Reviews of Stingray City in Grand Cayman?

[FSU Girl]

I'm on the fence if I should keep our excursion to Stingray City or not while at Grand Cayman. I like snorkeling and I've seen pictures that look cool. But the actual stingrays make me nervous since they are wild ones. Has anyone done this? Is it worth keeping? Right now it's our only excursion booked for the cruise and I don't really have anything to replace this with if we cancel it. I'd love to hear from people who've done this before.

 

[Smilelea]

DH and I did this through Carnival a few years ago. Like you, I was a little nervous, but DH loved it! There are literally tons of stingrays swimming around. We were offered the opportunity to feed them. DH did it, I didn't. They gave him a small squid to hold down in the water and the stingray just kind of glided over his hand and took the squid. They also offered the opportunity to take a picture with one. Again, DH did it, I didn't. They put the sting ray up on his back kind of like it was looking over his shoulder. The stingrays are technically wild, as you say. But they are very use to all the people being there all the time. I'm sure the likelihood of actually being stung is awfully low.

 

[FSU Girl]

DH and I did this through Carnival a few years ago. Like you, I was a little nervous, but DH loved it! There are literally tons of stingrays swimming around. We were offered the opportunity to feed them. DH did it, I didn't. They gave him a small squid to hold down in the water and the stingray just kind of glided over his hand and took the squid. They also offered the opportunity to take a picture with one. Again, DH did it, I didn't. They put the sting ray up on his back kind of like it was looking over his shoulder. The stingrays are technically wild, as you say. But they are very use to all the people being there all the time. I'm sure the likelihood of actually being stung is awfully low.

That's good to hear! OMG I will definitely not let them put one on me for a picture. I have a waterproof camera so I figured I could bring that for pictures, but just reading that stresses me out lol. I figure they are used to people since they go there for food, hopefully they are in a good mood the day I'm there.

 

[Tim3888]

We did it last December and didn't have a good experience. I've read a lot of people who had the opposite, so my review is just one data point and may be an aberration.

Firstly though -- if your main concern is that the animals could be dangerous, I did not see any reason to be concerned there. They seemed very docile to me and used to people being around, for better or worse. I saw nothing that indicated the animals themselves are a danger and never felt in danger from them.

My family and I did not have a great experience in our excursion for other reasons. The boat that was supposed to take us there broke down and we ended up having to wait a very long time until a new boat arrived -- so again, probably atypical there. When we got there, the water was very rough (I do not know if that is typical or not -- the weather was otherwise excellent) and the place was crazy crowded, to the point that my kids wanted to get back on the boat within a minute or two of getting off, and where if I stuck my head under water, I had to worry about getting kicked in the face. I found some of the other boat captains / tour guides to be quite rude (i.e. I had one yell at me because he picked up a stingray to show his tour group and I happened to be standing nearby when he did it... and I guess since I was not on his boat I was not supposed to see it.. or something). The trip there and back was about as long as the actual time spent at Stingray City.

So overall for us, it was just not worth it. It was by far the lowlight of our cruise and not worth the money. But again -- I have read a lot of people who had very different experiences, so ours may have just been a confluence of bad luck, as sometimes happens.

 

[FSU Girl]

We did it last December and didn't have a good experience. I've read a lot of people who had the opposite, so my review is just one data point and may be an aberration.

Firstly though -- if your main concern is that the animals could be dangerous, I did not see any reason to be concerned there. They seemed very docile to me and used to people being around, for better or worse. I saw nothing that indicated the animals themselves are a danger and never felt in danger from them.

My family and I did not have a great experience in our excursion for other reasons. The boat that was supposed to take us there broke down and we ended up having to wait a very long time until a new boat arrived -- so again, probably atypical there. When we got there, the water was very rough (I do not know if that is typical or not -- the weather was otherwise excellent) and the place was crazy crowded, to the point that my kids wanted to get back on the boat within a minute or two of getting off, and where if I stuck my head under water, I had to worry about getting kicked in the face. I found some of the other boat captains / tour guides to be quite rude (i.e. I had one yell at me because he picked up a stingray to show his tour group and I happened to be standing nearby when he did it... and I guess since I was not on his boat I was not supposed to see it.. or something). The trip there and back was about as long as the actual time spent at Stingray City.

So overall for us, it was just not worth it. It was by far the lowlight of our cruise and not worth the money. But again -- I have read a lot of people who had very different experiences, so ours may have just been a confluence of bad luck, as sometimes happens.

