater in their snorkels so that was it for the snorkeling!

But, when we got to Stingray City we all climbed right in and held the kids. We wore life jackets too - just easier to stay upright and hold the kids. They were both having a blast, but DS had a tail swipe by his leg, leaving a scrape. He somewhat freaked out, but once back on the boat he loved it again. DD stayed in the water the entire time, begged to touch them "one more time" and helped me hold one for a picture as well as fed one.

If your kids like water and/or LOVE animals, it's a "for-sure" event

 

[disneyliz]

Why is Capt. Marv's better than DCL and how do you book that excursion? Also what were the other stops you made.

 

[Bev J]

The reason you would choose a local tour operator over the cruise line would be price, usually about 1/2 the price of the cruise line. A more personal tour is the biggest reason since you will probably tour with 20-25 people vs. 100 with the cruiseline.
If you go to
www.cruisecritic.com and go to the boards and look at ports of call you will find lots of information for local operators. Here are siters for 2 of them
www.captainmarvins.com
www.nativewaywatersports.com
From the remarks you cannot go wrong with either one.

If you have children going along a smaller group would be much easier to keep track of them and less scarry than a huge group of people. The local tours will bend over backwards to make sure you have a great time and your children will have a positive experience.
We are using nativeway for our next visit, it is only 25 per person for sting ray city and coral garden.

 

[WDWLVR]

We did the DCL excursion and there were a number of little ones on the boat with us. I think overall there were 85 people on our tour. We were divided up into busses of 20 or so each for the first two stops: Hell and the Turtle Farm. Your guide walks with you and explains everything. He was picking up the turtles for the little ones to hold and would take pictures for families.

On the way to Stringray City the captain of our boat explained in great detail what to expect. Once there he got in the water and would get the stingrays for those who wanted to hold them and he would take your picture. For those that were scared to hold them he would hold it next to them and let someone else take the picture.

His assistant took care of the feeding bucket.

I can tell you they were both very good with the children and it really seemed like everyone got some individual attention. I've heard great things about Captain Marvins but we really wanted to do Hell and the Turtles (mostly the turtles) and the DCL excursion fit us best.

Enjoy!