Stingray city - looking for realistic example of cruise boat capacity vs private tour

[lrmg1228]

If you purchase this excursion from the cruise line what can you realistic expect?

[christineann]

I have been to the sandbar twice with Nativeway, and though I don't know the capacity of the ship excursions, it appeared that the boats were crowded, which made it difficult for a large number of people to get off the boat into the water. There were 12 or fewer on the Nativeway boats both times I went, and they anchored the boats on the other side of the sandbar away from the crowds.

[lrmg1228]

Thanks for that info. I sent an email earlier today to Nativeway and have yet to hear back from them. What's funny is there was another person on the boards who seemed to have the same problem in the past and everybody that used Nativeway seemed really surprised. I have now sent emails from both my office and home email address in the hopes of a response.

[christineann]

Give Nativeway a couple of days to respond - they will. I hope you have a great trip!

[lancemib]

If you purchase this excursion from the cruise line what can you realistic expect?

Booked the stingrays and Grand Harbor Lunch through RCI and the boat had about 25 passengers. Had a great time and not crowded at all.

[ricks2047]

Went on a Carnival excursion there. The boat was crowded. and there were at least three other excursion boats there at the same time. The place was a mob scene. But there is still a method to the madness. What I found was that people are hesitant to be first in. (I take advantage of that and am always ready to hop in as soon as the boat stops). So be ready to go and miss the later rush. I also noticed that people were getting back on the boat way before time to leave. (Getting tired? Bored? Cold? I don't know). So if you stay in the water till the end you wil have the area to yourself. In the middle time when everybody is in the water? It was fun to just hang on the fringes and watch people interact with the rays. For the most part you just stand on the sandbar. At this time I snorkeld around the group and got some really funny underwater shots.

Have a blast on whichever excursion you take.

[carm225]

DH and I booked the excursion through Carnival. While there were tons of people booked on this excursion, they broke you into groups and you went with your group on a tour (we did turtle farm, hell and stingray city) and barely saw the other groups. There were between probably 15-20 on our boat at Stingray City. However, the sandbar was packed with tons of other tours. Our guide had us get in a circle and they had a large stingray in the center that they brought around for us to all touch and then everyone got a chance to get their picture taken. After that was done, you could snorkel around on your own. You probably could have opted out of the "circle time" and snorkeled the whole time, but we wanted the pictures.

 

Overall, I didn't feel crowded at all once on the tour. Waiting for it to begin is a different story. It meets right where the tender gets out, so there were tons of people packed in a small space. Once it got going it was fine.

[EBallgrl]

Used Nativeways last year...there were a total of 4 people on the island tour and when we got on the boat for Stingray city we met up with another couple and their baby. That was it! It was SO personal, and got lots of attention from the guides and the stingrays! While looking around we noticed some other boats looked like people were standing shoulder to shoulder. Not sure what companies they were but they were CROWDED! I am using Nativeways again this October for the same tour.

[bookbabe]

Generally, the private tours seem to have less people on each boat than the cruise line excursions. However, the number of boats at Stingray City is also a factor in your enjoyment. More boats equal less stingrays per person, if you know what I mean. :D If there's a lot of cruise ships in that day, chances are that it will be fairly crowded at Stingray City, no matter what kind of excursion you're on. It might work to vary the standard pattern instead...take a later excursion and do your shopping or beach time in the morning, instead of the usual system of stingrays first then shopping/beach.

[kapono]

We just returned from our cruise and booked Native Way for our Stingray city tour. We were a little disappointed that there were about 25 people on the boat since so many people who posted here have gone on this trip with fewer people, but it's just your luck how many people sign up that day. Obviously they will fill the boat to capacity unless you pay the premium to book the whole boat. It wasn't a problem for us and we had plenty of room on the boat and no problem getting on and off the boat at the different snorkeling spots.

Yes, there were lots of other boats at Stingray city, but the guides know how to handle this and you are away from the other people and have plenty of time to interact with the stingrays.

[lrmg1228]

I heard back from Sharon with Nativeway yesterday and I think we are going to book the Stingray and Island Tour through them. My son and his financee' will be on the cruise and they are going with one off the ship. They just want to go to the sandbar, my daughter would like to go to the Turtle Farm so this foots the bill for about $20.00 less per person than the boat. I tend to feel more comfortable with the ship excursions, but I've read nothing but good about Nativeway so I feel comfortable giving them a try. It's all a learning experience as to what works best for the individual. At all the other ports I'm using the ship for my excursions. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

[christineann]

I think you will be very comfortable with Nativeway. We went with them on our very first cruise after reading the recommendations on this board, and my sister and I went with them earlier this month - both were great trips. Their guides know a lot about the rays and will pick a spot at the sandbar away from the crowds. The price is good, too! Have a great time, and let us know how your cruise is.

[Pennv2000]

Just got back from using Native Way for a stingray and snorkling excursion. People were very nice. About 15 people on the boat. The photographer, George, from Scotland, was very nice. Only problem I had was the condition of the boat. It needed a really good scrubbing, especially the "head" which was GROSS. The two teen helpers, Moses and James were a hoot. Cute kids. Nice day all in all, but they need to spend some money on up-keep.

[deputy836]

Your choice to go with a private tour group was best. Booking with the cruise ship will ensure that there would be about 100 people on your boat to see the Stingrays, whereas the private companies usually only have a maximum of 25 ppl per trip. Have fun

[naniefran]

We were also hesitant to book outside of the cruise lines at first...but we just got back, we used Nativeway in GC and could not have been happier! We compared with cruise line excursion bookers, and they too thought we got the better deal and less crowds. You will enjoy Nativeway and they are on top of things, so no worries.