Stingray City excursion

[aadowell]

Hi All,

 

We're cruising next week (over Christmas - yay!) and one of the stops will be the Grand Cayman. I've always wanted to do Stingray City but the excursions offered by RC are combo packages: 4 hours with stingrays and dolphins or stingrays and turtles. While I would love to also swim with the dolphins, I'm concerned that within a 4 hour time frame, everything will feel too rushed and I will be disappointed in the experience.

 

I'm a little weary of chartering a non-cruise line excursion (afraid about missing the boat, lol) but I know it's done a lot. Does anyone have any recommendations>? We leave next Sunday so I kind of put this out to the last minute.

 

Thanks!

Amy

[dasania41]

We did the sting ray city excursion through Royal Caribbean on the freedom two years ago, we loved it!

We booked our excursion through RC and it was solely to sting ray city, I wonder if they have changed things?

Either way, I highly recommend it

[Sheeba67]

Hi All,

 

We're cruising next week (over Christmas - yay!) and one of the stops will be the Grand Cayman. I've always wanted to do Stingray City but the excursions offered by RC are combo packages: 4 hours with stingrays and dolphins or stingrays and turtles. While I would love to also swim with the dolphins, I'm concerned that within a 4 hour time frame, everything will feel too rushed and I will be disappointed in the experience.

 

I'm a little weary of chartering a non-cruise line excursion (afraid about missing the boat, lol) but I know it's done a lot. Does anyone have any recommendations>? We leave next Sunday so I kind of put this out to the last minute.

 

Thanks!

Amy

 

Book with a private company. The catamaran's are smaller for the most part and the trip should be more intimate. Usually a private tour will be stingray city and two short snorkel spots. One of which was a reef that was very good. The other had some fish with a lot of starfish. We went with Island Marketing, but they are just a broker. That excursion is a must do when on Grand Cayman. You should still have plenty of time for shopping or a snorkel near the pier.

[John&LaLa]

Laura just did the dolphin/Ray combo. It was a little rushed, but one of the best times she ever had. She even dropped $50 on three 5x7's with the dolphins :eek:

Edited December 14, 2015 by John&LaLa

[JoeRum]

Both times I have done excursions to stingray city I have done non RCCL excursions. Along with that every other port I have ever done an excursion has been with a non RCCL vendor. These people know when the ships leave and will get you back in time.

 

If you have not booked yet I would highly recommend Ebanks watersports in Grand Cayman. They have a Jetski tour to Starfish Beach and Stingray City. It is a Blast and my all time favorite excursion.

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

JoeRum

Edited December 14, 2015 by JoeRum

[Retired LEO]

For Stingray City in Grand Cayman go with Capt. Marvin. The best excursion by far that we've ever done.

[thesawch]

Use chip and Michelle from stingray sailing !! Best private tour in GC. . They make it priority to have you back on time. They have the catamaran .

[Tante Din]

Hi.

We also went with stingraysiling and they were great.

We only had us and another couple on board, so it was like a private sailing with their catamaran.

I think usually they take only 12 people or somethink like that.

We went to the singrays and snorkeling and were back in port with plenty of time for shopping...

 

Greets, Nadine

[S.A.M.J.R.]

We used Captain Marvins and were happy with them.

[3KDZ]

Hello,

 

We have done stingray city twice and absolutely loved it! It is truly amazing. This tour is an absolute must. Both times we used Moby Dick Tours. Went to their website and booked online. http://www.mobydicktours.com. This company is top notch and very professionally managed. The tour consists of two stops. One being stingray city and the other being a snorkeling stop at a nearby reef. They have a new boat that holds a much smaller crowd than one booked through the cruise line. This is such a benefit as you get much more personal information about stingray city, service and attention from the staff. The boat also offers shaded seating so you don't get sun burned. Also, raw squid is also provided so that you may hand feed the rays. If you have any kids with you that are 4 or younger they can go free of charge. Kids 4-11 are $35 and everyone older is $45. I can't say enough good things about these guys. One of our most memorable tours. Do not worry about being late to ship. They will get you back in plenty of time. Never even close to being nervous. We have always had more than enough time to shop and even grab a drink. Do this tour. You will be happy that you did. Have a great time!

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[ladytaekwondo]

My DH and I did Sting Ray City with RCCL and we had a wonderful time!

[George C]

I really disliked RCCL stingray city earlier this year, boat was overcrowded and understaffed, worst excursion in my 50 plus cruises. I would do Captain Marvin. RCCL is my favorite line but I will avoid there excursions if possible.

[aadowell]

Thank you all! Everyone has some great recommendations, now I just have to choose!

[marci22]

I would do private for this. Capt. Marvin and Nativeway (I used them) get good reviews.

 

The ship stingray tours are very crowded.

[sammydh82]

We visited Grand Cayman this past March and did the Buccaneer Stingray City Excursion which included going to the stingray sandbar as well as two additional snorkel stops!

I believe it was with Captain Bryan and it was a really nice day. The crew went out of their way to make sure we could hold, touch, get photos with the stingray...even with our own cameras!

The website we booked through was https://grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com/Stingray_City_Buccaneer_Catamaran.htm

 

They even rearranged their tour time after I emailed them explaining the time crunch it would create for our sailing and getting back to the ship in time! They were a great group to work with and we would definitely recommend!

 

Have a great cruise and Merry Christmas!

[OCruisers]

Whichever you pick, make sure it is by a sailing catamaran rather than a double deck boat. Those double deck boats are really crowded!

 

Have Fun! :)

[robtulipe]

There will be locals selling Stingray City sandbar and snorkel tours with Carsons Tours at the cruise port gate. Cost on their sign shows $40US but the price for us has always, we done this trip this way 3 or 4 times, quickly been reduced to $30/person with very little negotiation, just a hesitation on our part.

We typically arrange this first thing after getting off the ship between 9 and 9:30 and usually leave for the tour within a hour or so. One can shop easily while waiting for their bus pick up as there are plenty of shops really close to the cruise port.

The transport to the boat marina takes about 15 minutes on an old full size school bus with no AC but which wasn't really terrible for such a short trip as there's typically a nice breeze on GC. Complete tour takes around 3 1/2 hours with the stop at Stingray City and a snorkel stop at a reef. Usually the bus returns you to the port around 1pm which leave you plenty of time for more shopping. Also there are complimentary masks and snorkels onboard but we have always brought our own equipment including fins for the reef stop. You don't used these at the sandbar stop.

One other tip is that I over heard a family mentioned their youngest, approximately a 8 year old, got the tour for free but there were three who paid, both parents and a much older child and I suspect they paid the $40 rate so the cost per person was $30, which is what we paid. ;)

Also I read once here on CC shore excursion review for Carsons Stingray City tour that the boat was over crowded and that happens even with the ship's excursions. We've haven't experience this on any our tours and there has always been plenty of seating onboard for all.

Also one of the crew will be taking shots of those who get close and intimate with the stingrays. Cost was $30 for about 15 to 20 shots on a CD. On the trip of the shot below we were another couple and negotiated to have both ours and their shots on one CD for $40. I simply downloaded all shots to my laptop once back onboard. ;)

That is Carsons' Boat in the background of the shot below.

 

Edited December 14, 2015 by robtulipe

[Tatka]

For Stingray City in Grand Cayman go with Capt. Marvin. The best excursion by far that we've ever done.

Same here. We loved his three stops tour and it was cheaper.

[ken_nyc]

We had a great time in 2007 with Native Way Watersports, the "Rays, Reef and Rum Point" excursion! Check and see if they are still a really good company.

Edited December 14, 2015 by ken_nyc