Stingray City/Reef Snorkel Celebrity Excursion or Private?

[Dimarie40]

We are wanting to go on a Stingray City and Barrier Reef snorkel excursion while in Georgetown, Grand Cayman for the day in October. We'll be on the Equinox and realise it will be a tender port.

 

I'm trying to decide between booking a shore excursion through Celebrity or taking a private one. Not looking for recommendations for a private tour as I have quotes from several. Just trying to decide what our best option is. The cost difference is minimal.

 

Can anyone personally comment on the shore excursion through Celebrity and care to share their experience. Is it madly busy as it's a ship excursion which means there will likely be a tonne of people doing the same thing at the same time? What sort of boat/company do they use?

 

Also, with the private excursion departing at 8:30am will we be able to access a tender to have us there on time? We will need to be there by 8:15 island time. We have no status (only our third Celebrity cruise) so not eligible for priority tender.

 

Hoping someone can share their experience with me. Thanks.

Edited March 2, 2017 by Dimarie40

[jb008]

We are wanting to go on a Stingray City and Barrier Reef snorkel excursion while in Georgetown, Grand Cayman for the day in October. We'll be on the Equinox and realise it will be a tender port.

 

I'm trying to decide between booking a shore excursion through Celebrity or taking a private one. Not looking for recommendations for a private tour as I have quotes from several. Just trying to decide what our best option is. The cost difference is minimal.

 

Can anyone personally comment on the shore excursion through Celebrity and care to share their experience. Is it madly busy as it's a ship excursion which means there will likely be a tonne of people doing the same thing at the same time? What sort of boat/company do they use?

 

Also, with the private excursion departing at 8:30am will we be able to access a tender to have us there on time? We will need to be there by 8:15 island time. We have no status (only our third Celebrity cruise) so not eligible for priority tender.

 

Hoping someone can share their experience with me. Thanks.

 

 

Cruise line excursions tend to be bigger groups, so think bigger snorkel boats and more people in the water. Stingray City will usually have multiple boats from different tours anchored in the same area all doing the same thing. Smaller tours means you're closer to the guides who will be explaining the stingrays and may be able to get there at a different time than the bigger snorkel tour boats. If there's a specific tour you're looking at you can probably call X and ask how many total spots are offered for that tour... that will give you an idea how many people will be touring with you.

 

X was contracting larger ferry boats for the port in Feb 2017 (as opposed to the ship's life boats that were used by Princess to ferry pax when I was there in 2007). Most tour cos should be able to tell you what times will work for which ships (and arrival times). On Silhouette last month, they handed out tickets from Cellar Masters (room & bar off the main atrium) with a number starting 30-60 mins before we were scheduled to start tendering and then were announcing which tickets were being called for the tender boat that was available at that time. I think they were running 2 or 3 boats at a time, and numbers were called about 20-30 mins apart.

 

One perk of the ship excursions in the tender ports is that this will often (but not always) land you priority tender access. Early departure tours usu. will meet aboard the ship and then ferry as a group, late/afternoon departure tours are more likely to have a meeting time and place on the pier/cruise terminal. If price is similar, I do give a small mark in the favor of X tours if the port requires tendering.

[russg140]

I agree with everything jb says. We took a X tour a few years ago and there were 30 (?) of us on the boat and there were several other boats of the same size or larger at SC when we arrived. It's really the main attraction (besides shopping) in GC so it gets pretty crowded. The only difference, besides the size of the group, that I could see with a smaller/private tour would be the "perks" they might provide - snacks, punch, etc. The tours are pretty much the same - get on the boat, motor out to the area, get a quick briefing, get in the water, feed the rays, get back on the boat and go back to the dock. If you have a good tour operator they will take a picture with you feeding the rays and sell it to you. If you have a GoPro you can use the watertight cover and film the excursion from underwater.

[jsf]

Very good tour no matter how you go, we took disposable waterproof camera's that we got at K-Mart and they worked out fine.

We had a really good time listening to everyone scream when they made contact with the ray's, very safe to do.

J.

[sanger727]

I can't comment on celebrities stingray city excursion. We did stingray city with an independent operator in grand cayman (though it wasn't a private tour; not sure which one you are referring to. An independent tour that isn't private should be cheaper than celebrities)

 

Either way, we ended up on a small boat with a total of 3 families if 2-3 plus the guide. We got out there early before many other boats were there. Our guide was great, got to feed, hold, kiss, and take pictures with the sting rays (I brought a waterproof camera).

