Swim With The Stingrays?
by Tim Larison
With the recent tragic death of Steve Irwin (fatally injured by a stingray sting off the coast of Australia) some cruisers are thinking twice about doing a “swim with the stingrays” type of shore excursion that is commonly offered at some caribbean destinations (Grand Cayman for one).
We discussed this on our allcruisetalk email list last week and got a variety of responses. One person wrote “I wouldn’t consider it now, but prior to this tragic incident I absolutely would have. I just (stupidly) assumed that the rays we naive tourists are taken to swim with would be completely harmless.”
Another person on our list had an opposite view: “Yes – I would swim with stingrays and will in just two weeks! I’ve been diving with them, petted them, etc. The stingrays you see in aquariums and at some of the contained spots (NOT Grand Cayman) have their barb clipped so it can’t reach you. It is certainly scary though! Still, seeing animals in something close to their own environment is beyond compare.”
Steve Broadbelt, chairman of Cayman Islands Tourism Association, said in an interview with Travel Weekly “not all stingrays are the same, and there are about 200 species of stingrays. Australia is home to some of the deadliest creatures on the planet. Many of their less harmful cousins live in the Caribbean.”
How do we feel? After swimming with the stingrays in Grand Caymen in 2005 Anne wrote ““Swimming with the stingrays was awesome. I would highly recommend this shore excursion. While still on the boat on our way to Stingray City, one of the tour guides gave us detailed information about stingrays, including what to expect, where to touch them and even how to feed them octopus if desired! They are very gentle creatures and not a threat in any way.”
After the Steve Irwin incident Anne says today “I would be more cautious now in light of Steve Irwin’s death, but it would not prevent me from interacting with stingrays again. “
I say “no thanks” to a Stingray excursion – I prefer taking pictures of the action from the safety of a boat! (above is a picture I took of Anne with the stingrays)
Swimming with stingrays is one of many topics we have discussed on our cruise email discussion lists. In addition to “allcruisetalk” where we discuss everything about cruising, we also have special lists for the Disney cruise and for Alaska cruises. Visit our www.cruisetalk.net website for more details and to subscribe.