Missing that feeling, help?

Mom of 2 kids, 5 and 8 here. Been on several cruises. I will be at Cayman before the month is out with the husband and kids.

The problem is the options just don't look that exciting. Snorkeling would be great but not with our non-swimming 5 year old. Dolphins might be cool but it looks like people just lining up for photo ops with trapped, overworked dolphins. Sting rays creep me out. And I'm hesitant to spend all three excursion days as beach days. The best looking option is probably the turtles but honestly, is it like "yup, that's an amazing amount of turtles", the end?

What I'm looking for here I think is passionate testimonials about your experience here that would jive for my family of four.

Thanks.

Yes, Yes, and YES!:p

With the young'uns stingray city isn't a great option unless you go with a more personaL group when not busy, and on a cruise that is difficult to do. We enjoy it when staying on the island because we can avoid the crowds.The turtle farm is as you described - neat for a bit but then?

We've only cruised to GCM 3 times and stayed on the island once, our choice would be to rent a car and drive to Rum Point. Nice beach with good restrooms and facilities as well as great food and drinks. And not as crowded as SMB, at least on weekdays...the drive is easy and enjoyable.

The stingrays are not creepy and your kids would love it.

We did a tour that visited, Hell/Rum tasting + Turtle Farm + Stingrays.... it was just enough time at each.

My video of the stingrays:

There was a lady on the Stingray part who was terrified and refused to get off the boat. Her husband held their son... who got paranoid after awhile because of his Mother's drama, and went back on the boat with her. Too bad. Everyone else had a blast, even my husband who thought it would be silly. He even wants to do it again next time to GC.

Seriously, the stingrays come for the food... very very docile, like a group of cats, rubbing your legs, asking for food. You can feed them the squid or not. Either way, a blast. Nothing to fear.

Water is waist deep.

If you're not into stingrays...no worries! Lots of us aren't! (Had my fill of them in the wild when I grew up at the beach!!!)

You know, you don't have to fill each port day with tours or anything....sometimes, staying on the ship gives you a great day, without all the other passengers!!!

Get a guidebook on your ports...it will tell you EVERYTHING about your ports...then you can decide what to do, and how to do it!

I have been on many cruises and if you're having trouble finding things to do try a sight seeing activity or just go to the beach for a while! Anything that makes this a great vacation!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

I'm with you, and as a previous poster mentioned, we are planning on renting a car and driving up to Rum Point and Starfish point. Hang out on the beach, snorkel, explore the island a little bit. My kids are 7 and 5. They swim, but I heartily respect the ocean and will have them wear a life jacket anytime they are near the water. So even your 5 year old who doesn't swim, I'm sure would have fun on a beach, splashing in the wave break, etc especially in a protected cove where there aren't big waves.

Rum Point is a very nice day for the family, can be crowded on Sunday however...