Stingray city

Bethipooh4

My daughter says I am to mean to work at Disney!
Joined
May 4, 2004
Messages
1,328
Just wondering if anyone has done the stingray city tour in Nassau? I have booked a reservation, and now am having doubts about going. I am afraid it will be too deep for my DS who is 7, and worried about the trip over and back. If anyone has info on it I would appreciate it.
 
We were there in April, and I wouldn't do it again. It was pandemonium with everyone (very large group of us) walking down the stairs into the water all at once. People were having second thoughts (usually smaller children), trying to go back up the steps when others were trying to go down. Most people all stayed in the area near the stairs to snorkle, despite being asked by the workers there to move on. Once you can get out beyond them, it's fine, but it was difficult to get thru this mass of people if you wanted to get out. The water is fairly deep - I believe 4-16 feet if I recall correctly. They warn you not to stand in the more shallow water, as they are afraid you will injure the stingrays on the floor. Many families with younger children got out and left early, mumbling about how expensive it was and how poorly organized it was.
There were 3 workers who would try to gather the stingrays so you could feed them, but people shoved each other (and also rudely shoved aside the smaller children) to get close. This was when I left the water - I was feeling very claustrophobic with so many people around me - I had one rather large man grab my arm to swim past me and I thought for sure I was going under!

My DH and 2 teen-aged DSs stayed in the water, but they swam out near the boundary fence, so weren't bothered too much by others.
It could have been a nice experience, had it been operated a little differently, but it was rather chaotic IMO.

If you do decide to go, i would suggest that you buy inexpensive snorkles/masks, as ours were very slimy from the soapy water they had been soaking in since the previous user. I'm not sure how clean they were, and it was against my better judgement to put the mouthpiece in my mouth!!:crazy:

The trip over and back was great. There was a calypso band on board, and they had the kids doing the limbo. Blue lagoon is just beautiful. The lunch they give you, which is part of your excursion fee, is pathetic, however. I would suggest bringing a folding cooler and packing something from room service. If you enjoy the beach, I would suggest just going there for the beach day. There are many areas of very shallow water for the kids, as well as the water buikes, etc. Also a small gift shop.

Hope this is helpful.
 
Thank you so much for posting this for me. I just got off the phone and cancelled the excursion. We all talked about it last night and decided it wasn't worth the time or cost. I am glad you had a great trip otherwise!
 
Just wanted to let you know that a great excursion for all ages is the snorkling on Castaway Cay - and it is inexpensive compared to all the other excursions. We booked it ahead, but didn't need to - plenty were available. The equipment seemed cleaner that at Stingray City, also. But again, you could get your own at Target, Walmart, etc and know it's clean! You can go as shallow or deep as you like, and you can come and go as much as you want to all day. My 18 yr old DS, who will be going to college in the fall to major in Marine Biology, thought beforehand this would be "wimpy" snorkling, but he thought it was awesome - saw lots of very different and colorful fish.
Have a wonderful, wonderful time!!! I wish we were going again soon, but with college expenses coming up, it will probably be awhile for us.
Carol
 

Thanks for the info, luckily we had already reserved some snorkle equipment for the kids and hubby. I prefer to watch from the shore with a book in my hand. I know the feeling about college expenses, we have 2 in college. OUCH.
 

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