What are the recommendations on the Cayman Island stop that lasts 7am-2pm? I would like to know if I should take a shore excursion or just explore on my own. If I explore on my own, what would anyone recommend?

you should definitely go to Stingray City. Fantastic excursion which you will probably not see anywhere else in the world

The turtle farm & hell are OK but not all that exciting. If you had to make a choice of something to do it should be either sting ray city of snorkeling.

Stingray City for sure.

I would do stingray city & snorkeling. Use Captain Marvins, Moby Dicks, or Ebanks Watersports (websites) for a lot less crowded tour, and probably less $$ than the ship's offering as well. This is the most popular thing to do in Cayman so the ship's tours can have 100+ on a boat.

I think we are ready to make our reservation with moby dick for the stingray and snorkeling tour. does anyone know how the time is divided out, we prefer the snorkeling. Call me chicken but I am a bit afraid of the stingrays. have they been debarbed?

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Originally posted by macmom111:
I think we are ready to make our reservation with moby dick for the stingray and snorkeling tour. does anyone know how the time is divided out, we prefer the snorkeling. Call me chicken but I am a bit afraid of the stingrays. have they been debarbed?

The tours usually spend most of the time with the sting rays unless Moby Dick tours are different. If his tours are at the sandbar & it's shallow enough to walk around, you do have to be careful not to step on the rays that might be stationary in the sand. It would be unusual because once they start to feed they're all swimming around for food. They don't let you ware water shoes because you would cut the sting rays if you accidentally stepped on one.

Debarbed? This is the ocean, not a theme park. They are in their original, natural states. The only thing unnatural about them is they have been fed and they come toward the people, instead of away (which is what you observe when snorkeling elsewhere). They have tens of thousands of people visit Stingray City each year, and average about one person being stung. You would have to totally startle or step on a ray to have it react in this way. Other than their quest for food they do not naturally want to be where people are and will move away from you given a choice.

We took the sting-ray city tour in the morning and got back to George Town for lunch. If you bring your own snorkle gear the snorkleing is really quite good off the very rocky-prickly coral beach a little south of the place where the tender docks. Go out far and dive deep into interesting coral canyons. If you look at the aerial views on something like windows live local you can see the reef just off shore.