Captain Marvin and Nativeway

[lauren0309]

I can't make up my mind between the two. I hear so many good things about both of them. What types of boats do they use? Do either of them use a catamaran. Maybe I can base my decision on what type of boats they use as I tend to get seasick on small boats so maybe one type is a smoother ride than the other?

[Slyder]

capt. marvin does not have a cat. his boat holds about 35 people. i don't know about nativeway. if you go here http://www.captainmarvins.com the picture on the top left is his boat (also in the photo album)

 

hope this helps

sly

[Nieuwcruiser]

By their websites it looks like their boats are similar.

[Sports Mama]

Just came back from our cruise today :D :( and we used Nativeway. Yes, they are great. No they do not have Catamaran boats. The boat we were on held about 35 to 40 people. You can look them up on their website at www.nativewaywatersports.com.

 

Happy Sailing,

Sports Mama

[Angel in FL]

lauren0309---Capt. Bryan is a private tour and his boat the Buccaneer is a trimaran(sp?). His boat holds 30 max. and his crew is great. My sister & I used them when we were in Caymen on April. I loved the boat and I too, tend to get sea-sick. I took Bonnie just as a pre-caution every day while on the cruise and had absolutely no problems with sea-sickness. Bonnie does not make you sleepy and I found two pills first thing in the morning worked like magic for me. My sister who was scared to death to do the Stingray tour, was the last one off the boat and she loved our trip. We both bought the video they offered. So glad we did, now when I need a pick me up I just pop in the video. You might want to check them out.

[Chuck & Phyllis]

We used Nativeway and recommend them. They carry a smaller number of people and the result is more individual attention with the stingrays. They also bring you to the Coral Gardens for snorkeling. Great crew!

[codlips]

used capt marvin nice boat great trip,would use them again.

[Sea Island Lady]

We have taken excursions with them twice. Never more than 20 on a boat. That's what we liked about them.

[funduo]

You really cannot make a mistake with either. Just FYI Nativeway (sharon and eldon) is a nephew to capt Marvin, so its all in the family. We used Nativeway when we did Stingray City. Sharon and Eldon make wonderful hosts.

 

Enjoy

[Voyagers]

Our experience with Captain Marvin's was OK but I would not use them again. The sea was rough the day we were at Stingray City which really lessened our enjoyment of the trip. In fact, we found out later that the ship canceled its trips to Stingray City that day. So first of all, our trip probably shouldn't have happened and, second, the crew was not that attentive or helpful. So the whole thing was not a great experience for us. You might want to check on sea conditions before you get on the boat.

[montgomeryfamily]

We found Capt. Marvin's to be very helpful both times we have been on their snorkeling excursions and we have a third booked. One of our party is disabled and has a mobility impairment. Capt. Marvin's crew was very helpful and friendly, providing him extra assistance getting in and out of the water and on the boat. On one of of the excursions we were on, there was a child in a wheelchair (about 10 years old). They carried the wheelchair on board and when we arrived at the snorkeling locations, they carried him into the water and assisted him while in the water.

 

It is not just the disabled that got assistance on our excursions--they helped anyone who asked or appeared to need help. One lady couldn't swim and was afraid to go in the stingray snorkeling area. Although everyone had been given snorkeling vests, she was still afraid. Capt. Marvin himself "towed" her with a life ring to a sand bar where she could stand up and then held onto her while he showed her how to feed the stingrays and had her picture taken by her husband. The crew showed the passengers how to feed the stingrays and gave squid to anyone who wanted to try. They also took our pictures with the water cameras we brought.

 

Sorry you had a negative experience, but we didn't have that and there are a lot of postive reviews for Capt. Marvin's on the Grand Cayman port site.

 

Also, one of the things we really liked about taking Capt. Marvin's excursion is that they have a videographer onboard for the three stop excursion which is the same excursion that Nativeway does. They also offer a two stop excursion which includes Stingray City and the Coral Gardens or a reef and you can arrange for the videographer on that one. The video is done by a private company. There is no pressure to buy one, but we did and that was one of our best souvenirs.

 

 

Kathy

[jstducky]

just did nativeway last month and i loved it! it was the highlight of our trip. we couldn't have been any happier with our choice. we got such personal attention and their crew is great!

[Shanafan]

Our experience with Captain Marvin's was OK but I would not use them again. The sea was rough the day we were at Stingray City which really lessened our enjoyment of the trip. In fact, we found out later that the ship canceled its trips to Stingray City that day. So first of all, our trip probably shouldn't have happened and, second, the crew was not that attentive or helpful. So the whole thing was not a great experience for us. You might want to check on sea conditions before you get on the boat.

 

 

I don't think it is fair to blame the bad weather or rough seas on Captain Marvin. You should have made the decision whether or not to go and used the fact that the cruise ship cancelled its trips to Stingray City.

 

The same thing happened to us a couple years ago. Most of the excursions were cancelled by Carnival ( we were on the Triumph at the time) but we had booked through Captain Marvin. (thanks to a tip from this board) We were told we could get our money back if we did not want to go, before we headed out, but we decided we wanted to go anyway. The water was not as clear as it could have been, but by the time we got out to Stingray City, we were the only boat there. We booked a private charter with them (minimum of 10 people) so it was quite an experience for our first time out there.

 

We have since used Captain Marvin again, however we did not book the private charter. There were so many boats out there, and so many people, I would take our first trip with the nasty weather over a clear day with hundreds of people anyday. We would do Captain Marvin again.

[Leosmom]

We used Capt. Marvins last year but next time would try one of the others. I don't know if it was just the day we were there but 3 of their boats went out that day. We had over 40 on our boat-it was very crowded- and had to wait quite a while outside in the heat at their offices to be bussed to where the boats were docked and waited 20 more minutes there for another bus to arrive to fill up the boat. We felt they were not very organized and would try one of the smaller outfits next time.

Whoever you use, i'm sure you will not be disappointed as the Stingray experience is wonderful and not to be missed!