snorkeling w/ a toddler at Stingray City?

[rsjj]

Hi everyone! Was wondering, if any of you have done the Stingray City with a toddler? (or two?) Am thinking of doing this excursion with the family-that's me, DH, DS 4, & DS 2. Anyone whos's done this with a toddler, how did your child do? Was it scary for him/her? Or maybe he/she had a blast? Anyone with first hand experience, or just thoughts & suggestions are all welcomed! Just want to hear how it was, so I can book it or decide on something else.

I am the only one who loves the water, and knows how to swim. I figured I would have to carry my 2 year old. My 4 year old doesn't know how to swim.

Thank you for your thoughts in advance!

 

[Jhalkias]

I seem to remember when we did this last year that there was an age restriction of five years old and older on this excursion. I did not take our then 3 year old with us - or attempt to. I really do believe she would have been frightened, but that is also her personality.

My 16 year old son and I went. We went on the DCL sponsored excursion. One thing you should be aware of is that the boat that took us out to stingray city was not very large, and it was what I would call "crowded". It was not a problem for my son and I, as we walked around to the front, and sat on the very front of the boat - wouldn't have tried that with a toddler in tow.

While the water is not really deep at stingray city - was about 5 feet deep when we were there - having a little one with us who could not swim would havebeen a challenge. Esp. with all those sting rays (and people) swimming around. I probably would not do it with a young child, even if the age restriction were not a question. Just MHO.

 

[aprilgail2]

If you are going to do it with younger kids just book directly with capt marvins...you can bring any age, its just the Disney excursions that limit the ages. I am taking my 4 year old, she can't wait to go and if she gets scared she said she will just sit on the boat and watch me....

 

[cindysteve]

My DD7 was scared, but they let her hang out on the boat while we were in the water. She went in, came out, went in... you get the picture. The rest of us thought it was awesome. They are incredibly docile and graceful. Water was chest deep or less, and kids were required to wear inflateable snorkel vests. No fins allowed. We were not doing an excursion from DCL but were on RCL this time. My DS9 loved it and I have an awsome DVD of us enjoyng the experience ($60- uggh, ouch) We did the Dolphin swim in the Bahamas with DCL and they both enjoyed that.

 

[cotomom]

My 3 and 5 yo's thought it "sounded" like great fun! They're water friendly and love handling critters at Sea World. But when reality hit and we were "there" at Stingray City, they both freaked out! They didn't want anywhere near these big creatures in the water. They did however enjoy the boat ride, just not the water!

If you do it, have a plan that you take turns with your DH to stay on the boat with one or both of the kids if they don't like it. It is too COOL of an opportunity to pass up as I highly recommend it! Just scary for my kids! And Captain Marvin's was excellent! The boat was no where near crowded, very comfortable! HTH!

 

[cindysteve]

Oh, another thing. Be careful to book an excursion that actually goes to the SANDBAR. Some do not go to the shallow water at all.

 

[budwmn]

Would it be possible to bring one of those disposable blow up rafts or boats for a small child? We were thinking of bringing one for my DS (age 7) who's not a strong swimmer.

Thanks!

 

[minniemouse1]

When we went to stingray city in October we had a 1 1/2, 2, and 2 1/2 yo in our group. We bought 2 small blow up pools at walmart (they had a "quilted" type bottom that held a little air) and the 2 youngest were in those with life jackets we brought with us and the 2 1/2 yo swam around with us most of the time. She wore a jelly belly swim suit. She did get into the pool once or twice with one of the other children. They loved it. My 2 1/2 yo did not want to touch the sting ray but did not mind seeing people holding them or seeing swimming around under her. We could of never done this excursion w/o the pools. I think also a small boat would be fine for an older child. We inflated them on the boat on the trip to the sandbar. We also used the pools in Cozumel and Castaway Cay.

We booked Directly through Captain Bryans (don't recommend them, go with Marvins). They don't have an age limit but also don't supply lifejackets for small children either so bring your own. You will also use them at Castaway Cay and could also use them at other beaches so IMO they are not a waste of packing space.

We tried not to "inconvienience" anyone else on our excursion but did read some negative posts after our cruise from people that were on our same trip saying that children that young should not be on that excursion. We would bring our children again in a second. I go on vacation to spend time with my children not put them in daycare. Our 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 yo were VERY good on this trip and enjoyed the boat ride.

