Which Stingray City/ Snorkle trip is best?

[Stardoggy]

FYI -- I used the link above for Captain Bryan and sent an email with a request about return transportation. I heard back within minutes and was told we could have the driver let us off at Royal Palms at the end of the trip, but then we would have to get our own transportation back to the ship. That was what I figured I would hear (unfortunately).

 

I will continue to ponder........... K

[indie]

I have been trying to make this decision for a couple of weeks and we leave in two weeks!!! We did this excursion years ago, but booked with RCCL. I am a little nervous to use an outside company because of time constraints, etc. However, I am very frugal and know an outside company would probably give me a lot more for my money. We want to go again because my daughter's college roommate will be with us and she has never done anything like this. If I don't make advance reservations, are there tour companies at the pier that offer this tour last minute? If so, would that be a big mistake? We love seven mile beach and if it were just my family, that's what we would do. The Nativeway RRR sounds perfect, stingrays, reef, and beach, but... did I mention I am frugal? HELP!!!!!!

 

 

check out moby dick tours. They are usually at the cruise pier and offer transportation. they seem to be very conscious of cruise schedules and very responsive. http://www.mobydicktours.com

[breanne$5]

Thank you for letting me know, maybe I misunderstood them. We'll just grab a cab.

[Cruisin Kay D]

In Dec we are taking 4 of our grandkids (15, 14, 13, 9) on Radiance with a stop at GC and already the 9 yr old is talking about going to hold the stingrays!!! He's been looking at a photo on our refrig from 2004 when we were with Sotos.

 

In past years we have gone with Captn Marvins once and Sotos 2 or 3 times -- we were more impressed with Sotos' crew method of easing us into the water and the crew handling the rays to get all of us comfortable with being around the rays (holding, touching, etc.) BEFORE they give out bait fish to feed them.

 

Since we will have 4 grands with us, we're wanting to go with vendor like Sotos or Nativeway that will be especially attuned to needs of teens & youngsters.

 

What experiences do you all have doing this with children??

[4 cruis'n]

Are Capt Bryan's and Island Marketing the same thing? Different websites but it looks like the same boat with the same name on the side.

[katstoy]

i reserved with Moby Dick Tours for April 25th, i will let you all know when i return

 

 

Well, how was the trip with Moby Dick? We leave in less than 2 weeks and have a trip booked with them. What's the boat like? I am not the most graceful person getting into or out of boats, is it a small ladder, back stairs or something in between to get in and out of the boat with? On my last couple of snorkeling trips both boats had stairs that dropped from the rear right into the water - nice!

[katstoy]

Boy, do I feel like a jerk! :o I was looking at the dates everyone signed up for CC rather than the dates that theses messages were posted. I assumed that the thread was started in 2006, and that Indie had already gone on their cruise :eek:

 

So, I guess I will be reporting back to you about Moby Dick Tours!:D

[Smileeface]

All of these sound good. Can anyone send me the website for Moby Dick, Captain Marvin and Captain Bryan? I want to get a similar tour to the one RCCL offers named Reef and Wreck Snorkel. That tour is 2.5hrs at $28 through RCCL but is only offered at 12:00. We're in Grand Cayman from 8:00 to 4:00 and I'd like a snorkel tour earlier in the morning that I can follow up with going to Royal Palms after. Have to be back on ship no later than 3:30. Any suggestions, oh and no stingray tours for us, just snorkeling. Thanks!:o

[indie]

Boy, do I feel like a jerk! :o I was looking at the dates everyone signed up for CC rather than the dates that theses messages were posted. I assumed that the thread was started in 2006, and that Indie had already gone on their cruise :eek:

 

So, I guess I will be reporting back to you about Moby Dick Tours!:D

 

 

no actually, i havent gone yet. I wont be going until the 25th of next month. So i will be waiting on your report since you are going before me =). This is my first cruise and i am very excited.

 

If you go on tripadvisor.com and search for stingray city grand cayman, there are tons of reviews of moby dick tours.

[jennifer.c21]

Tim, have you completed your tour with Ebanks yet? We just booked the same tour for our May 1st visit to Grand Cayman. We are so excited, but it was a little nerve wracking arranging it all via email. Shawn was great answering all of my questions, so I felt comfortable booking with them.

[sealpup]

The guides from Moby Dick Tours were great and I have booked with them again for our next cruise with our kids

[margincall]

Has Anyone Used Kirksea??

Their Timing Seems To Be Better For Us And That Was The Only Water Spot We Wanted-we Didnt Want The Barrier Reef-we Were Hoping Earlier In The Morning To Do The Atlantis Sub

[landaowens]

We just got back from our cruise (RCCL Explorer of the Seas) on Sunday.

