Antigua - Page 2 - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

hanna · 12-09-2005, 11:06 PM

Does anyone know if the stingray swim on Antigua is about the same as the Caymans?

canarymoon · 12-10-2005, 08:13 AM

Antigua's stingray swim:

CLICK ON ANY UNDERLINED WORD OR PHRASES FOR A RELATED PHOTO.

In Antigua, you are taken to a property in a NON comercial area on an inlet.

There is a place to change and a freshwater shower (open) some chickens, a home-made bar area where they serve rum punch after the swim, and a couple of ladies selling T shirts and things. Quiet and quite pastoral, and the ladies are not pushy at all, they don't even call out to you.

At the dock (private) are maybe 6 or 8 motorboats that hold about 12-15 people each. I went on the early tour, and there were nearly enough of us to fill just one boat. I think the later group that arrived after us was a bit larger.

Once on the boat, you motor out through the inlet, along an area that is largely unspoiled, and arrive at open water in just a few minutes.

The area for the 'swm' is actually a fenced in area on a sandbar in the caribbean. The area is about as long as a football field, but not as wide. The area where you first get into the water is shallow enough to stand easily, and here, they introduce you to the stingrays, let you hold one, and take your picture (which you can buy later) and feed them.
Then, you have quite a bit of time to swim at will around the entire area, some of which is too deep to stand. You can also stay in the 'standing' area if you like, with the guide(s), who are very nice, and the rays, who are friendly.

Be sure towatch the stingrays bury themselves in the sand. It's quite fascinating to see!

You may see other sea life. I saw some colorful fish and a couple of impressively large starfish, but none of the lobster or octopus that they mentioned in their promo blurb.

After the swim, they take you back to their property, where you can shower, or change, drink rum or fruit punch, look at the pictures they took, browse the ladies' wares, or just hang out a bit.

Very nice excursion. Hope this helps!

canarymoon · 12-10-2005, 11:11 AM

antigua stingray swim photos uploaded and previous post edited to add several photo links.
Enjoy!

LuLu · 12-11-2005, 04:32 PM

ANTIGUA is one of our five favorite port stops in the Caribbean!

As a cruise stop, we love taking a catamaran (offered by the ship) that includes a beach stop! So many pretty beaches (365 ... one for each day of the year so they say)! Many are hard to reach other than by water and are so beautiful! The excursions offer by ships are easy and we've been pleased with them!

On land trips Long Bay Beach is our favorite! Don't worry! It's hard to find a bad beach there! Such soft white sand!

Note to Shoppers: You're in luck if you dock at the Town Pier -- everything is just steps away! No real problem with the Deep Water Harbour Pier -- it's only a $2.50 shuttle.

Have FUN in Antigua! LuLu

Gisele · 12-18-2005, 10:09 PM

Antiqua is an island we hope to return for a couple of weeks. We stop there on a Princess Cruise. We took an excursion that stopped at Neilson Dockyard. In the afternoon, we took a cab and went to the Dickenson Bay Beach, beside the Sandals. It was a lovely beach, hardly anyone was there. Water was calmed and very clear. We were only approched by one seller. Enjoy your stay in Antigua.

Gisele

floflegs · 12-19-2005, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gisele

Antiqua is an island we hope to return for a couple of weeks. We stop there on a Princess Cruise. We took an excursion that stopped at Neilson Dockyard. In the afternoon, we took a cab and went to the Dickenson Bay Beach, beside the Sandals. It was a lovely beach, hardly anyone was there. Water was calmed and very clear. We were only approched by one seller. Enjoy your stay in Antigua.

Gisele

Did you do the trip yourselves or through the ship?

Gisele · 12-20-2005, 03:39 PM

Hi Floflegs,

We did the Neilson Dockard through the ship excursion while the beach break by ourselves. The guide had arranged for us to meet the bus driver at a particular place at a specific time and he would drive us to the Dickenson beach. If my memory serves me right, there was only my husband and I and one other couple who did not return with us. We made arrangement with the driver to pick us up at a specified time; the cost was $20.00 for 2 and return and we only paid on our return.

Gisele

canarymoon · 12-20-2005, 08:16 PM

That sounds like a good deal, Gisele.
Do you happen to remember the name of your Guide?

We saw the Nelson Dockyards, too. We did one of those guided tours for that. Would have been nice to have some time to just wander around there...

Gisele · 12-23-2005, 01:17 PM

Canarymoon,

No I do not remember the name of the guide. I believe he was parked at the taxi stand which was on the left when walking towards town.

If you would like to see our photos of Antigua go to http://www.gosouth.ca/ under Destinations.

Gisele

Sheffie · 12-23-2005, 10:32 PM

We are sailing there in April. We have booked the following excursion http://www.adventureantigua.com/ since it was HIGHLY recommended on another board. Some people said it was the best excursion they had ever been on! Our friends have opted for http://lawrenceofantigua.com/ since they want to do a tour of the island.

Just some options for you to think about!

Have a great cruise!