Grand Cayman- snorkeling

[cruiser1163]

This is my first post, so sorry if I miss some points. Pleast dont harass me too much haha.

 

I was curious who to use for snorkeling. Should I go through RCCL? I have checked out Captain Marvins and they look like a good bet. Does anybody have any suggestions? Also, any suggestions for what to do after the half day excursion?

 

Is Hell worth the trip? I have heard they actually stamp "Hell" as the postmark when you send something, so I think that would be cool.

 

Any ideas for lunch? We like to eat on the islands to get some of the culture.

 

thanks for the replies in advance

[cruiser1163]

Also, I have checked out the board for Grand Cayman, so no need to tell me to do that. haha sorry I meant to put that in the first post.

 

We are sailing on NOS on December 8th, 2007. Anybody joining us?

[chascougs]

I went with Capt Marvin's about 4 years ago and had a ball. Maybe 15 people on the boat, stopped at 3 places for snorkle and spent about an hour at Stingray City. Easy walk to the office after you tender in and then they took us by van to the marina. Would use them again in a heartbeat.

[AudioFilly]

We have now been to Grand Cayman twice. The first time we did the snorkeling with Ebanks Watersports. Their website is their name without the space and dot com. They are a smaller company but part of the same family that runs Captain Marvins. We actually ended up putting together a private charter with other people we met on our roll call. It was a very relaxed way to go.

 

On our second trip we did the Island tour through RCL that had stops at both the Turtle Farm and Hell. Thankfully we had planned ahead and had pre-printed message labels and address labels for the postcards we were going to send. I think they gave us about 15 minutes at the stop. In that time we had to rush into one of the stores, pick out postcards, go to the next building over which was the post office, purchase stamps, slap all of our labels on, mail the postcards and then try to rush back behind the buildings to see the coral formations that give the place it's name. Had we not pre-printed everything, I don't think there is any way we could have sent more than one postcard.

 

We felt incredibly rushed on every stop with the tour we booked through the ship. It would make us hesitate about ever doing it again. I really like grabbing a taxi at ports and negotiating a tour rate with the driver. That way we can leisurely take our time and see the things that interest us.

[JJSMaine]

On my first trip there on the Carnival Triumph, I slept late ( read my review for more) jumped on an uncrowded tender to the dock. I asked at the info booth and was directed a 1/4 down the road to a yellow hut on the water. I paid some silly small amount of $$ to rent mask/snorkle/fins and had a great time right there, without all the hassle and rush. The reefs and fish were very good with clear water and lots of color. The real kicker was floating on my back and looking up and down the shore line and tour boats packed with people, doing exactly what I was at much more cost.

 

Stingray city is also an awesome experience having those Rays rub up against you like a cat!

[chascougs]

On my first trip there on the Carnival Triumph, I slept late ( read my review for more) jumped on an uncrowded tender to the dock. I asked at the info booth and was directed a 1/4 down the road to a yellow hut on the water. I paid some silly small amount of $$ to rent mask/snorkle/fins and had a great time right there, without all the hassle and rush. The reefs and fish were very good with clear water and lots of color. The real kicker was floating on my back and looking up and down the shore line and tour boats packed with people, doing exactly what I was at much more cost.

 

Stingray city is also an awesome experience having those Rays rub up against you like a cat!

 

Eden's rock I believe. Right next to Abanks dive shop (I remember the name cause it was used in the book The Firm.) Our first trip to GC all excursions were cancelled due to rough seas and high winds, went to Eden's Rock and snorkeled for a couple of hours while the wife read a book on shore. Was a nice afternoon.

[alphakitty]

There is some great info on the boards for Eden Rock. Here is a members website with lots of pics.

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/eden_rock.htm

 

Here is a thread with info

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=382577&highlight=eden+rock

 

And here are the search results for Eden Rock. Very easy to do on your own and walking distance from the ship. :) Hope it helps.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=7854373

[CruiseCrAzieS]

This will be our second trip to Cayman and we decided to book the "Rays, Reef and Rum Point" tour with Native Ways. We have heard awesome things about them and I think for the price you get a lot of perks!! It includes a picnic lunch, beverages, food for the stingrays and this tour also departs right at the cruise ship terminal! This tour is 5 hrs long and costs $60 A - $45 C Here is their website for more info.

http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/

 

 

[cruiser1163]

Thanks for the ideas. I will have to talk to my brother about it. He is graduating from college and I'm paying for his cruise as his gift, so I'll need to be as inexpensive as possible, but I don't want to miss out on anything either.

 

Keep them coming.

[sk8man]

Nativeways is a great group. We have used them 3 times now and each time was better than the one before. Very friendly and just a great group of people.

[cruiser1163]

Thanks for all the input. I did check out Native Ways, and while it seems wonderful, I don't think we can afford it and we'd like to be able to do a couple of other things while on the island.

 

I want to give some props to Captain Marvins. I sent them an email with my concerns (mainly that I'm a recent college graduate paying for my brother's cruise for his graduation present) and they emailed me back in only a couple of hours. They said that if we paid in cash they would give each of us a 10% discount. We will use this 10% to give a better tip to our guide. Thanks Captain Marvins.

