Just back from Cayman - for all you snorkelers...

[msubobcats]

We did the Ray, reefs and Rum point with nativeway. Was a great time, but we actually did something MUCH better prior to the excursion...

 

We were on the first tender off the Valor last week. We got to Georgetown sooooo early, that the shops were all closed. Wife and I had an hour and a half to kill prior to Nativeway, so we started walking to the right, across the bridge from the tender dock.

 

As we were walking I looked down into the water and saw numerous fish, most notibly 6, 30-40 lb tarpon cruising around. Since we had time to kill, I put my mask and fins on and went into the water. It was the best snorkeling I did the ENTIRE cruise, and much better that nativeway.

 

I saw the tarpon, rays, hundreds of fish, everything you snorkeler's would want to see. FOR FREE!!!

 

The spot is to the right of the tender docks, and walk about 100 yards until you see a sign that says "Paradise"-something shop. Blue building. Right by that shop is a stair-step with a handrail entering the water. You won't be sorry if you try this. Trust me. I can give more details if you want.

 

If we had to do it over again, we would have skipped the excursion, and just snorkeled at this spot, since the exursion went so long we didn't have time to shop.

 

Go Cats

[Schasz]

MSUBobcats,

I agree with your recommendation, as we did something very similar in December on our Miracle cruise. We went to Edin Rock which is to the right of where you get tendered. We rented a locker for $4...we also have our own snorkel gear. I would agree with you on the fish and the tarpon are large. We stayed there for a couple hours.

 

We are going to do Native Way in July as we have a group of people who want to do the Stingrays, and we will go with what the group wants to do. If time permits, we may have to go back to Edin Rock.

 

John & Shari

[luv2travel29]

My family went to Eden Rock in Feb and it was AMAZING!!! The tarpon were huge and we saw hundreds of fish.... I'm going back in July and we're def. making a stop there.....

I loved Cayman ~ we did Hell, Turtle Farm, Butterfly farm on an excursion through Disney. We ate lunch at Margaritaville (too expensive) but our last stop was snorkeling and WE LOVED IT!!!!! great day in cayman ! :D

[jervid]

We did the Ray, reefs and Rum point with nativeway. Was a great time, but we actually did something MUCH better prior to the excursion...

 

We were on the first tender off the Valor last week. We got to Georgetown sooooo early, that the shops were all closed. Wife and I had an hour and a half to kill prior to Nativeway, so we started walking to the right, across the bridge from the tender dock.

 

As we were walking I looked down into the water and saw numerous fish, most notibly 6, 30-40 lb tarpon cruising around. Since we had time to kill, I put my mask and fins on and went into the water. It was the best snorkeling I did the ENTIRE cruise, and much better that nativeway.

 

I saw the tarpon, rays, hundreds of fish, everything you snorkeler's would want to see. FOR FREE!!!

 

The spot is to the right of the tender docks, and walk about 100 yards until you see a sign that says "Paradise"-something shop. Blue building. Right by that shop is a stair-step with a handrail entering the water. You won't be sorry if you try this. Trust me. I can give more details if you want.

 

If we had to do it over again, we would have skipped the excursion, and just snorkeled at this spot, since the exursion went so long we didn't have time to shop.

 

Go Cats

 

Hey Msubobcats...

 

thanks for the tip... i'll have to remember this when we go there in July..btw what's your review on the Valor? and the rest fo your cruise??

[Jeanne B]

Thanks for the tip!! We'll be there in Dec for the first time and we're planning on doing Stingray City but hopefully we'll have time to go to Eden Rock (we love to snorkel on our own). I did a search for Eden Rock and found this, there's a reference to cruiseship passengers towards the bottom.

 

http://www.edenrockdive.com/3.htm

[msubobcats]

and copied the following from that..."Do not be fooled by a sign at Paradise Bar and Restaurant, which has to be passed on the way to Eden Rock Diving Center when coming from George Town."

 

Well, I was fooled, but then again, didn't know what was going on. I just jumped in the water at the Paradise and there ya go. Tarpon, Rays and fish galore. Maybe it's better at eden rock. So, now I have an excuse to go back.

 

My best tip for my cruise on the Valor is to ignore all, repeat ALL, announcements regarding tenders. Just go to the IvanHoe Theatre an hour before the tenders are supposed to start. The crew will usher you down from there, regardless of whether you are on a Carnival excursion or not.

The other thing that we wish we would have done differently is we would not have scheduled all our excursions prior to leaving on the cruise. With all kinds of vendors right on the docks at each port, there was no reason to schedule everything online prior to departure. Still do your research, and know what each port specializes in (GC is Rays, Roatan = island tour/, Costa Maya = Majahual, etc).

In fact, if we could do it over again, we would have scheduled NOTHING. It seemed that we were running at each port to get to our excursion, when in fact it would have been better to just "play it by ear". Trust me, no excursion is ever SOLD OUT, that I can tell ya.

"Meester, MEESTER...you like cave tubing/iguana's/Hell/Ruin/StingRay/Cigars?" (This happened at every port).

 

Our best time was at Majahual, where, after our Mayan Ruin with David and Ivan, DW got her massage on the beach and I got my bucket of beer, tequila shots, and sat on the beach for 2 hours.

 

(Sorry, kinda got off the subject of my OP, but just answering questions)...

 

 

Go Cats

[cws1966]

we really would like to snorkle at eden, but weren't sure if our ship tenders here at georgetown. is there another place that tenders go to? thanks

[bruce-r]

we really would like to snorkle at eden, but weren't sure if our ship tenders here at georgetown. is there another place that tenders go to? thanks

 

Yes there is, Spot's Bay, but it is only used when weather is such that the tenders can't come ashore in Georgetown. Spot's Bay is like a back up place.

[jennifer.c21]

Msubobcats,

I agree with you regarding NOT booking tours ahead of time. I was OBSESSED with booking private tours in advance from home in all four stops (Roatan, Costa Maya, Belize, and Cayman). We did have some great tours, and I would definitely agree that you should research to find out what is going on in each port to have some direction, but I think we would have felt a lot less rushed if we would have gone with some local tour guides right at the port.

 

Next time, I think we will do this. I do like to know what is the best thing to do in each place to get the most out of it, but I think you can sometimes find something a lot better by just looking around when you get there. Not everything worthwhile can be found on the internet!!

[ballarinamom]

AND HAVE LUNCH AT PARADISE!!!! It has great local dishes like conch fritters, soups and fried conch. AWESOME! We sat on the patio overlooking the water with our ship in the background. We plan on stopping in again when we are there in December

[jpurdy]

I know they are very close to each other. Which one is better? Don't want to swim too far out, and need to rent vests. Leaving Sunday on Liberty! Thanks.