MerryPoppins
<font color=coral>I posted around Woo Hooty time<b
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2000
- Messages
- 16,323
Welcome to day 5 of my trip report on March 16th. Today we are in beautiful Grand Cayman.
We awoke early today, because we had to meet for our excursion at about 7:20 in Studio Sea. Our excursion was to Stingray City to swim with the rays. Now, I have to admit I was more than a little apprehensive about this plan. When Allen first suggested it, our daughter Amy said there was no way she would do it. I gave a sigh of relief. She said it for me, so I didnt have to be the wet blanket. A week or so later, Allen informed me that hed talked Amy into it and had signed us up. GULP! Thats what I get for not speaking up. The cast member in charge of answering our questions said shed done this excursion before. Then she admitted they scared her to death and made her scream. Swell!
Stingray City is a sand bar near the island of Grand Cayman. The fishermen of the area used to stop on the sand bar and clean their catch before going into port. The rays learned of this free seafood buffet and started coming to the boats to feed. Soon divers heard about them and started coming out to see the show. Finally, several boats started taking tourists out to spend some quality time with the creatures.
So while the rest of our group relaxed in the sunshine on our catamaran, Emerald Eyes, I chewed my fingernails. (I have proof. I snapped a photo of Allen and David sleeping in the sun and my nails are short.) I chatted with 2 other couples from Oklahoma. One family actually lives about a mile from us. It really is a small world after all. The crew passed out most unattractive life vests for us to wear in the water. I wondered about this. After all, they said that the sand bar makes the water waist deep. I got even more nervous when they told me that I couldnt wear my water shoes. All too soon, we were dropping anchor and hearing the safety talk. The captain asked if anyone was nervous. One lonely hand went up. He warned me not to scream and thrash around. Better to stay in the boat than freak out. These were wild creatures that didnt want to harm me, but if they felt threatened they might. GREAT! I felt more and more confident. I did ask about the stinger. Its a barb at the base of the tail that only raises if the ray is threatened. If you dont step on it, touch it on its back, lift it out of the water or pull its tail, then it shouldnt feel threatened. I practiced breathing deeply.
Before I went down the ladder with my bare feet and yellow vest, I peered into the water. I could see some of the creatures sailing about, but none appeared to be that near the boat. I stepped into the cold water and did what they call the stingray shuffle. They were adamant that we only move forward and never backward, scooting my feet along the sand so as not to step on anyone. Eek!
The rays swam around me, sometimes brushing my legs, but they seemed harmless enough. Maybe this wouldnt be too bad. Then they suggested we shuffle forward and have our photo made with a giant ray. I shuffled up with the family and squatted next to the handler. The ray decided it was a perfect time to flap about and washed the seawater over my head. I squawked, but refrained from running backward or thrashing. As I recovered from my scare, they finished with the family shots. Now they wanted to take photos of us HOLDING the ray. Allen and David did it bravely and pushed me forward. I still cant believe that I did it. She was soft and velvety, kind of like suede. (By the way, I know it was a she because they taught us to tell the difference. The males are small and more stand-offish than the females.) Amy figured if I could do it anyone could, so she had her picture taken too.
Then, they told us to visit the floating bucket. The bucket was full of pieces of squid floating in disgusting gray fluid. They encouraged us to take one piece of squid and play keep-away with the rays that would smell the food. When we were through playing for a while, we were to hold our hand out perfectly flat with no fingers pointing up and theyd suck the food from our palms. They do have rows of flat cartilage in their mouths that they use as teeth. (A lady on the next excursion forgot to keep her hand flat and they made her finger bleed!) The rays suck up shellfish and crush them up, spitting out the shells. Then they warned us not to wipe our hands on our arms or legs or wed end up with stingray hickeys. I looked through the bucket for the least disgusting hunk. I was not prepared for the attack of the rays. They were everywhere all at once. They were kind of like flat, swimming, beggar gulls. I have to admit it was fun. I never did feed my bit to anyone. I guess I waited too long. Amy fed one and it caught her finger a little. She said it hurt, so I tossed mine to a girl who looked hungry. I know. I am a coward. It felt good to get back in the boat and head back to the island, but I was proud of my accomplishments. And we should soon have the pictures to prove that I did it.