[Jimmers]

That's so nice of you to treat your brother to a cruise.

 

If you really want to go the least expensive route, Eden's rock is probably your best bet. They are located about a 10 minute walk from the pier. Just go right and follow the pier around. Great people there. They'll hook you up with some decent snorkeling for the cost of renting the equipment.

 

If you can spring the extra money Stingray City is definitely something you should do. If you do the combo barrier reef/stingray city, you'll get to snorkel plus play with the stingrays. We even petted a nurse shark and moray eel at the barrier reef. We did the ship's excursion but I've heard nothing BUT good about Capt. Marvins.

 

Hell was a big disappointment for us. It was just a field of rock formations. Though it was a great marketing idea to give the town that name. That's really the only reason to go is to get the postcards or t shirts.

 

Never sampled the local cuisine. They have a Margaritaville and a Senor Frogs there. Not a good shopping place if you're looking for good buys.

 

I'm sure you'll have a great time cruising. We took our two young adult children on their first cruise in August and they had the time of their life. Of course we hardly ever saw them. They partied all night in the Catacomb club and slept a good part of the days.

 

Jimmers:)

[cruiser1163]

Yeah, I looked into the Eden Rock thing. I decided that since we're not going to do an excursion in Ocho Rios that I could afford the Captain Morgan's thing. I mean, for $40 you get 2 1/2 hours and they're giving us a discount. I thought that was a pretty good idea. I definitely did not want to miss the Sting Ray City adventure, so that's included which helped me make my decision.

 

Thanks so much for your input. We are going to have a great time I am sure. This will be our second cruise (both with RCCL). We went last year for spring break when I was a senior and had the time of our lives, so we're really looking forward to getting back on.

[nancez]

We snorkeled last Februay in Grand Cayman with RCCL. It was my daughters(13 and 10) 1st cruise and 1st snorkel. We did the Reef and Wreck tour...my 13 yr old loved it...10 yr old chickened out and stayed on the snorkel boat. The price wasn't bad and we had a great time. 13 yr old didn't want to get back in the boat when it was over. I am glad we did the excursion and it was cheap in price. I would book with RCCL again...and we will,...going out of San Juan in February. Have fun.

[cruiser1163]

We snorkeled last Februay in Grand Cayman with RCCL. It was my daughters(13 and 10) 1st cruise and 1st snorkel. We did the Reef and Wreck tour...my 13 yr old loved it...10 yr old chickened out and stayed on the snorkel boat. The price wasn't bad and we had a great time. 13 yr old didn't want to get back in the boat when it was over. I am glad we did the excursion and it was cheap in price. I would book with RCCL again...and we will,...going out of San Juan in February. Have fun.

 

 

Were there a lot of people on your snorkel boat since you booked with RCCL? I have heard they pack them on there, whereas Captain Marvins claims they have an average of 25....just trying to get the best out of our experience.

[morebeaches]

Even though it is not snorkeling....you must must must do Stingray City. It is the coolest excursion I have done in all my travels. And it can be linked with snorkeling.

[cruiser1163]

Even though it is not snorkeling....you must must must do Stingray City. It is the coolest excursion I have done in all my travels. And it can be linked with snorkeling.

 

 

Captain Marvins includes StingRay City with the snorkeling all for $40. This seems pretty good to me. I wouldn't miss the sting rays for anything.

[TEXASMUNK]

We are frequent travelers to GC and Always, always, always use CM.

He is the guy who started the whole Sting Ray city. His reef snorkel will include a couple of interesting features....the green eel, the nurse shark (if ou can get the folks to not flop around the water but be still, the nurse shark will come around (don't worry, its mouth couldn't hurt anyone.

[island lady]

After a an overpriced "excursion" during my last trip to the Cayman's, which consisted of simply snorkling a few hundred yards from where the tenders from the ship pull in, we decided to regroup.

 

My next trip, we brought our own snorkel gear, and set off from the seawalls along the shores there. Be careful of the local wildlife along the shoreline...and push off.

 

Wonderful time, and no schedule to keep...except to be back for dinner.

 

Cheers! :)

[richbum]

DH and I did Captain Marvins last year and it was the highlight of our cruise. We loved the stingrays, and just snorkling in the warm water.:D Have a great trip!

[sagiv666]

This is my first post, so sorry if I miss some points. Pleast dont harass me too much haha.

 

I was curious who to use for snorkeling. Should I go through RCCL? I have checked out Captain Marvins and they look like a good bet. Does anybody have any suggestions? Also, any suggestions for what to do after the half day excursion?

 

Is Hell worth the trip? I have heard they actually stamp "Hell" as the postmark when you send something, so I think that would be cool.

 

Any ideas for lunch? We like to eat on the islands to get some of the culture.

 

thanks for the replies in advance

 

Yes, Hell is for real. You have a chance to go to the post office and send a postcard, etc. to someone from Hell.

Don't miss Stingray City. I love to swim the the stingrays; a picture of me holding one was on my wallpaper at work until I retired.:D