I have always wanted to swim with sting rays, so I was super stoked when I found out that Cayman Islands has a spot called "Sting Ray City". There are hundreds of sting rays that all gather in one place and you get to interact with them.
As soon as we got off our ship, there we lots of different companies there wanting to take us to "Sting Ray City". So, I haggled a little bit and got an AMAZING deal. I actually really like to barter..Craig hates it :) That is my best advice for future cruisers, don't book the ship excursions because you pay a LOT more money. Just do your research and make sure it is a good legit company because there are always tons of companies waiting at the cruise ship ports.
After a 10 minute bus ride we arrived at our little boat.
The water really is that blue, it wasn't Photoshopped....soooo beautiful!
I had a great view :P
After about a 15 minute boat ride we arrived at Sting Ray City. It was shallow enough for the kids to stand and touch the bottom, but it was harder for them than I thought it would be because of the waves. I wish that I had brought their own life vests instead of using the ones on the boat. They would have felt a whole lot safer and more comfortable. Most the time we just held the kids because they were too scared to get knocked over by the waves. It was funny because they were not scared of the sting rays at all. They pet them, held them and kissed them....just the waves.
Piper actually had her hands under one and was holding it. Of course she had a little help because it was BIG.
We all got a back massage...
It is said that if you kiss a sting ray, you get 7 years of good luck. I kissed a stingray and I liked it...the taste of it's salty skin...imagine that to music :) haha.
Our captain told us that the sting rays gather there because that is where people would go and clean the turtles they caught. So, the stingrays congregate to eat the turtle guts.
After we played with the sting rays for a while our captain took us to a spot where we could snorkel for a bit. The water was really clear...I could have done it all day it was so much fun!
After we got back we took a much needed nap so that we could be ready for PIRATE NIGHT!
We started the night off with dinner at "Animator's Palate". It was my favorite restaurant on the boat. It starts out all black and white and then as the night progresses everything lights up and changes. It's pretty amazing. At dinner we all were given matching pirate bandanas and our servers were dressed up as pirates.
All the images on the walls start out in black and white too and then change to color.
This was before I had my bandana on, but Mckay and I have matching shirts. They say, "The Dark Side made me do it :)
After ordering some "Shirley Temples" we discovered something new about our Pip, she is obsessed with cordial cherries. Our cute waitress learned this, and would bring a a plate full of just cherries every night for the rest of the cruise...Piper was in heaven.
Mickey Mouse arrived in style by zip-lining right over our heads.
There were some amazing fireworks afterwards.
After the fireworks they played "Pirates of the Caribbean" on the big screen.
But, we were too tired, so we got some ice cream and headed back to our room. Our little shark towel was there waiting to tell us goodnight....
4 Say What's:
I loved the sting rays, too! so much fun. i'm totally doing this in a few years with the kids.
more more more! looks like so much fun! gonna have to add this to my wish list to do with my kids before they get too big! love the post kel!
Looks like such a great time! I will have to tuck this away on my bucket list for when we have kids! :) ...Now I can see why we always get wished a Disney Cruise for our birthdays! :)
Seriously excited to come on vacation right now! Miss you all!!!
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