Moby Dick Tours

[Matomatic]

Can anyone tell me if Moby Dick tours is reliable for Stingray city and barrier reef snorkeling? I believe that they charge $35 for adults. Is this about the average going rate?

[MistressPhyllis]

We used Moby Dick tours in Jan 05 for a family of 3. It was ok. The going rate was about right. They had good customer service in advance, but when we were at the pier, it was awful! I had an email that said we could pay by credit card, and whichever we wanted, but at the pier, they wanted only cash, and rejected the first two "brands" of credit cards that we handed them. The woman said that it was because of the hurricane they just had, but it had been 3 months, and we had received the email only 3 weeks before we sailed, so that was post-hurricane too.

 

There were about 18-20 of us on a little ship. They were nice, but when you're snorkeling, they want you all to stay really close together.

 

Let me put it this way, I'm going back to GC in October, and I"m looking for a different company. There was nothing so fabulous that I feel any loyalty towatd Moby Dick.

[lawgator]

We made a reservation with Moby Dick Tours on our Carnival Miracle cruise. Our reservation was for 9:30am, but since we got off the ship promptly, the woman at the pier asked us if we would like to go at 8:30am instead. She said that although it wouldn't say Moby Dick on the boat, that it was still a boat under the authority of Moby Dick. We agreed and were put on a boat called the Eastern Skies with Captain Larry. There were several other ships already anchored at the stingray reef with many people in the water. Our Captain was unable to properly anchor his boat. We nearly collided with other boats and people several times. He then got the anchor line hung up under the boat. He said he had been provided cheap and inadequate anchors and not tools to fix anything. I noticed that none of the other boats seemed to be having the problem to the extent that he had. He was cursing and swearing in front of everyone (including the children) the whole time. We were only able to stay a short while with the stingrays and he never got in the water with us to show us anything like the other boats were doing. We then went to another location and went snorkeling which I did enjoy. I cannot recommend them for the stingray excursion, and it seems you might be better to go with another company. Maybe it was just this one boat, however.

[michelle2]

I was on the same tour as lawgator. We were the family with two young girls. I just want to second lawgator's review. I agree with everything they said. Captain Larry was just terrible. All of the screaming and problems made for a stressful day. It was not what I expected!

[Jeal]

We did not have a good tour with Moby Dick's this past March. Apparently they use several boats - so, if you are one of the ones on a good boat then it is a good tour, but..............if you are not then beware!

Our experience was similar to lawgator. Our boat captain did not know what he was doing.

We contacted Moby Dick after we got home and basically they said "tough luck!"

I would never use them again.

Additionally, we have been boating for about 18 years and, truthfully, the boat we were on was unsafe - in the US if the Coast Guard had boarded it, it would have been shut down.

[Jukebox Eddie]

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Just got back from the Navigator of the Seas tour of western Caribbean, which included a stop at Grand Caymen. I was concerned as I had read some very old postings about stingray city tours, so we booked with Moby Dick's. http://www.mobydicktours.com/ We had a party of 35, and we LOVED IT! Not only did we love Stingray City, as I had been there before with another company, Captain Marvins, and I must say I liked Moby Dicks much more! Why? Well,

The boat was great, holds about 50 people, and when you get out there and you see some of the mega sized tour boats (working with the cruise ships I am sure), double deckers with over 200 people, you will appreciate Moby Dicks great boat. Big ladders in the back to get in and out, and a great fresh water shower to rinse the salt off when you get back on. Plus great music for the whole trip!

 

The 2 man crew is what makes the difference, We had captain Zak, and a young Italian assistant, sorry mates, I dont remember his name, but they were awsome! They gave us a great demo on the way out of how to deal with the stingrays, how to hold em, touch em, even kiss em! (7 years good luck). They use a stuffed stingray, sort of an oversized beanie baby, it is amusing as well as imformative.

 

When you get out to the sandbar, they will find a great place to park, and in the water they go, they will pick up a stingray and show you how to hold it, how to pet it, feed it, it really is amazing.

 

It is very apparent that these guys love what they do, thats why they are here. You will not leave stingray city until everyone on the boat has had a chance to hold a stingray and interact with the captain and first mate if you wish. There is no hurry, they are not watch watchers, ready to pull out when time is up. They will stay as long as it takes for everyone to have a great experience.

 

http://www.mobydicktours.com/

 

On the way back we had the option of being dropped off at the public beach on 7mile beach, or going back to the port, but we decided to make a detour, and were dropped of at Senior Frogs instead!

 

Must do at Grand Caymen is Stingray City, and Moby Dick's is the way to do it!

