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It has been reported that they can leap, but I have never seen and I have been around a lot of them - both at Stingray City and in the wild. If there were any predators in the area, I the stingrays would disappear post haste.
One time I heard of a Southern Stingray flying at Stingray sandbar. The water was quite rough and a ray was launched by one of the waves.
Since then, the government closes the area when the water approaches those conditions.
Most animals don't like a lot of noise and commotion so the boats and humans definitely would tend to repel any that weren't accustomed to free food.
What I don't like to see is animals persecuted by rumor and misunderstanding. After Steve Irwin was killed, a number of rays were slaughtered and mutilated in retaliation. I had seen Steve be careless on more than one occasion on his TV show and think on that occasion, it caught up with him.
I happened to be cruising (imagine that), when Steve Irwin was killed and we happened to stop in Grand Cayman the next day. There were long lines of people at the Shore Excursion desk asking the same question over and over - Am I going to die on this excursion?
Short answer is No. I think the odds are greater that you would be injured in a traffic accident getting to the boat than the odds of being injured by a stingray at the sandbar.
There is risk associated with every activity including staying on the ship.
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