 

 

While we were there a large double decker boat pulled up that was crammed full of people. Our guide said it was a cruise line excursion. They didn't have anywhere near enough guides and a few saw our guide and asked him to catch one for them since their guides were too busy with so many people.

 

I did do a few excursions with celebrity in the med and they were big coach buses with guides you could only find in the masses because they held a sign up. It would not surprise me if celebrities tour was similar to the one we saw out there.

 

Even when there's little to no price difference we choose independent excursions and have found we received better tours that way

 

 

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[oneputt18]

We went on the ships tour on the Equinox in December, about 20 people on the boat. It was a dive type boat about a 35 footer. We didn't feel crowded, the staff was friendly and we had a good time while swimming with the stingrays. you tube video link:

[gold1953]

We were on the Reflection in Jan. and booked the ship's tour for this. The night before it was cancelled due to rough seas. As for tenders is was a bit rocky so they were very slow loading. Many people without priority were still waiting for a tender at 1pm. . Basically anyone ( which means many people) on a ship tour get off first along with suites, Elite and up.

I do not recommend expecting to get off early as Celebrity will not give you any priority for a private tour. You are after several hundred people.. sorry ..

[volk904]

We need a tour to Sting Ray City on Moby Dick Tours a few years back. Cost about $45 I think. Nice boat and they picked us up by van near the dock. They dropped us off at 7 mile beach at our request on the van ride back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[fielddreamer]

We did a private tour in Dec and had a great time. There was only 8 of us on a cat. as to 60 to 80 people on some of the ship tour boats. In observing some of the other boats the rear of the boat was riding low in the rear. We did the rays plus a stop near a reef for a hr plus star fish diving. They served drinks and fruit all for $130 for the two of us for 5 hrs. They had out tender tickets on the ship at 7:30 a.m. so I got there at 7 to get tickets and we were the first group off ! If they use the Celebrity tenders in Grand Caymen they hold 200 people and they have 4 boats.

[Dimarie40]

Thanks for your responses. It's given me a lot to think about. I am aware of how Celebrity excursions work as we've done several before. We've also taken quite a few independent ones. It's only this particular excursion that is concerning to me due to time constraints and the fact that it is a tender.

Decisions, decisions.

[sanger727]

Thanks for your responses. It's given me a lot to think about. I am aware of how Celebrity excursions work as we've done several before. We've also taken quite a few independent ones. It's only this particular excursion that is concerning to me due to time constraints and the fact that it is a tender.

Decisions, decisions.

 

 

I've not had a bad tender experience yet. The person who mentioned that theirs was bad; I believe also said excursions were cancelled due to rough seas. If you choose to book privately I'd just make sure it's a company where you pay in cash upon arrival or that will refund any money paid if tenders are delayed. On a normal day you shouldn't have any problems getting off in a timely manner. But completely up to you and your comfort level.

 

 

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[keesar]

Thanks for your responses. It's given me a lot to think about. I am aware of how Celebrity excursions work as we've done several before. We've also taken quite a few independent ones. It's only this particular excursion that is concerning to me due to time constraints and the fact that it is a tender.

Decisions, decisions.

We have done both Celebrity and private tours on this island. We did not have a good experience with Celebrity as the boat was jam packed and we were envious of those on the smaller private tours. You should check on what time tenders begin as it can be a lengthy process getting to shore. It took us about an hour to get a tender last year. This year, we did not tender due to high seas and continued on to our next island. Just make sure that you don't get charged if you go the private route. No problem with Celebrity.

[ProfessorEFFE]

I think that it won't matter much if there are 7 or 8 ships anchored @ GC. With 15 thousand plus passengers GC gets quite crowded. That being said If there were a lot of ships in port I'd opt for the Cruise line tour. They won't take off without you. And I have been in GC where the ship left several people behind. Sting Ray City had about 6 or 7, 20 + passenger boats and it wasn't really crowded. I think we went to Turtle Cove for a late lunch. It wasn't crowded either.

[Dimarie40]

According to my research the Equinox will be the only cruise ship in port that day so that might make for lighter numbers at Stingray City.

The independent excursion we are looking at is with Stingray Sailing which states we have to be at their meeting point at 8:15 with a departure time of 8:30am. Ship arrival is set down as 7am with a 4pm departure. If the private excursion left a little later I wouldn't be concerned. It just seems a little tight timewise especially as we have no status for an early tender. I've checked with a couple of other companies, one is having a break in October, one has not replied after 2 emails and the other needs credit card details up front. No thank you! I need to sort this and get onto the next job on my list.

I think I'm going to book the ship excursion and move on.

