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Native Way Tour Question

andersonrm

By andersonrm,
in Cayman Islands

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andersonrm

andersonrm

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We have booked the 'Rays, Reed, and Rum Point' excursion for our stop in Grand Cayman in 2 weeks. The email I received from Sharon states that we will return at 2:45 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time. The last tender returning to the ship departs at 3:15 PM. Am I correct that we will have 30 minutes to get on the last tender? I'm assuming that we would have to get in line immediately upon arrival back at the port in order to make the 3:15 tender, which would leave no time to look around the shops in the port area. If anyone has taken this excursion can you tell us how everything went? It will be our first privately booked excursion, so we are nervous about missing the ship. Thanks!

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andersonrm

andersonrm

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The email does state that the EDT times listed for tour departure and return are ship time also, so hopefully there won't be any delays (traffic, etc.) that would prevent us from getting back at the designated time.

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lovintravelin

lovintravelin

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My family and I went on this tour a couple of years ago and we will be on it again in two months. I too was worried about getting back in time. Sharon and I exchanged several email on the subject. She guarantees that you will be back. I asked her what happens if we don't get back in time. She stated that they would fly us to the next port at their expense. My guess is that they have never returned late nor do they intend too. She is well known at the port and she can be in contact with them easily. This was a great trip! I highly recommend it! :D

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pjtulsa

pjtulsa

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We did this in 2008 with our group of 12. We did not have time to shop after the excursion... Traffic coming back was VERY heavy and it was one of the few times I have ever been worried.... Once we had the ship in sight I was a little better because I knew I could keep an eye on the watch and get out and run if we needed. There is always a long line for tenders that also put my mind at ease...

 

In the end we made it before the last tender but I wont lie, I was nervous.

 

All in All we had a FANTASTIC Day, the lunch was very good and the experience with the Stingrays was unforgetable. It was also nice being on our boat with only 25 people and looking across to see the Carnival boats with 100+ persons and knowing we paid less than they did and got so much more.

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andersonrm

andersonrm

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My family and I went on this tour a couple of years ago and we will be on it again in two months. I too was worried about getting back in time. Sharon and I exchanged several email on the subject. She guarantees that you will be back. I asked her what happens if we don't get back in time. She stated that they would fly us to the next port at their expense. My guess is that they have never returned late nor do they intend too. She is well known at the port and she can be in contact with them easily. This was a great trip! I highly recommend it! :D

 

I guess this would be an example of why you should take your passport with you when you leave the ship - in case you have to fly to the next port!

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wimbush426

wimbush426

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We have booked the 'Rays, Reed, and Rum Point' excursion for our stop in Grand Cayman in 2 weeks. The email I received from Sharon states that we will return at 2:45 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time. The last tender returning to the ship departs at 3:15 PM. Am I correct that we will have 30 minutes to get on the last tender? I'm assuming that we would have to get in line immediately upon arrival back at the port in order to make the 3:15 tender, which would leave no time to look around the shops in the port area. If anyone has taken this excursion can you tell us how everything went? It will be our first privately booked excursion, so we are nervous about missing the ship. Thanks!

 

 

My DH and I are going on this tour in March...I was worried about the same thing so I emailed Sharon from NativeWays...here is what she said :o

 

Hi Jessica,

No worries. There is a zero percent chance that you will miss your ship! We have looked at every bad case scenario and have plans to help us assure customers that no one missed their cruise ship. Not one person who has taken our tours have ever missed their cruise ship!

The last tender back to your ship is at 3:15 PM Eastern Time.

See you in March!

Sharon Ebanks

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andersonrm

andersonrm

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Hi Jessica,

 

No worries. There is a zero percent chance that you will miss your ship! We have looked at every bad case scenario and have plans to help us assure customers that no one missed their cruise ship. Not one person who has taken our tours have ever missed their cruise ship!

 

While I appreciate their track record, I don't think anyone can say you have 'zero percent chance' of missing your ship! We are still looking forward to our excursion with them, and will go with the assumption that at the end of the day we'll be back onboard ship!

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wimbush426

wimbush426

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While I appreciate their track record, I don't think anyone can say you have 'zero percent chance' of missing your ship! We are still looking forward to our excursion with them, and will go with the assumption that at the end of the day we'll be back onboard ship!

 

 

You are right...anything could happen.

Sharon just asked me to reassure anyone that might have doubts that they will do everything in their power to make sure we will be back to the ship in time...I feel better, but I am still worried a little:(

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SJDymond

SJDymond

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Great info! I was planning on booking this for a November cruise and got the confirmation I needed. However, I am torn between the "Rays, Reef and Rum Point" or the "Stingray Sandbar, Coral Gardens and Starfish Snorkel". Anyone done both of these and have any suggestions? The only reason I am leaning towards the last one is because I figure you can snorkel and see plenty on the coral gardens and the Starfish Snorkel sounds pretty amazing too. But am I shorting myself by not doing the Reef Snorkel?

 

Any help is appreciated! This will be my first cruise so all of this tender talk has me worried, but I guess it's worth the try! :)

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SJDymond

SJDymond

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We have done the Rays, Reef and Rum tour a couple of times and loved it. For us, we would not leave Rum Point out of the tour. Our last time we did make a stop to see some starfish on the way back. It was nice but I would not give up Rum Point for it.

Thanks! Being a first timer I wanted to try and see EVERYTHING but since we are doing so much snorkeling I figured I'll see a starfish sometime or another and you're right, I'd rather not give something like Rum Point up having not even experienced it yet. :)

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jc811

jc811

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Just did that tour last week off the Valor. We were done with the Rays and Reef portion of the trip and were having lunch at Rum Point by 12:15.

 

The guide said we would meet at 2pm to go back. I kept mentioning to him my concerns of getting back in time. He changed the departure to 1:45. We got back to the dock by 2:50. The line to get back on the ship was BEYOND ridiculous. We just waited in the shade until the line got shorter. We didn't even get on the tender until 3:45 and there was still many people behind us.

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