Which tour co for string Ray city/snorkel in Grand Cayman

[NeBemom]

We will be in Grand Cayman in March & would like to do a Sting Ray city snorkel trip. There seems to be a lot of choices & everybody has their favorites. I think I'd rather have a small group- so far i've heard about- help me choose please!!:confused: Did i miss any companies i should check out?

 

Captain Marvins $35 for 2.5 hours or $39 for 3 hours. Not sure how many they can take.

Moby Dick Tours $45 for 3 hours- seems like a large group

Native Ways Tours $62.50 but it's for 5 hours with Rum Point

String Ray City Wave runner $70 per person if we share one wave runner. 2 hours

[lcbandt]

We used Moby Dick's tours last May for the stingray tour. They were fantastic! Very friendly. I think there were maybe 20 people in our group...? It didn't seem crowded at all. We did the snorkeling first and then the rays. On our way back to the port, we requested that they drop us at a restaurant they recommended. They took us to one right by the port and it was delicious and had a great view of the ship. I would definitely recommend Moby Dick!

 

On our Valor cruise we will be going back to Cayman, however we are booked with Native Ways this time. Although we were happy with Moby Dick, we'd like to spend some time at Rum Point.

 

Have a great trip!

[ladeeesquire]

we did captain marvins in sept. There were maybe 15 people on our boat. It did not seem crowded. The staff was competent and did a good job making sure my 2.5 yr old got to experience the rays also.

 

My only complaint is that we had to sit around for quite awhile before we left. We had about 5-10 mins with the rays before the cruise ship tours arrived. After that it was CHAOS! If I were going to do it again, and I definitely would because the experience is awesome, I'd try to find a tour that would leave as early as possible. The rays will be there.

 

We saw a group of wave runners there too, that looked great!!!

[Caribbean Sunsets]

We did the RRR tour with Nativeway and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would say there was about 15 people on our boat. Nativeway also ran another boat that was for the ship sponsored tour, and it was very crowded--probably double the # of people.

 

The crew was most helpful in providing assistance to those that needed it. One of the crew got in the water with us to give us a great experience with the rays. They held them so we could touch them, let us hold them, provided food to feed them, etc. It was a true highlight of our trip.

 

Rum Point was beautiful! I was very impressed with the lunch. There was about a dozen items to choose from, and it was fresh and delicious. I only wish we would have had more time at Rum Point.

 

From what I've read on these boards, you'll have a great time regardless of which company you choose. Good Luck and have fun!:)

[Seavoyage]

We will be in Grand Cayman in March & would like to do a Sting Ray city snorkel trip. There seems to be a lot of choices & everybody has their favorites. I think I'd rather have a small group- so far i've heard about- help me choose please!!:confused: Did i miss any companies i should check out?

 

Captain Marvins $35 for 2.5 hours or $39 for 3 hours. Not sure how many they can take.

Moby Dick Tours $45 for 3 hours- seems like a large group

Native Ways Tours $62.50 but it's for 5 hours with Rum Point

String Ray City Wave runner $70 per person if we share one wave runner. 2 hours

 

Hi NeBemom:

 

Via December HAL 2010 Cruise. We booked the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour via e-mail with Sharon from Native Way Watersports ($62.50 pp). Solomon was at cruise ship dock to meet us as promised. This tour was absolutely wonderful! We only had 12 people on our large 2 level boat the "My Way." Solomon, Everton and JC are great and knowledgeable guides! Visited Stingray City (arrived before most tours), Coral Reef and Rum Point for lunch and then back through Iguana ally. JC took pictures of us individually kissing/holding the stingrays in the water ($20 extra for one picture on CD or entire (individual) shoot for $40). Rum Point is beautiful - lunch on the island was excellent, excellent!! Had time to relax and walk around on shore before scheduled return. This was hands down one of the highlights of our 14 day cruise. Ask for a tour on the "My Way!!"

[Life's Precious]

We will be in Grand Cayman in March & would like to do a Sting Ray city snorkel trip. There seems to be a lot of choices & everybody has their favorites. I think I'd rather have a small group- so far i've heard about- help me choose please!!:confused: Did i miss any companies i should check out?

 

Captain Marvins $35 for 2.5 hours or $39 for 3 hours. Not sure how many they can take.

