This is the Port Grand Cayman with the Regal Princess. This port is done by water taxi. We did the excursion through Princess. This means your tickets tell you what time to show up and where. For us that is Princess Theatre, what they didn’t say is you have to have your whole party with you to go in and to get your sticker number. This is a bit frustating as we didn’t know with it being the first excursion for all of us, they didn’t tell you ahead of time. Hopefully that helps you out. The official name of this excursion was Stingray Encounter, Reef, Snorkel & Scenic Cruise. It is around $75 per person as of this posting.
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Process of Stingray City Sandbar – Grand Cayman Excursion thru Princess
Once you have your number group, they release you by the group to the water taxi. Once there, you stay in your group which, for us, meant lining up till they count you off and put you on a small van/bus to go to another area. Then, you get on a boat to get taken to the sandbar area to see the stingrays. Afterwards, you loaded back up and went a little bit back towards lands to snorkel before going back to the bus to be driven back to port.
The waves were crazy but it was a lot of fun to swim with the stingrays. The downside was how many people were already there and how many boats came to the area. There were quite a few more tickets sold than I expected. So, I was a bit more crowded than I was hoping for. The water depth around the sandbar is about waist high. So, for my 5’5″ height it was very easy to swim and shuffle your feet.
Overall, it was a great time! Definitely something I never thought I would get to say I did was swimming with the sting rays.
Here’s a Few Tips for Your Excursion
Some tips I wish I would of known is that you can bring your own snorkel. As I had never done an excursion, I wasn’t sure. Also, apply sunscreen more times than you think you should. It’s easy to get sunburnt being so close to the equator!
You can always book this type of excursion on your own. That is, if you’re handy and okay with not having the guarantee of the boat waiting for you. I spoke to someone who rented a boat for about ten. They went to the sandbar a little more like late morning. However, they did say most of the boats were packing up to leave and it was a lot of fun.
Taking Photos Underwater
Even though my phone has a little bit of waterproofness, I wanted extra protection. I used this waterproof phone case, and this waterproof case. This floating case was nice and kept it around your neck, I want to upgrade to the little bit larger one because the normal size blocks the front camera so it would be nice if the fit isn’t so tight, but these pictures are amazing coming from just a little extra equipment and no need for an expensive waterproof camera if it’s just for you. The biggest challenge with any waterproof camera or phone is that it’s so sunny and it’s hard to see the camera.
Catch this post about things I loved having on a cruise ship.
Is this an excursion you would book?
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