Water Excursion:What to wear

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LindaFaye

Guest
My husband and I (in our 50's) are going on a Panama Canal cruise in February and would like to sign up for the Sting Ray excursion in Grand Cayman. In past cruises we've never been on an excursion where we would be getting in the water, so we are not sure how to dress when we leave the ship. Should we wear swimwear underneath shorts/shirts and carry along water shoes? Or will we stop somewhere we can change? Is there a place to store our dry clothes while we are in the water, or where do we leave things? We will probably do the Ship Sponsored excursion. I'm also trying to determine if I need to purchase and take along water shoes or will we need them? Any advice anyone has to give us on this type of excursion we'd appreciate. Thanks!
 
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Sandyb

Guest
Linda- We did the Stingray City excursion in 2001 and LOVED it! It is not to be missed. We also did the ships excursion and just wore our swimsuits under our clothes. There will be a bus ride to the excursion boat and although our boat did have bathrooms, they were in no way large enough to change in. You will be getting into the water right off the boat and it is quite deep so no need to use water shoes. They are not allowed in the water with the stingrays anyway as you are required to go barefoot so you do not step on and harm the rays.If I were to go again I would book Captain Marvins instead of the ships tour. It is cheaper and there are only about a quarter of the people on his boats. I'm told it is a much nicer experience. He is located right near the pier, I'm sure someone else can tell you exactly where. Have fun!
 
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unhcat

Guest
I just did the ship-sponsored "Personalized Stingray City" tour in Grand Cayman a couple of weeks ago. As Sandyb said, you should wear your bathing suit under your clothes - not sure if our boat even had a bathroom. We did wear water shoes throughout our stay at Stingray city and we were able to stand (it's a little deep, but I was able to stand the whole time in the water and I'm 5'5"). If you are going to buy water shoes just for this excursion, I wouldn't bother. We bought ours because we did the Dunn's River Falls tour in Jamaica - you NEED them there!

As for where to leave your personal belongings, you can just leave them on the boat - we did that and felt very safe.

Enjoy Stingray City - we loved it!

-Melissa
 
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MikeInPgh

Guest
A good rule for water excursions (the only kind I really enjoy) is wear the swimsuit, take the water shoes and a towel in a bag. Wear sandles if you have them. Most boats lakc privacy for changing. I would also take an extra t-shirt (in a waterproof bag if possible) for changing into after.

Water shoes are a must, you never know what you might step on in 4 feet of water. Nothing that would kill you, but I don't think you want miss out on the rest of the trip because of a sore foot.

Have fun
 
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Natalia

Guest
I highly recommend Captain Marvins.... excellent tour. Cheaper, less people (50+ on some of the ship tours, we had 12 with Capt Marvs), more personal, no waiting for all those other people, etc. Check out their website <http://www.captainmarvins.com/>

They also told us that we could NOT wear the water shoes in with the sting rays. Its on a sand bar, so it was fine. We also visited the coral gardens, the water was deep here (aprox. 12') so no need for shoes as you will be using your fins. Wear a bathing suit. There was a bathroom on the boat, but changing in there was a challenge to say the least. There was a decent bathroom there at their office, you could change there if need be. Feel free to email me if you like. There is also an email address at the site, and they are promt with answers to any questions. I really think you will like this over the ships tour, completely safe and you wont miss the boat or anything. Have a good time, it really is an amazing experience.
 
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MARIANNE

Guest
WE TOOK THE STINGRAY EXCURSION ON A BOAT (NOT THE OVERCROWDED CATAMARANS) THAT WENT STRICTLY TO STINGRAY CITY. WE WERE THE FIRST BOAT THERE SO THE STINGRAYS WERE VERY HUNGRY AND VERY FRIENDLY (THEY GET A LITTLE LAZY WHEN THEY ARE FULL.) WE WORE OUR SUITS WITH COVERUPS AND SANDALS. WENT BAREFOOT INTO THE WATER. LEFT OUR GEAR IN THE BOAT IN OUR TOTE BAG. WEATHER WAS SO BEAUTIFUL THAT OUR SUITS WERE DRY BY THE TIME WE GOT BACK TO LAND. STILL, WE TENDERED BACK TO THE SHIP, CHANGED, ATE LUNCH AND THEN TENDERED BACK TO TOWN FOR SHOPPING. IT WAS EASY AND CONVENIENT. THE STINGRAYS WERE A NOT TO MISS EXPERIENCE AND WE ARE GOING TO GO AGAIN OVER CHRISTMAS WITH OUR GROWN SONS. CAN'T WAIT!
 
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Rufus

Guest
When we go on a "water" tour we wear our sandles and either slip-on shorts over our bthing suits or a cover up shift that's easy to take off and put on again. The weather is so warm you'll dry out quick enough. Also when we went to Sting Ray City they told us not to wear shoes as this could injure the stingrays. We had no problems and shuffled through the sand. It's a trip you should definitely not miss. I also found that many catamarans did not want you wearing shoes on them either.
 
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