stingray at castaway cay

[howardk613]

has anybody gone on the stringray excursion on castaway cay yet? If so, what was it like? I heard they took the stingers out, is that true?
thanks,

 

[Tikihula]

Hi. We snorkeled with the stingrays on Castaway Cay in January. They have a large lagoon with a net around it to keep predators out. There is a short informational meeting under a covered pavilion first, and then you pick up your snorkeling gear, flotation vest and fins. You enter the water in small groups in different areas of the lagoon, so everybody is not crowded together. The cast members explain how the rays are trained to come up to a Mickey shaped target and hover there so you can pet them or feed them. Yes, the barbs are trimmed back so they are not dangerous. They still remind you to shuffle your feet slightly as you walk in the water so that you don't accidentally step on the rays. Everyone has a chance to feed a stingray by holding the "stingray jello" between your fingers and placing your hand over the Mickey target. A stingray will smell the food and will swim over your hand and suck up the food. It feels like a little vacuum cleaner going sluuurrp (they don't have teeth). The rays themselves feel like rubber. Each ray is named and they are trained to hold still for microchipping and to have bloodwork done in order to keep track of their health.

The cast members provide lots of information and answer any and all questions you might have. Then you have plenty of free time to don your mask and snorkle and float around within the perimeter of the lagoon. You'll encounter swimming stingrays and even some good sized fish. The water gets a little stirred up by everyone shuffling their feet when they first enter, but you can snorkle farther out to the perimeter fence where the water is more clear.

It was a fun experience and even the little kids thoroughly enjoyed it and didn't seem to be afraid of the rays. They are quite tame and not so large as to be intimidating. The stingray encounter and parasailing were the highlights of our cruise.

 

[cobbler]

Thanks so much for sharing. It is one thing I would really like to do. Hubby on the other hand is a bit more timid - when it comes to the children going since the Steve Irwin death.

 

[ibouncetoo]

Bev, that was an excellent, informative post. The only thing I can think to add is that the rays swim around you during the encounter and brush up against you like a kitty-cat One even swam between my legs. Just let the kids know so it doesn't freak them out!

 

[Ilovestitch]

There's no need to worry about safety on this excursion b/c Disney clips their barbs. I've done 4 Disney Cruises (including stingray city at grand cayman) and hands down this was the BEST excursion ever. We did the very first excursion and there was only 6 people. After we finished feeding the stingrays we just snorkled around and sat on the bottom with the stingrays swimming by.

 

[Echo queen]

We did this last May, it was great, loved it. There is no danger, they eat from your fingers and yes, barbs removed.

 

[crisi]

It was very cool. You have plenty of time with the rays. My daughter sat in the water and one climbed up in her lap....catlike is the best description.

She did get "bit" - she got her finger in a mouth while feeding the ray - but it wasn't a big deal at all. Like a baby gumming your finger.

 

[SteveSevenSeas]

My granddaughter and I did the Stingray excursion last December and had a great time. We did the first excursion of the morning so we had to get moving early, but the water was clear and the adventure unhurried.

I have not done this at other locations, but felt this one was great. The info given was good, to the point and short so we got more in the water time. They discussed how they moniter the stingrays and periodically will trim the barb so there is never any danger. Was great to get to pet them and have them swim around our legs.

Do it, it is a great experience.

Looking forward to our next trip, just to far off.

 

[cobbler]

Can you bring waterproof cameras to take pics?

 

[whithouston]

My DW and I are doing this excursion on our Apr. 15 four night cruise. She is very timid, but wants to get in the water with them. Anything I can say or do to help ease her fears? She has touched stingrays before, but never got in the ocean with them!

We are currently scheduled for a 2:00-3:00 time slot. Should we move it earlier to avoid cloudy water, or will we be okay?

Lastly, about how many people do they allow during the hourly time slots?

Thanks!

 

[LCTsMom]

Can you bring waterproof cameras to take pics?

Yes! You can definitely bring cameras. We took pictures when we went last September. It was AWESOME!

DS15

DS13

DD6

 

[cdnstitchfan]

We did this excursion this past Feb. It was awesome. If I remember correctly there were about 4 groups of 8 people when we went. We did it about noon. We never found it crowd while in the water and the water is clear. We even got to do the claw, which is when they put more than one piece of food in your fingers and let the stingray's come up and take it. It was way cool. They take each piece separately.

We had underwater camera's and the pictures we took under the water turned out great. We have a picture of one of the rays trying to cover themselves with sand.

I highly recommend this one. We would do it again.

 

[spoon2003]

Thank you for the detailed description! We've booked this for our CC day, my kids are a bit timid so this sounds perfect for them.

Sue

 

[sarasotamom]

I have never done the Stingray excursion at Castaway Cay, but I have done it at Grand Cayman. It was wonderful. We went out on a beautiiful cataraman (sp.) with many good looking guys. My teenage daughter and her girlfriend were going nuts over the good looking guys. They flirted with them terribly. We had a great time and I would do it again. The crew were happy to pose for pictures and were very polite. I would definitely do it again, even since the Steve Irwin episode. The rays are not as big as the one that killed him. He would probably be alive but he pulled the barb out by instinct. The totally wrong thing to do. Seriously, their livelihood has been threatened since this incident. I would rather do it in Grand Cayman, the water is beautiful and the rays are not a threat. The publicity if his death has hurt the stringray excursions in other ports.

 

[Tikihula]

Steve Irwin's death has done for stingrays what the movie Jaws did for sharks - made them instruments of fear and loathing. The rays (and sharks) have been there for centuries, and it's a shame that one highly publicized accident has resulted in people afraid to go into the water where there might be rays, along with the senseless killing of these gentle creatures that pretty much mind their own business. It's not like he was attacked by the stingray, it just raised its barb in self defense and Steve was in the way. I'm sure this has been discussed endlessly. In any case, Disney makes sure that the rays on Castaway Cay don't pose a threat to their guests.

 

[leslielightfoot]

i cannot wait for this.
my dd will be 4 and too young - not allowed but my son is 6 and he says he wants to do it. i'm hoping he isn't afraid when he gets up close to them.

thanks for all the great info!

 

[BFL]

We did the Stingray excursion last Nov and it was awesome; they feel like velvet and are gentle creatures. One scared me when it took it's food - I had no idea they sucked in their food with such force.

 

[howardk613]

Thanks to everyone for all the information on the stingray excursion. We are taking our family (all 11 of us including our married DD and DS, our son-in-law, our daughter-in-law and our 5 grandchildren) on a 7 day magical Disney Magic cruise this November. We have booked the category 1 Roy Suite and the adjoining midship category 3 one bedroon suite for our family and we are counting the seconds until we arrive back in heaven (this will be our 5th family cruise together). Planning all the details of our cruise only makes a wonderful vacation even better and the kids are very excited about the stingray adventure especially after reading all of your terrific comments and information.
Howard

 

[Gr00vyChc]

What is the minimum age to participate in the stingray excursion?

 

[Disney Debbie]

Does the cost of the excursion include snorkeling equipment? Or is that extra? Or is it only long enough for the excursion?