Just returned Nativeway Rays, Reef, and Rum Point

[jlx2]

We just returned from Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas and while on Grand Cayman we did Nativeway's Rays, Reef, and Rum Point. It was the highlight of our trip! There were 14 of us in our group (3 families of 4 with two children each and my husband and I). We got off the tender and saw someone holding the Nativeway Watersports sign. We checked in with him and were told we were waiting for 1 other couple so we were told to wait under the Gazebo. In about 5 minutes the representitive came over and told us we were all set and we followed him to a van and we were taken to their boat. There were two or 3 other couples with our group, the boat wasn't crowded at all. (It also has a bathroom) They had water and fruit punch to drink too. First we went snorkeling at the barrier reef. Wow was that fun! One of the guides even went down with some squid and coaxed out 2 nurse sharks. We were able to touch them! (They went over how to do it so you wouldn't hurt them) (They were very good about respecting the animals safety) They also got 2-3 morey eels out as well. I am so scared of sharks and eels that I kept a good distance for a while. Eventually I saw how gentle the nurse sharks were that I touched one. It felt like sand paper. I didn't get too near the eels though. Saw really neat fish. I followed a parrot fish for about 10 minutes he was so pretty. We snorkeled for about 45 minutes and then rode over to stingray city (Only a minute or 2 ride). WOW is all I can say. We got to hold, kiss (for good luck!) and feed these beautiful animals. We had such great personalized attention by our guides. They made sure that everyone got to hold and feed the rays as many times as we wanted. We were here about 45 minutes also. We got back on the boat and were off to Rum Point. They took our order for lunch and called it into the restaurant. Once we got to the dock we were brought to picnic tables right on the beach and our lunch was right there waiting for us in baskets. I got the grilled chicken sandwich with fries and it was really quite good. They also have water or iced tea included as well. If you wanted anything else you could purchase it at an additional charge. We had lunch and then you could relax on the beach, or snorkle. We chose to snorkle. Didn't see much, but it was fun anyway. We were here about an hour and a half and then we got back on the boat and headed back. We ordered a video that they filmed of our day and we can't wait to get it. It was $55.00 per adult (plus a tip for our guides, they really deserved it!) and like I said it even included our lunch. Our last tender was at 5-5:30 I think and we were back in plenty of time to shop before heading back to the ship. Nativeway did such a great job, and if you have any other questions about the excursion please let me know and I will be more than happy to try and answer them for you. :)

[Coolcruise02]

Thanks for the info. Did you notice much damage to the island from recent storms and hurricanes?

[jlx2]

Not really. There was a lot of construction going on (buildings) that was due to the hurricane last year. One area we passed resembled a large vacant lot/field. I asked about it and they said it was hurricane damage from last year. Other than that the island was as beautiful as ever!

[newbie55]

After reading the review about Nativeway's Rays, Reef & Rum Point, there's not much more I can add about how wonderful this excursion was! The captain and his crew took great care of us, and we loved every minute of our visit. Swimming with the rays is one of the most awesome things I have ever done! The picnic at Rum Point was very good, and beach was beautiful. My husband had a nice nap in one of the covered lounge chairs, while I worked on a tan.

 

This is definitely a "DON'T MISS" for any trip to Grand Cayman!

 

Kim Young

[kendallison]

We're doing the same tour in just a few short weeks. Can't wait!

 

How was tendering from the Mariner? How many ships were in port that day? I'm glad they extended our stay there until 6:00 because I was originally worried about making it back in time. Now we have plenty of time.

 

How was the water temperature?

 

What did you do in Jamaica?

[sgriff17]

is there a website for nativeway?

[jlx2]

Tendering was a piece of cake! We just went down to the proper deck (I can't remember which one but they let you know in advance in the compass and over the PA system as well) and walked right onto the tender. Our group met at 8:45 to catch the tender just to be on the safe side because we didn't want to miss the Nativeway tour. I think it held about 200 people or so,and there were 2 (maybe 3?) running. It was about a 5-10 minute tops ride. One thing that was great is because of daylight savings time ship time and Grand Cayman time is the same right now. (This will change when we change the clocks ahead in the spring!) There were quite a few ships in port while we were there. I think it was between 5-7 of them. The water temperature was heavenly! I wasn't chilly at all. While we were in Jamaica we went to Margaritaville and walked around the shopping center that is right off the pier. We've been to Jamaica twice before and we prefer not to be out on our own, that's just our personal preference. Any other questions just let me know!

[kendallison]

is there a website for nativeway?

 

http://nativewaywatersports.com/

[tbag124]

Any other questions just let me know!

 

Thanks for the great review and info!! We are so excited to do this in December!!

 

How long did the whole tour last? Ours is supposed to get back to the pier at 2:45pm, according to my email from Sharon. We are in Grand Cayman until 5pm, so I guess our last tender will be at 4-4:30pm? I'm not so concerned about having time to do anything after the tour, except maybe quickly grab a shot glass or something to bring home, I just want to be sure we'll be back in plenty of time to catch a tender (w/o a long line hopefully!:rolleyes: ). I was just wondering if your tour ran over the time they said it would?

