Nativeway Snorkeling / Rhapsody

[Ed R.]

My family is going to be on Royal Carribean's Rhapsody of the Seas this summer and will be stopping in Grand Cayman. Want to snorkel in morning and am looking at Nativeway. The ship is scheduled to arrive at 7:00am Central Time and the tour leaves the dock at 8:30am. With how the tenders work, is that enough time to catch this tour or is it better to try the next latest tour? Comments and experiences are appreciated.

[Bebet]

We did this same tour last month. We were to arrive on the dock around 8:30. We did and sat and waited for about 30 minutes before we left. The tenders are large so if you get down there and get off the ship early then you shouldn't have too many problems. The one thing I found helpful is that we brought our own snorkles and mask and fins. You don't have to, they have them to rent but we didn't have a problem carrying them around (they came with their own "backpack" from SAMS). Anyhow...the snorkles you use from this company (and the one in Cozumel) are just the plastic tube types. We had the ones that had the valve at the top so water wouldn't enter the tube. When you dove down the hole got plugged up. The waves were quite high the day we went, it was our first time to snorkle, I think we had a bette job of it because the type of snorkle we had. The others had no protection from the water entering the tube, some people had a hard time with that. You can just buy your own snorkle and borrow the mask...any way just my 2 cents. We enjoyed our snorkling/stingray city trip.

Rhapsody of the Seas 3/04

[izzyvet]

We also had no problem with the meeting time. We were on the Grandeur, which is a very similar ship. We got on the first tender without a problem and also waited about 20 minutes, as we were early. Turns out we could have caught the second or third tender and still made it with plenty of time. But I hate being late!

Izzy

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[DMorris]

We used Nativeway in Grand Cayman in November. they were the highlight of our cruise. Their groups are much smaller than the other tour operators so you had more personalized time with the stingrays and snorkeling. It was the highlight of our cruise. Don't miss it. You will have plenty of time to get off the ship. You may have to stand in a long line for the tender, but it is not bad at all. The tenders are huge. Have a blast.

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[Samdel]

Hi,
I agree with Deanna, we had a absolutely fabulous time with Nativeway. You just email them at [url="http://www.nativewaywatersports.com,"]www.nativewaywatersports.com,[/url] and they will get back to you. Good thing, you don't pay until you're on the tour...especially since it's sometimes difficult to tender into G. Cayman.
Also, I wish I had taken my own snorkel/mask, which I left at home like a dummy. Every mask I tried, water poured in. I missed a lot by not taking my own. We got ours at Sports Authority, and at $29, was well worth it.
Try Nativeway, I know you won't be disappointed. Our group was 14 people, and others were about 35-40. Much more individual attention, etc, and they emailed us our picture back to our computer, cost of $15. It's awesome.
Have a great time, and happy sailing.!

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[lafngas]

You should have no problem getting to the pier in time to meet Nativeway. We did this last month and it was a terrific tour. Eldon had a sign for his company and he is very tall(probably 6'4") so it was easy to find him! I am so glad I bought the videotape of our tour,and even though it was $44, our group of 7 saved so much compared to RCI that it more than paid for itself. Quality of the film was superb, and we have laughed ourselves silly watching our encounters with the rays. Better souvenir than any digital photos,etc.