Is Sting Ray City usually crowded (I am thinking of going in November arriving on a cruise). Thanks.

According to GC experts on this board, yes. The general advice from them is to go when there are no cruise ships in town to avoid the crowds.

This is what Stingray Sandbar looks like when there are no cruise ships in town. At least, that's what it looked like when we were there.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...r/26ce4a65.jpg

We spent a week on Grand Cayman and made sure we picked a date and time when a minimal number of cruise ships would be in port. They were 2 other boats besides ours when we went, but they had just a few people.

Here's some of our pics:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...38640397LuefcU

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...38640397VvNLnf

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...38640397cRYDmx

We made the mistake of going into Georgetown when there were 3 ships in port for shopping. Shoulder-to-shoulder people everywhere. We left and came back later after they were gone.

We went on a Friday and it was not crowded.I also heard that Sunday is a good day to go.

Have fun! Just check the cruise ship schedule before you go.

Christie

If you are coming on a cruise ship, the best advice I can give is to book a trip to SC from some other operator than those offered by the ship. They tend to be "cattle boats" with hundreds of people.

Thanks for everyone's advice. Unfortunately, I will be on a cruise that is arriving on the same day as 5 other cruises so it sounds like it may be better to wait for another trip to see sting ray city.

i was at SRC from a cruise (there were about 3 other ships docked there as well)......it was crowded but, we still got to swim with the rays, take pics, and hold them..........even though it was crowded i still had fun! there are sooo many SR around--enough to go around for everyone!!

Are you planning to scuba there or just stand on the sand bar? While there were a number of ships in port and the sand bar area looked crowded, we were the only 4 diving and it was heaven! We were not on a cruise and just happened over there and were able to snag a diver master who took us out.

sodabasil: I've been to stingray city both ways, on my own years ago, and 2 years ago off a cruise. While it was crowded (hundreds of people!) I can tell you, they have them in the water in "spirts". There are plenty of stingrays to go around, and evenin the crowds, would be a highlight of your trip. It's very cool.
PS I will try to dig up a picture of when it was crowded.

I was just planning to snorkel (not scuba) - sounds like it is still worth it. Thanks everyone for the advice!