Stingray's and Rum Point

[bouhunter]

We'll be on the island in February - can't wait!!!

 

What we'd really like to do is Stingray City and Rum Point. It doesn't look like Capt Marvin goes to Rum Point? And Nativeway looks like they include snorkeling with Stingray and Rum Point which isn't a priority for us.

 

Any suggestions on the best way to see Stingray City and Rum Point?

 

THANKS!:)

[allen1aj]

If you want to do both of these things, your best bet is to do the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour through nativeway. We just returned from this excursion and it was a great time. During the snorkeling part of the excursion, you could just sun yourselves on the boat. Rum Point was so nice. I walked into the water from the beach and their were little tropical fish swimming all around. Later, we noticed much larger ones swimming under the dock. For the price, Nativeway was really worth it!

Amanda

[drew sailbum]

There is no available option, short of chartering your own boat, to do Rum Point and a trip ONLY to the stingrays. All regularly available commercial operators which offer stingray trips with a stop at Rum Point also do a reef snorkeling stop. But every rule has its exception...

 

However, Disney Magic does offer a shore excursion to Rum Point with an option for a trip to only the stingrays.

[ISLABONITA]

If you want to do both of these things, your best bet is to do the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour through nativeway. We just returned from this excursion and it was a great time. During the snorkeling part of the excursion, you could just sun yourselves on the boat. Rum Point was so nice. I walked into the water from the beach and their were little tropical fish swimming all around. Later, we noticed much larger ones swimming under the dock. For the price, Nativeway was really worth it!

Amanda

 

was this the 2 hour tour?

[phabric]

WE are a party of 10 with 2 non swimmers (like to go into water up to waist). We would like to do a stingray tour and also beach. Any ideas with whom.

[GarageTwoThree]

I just got back from Miracle and reviewed NAtiveways Reef, Rays and Rum point

[allen1aj]

was this the 2 hour tour?

 

Re: Reef, Rays, and Rum Point Tour through Nativeway

This was basically an all day tour. We tendered off the ship as soon as we could. We met someone with a sign from Nativeway right off the tender. This person told us that we would be leaving in about an hour, so we walked around and looked in a few shops to kill some time.

 

The tour left at around 9:15. We rode in an airconditioned bus to a location about 15 minutes away. We then boarded a boat and we were on our way. The staff were all very friendly and professional (although young). We were offered punch or cold water as we enjoyed the ride out.

 

Because of the weather and the waves, we ended up doing the stingray portion first. The water was cool, but you adjusted after a few minutes. The stingrays were everywhere and it was very exciting. We fed them and kissed them and even got to hold them. We also got a very special massage :eek: . We spent about 45 minutes with the stingrays.

 

We then headed over to the reef to snorkel and the crew took our lunch order at this time. I was only in the water for about ten minutes because my mask that I had brought broke and I did not like the fit of the one provided (ok, this is just me being picky~I have been using my set for about a year now and I had to use a child sized one off the boat due to fit and it just wasn't the same :) So, after getting out of the water, I went to the front of the boat and just relaxed in the sun. My DH stayed in the water for almost the full 45 minutes and really enjoyed this part of the excursion. There were eels and a nurse shark as well as many other fish. I should mention that during the snorkeling portion, one of the people on our tour swallowed a bunch of water. It was amazing to see how fast the crew moved into action. Our safety was their number one concern and it was quite obvious.

 

After snorkeling, we headed to Rum Point. A very yummy lunch was waiting for us when we arrived. We ate and then were told that we had about an hour and a half to do whatever we wanted. We walked down to a remote part of the beach (to the left of the pier when facing the beach), found two chairs and relaxed our food away. After awhile, we ventured into the water. The water was shallow and very nice here. I was suprised to see little needle-nosed gar only a few steps in. My DH grabbed his snorkel gear and headed out even further and had a very intimate experience as he was the only one out there and there were many fish (especially on this side of the dock). After playing in the water, we had plenty of time to dry off and then took a peek in the gift shop.

 

On our way back, one of the crew dived in the water to find some Conch shells. After much searching, he came up with a number of shells. Another crew member then took the Conch a part and served it to us. It was a very interesting experience and I am not a fan of seafood or fish, but I tried it anyway and found it to be somewhat sweet. Anyway, on the way back, the video crew showed us clips of the video and made their sales pitch~which was not at all pushy. We didn't have the cash on us, so we took their card and we will be ordering one now that we are home. It was at this time that we paid and tipped the crew.

