Grand Caymen Stingray City

[Lakerfan]

Has anyone ever been stung or heard of anyone being stung? Little nervous, any good tips would be appreciated.

[FWCruiser]

I haven't heard of anyone being stung. Their stinger is somewhat tucked away. We have a picture of our guide kissing the stinger! I was told that the stingray has to feel threatened to provoke them to sting -- their personality at stingray city is more like puppy dogs. They come up to you and rub against your legs. It is an amazing experience -- it was the highlight of our July cruise. I would worry more about missing the port than being stung by the stingrays. I am sure other CC'ers will have stories but our experience was nothing but great!

[joeyancho]

The stingrays do not bite the hand that feeds them, so to speak.....Went several years ago to stingray City. It was a great experience. Bon Voyage,,,,,,,,,

[Elaine0138]

When we were on the trip to Stingray city one of our party was stung, actaully it was one of the guides.

The water was a little rough that day and he lost his footing and stood on a ray the was on the sand. An ambulance was waiting for him when we returned to the dock.

 

It is a great trip, but just like anything else you have to be vigilant.

[shazzz]

went in july..it was incredible....all 4 of us kissed them....there were tons of small kids kissing them too....they were amazing....

[BMW325]

We were there three weeks ago (tour with Nativeway) and it was the hilight of our vacation, no doubt. Our guides said that in 3 years of doing this, he's only been stung one time and he goes out almost daily. You'll have a blast and it is an amazing experience.

[Chucksta63]

Oh you have got to try it! Very Rare someone gets stung! If folks were getting stung you would be hearing about it all over these boards...LOL

Try to shuffle your feet while there. Oh yea we did Nativeway Too!!

[camreesmom]

You do have to be careful and do the stingray shuffle while walking. I was very nervous but can't imagine going to Grand Cayman and not doing this. The tour guide told us that stingrays only get one stinger in their lifetime and they're not going to waste it on us! We enjoyed this tour very much!

[alb38]

Lakerfan,

 

It takes a few minutes to actually get used to the stingrays swarming all around you but we loved it - had to hold my DD's hand and she was 14 but after a while she loved it - DS on the other hand wanted back on the boat he was happy to just watch from the boat! You won't go wrong with this it was one of our best excursions.

[Peg-a-leg]

Regarding questions about stingrays "stinging" you. They do not "sting". They barb you. The barb is on the top of their tail. The only way you can get barbed is if you step on them which gives them the leverage they need to flip the tail and barb up. I'm from San Antonio and fish in the gulf and bays of the Gulf of Mexico all the time. My brother-in-law stepped on a huge ray and was barbed several years ago. Not a pretty thing. He had problems for close to a year. With that said, I am all of my family have jumped/played in the surf and wade fished allllllllll our life (I'm 50) and we have never had any problems. So go and enjoy - I will be their on the RC 10/9 cruise. Can't wait to get in the water with the rays!! Just be sure to not jump up and down, but to scoot your feet. When you scoot your feet IF (BIG IF) there are rays they will move out of the way.:p

[sailor moon]

We had a great time on this excursion. Our 11 yr old DS was a little freaked so he decided to stay on the boat. Shorter people have a tougher time standing and he didn't like not touching the bottom very well with creatures swimming underneath. DH and I loved it. The stingrays are so gentle and suck up their food like a vacuum cleaner.

[texancruzer]

We also did this tour and it was amazing. My whole family is scuba certified and has been for years. I have dove with the manatees, sharks and dolphins and this was one more checked off my list (still have whales !) I have lived on the Gulf Coast of Texas and the Atlantic coast of Florida all my life but I must admit this was a little unnerving at first only because of the sheer number of rays in the water. But two minutes into it - you relax and enjoy. I too have a picture of me holding one but alas,,, dont know how to attach it here. Be sure to get a squid from your guide and feed one.... its really neat.

 

Just remember 1) Do not step down on one &

2) Once down - do the "stingray shuffle"

 

You will love this !!!!!!!!!!!!

[TEXASMUNK]

Shuffle your feet and you cannot get stung.

 

If you pass up this awesome opportunity, you will have missed probably one of the greatest water actvities in the Caribbean.

 

Another operator is Captain Marvin...he is the guy who started the whole ting back in the late 50's.

 

Small group.. Private boat...No crowds....off the ship turn left three blocks. easy, simple and a day you will talk about for years and years

[Iamthesea]

however, my DH has been stung by a small SR in Florida. It was a horrible experience, and I cannot imagine what the sting of a larger ray would be like. :eek:

Even though DH had that experience, he has gone to SC twice since that accident and felt very comfortable.

I will recommend SC to everyone and also suggest using NativeWay.

[jw01]

This is a great excursion and you should do it.

 

The first time I touched one, I curled my finger a little and got him a bit with my fingernail. He just went right to the bottom and buried himself. I felt bad for upsetting him, but I was glad to see that it takes something major to make them defend themselves.

 

Do the shuffle...it's the easiest way to avoid stepping on them. If you just nudge them as you are shuffling, they just swim away.

[Nliedel]

I have been with someone who was stung but it was not Stingray City and they stepped on one. It really took a lot and it was a smaller ray. I have been to Stingray City many, many times and have never once had a problem. I did get nailed by a Jellyfish in Hawaii once tho. That was awful!

[jlx2]

We did stingray city a few years ago and it is not to be missed! We're actually going to do it again on our cruise in November. Make sure to go to the Ports of Call board and click on Grand Cayman. You'll find tons of info. and stories over there too. Someone actually posted a video and it was wonderful. Go take a peek at it and it should put your mind at ease. :)

[rundogrun]

Definitely go with one of the private operators in Grand Cayman. It's far less expensive - and crowded - than the ships excursion.

 

Plenty of good recommendations on the Grand Cayman board. We used SOTOS...they were awesome.

[Nancy_Hawks]

I was stung by a string ray about a year ago in San Diego and was a little leary to go back into water with stringrays. When I first got in, I was a little scared, but once you touch those gentle creatures, all my fears kinda went away. I have to admit, I wasn't completely comfortable, but I still had a wonderful time and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[Lakerfan]

Thank You everyone you words are very comforting to me. I will be Brave.

[Lauderdalegal]

Never stung, however several years ago in September after a few storms had prevented the usual tours going out to feed my husband must have rubbed squid on his arm and ended up getting quite a sucking! It looked worse with all the blood- what a story and what an excursion not to miss!!!

[Excited about Cruising]

We are taking our kids on their first cruise in March. One of the ports is GC. My youngest is 6 and small in size. Would she be able to enjoy the Stingrays? Also would she need a lifejacket and do they supply them?

[IamCdn]

We are taking our kids on their first cruise in March. One of the ports is GC. My youngest is 6 and small in size. Would she be able to enjoy the Stingrays? Also would she need a lifejacket and do they supply them?

 

We went with Nativeway in Aug 05 and they have adult and child life jackets. There were a couple of young children in our group and they loved it. Their Ray, Reef, and Rum Point tour can't be beat.

[nanner10]

C:\Documents and Settings\Anne Graham\My Documents\My Pictures\MARINER OF THE SEAS Grand Cayman STING RAYS

 

would do it again and again!!!

[Cruise-aholic]

and just recently (June) stepped on a Ray and got a barb through the side of my foot (nice little puncture that looked like an ice pic got me) oh and umm it hurt like @#$%. However with that said the water was murky and I stepped fully on top of him and I was not shuffling my feet duh!

You will be fine at SC and allthough I had my experience I would jump on th chance to check it out...............