Moby Dick Tours $45 for 3 hours- seems like a large group

Native Ways Tours $62.50 but it's for 5 hours with Rum Point

String Ray City Wave runner $70 per person if we share one wave runner. 2 hours

 

 

I used Stingray sailings and I found they did not rush you and you had time to enjoy the stingrays. The crew was excellent as well. Stingray sailings only books 29 people on their 43 foot spacious sailing catamaran. It definitely was spacious.Their prices are as follows:

 

US$50.00 per person 13 years and older, US$40.00 per person 12 and younger.

Price includes round trip transportation from George Town or Seven Mile Beach, and snorkel gear

 

Their tour duration is 3.5 hours, which includes two stops, the sandbar (stingraycity), and the Great Barrier Reef.

I hope this helps.

[gracebest]

I used Stingray sailings and I found they did not rush you and you had time to enjoy the stingrays. The crew was excellent as well. Stingray sailings only books 29 people on their 43 foot spacious sailing catamaran. It definitely was spacious.Their prices are as follows:

 

US$50.00 per person 13 years and older' date='[b'] US$40.00 [/b]per person 12 and younger.

 

Price includes round trip transportation from George Town or Seven Mile Beach, and snorkel gear

 

 

Their tour duration is 3.5 hours, which includes two stops, the sandbar (stingraycity), and the Great Barrier Reef.

I hope this helps.

 

 

We did the 3 hour Captain Marvin's last week. I think there were less than 20 people on our boat. We had plenty of time with the stingrays -- probably about an hour. Then we went to two other snorkeling places. Again, not rushed at all. We asked how long we had at each spot at was told to just enjoy and if it was time to leave he'd give us a shout or come get us. Our excursion turned out to be over 3 1/2 hours. It was a great day and we would definitely do it again.

[2 cruzen]

Traveling with 11 and no one wants to decide, so are any of these companies available at the pier after you tender in? Also, traveling with mid-20-year olds, so not sure what time they will be up and about, so hesitate to pre-book anything. Any help is most appreciated (I like to have everything planned out, so "winging it" is driving me a little crazy). :rolleyes:

[Caribbean Sunsets]

Traveling with 11 and no one wants to decide, so are any of these companies available at the pier after you tender in? Also, traveling with mid-20-year olds, so not sure what time they will be up and about, so hesitate to pre-book anything. Any help is most appreciated (I like to have everything planned out, so "winging it" is driving me a little crazy). :rolleyes:

 

There are companies at the pier that offer tours. You may even be able to negotiate a bit off the cost depending on what time you get off the ship. I'm not sure how long those tour operators stay on the pier...maybe an hour or so??

 

Our last several cruises have been with groups about your size. We always make it very clear that if some want to do something else that is fine. Not everyone goes on every tour. Maybe you can get a count of who's interested and book something in advance. I do think those 20 something year olds will find it was well worth it. Good Luck!

[Peg_S]

Traveling with 11 and no one wants to decide, so are any of these companies available at the pier after you tender in? Also, traveling with mid-20-year olds, so not sure what time they will be up and about, so hesitate to pre-book anything. Any help is most appreciated (I like to have everything planned out, so "winging it" is driving me a little crazy). :rolleyes:

 

I would book snorkeling or another activity ahead of time. See who's interested and tell them to add their names to the list. Tell the late-risers you'll meet them at Rum Point in the afternoon - they can take a cab there anytime...and you won't waste your morning waiting for them!

 

Good luck.

 

Peg

[2 cruzen]

I would book snorkeling or another activity ahead of time. See who's interested and tell them to add their names to the list. Tell the late-risers you'll meet them at Rum Point in the afternoon - they can take a cab there anytime...and you won't waste your morning waiting for them!

 

Good luck.

 

Peg

 

I'd like to spend the whole day at Rum Point - it looks so beautiful - do you know about how much a cab fare would be?

[Caribbean Sunsets]

I'd like to spend the whole day at Rum Point - it looks so beautiful - do you know about how much a cab fare would be?

 

Cab fare would run you about $70 each way. You would also need to make return cab arrangements. It's about a 40-45 minute ride to Rum Point. It may be better to look into renting a car.

[bookbabe]

Tell the late-risers you'll meet them at Rum Point in the afternoon - they can take a cab there anytime...and you won't waste your morning waiting for them!