 

Everyone has such great things to say about this tour, and I've had plenty of reassurances that they will not let us miss the ship. I just need as many details as possible!! :rolleyes: Thanks!!!:)

[jlx2]

They were really good about getting us all back to the pier in plenty of time. In fact when we got off their boat they asked everyone what ship they were on and what time their last tender was. They had a bunch of busses waiting to bring us back, and put those that had earlier tenders on the first busses. We were in GC an hour longer due to the fact that we couldn't go to Cozumel, (Royal Caribbean's decision which was nice!) so we were there until 6PM. We were back at the pier around 2:45. The pier is right on the main street where there is tons of shopping. Plenty of shops and time to get that souvenier or two. As they like to say "No worries!" :)

[tbag124]

They were really good about getting us all back to the pier in plenty of time. In fact when we got off their boat they asked everyone what ship they were on and what time their last tender was. They had a bunch of busses waiting to bring us back, and put those that had earlier tenders on the first busses. We were in GC an hour longer due to the fact that we couldn't go to Cozumel, (Royal Caribbean's decision which was nice!) so we were there until 6PM. We were back at the pier around 2:45. The pier is right on the main street where there is tons of shopping. Plenty of shops and time to get that souvenier or two. As they like to say "No worries!" :)

 

That sounds great!! Thanks!!:) I wish Carnival would extend our stay by an hour, just to give me even more peace of mind too!! But they still havent even officially updated the itinerary on the website, just put up a page w/ the announcements and sent letters out. Oh Well. No big deal! Maybe I'll be suprised when I board w/ an extra hour!! :)

 

Another quick question? - You said they had a bunch of busses waiting for people, where there a lot of people there waiting for busses? I was thinking most of Nativeways' tours are small-ish? Thanks!! :)

[jlx2]

Nativeway had a few boats that they were using. The groups were small, like they said (I think they limit it to 25 per boat?) I'm not sure if the other boats were doing the same tour as we were, but we all got back to the dock just about the same time. I shouldn't have used the word busses. They were more like extended mini vans that held about 15 people each. Sorry about the confusion! One more tip make sure to bring a disposable underwater camera to take pictures of the snorkeling and you with the stingrays. They even had the rays give us a "back massage"! You are going to have a great time. :)

[tbag124]

Nativeway had a few boats that they were using. The groups were small, like they said (I think they limit it to 25 per boat?) I'm not sure if the other boats were doing the same tour as we were, but we all got back to the dock just about the same time. I shouldn't have used the word busses. They were more like extended mini vans that held about 15 people each. Sorry about the confusion! One more tip make sure to bring a disposable underwater camera to take pictures of the snorkeling and you with the stingrays. They even had the rays give us a "back massage"! You are going to have a great time. :)

 

Oh, no, That's ok!! I get easily confused b/c I always take things too literally!!:rolleyes: Thanks a lot for all the info!!! We're so excited!!!:)

[kendallison]

Yes, thanks for the great info!!!!

 

And tbag124... I think we are there the day after you (the 8th) so don't break anything!:)

[tbag124]

And tbag124... I think we are there the day after you (the 8th) so don't break anything!:)

 

I'll do my best!! :)

[Aunt Nini]

We are taking the Jewel of the Seas to Grand Caymn on Dec 21st. Unfortunatly, we weren't going to make port until after the departure time for the RRR tour. I contacted Sharon a Nativeway and asked if they would consider setting up another tour for the late arrival people like us. She is doing just that. If anyone is interested in joining us, just drop her a line to see if there is any slots available.

[Timmys_mom]

I didn't want to start a new thread just to echo the OP's comments. This tour is not to be missed. Our guides, Chris and Charlie were wonderful and the food was great. The weather was lousy, but that didn't stop us from having a great time.

 

Our ship arrived on the wrong day due to Wilma, but they were there at the tender dock waiting for us. They watched the clock throughout the tour and we got back exactly when they said we would (even considering the insane Cayman Island traffic!).

 

Something to keep in mind when booking this or any other tour - if you reserve a spot, don't change your mind and just not show up. We were kept waiting on busses and vans more than once for cruisers who didn't bother to follow through on their reservations. I believe that Nativeway will charge you (they ask for a credit card to hold the reservation) if you are a no-show.

[JoeMini]

All great reviews....Can't wait until June 2006!

[stoshb]

We went on the RRR trip on Nov 17. Weather was not cooperative but the whole Nativeway crew was. They were very professional. Food was really great.

[tbag124]

Food was really great.

 

Great! What did you have? do you remember some selections? We are so excited for this tour!! :)

[jlx2]

Most of the adults in our group had the grilled chicken sandwich with fries and the kids had chicken tenders with fries. There were a bunch of choices though, there is plenty to choose from.

[tbag124]

Most of the adults in our group had the grilled chicken sandwich with fries and the kids had chicken tenders with fries. There were a bunch of choices though, there is plenty to choose from.

 

Thanks!! I was thinking maybe I would try the mahi for something different, but if the chicken sandwich is so good, I may get that....:)

[CRUZ-AHOLIC]

I have a couple of questions, please....

 

1. Do they have hammocks on the beach? Enough so that there is a decent chance of getting one? I know on Labadee if you were able to snag a coupla hammocks you were lucky, and you had to walk a ways down the beach to do so.

 

2. I've been on Nativeway's stingray sandbar only tour. On the RRR tour, do they take you to the sandbar, or where the water is deeper? My daughter refuses to snorkle, but she loved standing on the sandbar.

 

Thanks in advance for the responses!

 

Cindy

[bettyvon]

We will be on the Mariner, in Cayman Thurs Jan. 5th. I just e-mailed Sharon asking for reservations for RRR. Hope they aren't full! Also, I just went on RCI websoite, and is still shows us going to Cozumel - are they just pulling some Voyarger ships, and not others? I guess I won't plan anything for Cozumel and will wait and see what happens.

[AZdana]

I was on the tour this September. They take you to the sandbar where you can stand which is the only way I would want to do it! I don't know how many hammocks there are but we were able to snag two about ten feet away from the picnic area with no problem. It's possible if the beach is busier that it would be more difficult but I think there were at least 4-5 all empty the day we were there.