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Grand Turk Reef and Rays Excursion Review


bankonus

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Just returned from triumph June 8th cruise and booked this excursion through Carnival.

 

WE ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS ONE!!!

 

We had done a snorkel in St. Thomas before arriving in Grand Turk, and did not have the best experience. This trip made up for it! The ride to the snorkel sight was awesome with a very professional crew. We snorkeled for 35-40 minutes in an awesome reef with a ton of fish and stingrays to see. There were sea cucumbers, living coral, all kinds of beautiful fish and we were just really impressed here.

 

Then we boarded the boat to a little sandbar out in the middle of the water which was absolutely loaded with stingrays that would swim between your legs and our kids just loved it!! The guides held the rays for the kids to kiss and put them in their arms to hold, and they just really loved it. We had done a stingray excursion in Grand cayman and this one was just as good. They gave you fish to feed the rays and plenty of time to swim and play with them. This was an awesome trip which I recommend wholeheartedly! They also videotape the whole trip underwater and above and include a DVD of the Island as well. The price is 30.00 which there is absolutely no pressure to buy. You approach them if you want it, not the other way around. We purchased it and it is mailed to you at your house in about 2 weeks time. Other trips I have taken they have charged 50.00 and kept asking us to buy it. So we thought this was a good deal and we tipped them well when we left as they went out of their way to make sure everyone had a great time with the rays.

 

Just a note- I think when you purchase the DVD they make a note of what you are wearing to make sure they put you on the DVD alot. He wrote down our swimsuit colors and descriptions under our order as a mental note to himself I think. What a great way to do business for your customers. So if you plan on getting the DVD get out there in front of that camera!!!!

 

Will be happy to answer any questions.

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Glad to read this review as I was wondering how this excursion was. Our family and friends ages 8-60 are heading out on the Miracle next summer. Of course I am already looking at excursions. Did the catamaran have a covered area? My one SIL is not a sun person but would enjoy the ride and the kids having fun.

 

Thanks Polly

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Glad to read this review as I was wondering how this excursion was. Our family and friends ages 8-60 are heading out on the Miracle next summer. Of course I am already looking at excursions. Did the catamaran have a covered area? My one SIL is not a sun person but would enjoy the ride and the kids having fun.

 

Thanks Polly

 

This boat is not a catamaran, it's a large motorboat. And yes it had a cover on it, which was nice since the sun was beaming that day. :D

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thanks for the review of this excursion! I'll be doing it in about a month. The Rays both awe me and freak me out. :D I just knew in GT I HAD to do something in the water, and hoped I'd picked a good excursion.

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thanks for the review of this excursion! I'll be doing it in about a month. The Rays both awe me and freak me out. :D I just knew in GT I HAD to do something in the water, and hoped I'd picked a good excursion.

 

You will not be disappointed with this one. The rays kind of freaked me out to, but in a good way. They are all over the place here! The guides do a great time giving everyone a chance to hold and feed them. Very professional also. Can't wait to get the dvd in the mail and see what it looks like.

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Just returned from triumph June 8th cruise and booked this excursion through Carnival.

 

WE ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS ONE!!!

 

We had done a snorkel in St. Thomas before arriving in Grand Turk, and did not have the best experience. This trip made up for it! The ride to the snorkel sight was awesome with a very professional crew. We snorkeled for 35-40 minutes in an awesome reef with a ton of fish and stingrays to see. There were sea cucumbers, living coral, all kinds of beautiful fish and we were just really impressed here.

 

Then we boarded the boat to a little sandbar out in the middle of the water which was absolutely loaded with stingrays that would swim between your legs and our kids just loved it!! The guides held the rays for the kids to kiss and put them in their arms to hold, and they just really loved it. We had done a stingray excursion in Grand cayman and this one was just as good. They gave you fish to feed the rays and plenty of time to swim and play with them. This was an awesome trip which I recommend wholeheartedly! They also videotape the whole trip underwater and above and include a DVD of the Island as well. The price is 30.00 which there is absolutely no pressure to buy. You approach them if you want it, not the other way around. We purchased it and it is mailed to you at your house in about 2 weeks time. Other trips I have taken they have charged 50.00 and kept asking us to buy it. So we thought this was a good deal and we tipped them well when we left as they went out of their way to make sure everyone had a great time with the rays.

 

Just a note- I think when you purchase the DVD they make a note of what you are wearing to make sure they put you on the DVD alot. He wrote down our swimsuit colors and descriptions under our order as a mental note to himself I think. What a great way to do business for your customers. So if you plan on getting the DVD get out there in front of that camera!!!!

 

Will be happy to answer any questions.

 

Thanks!!:) May mom and I are from Germany and we are going on the same cruise in 2 weeks. The only stop where I wasnt sure of which excusrions to book is Grand Turk. I just cant decide between Gibbs Cay, Reef & Rays and the Ultimate Snorkel. I would like to do 2 tours but I think we wont have enough time. However I am more leaning towards the tour you did now but its difficult. Do you know anything about the other tours and why have you decided for this one?

 

thanks,

anja

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We picked this one because we have done the stingrays before and LOVED them. It is really a unique experience if you haven't done it before. I haven't heard anything about the other excursions either though. I will say everyone on our trip loved this one.

We took the first time as there are 2 times for this excursion. My husband stayed on the beach and snorkeled for hours after our excursion was done while us girls went shopping.

Some friends of ours rented the golf carts and explored the island on their own which might be a good idea to do after your excursion to make the most out of your time on the island. The golf carts are located on the other side of the shopping pavillion when you get off the ship. This is a relatively new stop for the cruise ships, so it hasn't been spoiled by tourists too much.

 

Happy Cruising to you!!!

