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stingray city excursion


ratred

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Not sure what port you are looking at, but we did this in Grand Cayman.

 

My rule is if I have to take a boat somewhere for an excursion, I book through the ship. If it's late getting back, they will wait for you.

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How did you book your excursion thru ship or private?

We used Native Way tours a few years back. Great tour to the turtle farm, stingray city and the town of Hell. Would recommend.

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We booked through the ship.

But, please unless you take a taxi (expensive)

The busing in Grand Cayman is terrible.

They are disorganized, cannot manage people effectively.

We did the same excursion through RCI on the Freedom of the Seas two years apart (Stingrays, snorkel).

We arrived in the shopping area at 5 min. prior to our departure time. 15 min later we signed our waivers (big clipboard, universal waiver). So did everyone else. another 15 min a guide walks us to the middle of the shopping area and tells us what to expect. Then we are taken to the bus area and just loaded on the bus, (the small van types that hold 20-30ish people. And they just keep filling them.

We finally get to the boats

Had a GREAT time.

Get back to shore.

No buses

After what seemed like an eternity (15-20min) in the hot sun, the buses arrive back, and take us either to 7 mile beach or the pier.

This time not enough space for all the people getting off three boats...........we made room and were very friendly on our bus.

So nothing changes.

They have those buses running everyone to all the tours, and none seem to wait for you.

Guess what next year the Alure doesnt go there-------ahhhhhhhhhhhh, thats ok. Ship day.

Safe travels.

But please book an early morning excursion on Grand Cayman if you go independently.

Safe travels

Sue and crew

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Not sure what port you are looking at, but we did this in Grand Cayman.

 

My rule is if I have to take a boat somewhere for an excursion, I book through the ship. If it's late getting back, they will wait for you.

 

I agree with above, if there is no way for me to get back to the ship on my own in case of unexpected disaster or danger, ie. boat breakdown, climbing of a volcano etc, I will go with the ship excursion. (though in the case of our ship sponsored volcano tour, on a later date lady broke her leg and the ship wouldn't accept her back and left without her.

 

But its all about your comfort level.

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I've done it through a ship excursion and also through Moby Dick. The ship excursion was packed into that boat like sardines. Moby Dick was a very different experience. It was a small group and we snorkeled first so that there were only 1 or 2 other boats at Stingray City by the time we arrived. Great experience with them.

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if you are looking to book on your own.... you should go over to the port of call boards and read about the different companies at each port.

 

We ONLY book private tours and I do my homework on the boards here first to get a good feeling for who I am booking with.

 

If you are looking to swim with the sting rays in grand cayman... then there are several companies that are all highly rated... and most that I know of stay in communication with the port authority. There was one time we knew we were getting to the ship a little later then planned.... but our driver (and owner of the company) was talking to the port authority who told him that there was still a long line of people waiting to tender to our ship. The sting ray trip is not far from the port area so it is just a matter of local port traffic sometimes. (we too have used Nativeway about 5 times now... and will use them again if we find ourselves back in the caymans)

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We used Fat Fish Adventures when we cruised in November 2011. It is a jet ski tour that goes to Stingray City. It was awesome, but the jet skiis can be too much for a lot of people.

 

We are going again in February 2013 and we are booked with Native Ways on the Rays, Reef & Rum Point excursion. I have read many good reviews about Native Way. We are traveling with our parents and the jet skiis would be to much for them.

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In Grand Cayman: Captain Marvin's. We book directly. If ship cannot tender, no charge. He is the guy who started the whole sting ray city tour. Warning! Ship tour will be a massive number of people! You will spend more time avoiding folks that playing with the sting rays!

You get off ship, turn left, walk over to the Captain marvin office, sign in, pay and off you go!

 

New equipment (including their boats), small groups. snorkel and then the rays. We have done it a bunch of times, taking new cruisers each time.

 

Tour ends with sufficient time to get back, shop or browse then get back onboard at your own pace.

 

Oh yeah, costs a bunch less than the ship charges

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In Grand Cayman: Captain Marvin's. We book directly. If ship cannot tender, no charge. He is the guy who started the whole sting ray city tour. Warning! Ship tour will be a massive number of people! You will spend more time avoiding folks that playing with the sting rays!

You get off ship, turn left, walk over to the Captain marvin office, sign in, pay and off you go!

 

New equipment (including their boats), small groups. snorkel and then the rays. We have done it a bunch of times, taking new cruisers each time.

 

Tour ends with sufficient time to get back, shop or browse then get back onboard at your own pace.

 

Oh yeah, costs a bunch less than the ship charges

 

We too used Captain Marvins - they were great. I booked it all on line and confirmed via email. Our itinery got changed because of a hurricane and we arrived on a different day. I checked our emails from the ship and they were all up to date, ready to pick us up on the new date.

 

We booked for adults and young children and they catered for us all. Just as TEXASMUNK says, it was so easy to walk straight to their office. In fact we were an hour late because the ship told us the wrong local time but they still catered for us and got us back in loads of time. They took us to at least 3 various locations to snorkle and the staff got in the water with us and helped us with the sting rays, they were amazing! Would highly recommend.

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We also used Captain Marvin's! The ship boat showed up a little later and it was packed! Our guides caught a stingray and we each had the opportunity to hold the stingray and have our photo taken...either with own camera or theirs. Obviously, they charge a lot for their photo.

 

I highly recommend doing a private tour unless you want to be a sardine! If you scheudle an erly tour you should not have problems getting back to the ship on time!

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Another vote for Native Ways....we did the Rays, Reef & Rum Point. One of our favorite trips of all times. Small group of 8 and we left early enough to miss all the big tours from the cruise ships. Rum Point is still one of my favorite beach spots.

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We tend to book thru RCCL in tender ports. We had the first excusion off the boat , so they took us to a waiting area and then directly onto a tender. We were the first boat at Stingray city so we had plenty of uncrowded time and lots of stingrays. When we were leaving there were tons of boats and people there. It is an awesome excursion in my opinion. Nothing like a stingray massage!

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How did you book your excursion thru ship or private?

 

 

We did a private morning excursion with http://stingraysailing.com/. They were Fantastic!!! Catamarran style sailing, covered area if you didn't want to be in the sun the whole time. Small groups of about 20, wonderful guides who were very good about making sure everyone had their chance to really intereact with the stingrays.

 

We also did a 2nd stop of snorkeling in this gorgeous small barrier reef. The guide had a good rapport with the one moray eel that he was able to coax out so that we could get some great shot without intruding on it's space.

 

The ride out and back was so beautiful and amazing!! I wish we could have booked them for the whole day, sigh.... Wonderful memories!!!

 

They are very conscience of ship times. We even hooked up with my girlfriends from another shipline that was there the same day.

 

Here is a picture of our group. Have a blast with your trip!!!

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  • 2 weeks later...
In Grand Cayman: Captain Marvin's. We book directly. If ship cannot tender, no charge. He is the guy who started the whole sting ray city tour. Warning! Ship tour will be a massive number of people! You will spend more time avoiding folks that playing with the sting rays!

You get off ship, turn left, walk over to the Captain marvin office, sign in, pay and off you go!

 

New equipment (including their boats), small groups. snorkel and then the rays. We have done it a bunch of times, taking new cruisers each time.

 

Tour ends with sufficient time to get back, shop or browse then get back onboard at your own pace.

 

Oh yeah, costs a bunch less than the ship charges

 

I use Captain Marvin's every time I'm in the Caymans...you can do a "walk-up" but I always email ahead to ensure they aren't overbooked and will be expecting me. Great crew, small boat (less than 20 usually), and mindful of ship schedules. Prices very reasonable. This guy has one of the best reputations on the island for all things water. I won't go out with anyone else. They will also customize a trip (fishing + snorkel, etc) for a group with advance notice. I tell all of my patients cruising the Gulf to go there--all come back happy.

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Another that did Captain Marvin and vey much enjoyed it. Remember, if these guys did not get cruisers back on time it would be all over these boards. Do your research, use the ports of call board, and book with a reputable vendor and you will have a great day.

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We used Nativeway when we went in 2005. Booked CPT Marvin as a wedding present for BIL in 2010, as Nativeway was full. We had a wonderful trip, as did BIL&SIL. They thought it was the best excursion they did the entire trip.

 

I'll ditto what everyone else says about the ship's tour, the boats are crowded.

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