Stingray City?

[two4ruff]

We did the half day with two snorkling stops at the coral gardens and the reef. The water at the snorkling stops was too deep to stand but snorkling vests were provided. We saw lots of fish, rays, and even eels.

At the stingray sandbar, the water was shallow enough for my 11 year old to stand. (he's barely 5 feet)

We booked about 5 months in advance, but then I tend to be a little over-excitable about booking! (notice how far til my next cruise....)

Bring waterproof disposable cameras - hope you have a great trip!

 

[jfis1020]

Originally posted by sstucush
WDWLVR- Would you do the Disney Stingray City excursion again or would you try one of the independent guys? Is it really super crowded? We are strongly leaning toward Disney for all of our excursions because it seems like the "safest" decision and this is our first cruise.

That was exactly our attitude on our cruise. I wanted to pay someone who I knew would be "safe". I am not saying that the others aren't, but being a newbie myself I was much more comfortable with letting Disney do the work even if I did pay more!

We loved our tour to Stingray City! They were excellent with my boys who were 9 and 6. (DH and DD4 stayed back on ship as she was "too little" and I now know she wouldn't have liked it at all!)

 

[MartyP]

I totally agree Captain Marvin's is the way to go. We were on the New Year's Eve Carnival Conquest. There were four cruise ships docked in Grand Cayman with us, they all canceled there snorkeling excursions. We were booked with Caprain Marvin's, we were told it might be a little rough and were give the option to cancel. I am very glad we did not cancel, the excursion was wonderful. We had a great time and there was only one other boat load of people at the sandbar with us. I can not say enough good things about everyone we encountered with Captain Marvin's.
MartyP

 

[auntrenae]

Hi,
I've done stingray city twice. Once with Capt. Marvin's and once with Disney.
The first time was with Capt. Marvins, we had a blast and, aside from a NASTY

 

[auntrenae]

OK so much for bumping the keyboard...
My DS 21 and I both got terrible sunburns from not re-applying after the reef, but the crew were wonderful, helpful, and did a great job helping us to get good underwater photos with the stingrays. Some people were afraid after seeing all the stingrays, but they didn't push them to get in the water, but were reassuring those that just needed a little help. We were in chest deep water where we each got a chance to hold one if we wanted to, with an anatomy lesson and a lesson on the 'stingray shuffle' to help us not get stung.
Last time we did the Disney excursion because I wanted to do the catamaran thing. The cat. was nice, the crew was ok, but when we got to stingray city, we were in a deeper area where the water was 15-20 feet deep and the stingrays were way down at the bottom! Our guides dove down and got them, but were no help with playing with them or giving us food for them. There was a bucket hanging off the side of the boat, but that was it. I didn't even get to touch a stingray and the guides seemed to just be there for their own amusement. I was NOT pleased! When we got back on the cat. (easier than with a boat with a ladder) they had an open bar and when I requested a virgin margarita (I don't drink for religious reasons) I got one, but when I asked a roving crew member for a refill, he asked me if I wanted another virgin one, I said yes, then he came back with what was DEFINITELY NOT a virgin drink. I thought it was just a mistake and went to ask to have it replaced, only to hear him laughing about it to another crew member!
Don't get me wrong, this was in no way Disney's fault! It was all the crew of the local company that Disney hired, but it was NOT a good experience. I am going again on Jan. 31st and will go with Capt. Marvin's from here on out. The crew and captain have a lot of class! I'll get off my soapbox now
ttfn, Renae