Back at Grand Cayman, we headed to the ship to shower and change. We went to lunch on the ship and then went shopping. Amy was pumped that we were in Tortuga. We hummed songs from POTC. Amy had to have a stuffed stingray. I contented myself with a tiny one carved out of stone. Allen stopped at another Hard Rock Café to buy another hat for the same friend. We sampled rum cake and staggered back to the ship with several boxes of them for people back home
We changed for dinner early and went to the Castaway Club cocktail reception with the senior officers. Anyone who has sailed on DCL becomes a member of the Castaway Club. The reception was fantastic! They had a buffet line of snacks, complete with an ice sculpture. Waiters brought us several Bahama Mamas on the house. The Captain got up and spoke about the future of the DCL. He said No contracts have been signed for more ships to be built. Sounds like something could be in the works? He did talk about future 10 day cruises and ports changes including Antigua and St. Juan.
After the reception, we headed to dinner. We ate in Lumieres again tonight. I think I had baby spinach salad with orange slices, blue cheese bits and a light ranch dressing. It was REALLY good! I also had steak and cheesecake, I believe. After dinner, the servers surprised Amy with a birthday cake. Her birthday is really not until April 1st, but we thought shed love to celebrate on board. The cake was beautiful with a huge white chocolate curl on top printed with a picture of the Magic. It was almost too pretty to eat.
We all went to watch Hercules the Muse-ical. Wed seen it in 2001, but its cute so we went again. Then we went to the adult cabaret with David DiMuzio. He holds the title of world champion juggler. Hes quite good at juggling, but his comedy delivery is not quite as good as some of the other performers. I particularly liked his glow-in-the-dark acts.
David went with the teens to invade the lab. One night a week, they can visit the younger kids club after it closes down for the night. Amy wasnt interested. That was her club last cruise, so shed seen it all before and was glad to be older.
We danced a little and played a game of backgammon before we headed back to our veranda. Itd been a long day.
Link to day 6 http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=542320
We awoke early today, because we had to meet for our excursion at about 7:20 in Studio Sea. Our excursion was to Stingray City to swim with the rays. Now, I have to admit I was more than a little apprehensive about this plan. When Allen first suggested it, our daughter Amy said there was no way she would do it. I gave a sigh of relief. She said it for me, so I didnt have to be the wet blanket. A week or so later, Allen informed me that hed talked Amy into it and had signed us up. GULP! Thats what I get for not speaking up. The cast member in charge of answering our questions said shed done this excursion before. Then she admitted they scared her to death and made her scream. Swell!
Stingray City is a sand bar near the island of Grand Cayman. The fishermen of the area used to stop on the sand bar and clean their catch before going into port. The rays learned of this free seafood buffet and started coming to the boats to feed. Soon divers heard about them and started coming out to see the show. Finally, several boats started taking tourists out to spend some quality time with the creatures.
So while the rest of our group relaxed in the sunshine on our catamaran, Emerald Eyes, I chewed my fingernails. (I have proof. I snapped a photo of Allen and David sleeping in the sun and my nails are short.) I chatted with 2 other couples from Oklahoma. One family actually lives about a mile from us. It really is a small world after all. The crew passed out most unattractive life vests for us to wear in the water. I wondered about this. After all, they said that the sand bar makes the water waist deep. I got even more nervous when they told me that I couldnt wear my water shoes. All too soon, we were dropping anchor and hearing the safety talk. The captain asked if anyone was nervous. One lonely hand went up. He warned me not to scream and thrash around. Better to stay in the boat than freak out. These were wild creatures that didnt want to harm me, but if they felt threatened they might. GREAT! I felt more and more confident. I did ask about the stinger. Its a barb at the base of the tail that only raises if the ray is threatened. If you dont step on it, touch it on its back, lift it out of the water or pull its tail, then it shouldnt feel threatened. I practiced breathing deeply.
