sting rays

[mr_jones]

Hi,

I'm due for a cruise at the beginning of December. I have been to the Stingray City Sandbar before, with a company called Kirks, where we had over 100 people on board. I am enquiring if anyone has been on smaller trips, and who with? Last time I got a photo standing next to a guy holding the stingray but I was wondering if anyone knows of anyone that shots a video of the trip?

[cakelover]

I booked on the Buccaneer for my 11/25 cruise. The website has Live Help. I think the max. ppl on the ship is around 40 ppl (not sure), but at least not 100 ppl. I chose this one because many ppl recommend here.

Most agencies have 2 groups in a day, but Buccaneer only has one and departs at 10:30. This fits me most.

You can go to the website and check it out.

http://grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com/contact.htm

[caribbean dreams]

We booked with Captain Bryans, there were 30 people on our boat.

they tryedto anchor away from the other boats so we could have some space to ourselves.

You not only get to stand next to the guy holding the Sting Ray but you get to hold it yourself for the picture.

Hew also takes you to 2 snorkel spots, Coral Gardens & the Barrier Reef.

 

We have used his tour company 3 times and have always had a great time.

[jmo1]

Captain Marvin's limits their tours to 25 people per boat. They are a first class operation. Both times we went with Capt. Marvin, they had a videographer on board that produces a DVD of the trip. We bought one the first trip, and enjoy watching it and listening to the dubbed in Caribbean music.

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

Not sure who you are cruising with, but the tour I wrote about here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=444045

 

through Royal Caribbean was GREAT!

 

There were just a tiny group of us and there was a videographer with an underwater video camera who taped the whole trip from the time we got on the boat at the Yacht Club, until we returned afterwards!

 

I haven't seen one, but they are supposedly all professionally edited with music tracks and scenic footage from around the island landmarks added in before they send the DVD to you. The families on our ship all ordered them because they had a lot more camera time than just the two of us! HAHA! :)

 

Whomever RCI used, was great, though, and we got to experience as much as we could during our short visit!

 

Good luck!

 

:)

[flamedFXSTC]

We just returned from a Stingray City tour with Soto's Tours. There were a total of 8 in our group. The crew said this a fairly slow time of year. We did see boats with 50+ people that we were told were the excursions booked through the ship. If it makes any difference, there were 6 ships in port that day.

 

BTW, I think we paid 30 bucks or so, per person.

[slotaddict]

Hi,

I'm due for a cruise at the beginning of December. I have been to the Stingray City Sandbar before, with a company called Kirks, where we had over 100 people on board. I am enquiring if anyone has been on smaller trips, and who with? Last time I got a photo standing next to a guy holding the stingray but I was wondering if anyone knows of anyone that shots a video of the trip?

 

we booked with captain marvin, we had the 8:30 tour and had six people on the boat with us. they are a first class operation. We held the rays bought the video starring us and had a great snorkeling experience. We also had Captian Marvin himself.

[MN Cruiers]

I just got back 11/16 and we did Capt. Bryan's (the Bucanneer) Our captain used to work for Capt. Marvins. I highly recommend the Bucanneer. we had 10 adults and 1 child. He was very professional and made sure we all got to play with the stingrays and get good pictures. Every other boat at the stingray bar was packed with people or the boats looked dumpy. We pulled in looking like a private party but we weren't. We loved it and it worked great with the in port timing of the Inspiration. The inspiration isn't in port for long.

[mr_jones]

Thanks everyone for all your replies I am a little confused on who to book with Capt Marvins or Capt Brians. I was woundering iif anyones done both tours and could compare the 2? I visted there websites and they weren't the greatest website? thanks

[mswalberg]

Hi,

 

I've been to the Caymans on several occasions and have done the Stingray tour each time with my kids, once with Captain Bryan's and the last time with Captain Marvins. Out of the two, I would totally recommend Captain Marvin's as their crew were excellent, very informative and gave us the 'extra special' treatment. There was a videographer on board from VIP Productions, who was equally as helpful (she really did help the kids get over their fear of the stingrays and had them loving the rays by the end of the morning) and 'made' our trip for us. I bought the DVD she made and it is fantastic to watch this at home! My kids love to watch it (especially on a rainy day when stuck in the house) and have shown all their school friends. Wow - to have a video with us holding, feeding and kissing a stingray was the most personalised and unique Cayman souvenir! Beats the usual tourist nic-nacs from Georgetown any day!!!!

