RC's Stingray City vs Moby Dick

[kfamily2534]

Family is set to travel on the Liberty of the Seas in June. We want to do Stingray City but are unsure on what vendor to go through. It says we will arrive at 8am in Georgetown and that Royal Caribbean's Stingray City shore excursion is at 8:45am. However, when reserving a spot through Moby Dick I was told in an e-mail this: "Plan to check in with us as soon as you are tendered in. You are booked on our 9.30am island time tour which is 10.30am ship time. Lib of the seas is 1hr ahead of us." Am slightly confused by this... so does that mean that RC's excursion is actually at 9:45am island time? And when it says we arrive at 8am is that ship's time or island time?

 

But besides the time confusion, which is better? Through Moby Dick it is $7 less p/p and goes to a second spot however if I am not wrong about the time confusion, we will have more time in Georgetown after the RC excursion since it starts earlier (we are hoping to make it to Seven Mile Beach for a while after Stingray City). So what's the best for our money?

[SlmGT]

I am experiencing a similar dilemma, though not time-related nor are cruiseship offerings part of my dilemma. I can make your choice harder by showing you two more options: http://grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com/HannibalStingrayCityCharters.htm and http://grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com/Stingray_City_Buccaneer_Catamaran.htm

 

We are booked with Moby Dick currently, but I am wavering between them and other tour operators.

 

If you get more information or have advice for us, pass it along; we will do likewise.

[JohninDC]

We did the Moby Dick tour on our Destiny cruise and were able to tender in and make the tour in plenty of time. Great snorkel stop before we did the stingray thing. Great service, kid sized equipment, very friendly, can't say enough about them. Bus dropped us off at a bar near the port (Rachman's) where we mentioned Moby Dick and enjoyed happy hour prices (the Cay-brew beer was good!) and wonderful conch fritters. They also had an afternoon tour if you wanted to sitesee in the AM. We still had hours to kill shopping and walking around before heading back to the ship.

 

Good luck!:)

[canajo]

I went with Moby Dick's in March of this year. I was on the Carnival Legend. I have to say, I wish I had gone with Sting Ray Sailings. I got a very kind message from Michelle when I asked the same questions as you asked. She replied "It is very confusing so don’t think it's you; I've been doing this for sometime now and it is still hard to explain. Let me see if I can help as simply as I can; your ship's time (florida time) on March 16 will be one hour ahead of Cayman time. So, your scheduled arrival time of 7:00 am ship time would be 6:00 am Cayman time giving you more then enough time to disembark and meet our representative between 8:15 and 8:30 am Cayman time (9:15 and 9:30 am ship time).

 

Here is the message I got from Mark of Moby Dicks when I asked him about the time issue and explained that I was confused. He replied: This same ship has come in for the past 6 years that i've had the company and so I'm going to give you in your confirmation the time for the tour and your ship legend is 1hr ahead of cayman time. Just fill out the reservation form and book the tour and don't worry too much....you’re on vacation."

 

I have to say I got a better vibe from Michelle. But her tour was a lot earlier and I had to get two young adults out of bed early and that was going to be a challenge.

 

The sting ray tour itself was great. But, be aware that Moby Dick can pack around 50 or 60 people on his boat. I was a little disappointed as for some reason I thought there would be less people on the boat. The snorkel trip was pretty good too. And, they play great music going to and from the sting ray sandbar and reef.

 

Also, he told us our ship would come in at the same pier he was located at but our ship did not come in to his pier. No one from Moby Dick met us at the pier to tell us that their booth was located down the road. After waiting and waiting, we finally figured it out and had to hustle to get to his booth in time.

 

He will drop you off at 7 mile beach and then it is a $2.50 per person cab fare into town. We had enough time to see some great places in town.

 

My daughter asked Mark, when she was out with the sting rays, "How do you feed the stingrays?" He laughed at her, in a kind of mocking manner, and said "Didn't you listen when we told you five times on the boat how to feed them? Where were you?" Then, he brought it up that he was asked by people about how to feed the sting rays on our way back by announcing it over the P.A. system, which was a little irritating.

 

I don't blame my daughter for asking for verification again on how to feed them once she was in the water. You get a little nervous being swarmed by sting rays and you have to put the food under their nose, you can't see their mouth and they suck it up like a vacuum tube. I was intimidated but glad I did it and she loved it also.

 

As I said before, the tour was great. But, personally, I would opt for a tour with fewer people. And, maybe a little less attitude.

[heavenlysea]

Canajo-Thanks for the information. I agree with you in that the crew should be understanding of ANYONE that wants confirmation about how to do something correctly. It was his job to be patient! There were other missed opportunities for customer service too--that's really what they're in business for. They are providing a serice similar to many others and need to separate themselves by HOW they do it.

You made my decision much easier!

[canajo]

I am glad that it helped. I was a little nervous posting about my experience and have held up doing so until I read this posting. I don't like to be negative and talk bad about people or things. And, maybe I am a little over sensitive as my daughter has a medical disability which causes me to be protective. But, you were right that customer service could have been better.

 

Let me tell you though, that tour was the highlight of our trip. It truly is one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. And my daughter's friend was so nervous about getting in the water but finally joined in, having the time of her life. You will have a blast with whoever you choose to go with!

[SlmGT]

Thank you for the feedback Canajo - it has made me re-think more clearly booking with Moby Dick. I've shot an e-mail off to the GCCE folks asking many questions as we want to have the best experience possible. I'm sure Moby's is good, but right now I want "Amazing," whatever tour operator that may be.

 

Thanks again.

[kfamily2534]

Canjo-

 

Thanks for the honest review. I personally look for negative/not as pleased reviews first over positive reviews because they tend to actually give you the most information (and you know that they are telling the truth). But thanks, now I will give more consideration about using them before I cancel my other tour that I have booked.