Excursion through cruise or private with Capt Marvin??

[adogaer]

We are considering the Stingray City/Turtle Farm/Hell tour excursion when we are in GC. The price difference is $5 a person cheaper if I book through Capt. Marvin.

 

My question is should I book through him to get the smaller size tour or through the ship to get the peace of mind I won't get left behind?

 

Any opinions??

 

TIA!

[twinkletoes4445]

We've used CM's twice, and had a ball. Both Stingray excursions had 20 or so people on each trip. I don't know who used those big double-decker boats, but that's what you want to avoid. CM's has small boats...it's really nice.

 

For our first cruise, I was also about being left behind, but in the end, we decided to go with our own excursion (since they were smaller).

 

We're going back to GC in January, and we're using CM's again.

 

Have a great time whatever you end up doing! :)

[iancal]

We also used Captain Marvins..it was first rate. Eight of us on the boat with great instruction for two older children who had never snorkled. We went to Stingray plus two other places. We saw the ships tour...about 150 people or so on a double deck boat. It looked awfull. Another difference..you drive to Captain Marvin's pier and it is very close to Stingray City. The ships tour boat left from the dock near the ship and took a good 1/2 hr or more just to get to Stingray City. The time on the water was the same but we saw and did much more on the Capt. Marvins tour. We went first thing in the morning. On our way back to town, we asked the Captain Marvin driver to drop us off at Seven Mile Beach and we spent a few hours there. Public bus back to town. Another plus for us is that our money gets to stay on the island. The independent tour operators really rely on boards like this to generate goodwill, recommendations, and bookings. We would use Capt. Marvins or something similar even if the price had been higher (which it was not) because of the quality of the tour and the kindness/hospitality of the owner operator.

[Karshrimp]

We also used Captain Marvins..it was first rate. Eight of us on the boat with great instruction for two older children who had never snorkled. We went to Stingray plus two other places. We saw the ships tour...about 150 people or so on a double deck boat. It looked awfull. Another difference..you drive to Captain Marvin's pier and it is very close to Stingray City. The ships tour boat left from the dock near the ship and took a good 1/2 hr or more just to get to Stingray City. The time on the water was the same but we saw and did much more on the Capt. Marvins tour. We went first thing in the morning. On our way back to town, we asked the Captain Marvin driver to drop us off at Seven Mile Beach and we spent a few hours there. Public bus back to town. Another plus for us is that our money gets to stay on the island. The independent tour operators really rely on boards like this to generate goodwill, recommendations, and bookings. We would use Capt. Marvins or something similar even if the price had been higher (which it was not) because of the quality of the tour and the kindness/hospitality of the owner operator.

 

iancal (or anyone else who can help),

We are thinking about going to Stringray City, and then 7 mile beach. How do I find Captain Marvin's to book? Do they have a website? How long was the stringray tour? Did you take a taxi to get to Captain Marvins? After the tour, they have a driver that takes you back to town? You say you caught a public bus back to town from 7 mile beach. Is there a bus stop at 7 mile beach where you caught the bus, or how did you find the bus? Sorry so many questions, but we have never been there and I am trying to plan this out. Thanks so much for any help! :)

[twinkletoes4445]

iancal (or anyone else who can help),

We are thinking about going to Stringray City, and then 7 mile beach. How do I find Captain Marvin's to book? Do they have a website? How long was the stringray tour? Did you take a taxi to get to Captain Marvins? After the tour, they have a driver that takes you back to town? You say you caught a public bus back to town from 7 mile beach. Is there a bus stop at 7 mile beach where you caught the bus, or how did you find the bus? Sorry so many questions, but we have never been there and I am trying to plan this out. Thanks so much for any help! :)

 

Here's CM's website.

 

http://www.captainmarvins.com

 

Captain Marvin's is a short walk from the port area. Once you are in the port area, you walk to your left, and it's about a 5 minute walk (at the most). Their shop is located in a yellow building on your right (It's in the Waterfront Centre). There's also a great little souviner shop right next door. We found some really cute Xmas ornaments there. They have all sorts of others things also. CM's also has a small gift shop inside their store.