 

We equally enjoyed the 2 snorkel stops that we did on the same trip, and got to see loads of Caribbean fish and coral. Again, the videographer captured all the marine life, as well as us snorkelling, and so the video really does give you the 'flavor' of Grand Cayman and is such value for money. I understand that Captain Bryan's only has photographers on board that takes your picture at Stingray City Sandbar. Although the photos are great, to have a movie of this unique place just rocks! So....Captain Marvin's it is for us!

 

Hope this helps and have a great trip!

[Russ_MT]

First of all for those that have never done it, these sting rays are the tamest creatures on the planet. They come up to you like cats rubbing on your leg looking for affection. In this case it's food they are searching for. Steve Irwin's death has seriously hurt this industry, however that means fewer crowds for us non-wimps who understand how docile they are.

 

We just did Native Way tours http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/. I can't sing their praises high enough. It was the most fun we had on the cruise. Seriously! The boats are big and comfortable but the tours are small. We had 8 people on the tour and 2 tour guides and a videographer who used scuba gear to capture all the underwater activity. They were SOOOOO nice and personal.

They suddenly stopped the boat, one of them jumped over the side and came up with two of the largest starfish I've ever seen. He handed them to each of us to hold and feel. They took pictures for us with our cameras plus their video.

When we got to stingray city, at the reef, our guide coaxed a nurse shark out and let us swim and pet it. Then he coaxed an eel out of it's cave. Other tourists started glomming on to our guide and his expertise.

They know the names of each sting ray and found "frisbee" a stingray without a tail (or stinger) and had her give us a "frisbee massage".

 

Our guides enjoy their jobs and love people. On the way out, the 2 of them were up on the bridge dancing to reggae music and just having fun.

For the price of the ship's excursion, we got a "free" hot and tasty lunch at Rum Point. This place looks just like the brochure for Cayman Islands, it's beautiful and relaxing. We had a couple of margaritas and enjoyed the view and lunch before we headed back.

 

We did a ship excursion years ago and thought THAT was great. Here, they let you snorkel on the reef PLUS the stingrays on the sand bar, PLUS they call in your lunch at Rum Point. We saw boats with 50 people on board and then really appreciated our guide to guests ratio.

 

If you are a water person, forget the turtles and land based activities and go with Native Way or another small operator that gives you personal attention. We'll never do another 100 person ship excursion again.

[EMTRa]

We just returned from a Stingray City tour with Soto's Tours. There were a total of 8 in our group. The crew said this a fairly slow time of year. We did see boats with 50+ people that we were told were the excursions booked through the ship. If it makes any difference, there were 6 ships in port that day.

 

BTW, I think we paid 30 bucks or so, per person.

(Not trying to hijack the thread but a quick question if you don't mind?)

Hi ..wondering if you can tell me more about your trip with Soto's? I received an email back from them and I am impressed. I haven't found much info here on the boards about them. Did you snorkel somewhere else too? Where did you meet them? We also will have 6 ships in port and I would like a great experience with a smaller group. The itinerary and times look great ..we aren't really interested in an entire day tour (too many things to do in a short time!)..just get to out to see the stingrays and back. Thanks in advance!

[jenyates]

I just wanted to weigh in on Soto's - we went with them about a year ago, and they were fabulous. My husband and I went with two friends, one of whom is handicapped, and Soto's crew were amazingly helpful and accommodating in getting his wheelchair onboard and even helping him in the water. I'm planning to book with them again for our December cruise. One advantage they have over Nativeway, besides being a few dollars cheaper, is that their boat has almost a full awning, so everyone can be in the shade if they want to. With Nativeway, if the boat is somewhat full you may be stuck in the sun (which, granted, isn't a bad thing for a lot of people!) for the entire trip - and keep in mind it's about 30 minutes each way to the sandbar.

 

That said, we've been with Nativeway 3 or 4 times too over the years, and they're a good honest company as well.