Ha, Ha!!! Oh my..... Just a little younger than me.... It will be my birthday on the cruise..my luck, the rays will give me something to remember. I have heard lots of stories about holding them and they are very friendly. We are playing with the Dolphins in Cozemel.
When we sailed on the Carnival Valor in may, 2005, we did the Sting Ray tour in Grand Cayman. Moi was thrilled at being around then. They have become accustomed to human interaction, and if you try to capture one, they simply haul away from you.
The stingrays are wild animals that are use to humans, that said, a child should be old enough and mature enough to respect that they are in that animal's habitate. If they can, then it is an absolutly amazing experience that I would not want to deny my grandchild.
It's completely safe and I highly recommend it as it's truly a unique experience that you have to try at least once. I also recommend looking at other ways to do it than the cruise line - they tend to charge too much and they are usually very crowded. Whereas independent tours will be alot less crowded and usually less expensive.
Never done it, have no kids, laughed very hard at the "easy to make" comment by zydecocruiser, anyway I would like to toss in my two cents here as kids are a touchy subject with me and I feel some parents get a little too trusting...
I think you need to know your child, and be with that child the entire time...
If your child is insanely hyper and a trouble maker (hey I was) then I would say no. But, if your child is behaved, then why not.
It is relatively safe... of course there is risks with any excursion like this...
was all for swimming w/ stingrays, wanted to do it on our next cruise. (swam & rode on the dolphins in Nassau and was a dream of a lifetime). but after that Irwin guy was stung, and him being a professional, think will admire them from fishtanks in aquariums. they are still wild animals and you are in their territory and they can get defensive if feel being threatened.
we live on LI and in the sound/bays are many horseshoe crabs, which are harmless till you step on them, then they think they are being attacked and will barb you( it's not deadly but way painful !!) and we told GK not to step on them. being kids, and playing in water etc what happens?? thankfully, the crab scuttled off w/o sticking. after that they're real careful where they step now. so kids can be told but in the excitement of the moment etc they will forget to be cautious.
so I for one, will skip the stingray swims.
Actually, many of you have probably BEEN swimming with stingrays, quite unawares... I came within inches of one while swimming in VERY shallow water at Coco Cay...
The wild stingrays I have seen in the Bahamas are not threatened in the least by human encounters... they see people as curiosities that sometimes bring them food.
The Steve Irwin incident was radically different... he was stung by a ray that was out of the water (in the boat, I believe).
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Stingray and kids
Wonder what the Animal Rights sort of groups think of this? 
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