 

You can select the tour with CM's that suits your needs. The first time we were there, we went with the shorter tour (Stingray's and one snorkle) because we were on a cruise ship and wanted to do other things. The second time (we were there for a week), we went on the 3-stop tour. The only difference was that we stopped at the reef on this tour, and we saw the nurse shark and eel that everyone talks about.

 

We did an island tour first, then the Stingray's, so we had CM's drop us at Rackham's (for a late lunch), then we walked back to the ship.

 

If you do the morning tour (and Ruth or Joan at CM's will be able to tell you if you can make the early one), you could have them drop you at Sea Grape. Sea Grape is right across the street from the Courtyard Marriott, which is were the driver will turn to get to Cap't. Marvin's house (and boats).

 

Sea Grape has food, restrooms, water toy rentals, and beach chairs. Everytime we drove past there, there were cabs lined up waiting to take the cruise people back to the port area. Just be aware that when coming back from Sea Grape, you might get stuck in traffic. When we were there this past January, traffic was always tied up around the Ritz (and Sea Grape is just past this).

 

Allow plenty of time to get back to the ship. I'd say at least an hour or so. If you get back and have time to kill, you could always walk through the shops that are in town.

 

You also might consider Royal Palms. It's closer to the port area so you wouldn't have as much of the traffic issues. They offer the same things...food, restrooms, water toys (I believe) and lounge chairs.

 

I don't know a thing about the buses. We saw them, but we saw more cabs. The cabs charge per person, each way. I think it was $8 or so per person, each way. But we didn't take a cab, so I am going on what I remember reading here.

 

The beach area along 7MB is public. But the problem is that 7MB is wall-to-wall hotels and condos. There are public access areas that run between the hotels and condos every so often, and some are really nice, others not so nice.

[iancal]

We docked at Grand Cayman. As I recall, there was someone who picked us up and took us to to a dive shop/tour shop very close to Seven Mile Beach. From there, we switched to another van (I think) and went to Capt. Marvin's dock. All in all, it was about 20 minutes from ship to Captain Marvin's dock. We had about 3 1/2- 4 hours on the water, most of it snorkeling or swimming. It was wonderful, and our guide was first rate. He brought along bait to attract fish while we were snorkeling. We got off the boat, and into the van to take us back to the pier. Instead of going to the pier (we still had 3 hours and did not want to spend it all shopping), the driver dropped us off along the road at seven mile beach..I think it was the Westin. We just walked across the parking lot, thru the lobby and on to the beach. The van driver who dropped us off said that there we many van/mini bus type affairs that would go along the road, pick you up, and take you into town. We did this. On our return, think we waited about 5 minutes and sure enough one came along. We had about 2 hours on the beach. When we arrived back in town, most of the shops were fairly empty (they seem to be busy first thing in the AM when everyone flocks to the shops). We were able to browse the stores in relative comfort. After 45 minutes of this is was back to the ship (Mercury). We did not buy anything in the stores....it was either high end jewelry, china, or the usual trinkets and trash that you find at most of these places.

[Karshrimp]

Wow. Thanks for all the info! Exactly what is Sea Grape? Is it part of 7 mile beach? Is it a public beach? Does it cost anything to get in?

Thanks again!

[iancal]

Forgot to mention that we did book on the web, as above, and I actually phoned re emailed again just prior to departure to check on the reservation. We just about always take private tours. We book, then reconfirm just prior to leaving for the cruise. Seems to work well for us.

[twinkletoes4445]

Wow. Thanks for all the info! Exactly what is Sea Grape? Is it part of 7 mile beach? Is it a public beach? Does it cost anything to get in?

Thanks again!

 

Sea Grape is a beach area on 7MB. It doesn't cost anything to get in, but you do have to pay for chair rental (I don't know what the cost is). They also have food, restrooms, and Red Sail operates out of there for water toy rentals.