[John5232]

jukebox eddie,

that is the 3rd thread i have seen that you have cut and pasted the same response... might wanna be a little less obvious

[TML1101]

The italian guys name is William. I took the tour with them on my cruise and we had a great time. It was interesting watching Zak and William dive after the stingrays - I can't speak for the other tours/boats through Moby Dick, but I do know that I had a great time on this specific tour. Since we got off of the boat so early we could have taken the earlier tour, but I specifically requested to go on the "Moby Dick". We had about an hour to wait but we shopped at a few of the stores that are right near the dock.

 

The stingray city and snorkeling tour that my fiancee and I took through Moby Dick's was our favorite part of our cruise.

[TML1101]

The italian guys name is William. I took the tour with them on my cruise and we had a great time. It was interesting watching Zak and William dive after the stingrays - I can't speak for the other tours/boats through Moby Dick, but I do know that I had a great time on this specific tour. Since we got off of the boat so early we could have taken the earlier tour, but I specifically requested to go on the "Moby Dick". We had about an hour to wait but we shopped at a few of the stores that are right near the dock.

 

The stingray city and snorkeling tour that my fiancee and I took through Moby Dick's was our favorite part of our cruise.

[Smileeface]

I went to Moby Dick Tour's website and the Captain Larry that was so badly revued in 2006 does not seem to be part of their staff, at least not on the webpage. I've only read very good reviews of Capt Zak & William.

[snowbirds2]

We spent a great couple of hours with the Moby Dick crew the other week. There were only about 25 people on the boat. Mark gave tips on how to feed the rays demonstrating with a "beanie baby" ray and William was in the water with us and helped everyone who wanted to feed and hold the rays. We stayed there for about 45 minutes. They provided snorkel equipment for those wanting to snorkel afterwards at the reef a short distance from Stingray City. I'm a novice snorkeler so can't comment on the quality of the experience but for me it was just the right amount of time - again about 45 mins. There was water or fruit punch to drink, a "nautical" washroom and hose for a fresh water shower. You could stay on the boat if you didn't want to snorkel. A very relaxing and fun trip.

[mkayme]

We just came off a cruise at the end of Feb Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas and used Moby Dick for stingray city. Captain Zak and captain Mark were great!!!!! I would definetly use them again. This was the only exursion that we booked on our own. When we arrived at the sandbar, there were too many boats and people so we snorkled first. Great snorkeling by the way, saw an moray eel up close( a little too close for me but my husband loved it) We had about 30 people on our boat compared to the other boats holding about 200 people. It was a wonderful experience and I would recommend them highly

[mmmd1]

We're just back from a Spring Break Cruise, and we had a GREAT TIME on Moby Dick Tours. Because we had a party of 8, and had a reservation, we got out own boat and Jason as a guide. There we 6 ships in Grand Cayman that day so Stingray City was a complete zoo. Jason made sure all of us got to interact as much as we wanted with the Stingrays, then he took us up to the Reef, where we saw Nurse Sharks and a Moray eel. We were VERY satisfied with our Moby Dick tour. Thanks Jason!

[Smileeface]

Hi MMMD1. Can you tell me how quickly you were able to get off your ship and meet Moby Dick on the pier? I've read that passengers doing ship sponsered excursions get off the ship first. We will be on Liberty Of The Seas (huge ship) with 3 others in port that day. We get there at 8:00am so if we are early to be in line to debark, I'm wondering how long will it really take us? We need to be at the pier by 8:45 to make the 9:30 tour. What do you think? :rolleyes:

[cruise_dad]

We used Moby Dick Tours two weeks ago. It was not what I expected. I would have to rate it as just OK. Nothing special. I had arranged the trip by email a few weeks before we arrived. We were told that our trip would go out at 11:30. We arrived on the pier at 10:00 and eventually found the Moby Dick people in their teal colored shirts. We were told that we should walk around town for a while and come back at 12:30 for the bus. We walked around the very expensive town for two hours before returning to the pier. We were herded into a very old school bus and were driven a few miles away to the dive boat. It was not the boat pictured on the website. Niether was the crew. We sailed directly into the large crowd of other boats (so much for the claim on the website). Upon return we had no place to tie up to the dock so we tied up to another boat and walked across it to the shore. We waited in a hot, dirt parking lot for 30 minutes (with a sewage pumping truck cleaning out the boats) for the old school bus to show up. We had planned to visit 7 mile beach but because of all the delays had to return to the cruise ship. I feel that Moby Dick's web advertising was somewhat misleading for our trip.

