nativeways vs. captain marvin's

[dgjk70]

I am trying to decide between Nativeways and Captian Marvin's on our trip to GC. I like the Nativeways tour because you go to Stingray City and can also get an Island tour (no coral gardens or barrier reef :mad: ). With Captain Marvin's you get Stingray City and Coral Gardens/Barrier Reef so you get the opportunity to see some underwater life. Which would be a better/more memorable experience? It would be nice to get to see a little bit of the culture of GC, however I would also love to snorkel for a great underwater experience. Any advice/opinions to help me decide? Thanks in advance.

[LJLB6]

How long are you in port? You may be able to do the early morning Captain Marvin's excursion, then grab a taxi and do your own tour of the island. Things may have changed since the hurricane, but they used to have a board listing different sightseeing stops and the cost of the taxi to get there. They also had different package deals available if you wanted to make several stops.

[waterbound]

Has Nativeway changed their itenerary?? We used them last October and we went to Stingray City and got to snorkel also.. There was no city tour.. We are using them again in March and are doing the snorkeling and stingray city again.. They are great!!! Will use them every time we visit Cayman Islands..

[cold in MN]

dgjk70,

 

I emailed Nativeway about a tour and she replied back (very promptly I might add) about a stingray AND coral garden tour for $25 per person. It goes from 9am to 11:45. If you go to Nativeway's webpage at http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/shiptours.html#Stingrayisland, it's on there under "Special Tours for Cruise Ship Pasengers.

 

We're planning on doing this so we can have some time lay on the beach and go shopping before getting back on the ship.\

 

Now let's hope we actually make it to Grand Cayman! (We're supposed to be there Nov 11)

 

Hope this helps!

[roohound]

We had booked with Nativeway for this November (alas, had to cancel :( ) and we were doing Sting Ray City and a City tour...at a very sweet price I might add.

 

I highly recommend dealing with Nativeway..even tho we won't be able to use them :( everything leading up to the cancellation was great. Nice people offering a great product....hope to use them another time.

[dgjk70]

We will be in port from 7:00 to 4:00. These are the times on my itinerary from my travel agent. They said these times reflect the actual time at each port. Does this seem correct? I will be on the Carnival Miracle. I'm thinking about doing the Coral Gardens + Stingray City Tour and then seeing if we could also get in the Grand Island Tour as well. I just have to decide if the Island Tour is worthwhile.

[zydecocruiser]

Makes sense to me. I think all of Carnival's newer ships automatically adjust time to reflect reality (ship's time would be local time). Just remember to adjust your watch to keep up and you need to allow for tender time to and from the island.

 

If the ship leaves at 4, the last tender back will probably be at 3. Check the Carnival Capers to be sure.

[teltrainer]

I have no experience with Nativeway but last year we enjoyed the 2 hour Capt. Marvin Stingray/ coral garden trip so much that our next visit (December hopefully!) we have already booked with the Capt. for a longer trip with the stingrays, barrier reef and coral garden. We are buying our own snorkel equipment for this next cruise due to 2 other snorkel ports, but their equipment was in good shape.

 

What we enjoyed: Ruth (in the office) responded quickly to my email questions, small group of only 12 on board the boat, the Capt himself just happened to pilot our boat and was full of great stories (age 80 I believe and doing these snorkel/ ray trips for 30-40 years), his assistant was very helpful, pleasant and excellent with the 3 children on board, the boat was clean and in excellent shape, everything was on time and as promised...with smiles to boot.

 

I'm sure Nativeway does a good job from the comments, but we are really sold on the CM folks.

[bemarshall]

I too have to give a thumbs up for Captain Marvin's. They were awesome on our cruise two years ago and I would highly recommend them. Our ship couldn't dock at the port in Georgetown and went to the other side of the island to dock ... Captain Marvin's was there waiting for us. The boat was beautiful and it was mostly our group on board. Also, we ordered the video and thought it was really well done. Very professional operation all around.

 

Beth

[hkolln]

We used Nativeway for their stingray city + snorkeling tour in March. I also purchased a DVD of the entire tour too which was at the pursers desk on my ship when we arrived back to the ship from shore. It was very nicely done too and we love watching it.

 

I highly recommend Nativeways..the staff was knowledgable, the group size was small, and overall the tour was great!

[alaskancruzr]

Here's another vote for Nativeway. We went with them and had a great time last year. We're keeping our fingers crossed that we will be in port to make our December trip with them this year!

[llund]

Captain Marvins can also arrange a tour to Hell, turtle farm, 7 mile beach etc. We just talked to Ruth and she arranged it. It is also on their website that you can add the island tour. Captain Marvin's was great to deal with. We will be back in GC and will go with them again.

[whiskeygirl]

I haven't seen much about Moby Dick but the tour sounds great. 3 stops....Stingray City, Rum Factory and Coral Gardens Reef.

[WAVTAM]

Is Capt Larribee still in business? If not, what is Capt Marvin's E-mail address?

[Cruisekrazy63]

I just booked a tour with Sharon at Nativeway, she is awesome. We are going on the island tour and the Stingray bar for $40.00 per person! I would highly recommend them. I am so looking forward to our trip!

 

Mindy