Carnival Grand Cayman Shore excursion

[nikken79]

I will be onboard the Inspiration on July 5. I am trying to pick something to do in Grand Cayman my DD, DH, and I would like to go snorkeling. I am trying to see if it would be wise of me to book a snorkeling trip with the cruiseline rather than independently due to the short amount of time the boat is docked in Grand Cayman 7-2. I have checked around and besides being possibly less crowded there is not much of a price difference booking through Carnival vice independently maybe equal or 5 dollars more. If someone could give me a little advice it would be greatly appreciated.

[BCFD 2357]

We did the Stingray City and Rum Point Beach excursion and booked it throught Carnival and would have to say that was the absolute best excursion we have ever done so far :D You are at the beach for an hour and half and can snorkel there.

Lots of pictures of it in my signature under Inspiration

[briarjumper]

I did the sting ray city tour. It was the best tour I have ever been on. I waited until i got off the ship and some one on the pier set up the tour for about half price. They also let us do snorkeling on the same tour. You will love Sting Ray City.

[Grits53]

We snorkeled on our own at Eden Rock (Paradise Cafe) last week, and it was some of the best snorkeling we have ever done. It is a short walk from the pier, and you go at your own pace. We have our own snorkels but had to rent vests and fins. They charged us $20 per person for that. I think I heard them say it would be $25 if you needed the snorkels, too. Still, quite a bargain compared to organized excursions.

 

The water was crystal clear, and we saw many beautiful fish, very nice reefs, and DH saw a sea turtle. There are 3 or 4 huge, friendly fish that hang out right at the ladder where you enter the water. I think someone said they are groupers. I'd say the biggest one was around 6' long! We were very pleasantly surprised at the quality of snorkeling at a location so near the cruise ships. You'd think you were at some remote island! If you go to Eden Rock soon after docking, it will not be crowded. Later in the day, more people show up. There are beach chairs there, but the beach is rocky. You can enjoy some sun there, though. We highly recommend Eden Rock for great snorkeling! If you do go, bear in mind that the farther you go out, the more reefs and sea life there are. I plan to get my underwater camera film developed tomorrow and will post pics after that.

 

However, as seen in my avatar, we also love the stingrays and highly recommend seeing them, too! :D

[Travel Angel]

Normally I would say use an independant tour operator (smaller groups and usually better savings on an apples to apples comparison tour and usually more than a $5 difference !), but due to limited time in port, I would say use the cruiseline on this one to be assured you are back on time for the last tender back to ship.

[Smudge49]

HI,

 

Through Cruise Critic I got the name Captain Marvin's which is an independent tour operator in Grand Cayman. They actually have a 2 hour tour which does both Sting Ray city and snorkeling leaving at 8:30 and getting back by 10:30. I have emailed Joan at Captain Marvin's a couple times and she has always responded in a timely manner. Hope that helps!

[deputy836]

Go with mobydicktours.com to Stingray city...the $35 price includes bus trip, boat ride, snorkeling (& gear), and sting ray city...and the boat is much smaller than the one Carnival uses, so you have a much better time I think, not as crowded.