 

We booked Captain Bryan's. Perhaps it was just an "off" day for them, or we had a different crew than usual. They weren't that friendly. They weren't rude at all, but just seemed to be all business. Not a lot of smiles with this crew. They didn't tell us much about the rays or the reef, but did want us to buy pictures (we negotiated picture prices from $25 each down to $10 for two) and drinks from their cash bar.

 

But the Bucaneer was a great boat with a lot more room than the others, and of course, the stingrays were awesome!

 

If you are looking for attentive and humorous guides, the Captain Bryan's crew we sailed with are probably not your best bet.

[memphismimi]

We did this three weeks ago. First class operation! Definitely recommended!

 

we have now used Nativeway twice for this tour - were very happy each time

[june2006]

Are Capt Bryan's and Island Marketing the same thing? Different websites but it looks like the same boat with the same name on the side.

 

Anyone have the answer to this ? :confused: I was going to post and glad that you did! Please let us know.

 

Thank you!

[Kjazzman]

:) :)

We just got back from our cruise on carnival conquest. I read WAY too much stuff on these boards and finally narrowed it down to Soto's and Capt Marvin's based on PRICE and mostly good reviews from all you fellow cruisers!! So although I can only talk about Soto's.....I just can't imagine anything better!! THESE GUYS WERE AWESOME!! Kerri is very responsive and answers all questions and arrangements quickly via e-mail. We ended up having 16 of us and were able to do a private tour with them! AND it was still less than $35 per person!! Randy (owner) was a great captain and guide. We were SO glad we chose SOTO's when we got out there....there were soooo many "BARGES" with what seemed like hundreds of people on them....and we had that PERSONAL touch with Soto's even there regular boat only holds about 30 people but they only had about 15 on it! We had our 16 on there other boat and we were sooo pleased with them!! We had a 2 year old other kids from 6 to 17 and our 85 & 83 year old grandparents!! OK...you get it!!!! I loved these guys!! worth every penny and the pennies were less than if we had gone with Capt Marvin's anyway!!!

http://www.sotoscruises.com/

[rdbradleyjr]

We did the Rays, Reef, and Rum Point Excursion through a private company called Nativeway and saved alot of money. It was beautiful. Our boat only had 6 people on it so it was kinda like a family get together. The guide was great and new us all by name by the end of the excursion. We started off at the reef were we snorkled for a couple of hours or so. While there our guide did a dive and brought up a Conch. He opened the shell and we had raw conch right there on the ship. It was sweet tasting. After that we went to swim with the Rays wich were about the size of a doormat. Again it was great because like I said our boat wasn't crowded at all and we all had plenty of time to feed the rays. While there he took our order for lunch and call ahead to Rum Point. When we got there our lunch was ready to eat. We ate and plaid on the beautiful beach for a while before the boat took us back to the other side of the island. I highly recomend Nativeway as an excursion option. However, I've heard there are several good companies that offer this excursion for cheaper than what the ships offer. If you are interested you can look at the web-site. I think it's www.nativeway.com. Hope this helps!

[katstoy]

no actually, i havent gone yet. I wont be going until the 25th of next month. So i will be waiting on your report since you are going before me =). This is my first cruise and i am very excited.

 

If you go on tripadvisor.com and search for stingray city grand cayman, there are tons of reviews of moby dick tours.

 

 

Well we're home and I am still disappointed that my waiter Dobi and asst waiter Wanderson still have shown up with my dinner yet! I don't care that they are in the Caribbean and I am in So Cal, I miss them!! I guess I better start cooking my own dinner:(

 

As far as the trip was concerned it was awesome. It took me about two days to grasp the concept that the kids do what they want, and us adults do what we want. My DD said it was her best trip ever, she has already e-mailed new friends she met on board.

 

As for stingray city, our tour was cancelled. A man from Moby Dick met us at the tender pier and said that the sea was too rough to safely go out. In fact, they had not gone out all week. The exursion from our ship and from the Princess ship was also cancelled. There were, however, other excursions that you could buy on the pier that would have taken you, but I thought it best no to chance it.

 

So instead we took a cab to seven mile beach - awesome! The cab ride was $4.00 per person each way. You got dropped off on the "public" beach which in reality is a strip of beach in front of a bar/restaurant. However, there were restrooms, showers and changing facilities free of charge. You could rent a lounge chair for $5.00 and spend the whole day. The water was clear, the sand was white, the beer was cold (but expensive) and a good time was had by all. At the end of the day, the same cabs were lined up outside to take you back to the pier.

 

If this happens to you, get out to the beach early as it did get crowded, we got a couple of front row chairs. Also, head back about 45 mintues earlier than you planned. The afternoon traffic was horrible and it took longer to get back to the ship than it did to get to the beach.

 

Have fun when you go.