That does sound awful. I hadn't really thought about having issues getting there or the water being rough. That's good to hear you didn't feel any dangers from the animals, that was my main concern. But with the other issues you had maybe I should still reconsider doing it.

 

[Tim3888]

That does sound awful. I hadn't really thought about having issues getting there or the water being rough. That's good to hear you didn't feel any dangers from the animals, that was my main concern. But with the other issues you had maybe I should still reconsider doing it.

Well -- I encourage you to read others' experiences. I think all cruise excursions can be hit-or-miss, so I do not know this is any different than any other in that regard. Weather, how many other ships are in port, unpredictable elements (e.g. a boat breaking down), etc. can pretty drastically color the experience. Like I said, we may have just had an unlucky day.

 

[FSU Girl]

Well -- I encourage you to read others' experiences. I think all cruise excursions can be hit-or-miss, so I do not know this is any different than any other in that regard. Weather, how many other ships are in port, unpredictable elements (e.g. a boat breaking down), etc. can pretty drastically color the experience. Like I said, we may have just had an unlucky day.

That's true and a boat breaking down is probably not common. I do know that this port can be hit or miss on actually docking though.


Has anyone done the stingray experience on Castaway Cay? Maybe I should switch to that instead.

 

[aliceinvunderland]

I have been to Stingray City multiple times and always have a great experience. The rays themselves are not dangerous—their barbed tails are rough but not sharp if you accidentally step on one, and they don’t actually sting people with them like a bee.

The excursion part of the experience can be very different based on who you book with and the timing of your arrival. The area gets very crowded during the late morning and early afternoon when there are cruise ships in port, but it’s possible to avoid it. We’ve found that by booking a private boat we are able to get there faster than the massive boats that the cruise lines use and have the place practically to ourselves. We are able to experience the sting rays and be pulling out just as the hoardes of people arrive. Definitely look into booking with an independent company as opposed to booking through DCL!

 

[FSU Girl]

I have been to Stingray City multiple times and always have a great experience. The rays themselves are not dangerous—their barbed tails are rough but not sharp if you accidentally step on one, and they don’t actually sting people with them like a bee.

The excursion part of the experience can be very different based on who you book with and the timing of your arrival. The area gets very crowded during the late morning and early afternoon when there are cruise ships in port, but it’s possible to avoid it. We’ve found that by booking a private boat we are able to get there faster than the massive boats that the cruise lines use and have the place practically to ourselves. We are able to experience the sting rays and be pulling out just as the hoardes of people arrive. Definitely look into booking with an independent company as opposed to booking through DCL!

We have it booked through Disney and it's a morning excursion. I think it's too late to look into doing it with an independent tour, we sail on January 5th. Is it common to step on them? I would feel so bad if I did that.

 

[aliceinvunderland]

We have it booked through Disney and it's a morning excursion. I think it's too late to look into doing it with an independent tour, we sail on January 5th. Is it common to step on them? I would feel so bad if I did that.

The excursion leaders will tell you to do “the stingray shuffle” when you walk. It’s basically just shuffling your feet without picking them up so you don’t accidentally step on one

As long as you know that it will be crowded, you’ll be fine. You can do as much or as little interaction as you’d like, but as I said, the rays aren’t at all dangerous. It’s a super fun experience! Have a great time!!

 

[FSU Girl]

The excursion leaders will tell you to do “the stingray shuffle” when you walk. It’s basically just shuffling your feet without picking them up so you don’t accidentally step on one

As long as you know that it will be crowded, you’ll be fine. You can do as much or as little interaction as you’d like, but as I said, the rays aren’t at all dangerous. It’s a super fun experience! Have a great time!!

Thanks! The danger part was the only thing I was concerned about and that seems to be a nonfactor which is great.

 

[Smilelea]

Thanks! The danger part was the only thing I was concerned about and that seems to be a nonfactor which is great.

Yeah, when we were there, the rays weren't really on the sea floor, they were all up near the surface looking for the food. It would've been impossible to step on one. I would still shuffle my feet, just to be safe though.

 

[dcassetta]

I'm on the fence if I should keep our excursion to Stingray City or not while at Grand Cayman. I like snorkeling and I've seen pictures that look cool. But the actual stingrays make me nervous since they are wild ones. Has anyone done this? Is it worth keeping? Right now it's our only excursion booked for the cruise and I don't really have anything to replace this with if we cancel it. I'd love to hear from people who've done this before.