 

When we arrived back to the pier and realized what time it was, two people from the Miracle started to have a mini-panic. The last tender for them was at 3PM and it was about 2:30. Well, the crew made sure that the driver knew what was going on and there was a mad dash back to the port. There was a lot of traffic!!! and it took at least twice as long to get back as it did to get there. I am happy to say that we made it back and the girls from the Miracle were able to catch one of the last tenders. We were headed back to the Valor and the tender line was VERY long, but it went by fast enough and we were on board at about 4PM.

 

I would recommend this tour to anyone looking to do the experience with the stingrays and wanting some beach time as well. The price of 60/person, including lunch, can not be beat.

Amanda

[tobsterz]

We are doing the reef rays and rum point excursion through nativeways this coming wednesday, and i'm not exactly sure where they are located or where to meet them. I know one of the posts above mentioned they met them at the pier with a sign, and I thought I read somewhere else that they were located right off the pier...are they really easy to find once you get off the ship, or do I need to arrange for somebody to meet us? Thanks for any advice! We're leaving for Ft. Lauderdale on Friday AM, and can't wait!

[232271]

thanks for the great review Amanda!!

 

sounds like we wont have time to see the new Margarittaville, bummer.

 

OH well, our ship says we leave at 4 pm from GC, I hope we make it on time as well!

[Iceman-007]

Re: Snip!.

 

 

When we arrived back to the pier and realized what time it was, two people from the Miracle started to have a mini-panic. The last tender for them was at 3PM and it was about 2:30. Well, the crew made sure that the driver knew what was going on and there was a mad dash back to the port. There was a lot of traffic!!! and it took at least twice as long to get back as it did to get there. I am happy to say that we made it back and the girls from the Miracle were able to catch one of the last tenders. We were headed back to the Valor and the tender line was VERY long, but it went by fast enough and we were on board at about 4PM.

 

I would recommend this tour to anyone looking to do the experience with the stingrays and wanting some beach time as well. The price of 60/person, including lunch, can not be beat.

Amanda

 

This has made be very reluctant to do this tour

it finishes at 2:45 not the 2pm est it says on the site. My ship leaves at 4pm and the tender I assume takes 20 minutes to get to the ship and the last tender is proably at 3:30 and Carnival is not even sure what time the tender leaves, plus even there is a long line I may miss the the tender. Also there may be a lot of traffic getting back so I may miss the tender. If I did make it back in time it would be cutting it very close.

[232271]

This has made be very reluctant to do this tour

it finishes at 2:45 not the 2pm est it says on the site. My ship leaves at 4pm and the tender I assume takes 20 minutes to get to the ship and the last tender is proably at 3:30 and Carnival is not even sure what time the tender leaves, plus even there is a long line I may miss the the tender. Also there may be a lot of traffic getting back so I may miss the tender. If I did make it back in time it would be cutting it very close.

 

Do we even know if they are on "ships" time or their own time? We will be on central time...but does the schedule for ports take this into consideration? Is the 4 pm pull out time still central or did they account for the time difference? I sure would hate to be late!

Nativeway has assured us we wont, but now I am a little concerned too!:o (as their email to me with times says this is NOT central time remember-so the meeting time to start says 915 am , but it is 815 on the ship, we dont even dock till 7 am so what if we cant get off the ship right away...wow this is stressful)

[Iceman-007]

Do we even know if they are on "ships" time or their own time? We will be on central time...but does the schedule for ports take this into consideration? Is the 4 pm pull out time still central or did they account for the time difference? I sure would hate to be late!

Nativeway has assured us we wont, but now I am a little concerned too!:o (as their email to me with times says this is NOT central time remember-so the meeting time to start says 915 am , but it is 815 on the ship, we dont even dock till 7 am so what if we cant get off the ship right away...wow this is stressful)

 

 

I called Sharon and she said the carnival valor is on central time, however that is not true , it is on eastern time I just called to find out. I will proablly call carnival again just to be absolutely sure, since at 1st he said central and then he double checked and said eastern!

[cccole]

We were on Grand Cayman in August and rented jeeps through Andy's, went to Rum Point for the day and really enjoyed it. Tortugadivers.com can be contacted for excursions from the Rum Point location, phone number is 877-733-7245. If you rent a jeep and drive to Rum Point you can enjoy a great beach day, excursions if you want, lunch, and a beautiful location.