Before I went down the ladder with my bare feet and yellow vest, I peered into the water. I could see some of the creatures sailing about, but none appeared to be that near the boat. I stepped into the cold water and did what they call the stingray shuffle. They were adamant that we only move forward and never backward, scooting my feet along the sand so as not to step on anyone. Eek!
The rays swam around me, sometimes brushing my legs, but they seemed harmless enough. Maybe this wouldnt be too bad. Then they suggested we shuffle forward and have our photo made with a giant ray. I shuffled up with the family and squatted next to the handler. The ray decided it was a perfect time to flap about and washed the seawater over my head. I squawked, but refrained from running backward or thrashing. As I recovered from my scare, they finished with the family shots. Now they wanted to take photos of us HOLDING the ray. Allen and David did it bravely and pushed me forward. I still cant believe that I did it. She was soft and velvety, kind of like suede. (By the way, I know it was a she because they taught us to tell the difference. The males are small and more stand-offish than the females.) Amy figured if I could do it anyone could, so she had her picture taken too.
Then, they told us to visit the floating bucket. The bucket was full of pieces of squid floating in disgusting gray fluid. They encouraged us to take one piece of squid and play keep-away with the rays that would smell the food. When we were through playing for a while, we were to hold our hand out perfectly flat with no fingers pointing up and theyd suck the food from our palms. They do have rows of flat cartilage in their mouths that they use as teeth. (A lady on the next excursion forgot to keep her hand flat and they made her finger bleed!) The rays suck up shellfish and crush them up, spitting out the shells. Then they warned us not to wipe our hands on our arms or legs or wed end up with stingray hickeys. I looked through the bucket for the least disgusting hunk. I was not prepared for the attack of the rays. They were everywhere all at once. They were kind of like flat, swimming, beggar gulls. I have to admit it was fun. I never did feed my bit to anyone. I guess I waited too long. Amy fed one and it caught her finger a little. She said it hurt, so I tossed mine to a girl who looked hungry. I know. I am a coward. It felt good to get back in the boat and head back to the island, but I was proud of my accomplishments. And we should soon have the pictures to prove that I did it.
Back at Grand Cayman, we headed to the ship to shower and change. We went to lunch on the ship and then went shopping. Amy was pumped that we were in Tortuga. We hummed songs from POTC. Amy had to have a stuffed stingray. I contented myself with a tiny one carved out of stone. Allen stopped at another Hard Rock Café to buy another hat for the same friend. We sampled rum cake and staggered back to the ship with several boxes of them for people back home
We changed for dinner early and went to the Castaway Club cocktail reception with the senior officers. Anyone who has sailed on DCL becomes a member of the Castaway Club. The reception was fantastic! They had a buffet line of snacks, complete with an ice sculpture. Waiters brought us several Bahama Mamas on the house. The Captain got up and spoke about the future of the DCL. He said No contracts have been signed for more ships to be built. Sounds like something could be in the works? He did talk about future 10 day cruises and ports changes including Antigua and St. Juan.
After the reception, we headed to dinner. We ate in Lumieres again tonight. I think I had baby spinach salad with orange slices, blue cheese bits and a light ranch dressing. It was REALLY good! I also had steak and cheesecake, I believe. After dinner, the servers surprised Amy with a birthday cake. Her birthday is really not until April 1st, but we thought shed love to celebrate on board. The cake was beautiful with a huge white chocolate curl on top printed with a picture of the Magic. It was almost too pretty to eat.
We all went to watch Hercules the Muse-ical. Wed seen it in 2001, but its cute so we went again. Then we went to the adult cabaret with David DiMuzio. He holds the title of world champion juggler. Hes quite good at juggling, but his comedy delivery is not quite as good as some of the other performers. I particularly liked his glow-in-the-dark acts.
David went with the teens to invade the lab. One night a week, they can visit the younger kids club after it closes down for the night. Amy wasnt interested. That was her club last cruise, so shed seen it all before and was glad to be older.
We danced a little and played a game of backgammon before we headed back to our veranda. Itd been a long day.
Link to day 6 http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=542320