Thanks everyone for your advice and experiences.

[14 months and counting]

We just returned from 21 days on Equinox. Since we had lots of onboard credit, we booked many shore excursions through Celebrity. The StringRay City tour was horrible. The driver took us to the wrong meeting point and wanted to just leave us at the wrong boat. We insisted the trip was on a catamaran. He finally called the office and brought us all to the correct site. The catamaran was shabby and the toilet facilities were not operating. One toilet that had no toilet paper or working sink. Naturally, we informed the crew who shrugged it off. The 45 minutes we spent in the water with the stingrays was fine. On the way back, the crew had difficulty docking the boat. The seas were not that rough. The only enthusiasm shown was when they discussed their hopes for tips. We wrote a letter to the shore excursion manager and met with him later - we were offered a 40% refund. As we told the manager, our goal was for Celebrity to investigate the vendor and make changes or drop them - not up to Celebrity standards.

[eatdrinkfly]

one thing that you may want to consider/ask about is the photos.

i've done this excursion twice and one time the staff were awesome and took photos of everyone at no charge and posted them to FB while we were still on the boat so that we could find the pictures of us and save them for free. obviously done in an effort to get better tips, but i was thrilled to tip bigger vs having to buy pictures.

second time i did it, they took fantastic photos with a very high quality camera and sold USB sticks with pictures on them for a reasonable rate right on the boat. again, i was happy to pay for them and they negotiated because we had several people on the excursion that they put on 1 stick instead of everyone buying their own.

so, if you plan on buying photos, the picture policy might be worth enquiring about... a ship run excursion might be $$ for printed pictures vs having digital access.

[caribill]

We were on the Reflection in Jan. and booked the ship's tour for this. The night before it was cancelled due to rough seas.

 

 

If one vendor (the one Celebrity uses) is cancelling due to rough seas, then most likely all of the vendors are cancelling that day.

 

 

And if the seas are too rough for most vendors, I would not feel safe with a vendor that wanted to go there anyway.

[janetz]

I would check out the Cayman Island's board and ask your questions there.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=147

[keesar]

One of the worst Celebrity excursions we have ever been on was in the Cayman's going to StingRay City. We were on an old boat which was overcrowded. It was hard to find a seat. I think we counted at least 60 on the boat. We did complain to Celebrity. We have gone on private tours since on that island. We have taken Celebrity tours elsewhere and continue to do so.

[Lient]

We are wanting to go on a Stingray City and Barrier Reef snorkel excursion while in Georgetown, Grand Cayman for the day in October. We'll be on the Equinox and realise it will be a tender port.

 

I'm trying to decide between booking a shore excursion through Celebrity or taking a private one. Not looking for recommendations for a private tour as I have quotes from several. Just trying to decide what our best option is. The cost difference is minimal.

 

Can anyone personally comment on the shore excursion through Celebrity and care to share their experience. Is it madly busy as it's a ship excursion which means there will likely be a tonne of people doing the same thing at the same time? What sort of boat/company do they use?

 

Also, with the private excursion departing at 8:30am will we be able to access a tender to have us there on time? We will need to be there by 8:15 island time. We have no status (only our third Celebrity cruise) so not eligible for priority tender.

 

Hoping someone can share their experience with me. Thanks.

I recommend Fantasia Tours Local guy Dexter.I have been out with him many times since 1986,Private small groups. Dont worry he fill it up with locals.He will wait for you,

[Steve H]

We did a tour with Stingray Sailing and they were great. It was the highlight of our trip. Highly recommend them!

[bbeltmom]

We used Ebanks water sports and drove jet skis to sting Ray City. The trip out was much better than bus or overcrowded boat and the guide was fabulous! We learned so much about the rays and the whole group of us pet and played with them. We even did a second stop for snorkelling on the way back.

If you are up for driving the jet ski, this is the BEST way to go!

 

 

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[crilski]

I prefer smaller groups, therefore I book with a private vendor. Getting off the ship in a timely manner if not on a ship excursion can be somewhat stressful, since ship's excursions get priority. In my 5 trips to Grand Cayman - 2 we did not even get to Grand Cayman at all, once all Stingray excursions were cancelled, once the ship excursions were cancelled, but not the private. It was wavy . . . water over the top of short people . . . but it was still fun. Only one time was everything as planned. The one time the ship's excursions to Stingray City were cancelled, getting on the tender was quite the experience! We had to count waves, then run onto the tender. This was not possible for anyone with mobility problems. All said - going to String Ray City is a great excursion!