Captain Marvins

[tiggerfan616]

Do you book the snorkeling through the cruise line or do you book them yourself?

 

 

 

 

 

 

NCL Jewel, 01-27-08: Our 1st Cruise :p

[twinkletoes4445]

For those of you who have been, would you recommend the half day excursion, snorkeling at the Barrier Reef and the Coral Gardens, or will that be too much snorkeling? Also from the ship to CM's, do you take a cab? How much does it cost, if so?

 

Thanks!

 

We did the shorter excursion the first time we were there because we wanted to do other things while we were there. Since then, we've gone back for land vacations there and we usually do the longer excursions. If it were me, I'd do the shorter trip and do something else while you're there. :)

 

Captain Marvin's is a short walk from the port area. It's maybe 3-4 minutes (a very scenic walk) down the main road (toward 7MB). I have arthritis in one knee and this was a very easy walk for me. We had them drop us at Rackham's for a late lunch, and then we walked back to the port area.

[twinkletoes4445]

Do you book the snorkeling through the cruise line or do you book them yourself?

 

 

 

 

 

 

NCL Jewel, 01-27-08: Our 1st Cruise :p

 

I'd book it myself. Captain Marvin's will take your credit card info, but won't charge you until the day you arrive at their office. You can use your credit card, or pay with cash (USD). When we're on the island, we usually use a credit card most of the time and have never had any issues with funny fees.

 

I'd personally not use the cruise line. There are some double-decker boats that have to hold 100 people and you do not want to be on one of those. I suspect they are the tour boats for the cruise lines. The name "Kirk" is on the side. Captain Marvin's or any of the other ones mentioned on this board will have you on a smaller boat with 15-20 people max.

[Angel59920]

I booked my excursion through Captain Marvin's on Friday, they are so nice and they will answer any questions you have though email or my phone. I even asked if I couldn't make it on time because of tender problems what would they do and they told me they would put together other excursion so I wouldn't miss out.

[jlloves2travel]

Ihave booked the snorkling and island tour....Is there time to change/ or facilites between tours?

[cruiser1163]

Just so everybody knows, there is a 5% fee if you use a credit card. The half day excursion for $40 is only $40 if you pay cash.

[Angel59920]

I only book the short excursion and it was 35 pp.

[Angel59920]

So I booked my stingray excursion today and it was though Captain Marvins. I hope we have fun.

[freebsmom]

Hi Twinkletoes,

With all the great advice on the boards I plan on booking Captain Marvin's to singray city for our March Carnival Freedom cruise. My brother-in-law also has some knee problems and I read that the walk was OK for you. Also, he's also on the heavy side so do you think the walk from the tender to the Captain's will be OK for him also? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[twinkletoes4445]

I'm afraid that I wont make it to the company in time, How long does it take to get off the ship when you are tendering?

 

I varies from ship to ship and depending on how many ships are in port...but it seems like it took us maybe 10 minutes or so to tender from the ship to the port. And then it's another 5 minutes or so to walk to CM's.

 

If you have any concerns, Ruth or Joan at CM's will be able to help you with deciding.

[twinkletoes4445]

Hi Twinkletoes,

With all the great advice on the boards I plan on booking Captain Marvin's to singray city for our March Carnival Freedom cruise. My brother-in-law also has some knee problems and I read that the walk was OK for you. Also, he's also on the heavy side so do you think the walk from the tender to the Captain's will be OK for him also? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

It should be okay, but I'd bet if he really couldn't get there, you could have him wait at the end of the tender location, or a block down from the tendering and see if they'd swing up and get him. It's really only a few blocks...not that far. I'd e-mail CM's and ask them about this. They are very accommodating. And after the tour, they usually drop everyone off at their office, but I'd bet they take him up closer to the port area if he needed them to do this. I doubt they want to get in the middle of the port area, it tends to be a zoo, but just a block or so away is not that bad. The first time we were in GC, we were on a ship. After our excursion with them, the driver took everyone back to the office area, and then they took us a back a block or two to Rackham's so we could have a late lunch.

 

You might also tell your BIL that he should have no problems getting in and out of the boat. The ladder extends well into the water. My one knee (back then) absolutely did not bend. I had very limited motion and I was worried that if I had to try and get out of the water I wouldn't be able to get out. We've seen people of all shapes and sizes on this tour and no one had any problems getting in and out of the water.

 

I always take something for pain right before I walk...or I used to (I am lucky in that my arthritis is now under control!). You might see if he can do this also. But check with CM's...they are the nicest people and will work with you to make your short stay on the island a good one.

 

By the way...I am a fluffy gal myself (well, I was "fluffier" back then when I wasn't able to walk)...so tell your BIL not to worry. I had the exact same concerns as he did the first time we did this. :)

[tamcase]

I am looking into doing the 2 hour stingray city and snorkel with Captain Marvins. My question is this. Our docking times are 7:00AM-2:00PM. We are on the Inspiration-our first cruise ever-are these times the same as the Cayman time? I am trying to determine what times are good to book-there are 2 different options 8:30-10:30 and 11:15-1:15. What time is best??? It seems like the times are close and we don't want to be out the $$$ if for some reason the ship doesn't dock or we miss the tour and we don't want to miss the ship on a return trip-yikes! Soooo much to think about.