We ordered room service the night before and had sandwiches delivered that we put in baggies and brought with us for the kids to snack on while on the trip. Also brought some dry cereal boxes from topsiders.

If you have anymore questions please ask.

 

[Outrageous Crew]

I took my 5 yr old son who is a strong swimmer and loves the water. I would only take a little guy if they absolutely love the water... getting out of the boat in the middle of the ocean and seeing 100+ giant black things swimming around is kinda scary for anyone! The crew gives you a "talk" before you get in about how not to get stung... that flipped my guy out more than anything else! We wore life vests and I held him. It was too deep for him to stand. There were over half of the kids, a whole lot bigger than mine, who came, and were still on board.. they refused to get in the water. The parents were quite upset about that... I handed my guy to afew other fellow swimmers so I could take some underwater photos... which he didn't mind at all. I also opted NOT to feed the rays with the squid, mainly because they can suck on you and leave rather huge red marks, so I didn't want my son to get any squid on him and have to deal with that.
Getting into the water, I needed help. I had to hand him off, as there was a ladder to enter the water and to get back onto the boat. The crew was very helpful with that! My son loved watching the rays swim around us... he loved petting them and he still talks about what fun it was.... I have some great photos!
Bring some cash, as they will sell you a disk with some digital photos for $15...and they sell stuffed toy sting rays that my son wanted badly.. he still loves his little "stuffy" the ray. Bring snacks.. it's about a 40 min ride each way, and you stay about a half hour. Hope this helps. Tresha

 

[budwmn]

Minniemouse1 and Outrageous Crew--
Thanks for your advice and information. I feel like my DH and I can now make a much more informed decision about going on this excursion. THANK YOU! ! !

 

[rsjj]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts! Especially for Outrageous Crew & minniemouse1 for your detailed descriptions! I really appreciate it! I think we will try it out. Worse comes to worse, we will just have to take turns sitting out on the boat, while the other goes in, if the kids are too overwhelmed by the whole entire thing! Besides, it sounds like half the fun is getting there, especially for little ones, right? Again, thank you everyone for your informative tidbits!

minniemouse1-wow, you are brave for having 3 little ones on this excursion!!!! One question, what is a "jelly belly swim suit"? And where would you purchase one? I guess I'd need to check out sporting goods place or a pool supply store...?

I'm sure I'd be obsessing over another question soon! So until then...

 

[minniemouse1]

rsjj
A jelly belly swimsuit is a suit that has baffles around it so that they can stay afloat and swim independently in the water. It is not a life preserver. We did bring her a life jacket but she could not swim on her own because it was more constricting with her movements so I ended up changing her into this before we got into the water. We just ordered her a new suit called pool pal on the internet. I think these are much better than the jelly belly suit. They are about $55 new and you can find them onsale at some online merchants and also on ebay. Try a google search to find them. She started to swim on her own in the pool and in the lake with it when she was just a little over 2. She really suprised her Dad and I. They would be great for your DS 4 and maybe for DS 2. They really help them build stronger muscles for swimming and hold their bodies upright well. Have a great time.
The 2 y/o was my husbands uncles son. We have gone on both of our cruises with them. They brought 3 children on the excursion in total. An 11 y/o, 9 y/o and 2 y/o. The 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 are my 2 DD's.

 

[MerryPoppins]

Outrageous Crew, were you on the Disney excursion or did you book your own?

 

[chrisn]

Booked directly with Captain Marvins. He loved every minute. He loved the water and did have a preserver on but he got right in with my DH and he touched them, fed them, held them. Stayed in the water almost the whole entire time. We were on the sandbar and the water was about 4 1/2-5 ft deep.

 

[minniemouse1]

We had to book directly and not with DCL because they don't allow children under a certain age to go. I think the age is 10. We emailed Captains alot and asked alot of questions and also looked up info on the boards from people who had also brought young children to stingray city. That is how we got the idea of the small inflatable pools. I never thought they would work but they were great! Couldn't of done it w/o them and my 1 1/2 DD loved it. She sat in the pool almost on her knees and would look over the side at the stingray and watch everyone swimming. We just pulled them along with us wherever we went and the guides on the boat helped us get the kids on and off. I enjoyed having them with us so I didn't have to worry about them being on the boat. I used Flounders on our cruise and my 1 1/2 y/o loved it there but I would rather have them with us.