Swimming with the Stingrays, The Complete Story and On-line Video

[ZoeyZoey]

Zoey**2 - I hoped some others would pipe in with their experience. I assume you watched the video, and heard the commotion yourself. I also assume that the experience is typical -- others have told similar tales. Some people did 'freak out', and returned to the boat immediately. Those who remained were treated to a great (but somewhat spooky) experience. If your children are uncomfortable around animals, they might not like it. On the other hand, they might get a laugh at the adults' reaction. I suggest getting them first in line to jump off the boat. Anybody else?

 

All the best,

chesterh

 

 

Thanks for the idea to be among the first off the boat especially for the idea to let them think any adults who are afraid are silly, hopefully it will work out!!

[chesterh]

Fiddlemama, thanks for ‘piping in’. After I wrote that phrase, I wondered if anyone would know what it meant. My father used to say it all the time – actually, he used to say “PIPE DOWN” when we were being rambunctious – but I guess I haven’t heard it in the last 40 years. So, the score is screaming 1, no screaming 1. Either way, there is no question that anyone with the opportunity should so this excursion. Anyone else care to ‘pipe in’ on the screaming issue?

 

Sue, thank you. The next trip is in August of this year. Kris and I are taking our mothers on Maasdam out of Boston. This should be interesting, to put it mildly. I am publishing the first (Galaxy) story as a book in the coming months. I always wanted to be an author… If you have been following the stories, you might be interested in chapters 46, 47 and 48 – all posted in the last few weeks.

 

Zoey**2, I think the first-off-the-boat technique will work. Are you doing the snorkeling, too – or just the stingrays? You WILL have a fantastic time.

 

All the best,

 

chesterh

[chesterh]

I know a lot of people have enjoyed this video, so I thought I'd bring it back for newcomers.

 

chesterh

[sparky3229]

Chester...My family took our first cruise almost 2.5 years ago, and I became addicted to this site to get all the info I could as a new cruiser. When I found your posts, I was always glued to my screen in delight of yet another chapter. Well, we are now finally taking our 2nd cruise in Novemeber (western Carib), and when I was on the GC board last night I saw your name and thought...wow...thats familiar from 2 years ago. When I started reading your post, I was hooked all over again. Glad to see you have published...I love reading your style...and this time around, esp. when Ryan showed up in shorts and shoes for his beach day, and you said "what goes around...". Loved it. Thanks so much for your entertainment.

It also seems like you have a really good relationship with your son...fabulous!

[Commodore Suzy]

Fabulous post!

 

I'm on the Grand Princess and want to do just a Stingray experience without some extra snorkeling added on and trying to figure out amongst the huge list of titles which tour, exactly, I want to do.

 

I've also heard of Capt'n Marvin, but with the port times being so weird and tendering so iffy, I think I'll feel better with a ship's excursion.

 

Cheers!

[chesterh]

Ain't it the truth, sparky3229 - what goes around... Ryan is presently living with us while he completes a radiologic technology progam at a local college, and we've had plenty of time to strengthen the bond. Have a great time on your second cruise - addicting, aren't they?

 

Suzy Cruisy, thanks. It's always a thrill. Personally, I've been perfectly content to use ship's tours. The peace-of-mind and lowered stress are worth a few extra dollars - it is, after all, vacation.

 

I'm looking forward to recounting the trip with the mothers over on the HAL board. We didn't get anywhere near Grand Cayman on this one, but somehow managed to have a great time anyway.

 

All the best,

chesterh

[dpal2208]

very cool video...thanks

djp

[Sheffie]

Chester, we recently got DSL, so I am finally able to see some of your videos here at home. Very exciting!

 

We have been to GC twice and have done Stingray City both times; first time through Carnival and last time on the Buccaneer. Great excursion.

 

I have a question about your video: in the last shot, the man is holding something. What is it?

 

Thanks for all your hard work!

[chesterh]

Thanks, djp and Sheffie.

 

There are many other cruise-related videos on my website, including a dolphin swim at Xcaret and a speed boat trip to Lamanai in Belize. Have fun...