[scgirl816]

I would be more comfortable doing the early tour if I were you. I doubt you would be late back to the ship, but I wouldn't want to chance it. Our ship left someone on land last year! If you do the 8:30 trip, you have to check in at CM at 8am. I think that's plenty of time if you are ready to get off the ship when it docks.

[Angel59920]

Thanks so much for your help.

[cruisergrandma]

We just returned from the Carnival Legend. We booked Stingray City combined with Hell/Turtle Farm Island Tour with Capt. Marvin. We had a very short walk to their offices and signed in. We had a group of 12 and were a little disappointed that we were not a group unto ourselves. We had a short wait until the others (6 more) joined us. From there is was a short bus trip to the boat taking us to Stingray City. It was wonderful ! ! ! ! Water was a little rough that morning so it was hard to stand up but, it was crystal clear and the stingrays were friendly. We had a great time. Capt. Marvin's has someone onboard taking a video of the experience. They sell this for $50 but, if you are in a group they only charge $15 for each additional copy. We all purchased one and averaged out the cost. It would up costing us $22.50 each including shipping. We then did a short snorkleing stop. Upon return to shore our group were the only ones continuing on for the island tour. The turtle farm is really nice. We had been there before the turtle farm was destroyed by hurricane Ivan and the new compound is much nicer than the old one. Do not plan to eat at the Turtle Farm's restaurant unless you want to spend a lot of money. We got 2 hot dogs with fries and 2 fountain cokes - cost was $19.55 - a bit too much for hot dogs! ! They do have hot dog stands which are much more reasonable priced! We then had a short stop in Hell before returning to town. The tour was great and I HIGHLY recommend Capt. Marvins. Cost of this tour was about 1/2 what you pay on the ship.

[lp1980]

Im glad you had such a nice trip :D . We are going on our first cruise aboard the Legend and stop at Grand Cayman also. I plan to book with C Marvin's as well.

 

We are suppose to get there at from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM. I'm not sure how long it will take us to get off the ship. Someone suggested I ask someone that has been on this ship so I hope you can help me. I would appreciate it.

 

We aren't too interested in the turtle farm or hell. Any other suggestions?

 

lu

[cruisergrandma]

You can do the Stingray City tour without the Island Tour. It is priced separately. If you are paying by cash ask for a discount. We saved 10% by paying in cash. We did what they called the 'short excursion' but, we had plenty of time. Our tour was scheduled for 8:30 and they asked that we be at their office by 8. We did not have to get tender tickets at Grand Cayman and had no problems getting off ship right after tenders started running. I don't know exactly what time we left the ship but, we had plenty of time. After the tour several from our group had lunch at Margaritaville (beware that their menu is priced in Cayman dollars not US - ask for US prices). We just walked around town and shopped.

[Akiba]

Just got back from cruise Mariner of the Sea.Used capt marvin's group for the second time in 1 yr and can't say enough good things .They are pleaseant they took us to 3 locations 2 to snorkle 1 to feed and swim with the rays at the sandbar.Boats never overfull safe and competant crews and boats spotless.

we did a half day 3 location cruise 3 hrs and you get them right across from the tender docks.

They make it fun safe and user friendly.

[mlbcruiser]

Does anyone know if Capt. Marvin's will drop people off at 7 Mile beach after their excursion? (I understand some of the private snorkelking tour operators will do this.)

 

Also, we are considering their half day or shorter 2 1/2 hr. excursion. Does anyone know which, or if both, are on the larger, cabin cruiser type boats? We would prefer not to go in the smaller boat. There are 7 in our party and some of the people have never snorkeled before.

 

Thanks for any info!

[lifeonthewater]

I signed up with capt. Marvin last night. How long does it take for a comfimation? We leave saturday. Does anyone have a phone number for him?

[mlbcruiser]

We went ahead and booked w/Capt. Bryan after getting an immed. response to my inquiry. The catamarans they use look very nice. I think there are several good snorkel tour operators in Gr. Cayman and you probably can't go wrong w/about any of the ones mentioned on this site. Thanks for all the info. those of you who have posted!

[tkdtami]

We just returned home from our cruise tonight...Navigator (RCCL) and our last stop was Grand Cayman. Capt. Marvin's is a top-notch vendor. His staff is friendly, and very helpful. We had originally booked the short excursion because our ship wasn't going to be in port early enough, but our ship got there before 9, our capt. said we could hop on a tender without a ticket, so we did. Once at the pier, we walked across the street to Capt. Marvin's, and they let us on the longer tour! The bus left at 9:30 to take us to their boat, which was spotless. Not very large, which is fine with me. There were about 24 people. The larger the boat, the larger the group. I prefer smaller. We did the three stop. Had a blast. Highly recommend Capt. Marvin's!

[mlbcruiser]

One of the reasons we didn't end up booking w/Capt. Marvin was I didn't get a timely response from them and got a very quick one from Capt. Bryan. That may not matter in regard to quality of the experience, but we are close to our sailing date and I am responsible for the others in our group. Just wanted to get the booking done with.

[canadian cruising couple]

I phoned Capt. Marvin's at 1-345-945-7306 and talked to a lady who gave me details regarding availabilty, etc - she was very pleasant and helpful! I will just phone her to book - much quicker than email.

 

There is also a toll free number on their website - 1-866-978-6364 - but this didn't work from Canada.