I hope you try it, it really is a cool experience. The rays will be swimming around you, you can decide if you would like more interaction than that. Worse case, you have a nice boat ride and can look at the rays from the boat.

 

[Juan M]

We have it booked through Disney and it's a morning excursion. I think it's too late to look into doing it with an independent tour, we sail on January 5th. Is it common to step on them? I would feel so bad if I did that.

We did it through Captain Marvins when we were there in September of 2017, and it was great. They know the Tender schedule well, so wouldnt book us for the first trip out, as the tender wouldve made it difficult to catch the first boat. Their office is right across the street from the tender pier, and they accepted cash and credit cards, i think it was about $80 per person for the Stingray City tour and a snorkel stop somewhere else along the way. It was a great experience, i would absolutely book with them again.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

That's true and a boat breaking down is probably not common. I do know that this port can be hit or miss on actually docking though.


Has anyone done the stingray experience on Castaway Cay? Maybe I should switch to that instead.

We've done both Stingray City and the stingray experience on CC. We've been to Grand Cayman twice. The first time we booked a private boat that took us to stingray city, starfish beach, lunch and snorkeling. If stingray city had been our only stop, I think I would have been disappointed. It was REALLY crowded. All of the tourist boats gather in a large circle and then the tour operators bring food into the water for the rays, so there are a ton of people and a ton of rays. If you don't like crowds or chaos, it may not be fun. The stingray experience on CC is more low key and it doesn't take up half of your day. On our second trip to Grand Cayman, we rented a cabana at Royal Palms and simply took a cab there and spend time on 7 mile beach for half a day, had lunch, etc. That was really enjoyable!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

We booked a private tour for our family of four through Seven Seas Charters https://www.7seascayman.com/. We were the first boat to the stingrays. As we were finishing up, many other boats arrived. I liked the stingrays well enough, but we had told our captain that our number one thing we wanted to do was to snorkel at the coral gardens. We absolutely LOVED it! I mean, loved it. After we did those two things, we went to Starfish Beach, loved that also.

So, if you want to sort of do stingrays but mostly want to snorkel, maybe you want to book a private charter with someone so that you can set the itinerary. Good luck!

 

[lklgoodman]

We were suppose to do it in GC in Jan. 2017, but it was cancelled due to rough seas. We had booked it through Disney and were told it was cancelled the night before we were going to do it. When we arrived at GC, it was nice and sunny, but the seas were rough, so it along with a lot of excursions were cancelled. I went to the port excursion desk and was able to schedule the stingray excursion for CC day. Keep this mind if you decide to keep your excursion at GC, if it gets cancelled you can try to book it at CC. It was fun to do, but it's not something I would do more than once. The stingrays at cc swim up to a table and they suck the food from your hand. The cms will give you instructions about them, so it's easy and safe to do. You can also pet them as they swim on the table. The ones at CC don't have their barbs, so you don't have to worry about that. After you feed them, you are given time to snorkel. The area they are in is just a boring sandy bottom, so nothing worth seeing.

 

[AgentMama]

Our family really enjoyed the excursion. It is crazy crowded if you end up there with a lot of different tours, but a really unique experience. As others have said, you can choose to interact as much or as little with the rays. Most of the excursions offer one or two additional snorkeling stops that are really nice with a lot to see. I wouldn't really recommend snorkeling at stingray city. You're in pretty shallow water with a lot of people. Most people are interacting from the surface while guides show you how to feed the rays, capture one or two for photos, etc.

 

[FSU Girl]

I think we are going to switch to the Castaway Cay experience instead. I like that they clip their barbs, even though everyone said they felt safe at Stingray City you never know with wild animals. It also seems easier to do since it isn't as long and you don't have to take transportation there.


Now I'm not sure what to do while we are in Grand Cayman. Should we just get off the boat and explore the island on our own?

 

[Jason Lee]

I tried both Castaway Cay experience and Stingray City myself, it's a completely different experience. I love Stingray City way more.

They'll use feeding tray on CC, which I don't feel as "natural" as they are suppose to be.... I also found the snorkeling time on CC real short. I went to SC two times and it was not crowded, but I was there with local tours (one time on boat, one on jetski!), not the cruise tour. May be you should check the Cayman port schedule and see if there are other cruise ships that day. By standing on the sandbar on SC in the middle of the ocean is pretty amazing itself. My wife changed from scared by the ray to love them, she eventually just grab and hold one up to kiss it all by herself!

BTW some stingrays are HUGE there at SC.

My buddy who grown up from Cayman Island suggested Turtle farm if your kids like turtle!