 

For a plan like this, meeting somewhere along Seven Mile Beach is a better option. Rum Point is not anywhere close to the port area, and as others have said is about $80 US each way by taxi...not somewhere you head to meet up with the rest of your group for an hour or two. :D It's the kind of place that's an intentional full-day excursion for everyone in the party.

[lpizzuro123]

We will be with about 14 people so we are going to do the excurision with the ship. As this is the first time we will all be in GC we feel more secure with doing the one from the ship. I am sure we will be paying more but as no one really knows what they want to do yet we are more comfortable being together with the ship.

 

Linda

[monicajay]

We will be with about 14 people so we are going to do the excurision with the ship. As this is the first time we will all be in GC we feel more secure with doing the one from the ship. I am sure we will be paying more but as no one really knows what they want to do yet we are more comfortable being together with the ship.

 

Linda

 

Not only will you pay way more (and not get anything more) but there will be a lot more people. The private operators have been doing these trips for years without problems. We couldn't believe how many people were packed onto the boats from the cruise excursions.

 

Your call but I certainly don't understand it.

[lpizzuro123]

Thanks for the info. I will pass it on it all going with us and we can make a decission. Alot of people want the security of making it back to the ship and not having the ship leave without us. I will definately read more reviews and talk to everyone about it.

 

Linda

[2 cruzen]

Thanks for the info. I will pass it on it all going with us and we can make a decission. Alot of people want the security of making it back to the ship and not having the ship leave without us. I will definately read more reviews and talk to everyone about it.

 

Linda

 

I certainly understand your concerns. On our first cruise, I didn't know anything about cruise critic, so basically we were cruisin' blind - had a great time, but didn't really know what to expect. Did one Carnival excursion. Last year, after many hours of research, found private tour co. in each port - each were great, did more than ship excursions (walking into the jungle in Panama), taxi for just our group in Costa Rica, etc. These companies KNOW that if they miss the ship, it's going to be reported on these boards. Now the only time I would recommend a ship's excursion, is if you were going somewhere longer than 5 hours. Last year, there were several busses that were late coming back to the ship, Carnival busses, and I'm sure those people were glad they had booked with Carnival. But then again, with a hundred people to wait for, maybe that's why they were late! Do the research, but ultimately, you have to do what you and your group are comfortable with. Have fun!

[acumenhokie]

We really loved Moby Dick and it wasn't too crowded or too many people at all. It was a fantastic experience and would definitely recommend them.

[monicajay]

I certainly understand your concerns.

 

These companies KNOW that if they miss the ship, it's going to be reported on these boards. Now the only time I would recommend a ship's excursion, is if you were going somewhere longer than 5 hours. !

 

Very good point. The farther you venture from the ship, the more risk there is of getting back in time. I agree, if going on an excursion that is far it might be better to take a ship excursion.

 

In Grand Cayman though, you would have time to walk back to the pier from the marina if one of the stingray city tour operators didn't seem to want to get you back in time.

 

This is a really easy port to book your own tours.

[truchattycathy]

I have done NativeWay's Rays, Reef and Rumpoint excursion twice and loved it. It is my all time favorite excursion. I have also heard great things about Moby Dick. I would check them both out.

[Snorkel Dawg]

We used Cap't Bryan's a couple years ago & they were fantastic. Their catamaran was uncrowded & clean. The staff friendly & informative. Included rum drinks, beer, soda, & juice afterwards. Their photographer took wonderful pics of my dds, my wife & myself that we will treasure a lifetime! I would rate them 5***** tour operators.

[breanne$5]

I don't know what your budget is, but we checked into a private tour - $400 for the six of us. Our grandsons are toddlers and we didn't want to be tied to someone else's schedule. He will pick us up at the pier, take us on his 27' boat where ever we want to go, we are thinking stingrays, snorkling, starfish beach, and he has a ski tube he can pull us on, he will take you to a beach restaurant, what ever you want to do. he even has fishing poles on board! the whole day was $500. I checked out the reviews and they were great, we are reallly looking forward to it.

 

FYI - Grand Cayman is a very safe port, and I also recommend reading the reviews, and booking outside the ship, unless it's a excursion that gets back within an hour of leaving port - I would never cut it that short.

 

Have a wonderful time, it's an absolutely gorgeous port and the stingrays are a lot of fun!