Grand Cayman Stingray concerns

Looking for opinions about the stingray tours. We've decided to try one of the tours when we visit Grand Cayman because so many have said how amazing the stingrays are. But some of the photos we've seen concern us: Lots of people standing on the sand bar, rather than snorkeling, and the way the stingrays are handled. Mostly, however, the photos make it look as thought there are huge amounts of people. So, are we setting ourselves up for disappointment? How do any of you feel about the way the rays are handled?

We toured with Nativeway and they were very careful not to hurt the rays in any way. They avoid lifting them out of the water very much since that stresses them. I am concerned with tours that allow people to lift the rays up on their heads like hats for example. The water is only waist deep there and you don't really snorkle at all. It is helpful to have a snorkle on if you like to look under the water to see them swim. The rays swim about between all the people seeking the handouts of squid. They appear to be in good health and there are literally hundreds of them in the area, so I guess it is not too hard on them. They are wild and under no obligation to participate if they don't want to. I would recommend booking with a tour company that takes smaller groups to have the best experience.

There are different tours that take you to the sand bar OR go into deeper waters where one can snorkle. If you have little ones you may want to use the sand bar one which isnt deep. The tour operators will not allow youto wear footwear in the water so you can feel if you are stepping on a ray.

The experince is awesome. We didnt see anyone mistreating the rays. A lot of screaming and yelling takes place when one first gets into the water because it is a freaky feeling. Rays are like cats and will rub against you looking for food. ( I think some adults were worse then the kids...lol you had to be there

Hi-

Although there are a lot of people on the sandbar, it is a very big area and it didn't seem crowded at all. Like some others have said, the rays are free to come and go and they seem to not be bothered at all by the commotion of having all those people around. True, it is an un-natural situation created by giving them lots of free food, but the rays do benefit from that and don't seem to mind judging from the numbers we saw swarming all around us.

Jeff

I know what you are saying about the rays being mishandled.

We did a tour thru Nativeways and they were very gentle with them but I did notice on one of the rays we were able to touch and hold there was a cut on him and it looked bad. They tell you BEFORE getting into the water to take your shoes (even water shoes) off as if you step on them they can get cuts and get infections. You have to go into the water barefooted.

But we got a great DVD of the experience and it was something you will NOT want to miss!

It was a great tour. A little intimidating at first, but I actually ended up feeding them. We did the combo tour of Sting Ray City and the Coral Gardens. Coral Gardens was snorkeling. Sting Ray City is standing on the sand bar with water about waist to chest high (I am 5' 3"). The only trouble I had with it was the water was rough that day. I have had other people tell me it was as smooth as glass for them. We really liked it and thought it was very cool.

My husband and I were planning to do this but now are not due to our own personal concerns regarding the wildlife. The stingrays naturally migrated to this area years ago because fishermen cleaned fish here and threw parts overboard. Now, with thousands of people visiting, their life cycles have been altered. They are breeding more often and rely on people to feed them, not to mention the horrible pictures I have seen of stupid tourists not respecting them (the hat pictures you mentioned). At one time, the Cayman government considered closing the area to tourists but because it is such a HUGE attraction with lots of tourist dollars they thought better of it.

Your comments are very helpful -- yours especially, lschott. I haven't read anything on the long-term effects of tourism on the stingrays, very interesting.

Thanks again!

You bet! Enjoy your cruise :)

L Schott

I was also told not to slather on sunblock - wear a t-shirt for coverage @ Stingray city. Then, put on sunblock for the boat ride back while you dry in the sun.

I also was concerned with some of the handling I saw of the Stingrays out at the sand bar. It is crowded, especially at the sandbars. You could see several of the guides for various tours lifting the stingrays out of the water, putting them over people's head's like hats, etc. Some of the passengers on these tours were doing this also. Apparently even the Nativeway tour which the poster on this thread had said did not treat sthe stingrays this way has changed, since in another thread on this board, entitled "Nativeways is great", the poster there stated that the Nativeway guides helped them hold and pet the stingrays and lifted them on their heads like hats.

When we went with Capt. Marvin's tour, we anchored in deep water and swam to the sandbar, where the guides gave us the food for the stingrays and showed those that didn't know how the proper way to feed them. They didn't hold or restrain the stingrays or use them like hats for people. I don't know whether they would do that if a guest wanted them to, but at least they didn't just go ahead and do it.

There are hundreds of stingrays there and you really can't snorkel-- even in the deep water it is hard to snorkel due to all of the stingrays. They clearly recognize the humans as a source of food and react accordingly, literally swarming around the people. (Although they didn't hurt anyone, some people reacted with such fear, violently lashing out, I'm sure that they hurt some of the stingrays.) Althought the stingrays are not captive and are able to swim freely, it is really an unnatural situation which has been created out there.

When we go back to Grand Cayman, we are going to skip any tours that offer a visit to Stingray City. Instead we are going to go on a 3 stop snorkeling tour that Capt. Marvin's offers that goes to reefs and shipwrecks.

We just visited Stingray City last Wednesday with a group called Resort Sports Ltd. (they were recommended by Princess Cruises). We got to do a combo tour - both the sandbar (where the stingrays are) and a reef snorkel. Our tour guides were very professional. They gave us a 20 minute lecture/lesson before we even stepped off the boat about how (not) to handle the stingrays. They were very concerned about their livelihood and made sure no one mistreated them.

We got a wonderful DVD of our trip and hands down feel this was the BEST excursion all week!

HTH!

Thanks, Montgomeryfamily, for your thoughts about the stingrays. I wanted to go, but after looking into it more, have decided not to. My husband was never very excited about seeing the stingrays. He equates it with the "swim with dolphins" programs offered in some places -- just not a natural situation for the animals. I really didn't care for the pictures I saw, although I was assured by the tour companies I contacted that they were careful the stingrays. We'll be taking a reef and wreck tour with Capt. Marvin's instead, and we're looking forward to it!

I really appreciate this board.... It has given me some insite to what I should bring along.

Thanks everyone:cool: