Don't know what to do, please help me....

[teetee6263]

I'll be in GC in Jan from 7-4 & really would like to do the stingrays, turtle farm, hell & beach time. Which would you choose?

 

1/ Carnival has The Stingray Sandbar, Hell & Turtle Experience for $75, 4.5 hrs starting at 8am. Description says... Visit world famous 7-mile beach and the old Homestead for a photo stop.....Tour the Turtle Farm...Arrive at the town called Hell...Stop at Stingray City for a boat ride out to the Sand Bar.

 

I'm thinking that since this tour should be over at 12:30, I should have time to spend at a beach. Am I correct in believe this?

 

2/ Native Ways has a Stingray & Island tour for $60, 4 hrs from 10am-2pm. Description says... to the world-famous Turtle Farm, Tortuga Rum Factory, 7-Mile Beach, and the Governor’s House. And you’ll go to Hell … but only after cooling off in the crystal-clear, calm waters at Stingray Sandbar.

 

It doesn't say how much time is spent at each location, but being only 4 hrs I'm sure the beach stop can only be for photo op. Me being afraid of missing the ship & not familiar with the tendering process I would think its best to head back to the ship at that time. I'd be missing the beach, but the rum stop is an added bonus.

 

Thanks

[blue_water]

I'll be in GC in Jan from 7-4 & really would like to do the stingrays, turtle farm, hell & beach time. Which would you choose?

 

1/ Carnival has The Stingray Sandbar, Hell & Turtle Experience for $75, 4.5 hrs starting at 8am. Description says... Visit world famous 7-mile beach and the old Homestead for a photo stop.....Tour the Turtle Farm...Arrive at the town called Hell...Stop at Stingray City for a boat ride out to the Sand Bar.

 

I'm thinking that since this tour should be over at 12:30, I should have time to spend at a beach. Am I correct in believe this?

 

2/ Native Ways has a Stingray & Island tour for $60, 4 hrs from 10am-2pm. Description says... to the world-famous Turtle Farm, Tortuga Rum Factory, 7-Mile Beach, and the Governor’s House. And you’ll go to Hell … but only after cooling off in the crystal-clear, calm waters at Stingray Sandbar.

 

It doesn't say how much time is spent at each location, but being only 4 hrs I'm sure the beach stop can only be for photo op. Me being afraid of missing the ship & not familiar with the tendering process I would think its best to head back to the ship at that time. I'd be missing the beach, but the rum stop is an added bonus.

 

Thanks

 

Personally ifthis is your first cruise to Cayman I would not worry about seeing the turtle farm or hell. These are ok but I would concentrate on the beach and water and maybe do the farm and hell if you return. We spent 1/2 hr at the farm and 10 minutes at hell, others may have enjoyed these more of course. But a day on and in the water is a great choice for GCM.

 

If you can take a stingray sandbar trip then relax on SMB at the Royal Palms or somewhere look at that. Our favorite day was with Fat Fish Adventures on a jet ski tour of the sandbar, the reef, Rum Point for a great lunch and the original mudslide on a nice beach, then starfish beach. Check their schedule for times if interested.

 

Reviews -

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147365-d1006098-Reviews-Fat_Fish_Adventures-Grand_Cayman_Cayman_Islands.html

[micmacmissy]

You can't do it all in one day, especially if you're worried about missing the ship.

 

Book just a stingray city/beach tour. Nativeway or Captain Marvin's have these trips. That way, you can spend a good amount of time at Stingray City and get some good beach time at Seven Mile Beach.

 

I would also suggest that you make sure you are the EARLIEST possible tour to Stingray City. That way you'll get to see tons of rays and not have to battle the crowds/boats later on.

 

And if you're really worried about missing the ship, then for peace of mind book it through your ship.

[heathercruisin]

We just got back from GC and we did the Carnival's Stingray, Hell and Turtle trip. You will not have time afterwards for a trip to the beach. We met with our group in the lounge, then we all went down together to the tender (well, we didn't because the group went down several flights of stairs and my father couldn't use the stairs so we went on the elevator, lost the group, was told to just get on the tender ourselves, then meet the group at the port).

 

We finally get to the port, and see our excursion sign so we go over and stand and wait, and wait, and wait... I'm thinking 30 mins. Finally someone shows up and gets us loaded onto the small bus. The guide was in a hurry for some reason. Kept saying "I got to get you to the stingray by such and such time, so we hurry". We drove by the 7 mile beach but couldn't see it. I don't know why they advertise that.

 

We went to Hell first - total let down. It's a very small area, about the size of a gas station. In front of it is the post office and a few souvenir shops. We had 15 mins here.

 

Then we went to the Turtle Farm. I liked this place. Very neat. Held a turtle, and saw a newborn turtle that had just hatched. Our pass did not allow for all of the turtle farm, just a few exhibits. We had about an hour here I think.

 

Then we were taken to the Rum "factory" which was just a store that had the exact same prices on their liquor and rum cakes that the ship had. No impressed in the least. You could taste some rum, and taste a cake. There is no factory - it's just a store. Total waste of 15 mins.

 

Then the highlight was the Stingrays. It was about a 30 min boat ride out, then we got about 40-45 mins in the water. So cool! This is a must-do. You can take your own waterproof camera out with you and take your own pics, but the guides take pics as well. On the ride back he showed us our pics and we bought all of ours on a CD for $40. The ride back was delayed because of another boat was having a problem and our boat was told to come back slow. By the time we got back to the ship, it was around 2pm. The tender boats are huge and take a long time to fill up and so you are sitting for a while. With the ship leaving at 3pm, we didn't have much time to spare.

 

All in all, I was not impressed with Hell or the Rum store. And I was tired of getting in and out of the bus and feeling rushed. The bus was small and cramped and hard to get in and out of.

 

Our weather was so gray and dreary, but still hot and humid. I didn't even want to spend the day on the beach. But it's all up to what you and your family like to do. I would defiantly do the Stingrays - you can't do this many other places, and really, a beach is a beach.

[Westbank is bestbank]

I really enjoyed the stingray, hell, & turtle farm. I felt like we got a lot for our money. It was nice to see different places in grand cayman. Of course, the stingrays were the highlight of the day. My kids (10 & 14) liked it a lot too because of the in & out of the bus...they didn't get bored. We did not have time for the beach afterwards.