[indie]

i just got back from the inspiration and used moby dick and had the time of my life. It was great. Here is my portion of my cruise review which covers moby dick

 

 

Stingray City and Barrier Reef: Moby Dick Tours

We arrived on land around 8:30am and dodged the photographers, right on time to meet with Moby Dick tours. The Moby dick staff hadn’t come down to our tender landing yet, as they were at the next landing. Soon Mark from Moby Dick showed up, and we walked to the second landing to sign in with Kim and wait for our excursion group.

At around 9:30 am (8:30 GC Time) we walked a short distance to a parking lot and boarded an old school bus. There were around 25 people in our group. Our driver gave us a very informative mini tour on the ride over to the boat. We got to hear a bit of history, see some of the resorts hotels, a bit of seven mile beach and the Governor’s House. I wish we had more time to see more of Grand Cayman as it looks like an amazing island.

We arrived and boarded the Moby Dick. Captain Zak and William were fun and briefed us on what to expect with a stuffed stingray. The ride was very scenic and water and fruit juice was provided. We met a few people from our ship and had some great conversations on the way over to the sandbar. We had a blast with the stingrays. This is truly a not to miss experience. My wife who is expected to be afraid had the time of her life. She held and fed the stingrays and loved it. She said she could have spent the whole day out there. It was great fun for everyone, even if you think you will be afraid try it. It’s a rare opportunity that you will not regret. I am a non-swimmer and I had a ball.

After leaving the sandbar we rode over to the barrier reef for a snorkel stop. My wife and I stayed on the boat and dried off but we were able to see some tropical fish, occasional stingrays and even a nurse shark from the boat. The water crashing against the reef was amazing. One of the most amazing natural things I have ever seen. On the way back we saw some nice homes and some iguanas sunning on rocks. Stingray City Sandbar was unforgettable. I highly recommend a private tour with a smaller group. If we go back to Grand Cayman we will definitely do Moby Dick again.

 

We were cutting it close, for our 1:00 tender and had to hightail it back to the landing, we got there around 1:05, but there was plenty of time. We had to wait in line about 30 minutes for a tender but it was a nice breeze clouds keeping us from being to hot in the sun.

 

 

 

 

[captjaneway]

My Review of Moby Dick tours:

 

I had read many reviews of the various tour operators in GC and had finally decided on Moby Dick tours based on reviews, cost, their web site (very professional and stressed safety) and the fact that they did not require a credit card deposit.

 

We were schedualed for the first boat out at 9:30, however due to the time difference we arrived at 8:30. No one was on the peir to greet us as their email had promised. After about 10 min. someone came up to us and told us we would have to walk up to the other peir to register with Moby Dick. We did and found them there. We registered and they told us to stand around and wait to be called. Nothing in port was open yet so we waited. At 9:30 The MD Rep. held up her sign and said follow me to the group so 30 people began winding through the masses about a 1/4 mile back down the road to where several busses and vans were parked. We are loaded onto a rickety old school bus with no air. I watch enviously as the Native Way group piles in to a new airconditioned van.

 

Our driver entertains us on the trip to the boat with informative tidbits. Unfortunately he can not be heard over the noise of the bus and the chatter if its passengers. Once on board the boat the two man crew gave us a very cute naritive of what to expect at the sand bar and how to handle the rays using a small stuffed ray this was alot of fun.

 

We arrived at the sand bar but since it was pretty crowded already we went to the reef first. The reef was enjoyable. We saw lots of colorful fish, a nurse shark, and a moray eel. While we snorkled it began to rain HARD but there was no lightning so we just continued to enjoy.

 

After about 20 to 30 min. we moved to the sand bar. It did not seem any less crowded as boats continued to arrive as quickly as others left but we anchored out to our little piece of Sting Ray City. Once on top the sand bar the waves began to break against the shallow sandbar rocking the boat nearly 45 degrees in each direction. The deck was wet from rain and we are barefoot to protect the rays. I need to use the restroom before going back in the water which is at the bottom of a short flight of stairs.

As the boat rocks my feet slip on the wet painted concrete stairway and I fall HARD to the bottom, the next sway causes the bathroom door to slam shut and latch with my lower leg pinned under it. The door sticks and it takes several attempts to free me. Then I am helped back up on deck. My leg is dented and bruised. My butt is black and blue. One of the tour guides gets me an ice pack and I sit on deck for 20 min. I do go out and enjoy the sand bar and rays for about 10 min once I have pulled myself back together and it was alot of fun but I do not feel that the guides took enough precautions to ensure my safety, nor did I feel that they showed much concern after I was injured. They did not come back to me once we got underway to see how I was doing. No one made any sort of report or follow up. I continued to have pain and limp for nearly 2 weeks.

 

If I return to Grand Cayman I will not book through Moby Dick tours again.