 

The man in the last shot is holding a little stingray puppet.

 

All the best,

chesterh

[TheWog]

This is a great thread.

[chesterh]

The thread does have legs - how I wish we were there right now...

 

chesterh

[CruisinDawn]

Got your book for Christmas and loved it. Felt like I was right there on the cruise with you :D Spent lots of time last weekend watching your online movies. Loved MIB.

 

Any books in the works? Didn't notice anything mentioning anything in the works on the website but may have missed it. Thanks for sharing.

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[chesterh]

Thanks, Dawna. Glad you liked the book - makes my day. I'm writing now about a trip we took last August. My wife and I took our mothers on HAL's Maasdam, and it was quite an adventure. The story is being posted on the Celebrity and HAL forums here, as well as on my website. As for another book, we'll see. The publisher is talking about a new contract for the first one, as it has done pretty well for the genre.

 

I have fun making the videos, and YMIB is one of my favorites. Anyone looking for 3 minutes of no-budget entertainment might enjoy this video, which chronicles two teens in tuxes as they make their way to dinner on Celebrity's Millennium. It's not nearly as dull as it sounds, I promise. Click here for Young Men In Black (YMIB).

 

All the best,

chesterh

[TheWog]

THis is great for anyone new to the GC board.

[NewYorker@Heart]

Swimming with the Stingrays at Grand Cayman

 

 

This is a re-post of chapter 23 from an on-going travelogue about the joys of cruising. My son Ryan and I were on Celebrity's Mercury, a free trip provided by the cruise line (it's a long story...). This chapter describes the day at Grand Cayman, snorkeling and swimming with the stingrays.

 

I put together a video of the excursion, and it is available on-line. The video was very popular on the 'old boards', but the post was lost in the transition to the new hosting software.

 

 

Click here for the video in

Windows Media format

(6:36) or

Real Video format

.

 

A

complete index to the entire 3-cruise travelogue

is contained in a post here on CruiseCritic -- it stands at 42 chapters, with several more to come.

 

 

 

Once again Ryan was gone when the wake up call came, this time at 7:00. Apparently the lure of unlimited breakfast made it impossible for him to sleep in. I rarely have any interest in food until lunchtime, and today was no exception.

 

I packed up for the excursion, which combined snorkeling and a swim with the stingrays. I read a thread on CruiseCritic where several people named the stingray swim as their favorite excursion. It didn’t seem like a big deal to me, swimming around with a couple of stingrays. I tacked on the snorkeling trip so we’d have something memorable for our efforts.

 

After neatening myself and the room, I packed up for the trip -- video camera, digital camera, extra batteries, extra memory cards, two underwater cameras, sunscreen, MP3 player, two sets of headphones, towels, tissues, ibuprofen, identification, bathing suit, mints, and an umbrella – just in case. “Be prepared,” I learned in the Boy Scouts.

 

There was just enough time to run upstairs for a cup of coffee before reporting to Rendezvous Square at 8:15 for the excursion. I got a cup in the Palm Springs Cafe and made my way to the table area out on the stern. The day looked like it could go either way. Lots of big cloud formations hid the sun much of the time, but the temperature was perfect.

 

The Mercury was anchored off shore, as there is no big dock on Grand Cayman. The island stretched out in front of the ship, flat and sparsely vegetated. It looked like a 20-foot wave would easily wash from one side to the other. I would not want to be on Grand Cayman during a hurricane.

 

Anchored nearby was a warship of some kind. There was not much activity to view as I sat at a table under an umbrella. It was, after all, Sunday morning.

 

“Yo, dad.” Ryan placed a tray of breakfast food on the table and sat down.

 

“When did you get up?” I asked.

 

“I caught the sunrise. I wanted to get some pictures.”

 

“Anything good?”

 

“Yeah, it was beautiful.”

 

Ryan offered me some of his food. I broke my fast and had some melon.

 

“I don’t usually eat breakfast.”

 

“This is my second one,” replied Ryan.

 

At 8:00, we ran down to the room to get our things. Ryan asked me to put some sunscreen on his back. He had NoName brand SPF 45 lotion that was as thick as butter.

