Stingray City and the Sandbar

Knee-deep water inside the reef, southern stingrays nosing your legs, and a boat ride across the Sound to get there. The best hour is the first one; the worst is when three ships’ worth of tour boats arrive at once.

The question everyone asks

Is Stingray City on?

Looks open

Wind and sea are inside the Sandbar's limits.

Today, hour by hourLooks open all day.

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🚢Moderate today · 1 ship in (up to 4,716 passengers). Tour boats on the bar 08:54 to 14:00; early or late is calmer.

🌡️29°C waist-deep and warm. Reef-safe sunscreen, water shoes, no gloves.

🌅Light 06:28 to 17:49 · the first boats out are the calmest and emptiest.

🏖️Tide: Near low water · low 12:30 · then high 18:10 · 0.3 m range · Near low water: knee to thigh deep on the bar, and the Sound has been draining across it, so visibility is at its murkiest.

Cruise ships this week

From the Port Authority’s public schedule (fetched 1 h 12 min ago). Schedules change, and ships divert to Spotts or skip the call in west swell. Always follow the ship’s own times.

Today 5 Nov

1 ship · up to 4,716 passengers · moderate

Carnival Horizon Carnival Cruise Line
07:24–16:00
4,716 pax · Anchorage 1

Town and the Sandbar busiest 08:54 to 14:00. Tenders run from the harbour; in west swell ships divert to Spotts or skip the call.

Tomorrow 6 Nov

No ships

Saturday 7 Nov

No ships

Sunday 8 Nov

No ships

Monday 9 Nov

1 ship · up to 3,883 passengers · moderate

Norwegian Joy Norwegian Cruise Line
08:00–17:00
3,883 pax · Anchorage 1

Town and the Sandbar busiest 09:30 to 15:00. Tenders run from the harbour; in west swell ships divert to Spotts or skip the call.

Tuesday 10 Nov

1 ship · up to 3,840 passengers · moderate

Mariner of the Seas Royal Caribbean Cruises
09:30–18:00
3,840 pax · Anchorage 1

Town and the Sandbar busiest 11:00 to 16:00. Tenders run from the harbour; in west swell ships divert to Spotts or skip the call.

Wednesday 11 Nov

2 ships · up to 7,260 passengers · busy

Scarlet Lady Virgin Cruises Intermediate Limited
08:00–17:00
2,860 pax · Anchorage 2
Independence of the Seas Royal Caribbean Cruises
10:00–18:00
4,400 pax · Anchorage 1

Town and the Sandbar busiest 09:30 to 16:00. Tenders run from the harbour; in west swell ships divert to Spotts or skip the call.

Crowd bands are a rule of thumb: busy means three or more ships or about 7,000 passengers; the busy window runs from 90 minutes after the first arrival to two hours before the last departure. Operators will tell us how wrong that is. Ships page →

Today’s window

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Looks open all day. Model only; a fresh operator report overrides it on the card above.

How closures work

The RCIPS Marine Unit closes the Sandbar under the Port Authority Law when it is unsafe, in practice in sustained north or north-east wind around 22 to 25 kt, and it reopens when the wind drops. There is no public live status; operators find out on the morning radio call.
Easterly trade winds, the normal state, build chop across the Sound but rarely close the bar. Winter cold fronts (November to March) bring the northerlies that do.
The reef protects the Sandbar from ocean swell. The forecast point here sits just outside the reef, so the verdict leans on wind speed and direction rather than wave height.
Stingray City proper, the 12 ft dive site near the west channel, is more exposed to north swell than the Sandbar. Check its site page.

Hourly forecast

Time	Wind	Gust	Dir	Seas	Period	Dir	Swell	Period	Dir	SST
Thu 5 Nov 12:00	11 kt	14	NE	0.7 m	5 s	ESE	0.6 m	5 s	SE	29.1 °C
13:00	11 kt	15	NE	0.7 m	5 s	ESE	0.6 m	5 s	SE	29.1 °C
14:00	10 kt	14	NE	0.7 m	5 s	ESE	0.6 m	5 s	SE	29.1 °C
15:00	11 kt	14	NE	0.7 m	5 s	E	0.6 m	5 s	SE	29.1 °C
16:00	11 kt	14	NE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.6 m	5 s	SE	29.1 °C
17:00	13 kt	17	NE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.6 m	4 s	SE	29.1 °C
18:00	13 kt	18	ENE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.6 m	4 s	SE	29.1 °C
19:00	13 kt	17	ENE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.5 m	4 s	SE	29.1 °C
20:00	13 kt	18	NE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.5 m	5 s	SE	29.1 °C
21:00	13 kt	18	NE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.5 m	5 s	SE	29.1 °C
22:00	14 kt	18	NE	0.8 m	4 s	E	0.5 m	5 s	SE	29.0 °C
23:00	14 kt	19	NE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.5 m	5 s	ESE	29.0 °C
Fri 6 Nov 00:00	14 kt	19	ENE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.6 m	4 s	ESE	29.0 °C
01:00	14 kt	19	ENE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.6 m	4 s	ESE	29.0 °C
02:00	10 kt	19	E	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.6 m	4 s	ESE	29.0 °C
03:00	11 kt	16	ENE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.6 m	4 s	ESE	29.0 °C
04:00	11 kt	16	ENE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.6 m	4 s	ESE	29.0 °C
05:00	11 kt	15	ENE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.6 m	4 s	ESE	29.0 °C
06:00	10 kt	15	ENE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.5 m	4 s	ESE	29.0 °C
07:00	12 kt	16	ENE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.5 m	4 s	ESE	29.0 °C
08:00	13 kt	17	ENE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.5 m	4 s	ESE	29.0 °C
09:00	14 kt	18	ENE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.5 m	4 s	ESE	29.0 °C
10:00	14 kt	19	ENE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.5 m	5 s	ESE	29.1 °C
11:00	14 kt	19	ENE	0.7 m	4 s	E	0.4 m	5 s	ESE	29.1 °C

Recent reports (24 h)

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