 

You could go there, plop down your towel on the beach, and not spend a dime. All of the beach area along 7MB is public. You just can't use the chairs at the condos/hotels unless you work out an arrangement with them.

 

The condos we stayed in had a guard who walked around and asked everyone if they were guests (when it was crowded). I saw several cruisers plop down and snag a lounger when it wasn't as crowded and no one said a thing to them. Well, except me...hehe...I wanted to know what ship they were on and all the details! I love cruising so much! We had dinner at Breezes many nights and just watched the ships sail out of port... :)

 

Royal Palms offers the same things, except it's closer to the port area.

 

The first time we used CM's, they had us walk to their store. It's an easy walk. The second time we were there, we had a car since we were there for the week and we just met the group at the dock area. When you get your confirmation, they should tell you if they are going to pick you up at the port area, or have you walk to their store. :)

[love2cruise762]

In 2004 we visited GC and I booked Captain Marvins after finding numerous recommendations on this site and others. I was hesitant about booking on our own, but it turned out wonderful. We got back to town in enough time to browse the shops before getting back on the ship.

 

The walk is really not a problem. The gift shop next door does have nice stuff (Yes they do have some nice Xmas ornaments, bought a few also!) There was also a bakery close by where we had coffee and a snack.

 

Check out the website and email them with any questions, they were very nice and accommodating. They understood my concerns about missing the ship etc. and assured us we would have no problems and we didn’t. We are sailing on RC Freedom in July and will visit GC again. We don’t want to do the stingray tour again, so I will email them to see if they have a short two stop snorkel we could do. DH wants to snorkel the wreck which we didn’t get a chance to do last time.

 

You will not be sorry booking with Captain Marvins!:)

[regionboiler]

We just returned from our first cruise and booked with Captain Marvins. Everything went great, primarily due to the attention of the crew.

 

One of our daughters (18yo) was nervous about the stingrays prior to the excursion, but I did not anticipate her almost having a panic attack:eek: upon standing in the water with the rays coming close to her. She immediately went back onto the boat and would have remained there if not for the personal attention she received from the crew.

 

First they were able to coax her back into the water by getting her to touch a baby stingray. After a while longer, she was comfortable enough to be able to receive a back massage from one of the large rays!!

 

None of this would have been possible without the compassion of the crew and their desire to have every passenger leave with wonderful memories.

 

Captain Marvins is #1 in my book.:) :)

[adogaer]

Thank you all for your replies. I think we're going to do a Stingray City tour and then head into town for some lunch and shopping. If we still feel up to it and the kids are in good spirits we'll go find a beach to play on near the dock for a bit.

 

I'm definitely not going to book through the ship. I like the previous posters reply that money spent on the island stays on the island. Not like the cruise ships need more in their swelling pockets, right?!:rolleyes:

 

Thanks again!!

[captjaneway]

How far in advance should you book with CM?

[John5232]

I booked through CM a few days ago and my cruise is at the end of august. It still may be a little early to book but why wait till the last minute. I think a month ahead would be a good time, and they respond pretty quickly if any slots are full.

 

The reason i booked through CM is because i have read so many positive reviews from people who have used them. However, im pretty sure there are other private companies who also offer great service.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

How far in advance should you book with CM?

 

When I first contacted them, they indicated I should book at least a month in advance. They responded quickly to e-mails and answered all my questions.

 

Have fun!

 

Jayne

 

:D

[twinkletoes4445]

How far in advance should you book with CM?

 

We booked five months in advance. I know you don't have to book that early, but we knew when we would be there, so went on ahead and booked it. For our last trip, we were there for a week, so we booked on a day there weren't any ships in port and we were the only ship at stingray sandbar. It was amazing.

 

With the large number of ships sailing into port these days, I'd probably book early. While we were there, there were two days that there were nine ships in port. It was an absolute madhouse.