 

“Not taking any chances, huh?”

 

“Nope.”

 

Ryan put his shirt back on, picked up his camera, and said, “I’m ready”.

 

I paused and looked him over. He was wearing cargo shorts with a belt, low brown work shoes with no socks, and a tank top.

 

“Aren’t you going to bring a bathing suit?”

 

“Nah, I’d rather wear this.”

 

“Sneakers? Sandals?”

 

“I must have left my sneakers at home.”

 

I thought back to the period when Ryan, like every child, was embarrassed to be seen with his parents. What goes around comes around. I handed him a towel and we headed out.

 

In Rendezvous Square, a woman was handing out stickers numbered according to the excursions. We were #15. Ryan bought two giant bottles of high-priced water offered at the bar, and we sat to wait for our number to be called.

 

It was nearly 9:00 before we were led down to the tender loading area. I reached the security podium and inserted my card. The machine responded by alarming with a sound that would be appropriate to warn of incoming missiles. A security officer quickly took me aside. Ryan was right behind me, and his card produced the same response. He joined me with the security guard as curious people filed by on their way to the tender.

 

“We don’t have your pictures in the system” said the guard. “Please wait here.”

 

Our check-in process had been somewhat unusual, and it struck me at the time that no one took our picture.

 

When the crowd diminished, we were taken back to the podium and had our pictures taken. Our cards then produced the pleasant ding-dong that indicated we were cool. No big deal.

 

Out at the loading platform, the tender was waiting. The seas were rough enough to make boarding an adventure. This was the first time I’d been on a ship’s tender -- everywhere else, we’d used ferries run by local operators. Inside, the space was crude and cramped.

 

We cast off and began the ride into town. Though the view out of the tender was limited, I recognized the French flag hanging from a mast on the anchored warship.

 

In a few minutes we were at the small dock in Georgetown. Getting off of the tender required good timing, as it was rising and falling quite a bit in relation to the dock. We were taken to a nearby parking lot and boarded a small bus for the ride to the boat that would take us back out to sea.

 

Once we got out of town, the route revealed a place that could have been somewhere in Florida. Beachfront resorts lined one side of the road, and dozens of fast food and commercial franchises had taken root on the opposite side. Compared to every other place I’d seen in the western Caribbean, this was the most prosperous. I still wouldn’t want to get caught there during a hurricane.

 

In a few minutes we turned off the main road and drove up to the dock, which was situated in a sheltered cove. Behind us a larger bus arrived with the rest of the group, and we made our way to the boat.

 

Onboard the Wave Raker, we were introduced to Captain Martin and his fearless assistant Atilla. Also with us was Monique, an employee of Deep Blue Images. She was the videographer for the trip, and was equipped with an impressive-looking underwater video camera.

 

Once everyone was settled, we motored slowly out of the cove and into the open water. The boat was not a speedster, and it took a pleasant hour to reach the reef where we would snorkel. The crew entertained us with stories, and Monique wandered around taking video of people doing silly things like the “stingray wave”.

 

 

As we approached the reef, Atilla handed out the fins, masks, snorkels, and inflatable life vests.

 

 

We anchored, and followed the crew off the boat’s rear platform into the perfect blue-green water. The reef was just in front of the boat, breaking the surface in places. The water was 10-15 feet deep, with a sandy bottom ending abruptly at the looming reef.

 

I lost track of Ryan just after entering the water. Monique was leading the way, and everyone headed in the same general direction. The reef was teeming with life, and I got my underwater camera into action. The crew sought out some of the reef’s more interesting residents for us, including a huge eel and a medium-sized shark.

 

 

It was kind of like an underwater show, and we watched as Monique taped the whole thing.

 

 

 

Continued in the next post (too long for one)

 

 

ChesterH - What a great video. Thanks so much!!!!

[chesterh]

Thanks, Wog and NY. With stingrays in the news lately, I came back to re-read the story and watch the video - just to remember. I would do it all again without hesitation...

 

All the best,

chesterh