Stingrays: Evil sea monsters or playful puppy dogs? A learning experience on a Grand Cayman cruise

Heading to Grand Cayman (photo by Chris Barsam) What words come to mind when thinking of ocean stingrays? Remembering the tragedy that befell Steve Irwin, how about sinister, poisonous, dangerous, and deadly? Surprisingly, after a recent up-close experience with stingrays my descriptive words are graceful, muscular, rubbery and puppy-like.

One of the great benefits of vacation cruising is the opportunity to ever so briefly taste foreign culture and have extraordinary experiences along the way. Visiting Stingray City at Grand Cayman Island is just such an experience.

First, the logistics.


Seven tourists and six stingrays (photo by Chris Barsam) A launch ferries you from your cruise ship (Carnival Inspiration, in this case) to the Georgetown, Grand Cayman pier. You are loaded into shuttle buses that transport you to the other side of the island, about a 15-minute trip. A tour boat then takes you on a 30-minute ride about a mile off shore to the sandbar known as Stingray City. Along the way you observe the color of the seawater and struggle to identify the various and spectacular shades of blue.