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Thanks for posting a review of this. I'm thinking of doing this while my DH and 3 DS's are on the dune buggy excursion. How far in advance can you book an excursion? We are sailing next June. (yes, I like to plan ahead).:D

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We picked this one because we have done the stingrays before and LOVED them. It is really a unique experience if you haven't done it before. I haven't heard anything about the other excursions either though. I will say everyone on our trip loved this one.

We took the first time as there are 2 times for this excursion. My husband stayed on the beach and snorkeled for hours after our excursion was done while us girls went shopping.

Some friends of ours rented the golf carts and explored the island on their own which might be a good idea to do after your excursion to make the most out of your time on the island. The golf carts are located on the other side of the shopping pavillion when you get off the ship. This is a relatively new stop for the cruise ships, so it hasn't been spoiled by tourists too much.

 

Happy Cruising to you!!!

 

Thanks very much, I will book it right now!! Thanks to your great review!:D

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Thanks for posting a review of this. I'm thinking of doing this while my DH and 3 DS's are on the dune buggy excursion. How far in advance can you book an excursion? We are sailing next June. (yes, I like to plan ahead).:D

 

 

Not quite sure how far in advance you can book, just keep checking if it's available on the Carnival site for purchase. Have a Great Time...I know you will!!!

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I wanna say about 40 people. There is plenty of room to swim in different areas. The waters were calm. We have two 12 years old girls with us. They make you wear a snorkel vest. We didn't want to wear ours as we have snorkeled many times, and the girls like to dive down under. They said we don't care how you wear it, we're just required to make sure it's on your body. The girls wore theirs around their waist to make it easier.:D

 

Quick note- If you plan on buying the DVD (We got ours in the mail yesterday! Very Nice!!!!) tell them at the beginning to make sure and get you as much as they can, and have them get you doing the stingrays on video. He will definately be accomodating for that.

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Thanks for the quick response. I'm not sure what were going to do. I would love this excursion but my 70yr old parents are concerned about snorkeling from the boat. We have a couple of 7yr olds going with us who have never snorkeled before so its a concern for them as well. thanks again

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I will give you some advice about snorkeling with kids. We first took our girls when they were 7 years old in Cozumel. We had planned a snorkel excursion from shore so figured it would be okay for the girls. Once we suited up, and they did not offer swim vests, the girls took off out into the deep. They were out there for over an hour and never tired. We were in pretty deep water and the girls had no trouble at all. I did not realize that the reason they had no trouble is because the salt water is so buoyant. You can float with very little effort because of this. You almost have to force yourself under. I was panicked for the girls for the first 5 minutes then forgot all about it.

You will be snorkeling around a reef, so they don't make you jump off into the great depths of the ocean. You can see the ground right below you. As long as you can swim, and not even expertly, but moderately, you will be fine. I am not a strong swimmer, kind of an expert dogpaddler with some occasional strokes thrown in, and I was off like a champ. You can climb down the ladder into the water and get back on whenever you're ready. They also have tour guides in the water swimming with people.

All I'm saying is don't be discouraged from trying it, it's much easier than it looks. Getting suited up is more complicated. :eek:

Hope you have fun whatever you decide to do.

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Thanks for the latest update on this excursion. We have booked this one for August and cant wait as it seems awesome. I really think the kids will like it. We also viewed this excursion online (you tube) and it looks incredible. Not particular to the rays but do think it will be fine as they seem so calm and almost tamed (I know they are wild though) in the video.

 

Here is the link if your interested. I hear you better book early.

 

:cool:
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We just did this excursion on the June 22 sailing of the Caribbean Princess and while we LOVED it, I wanted to add a word of caution. You can not always predict the seas ;) We had VERY rough seas with heavy currents, luckly there were no small children, many adults had a hard time making it back to the boat becacause the tide had carried them so far.

 

My legs are fairly well scratched up from being tossed onto the reef, and my husband and I snorkle often. I do want to add however, we did have a unusually rough sailing.....I don't think it's anywhere near the norm.

 

Again we still LOVED the excursion and would do it again in a heartbeat :D

 

Anne

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The video is $30.00 and worth every penny! Most of the excursions I've been on want $50.00 and I thought that was steep. It takes about 2 weeks for them to mail it to you. We got it 13 days after our excursion.

It was just like the experience of the youtube video posted here.

 

Have Fun!!!

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Wow that was a awesome utube video..i just loved it. Is Oasis Divers the same company that Carnival uses?

 

Thanks-Polly

 

I'm pretty sure it's the same company since 2 of the excursion guys in the youtube video were on our excursion. It also says the same thing after our DVD finishes. However it didn't say outright who we were booking with on our tickets. But since the names and the faces are the same, I would have to say yes.

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Hi, I just wanted to say Thank you for your thoughts and opinions on the Reef & Ray Tour. My family and I are going and we wanted to know how much it cost per person. It would really help if any1 can let us know. Thanks!!

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Hi, I just wanted to say Thank you for your thoughts and opinions on the Reef & Ray Tour. My family and I are going and we wanted to know how much it cost per person. It would really help if any1 can let us know. Thanks!!

 

I booked several excursions through Carnival so I don't remember what this one cost. If you booked through Carnival you can go to their website, pick shore excursions for Grand Turk then check the price. Since I don't have a cruise booked, it's not showing me the prices just general info on the excursions. Sorry. I want to say somewhere in the neighborhood of $67.00 a person though. Very worth it.

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Fitz2, we are 70 &72 and we have booked the ultimate snorkel expedition.

My concern was how hard it woud be to get off and on the boat in the water. (2 knee replacements). After seeing a video I think on You Tube we decided to go for it. Bottom line, they are not going to drive off and leave us in the water.

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