Excursion Advice

[kel3120]

I will be in Grand Cayman next January with my mom and sister. We are having a hard time finding an excursion that would fit what we would like to do, so I was hoping for some advice. The other port during our cruise is Jamaica, and we are planning on doing a beach day there, so we would really like to do something else in Grand Cayman.

 

I have been on the island once before and have done Stingray City through Captain Marvin. Both my mom and my sister really do not want to do this (even though I've told them how awesome it is). My sister and I would like to snorkel while my mom would just like to enjoy a boat ride as she isn't a big swimmer. Is there a tour that does just snorkeling minus Stingray City? Are there ever snorkeling tours where someone just doesn't snorkel? I want to make sure my mom feels comfortable just staying onboard while everyone else is in the water.

 

Thanks for any help you can give me! Also, if you have any other suggestions for excursions that we may not have thought of, please let me know!

[The Flying Pirate]

Try the Reef and Wreck Snorkel Tour, I have done it and it was great. They take you out on a pontoon boat to Cheeseburger Reef, which is fantastic for snorkeling lots of coral and fish to look at. From there they take you to the wreck of the Cali, which is fairly close to shore. Both sites offer excellent snorkeling. There was someone on our boat that didn't swim, just sat on the boat and watched. I am not sure if she had booked it the same as everyone else and chickened out or made some sort of arrangement. It is a great location for a first time snorkeler with clear shallow water and tons of fish to see. I am sure if you got your mom in the water she would enjoy it. The tour operator provides snorkel vests and has extra floatation for those that think they need it as well.

 

We enjoyed it, and it was less crowded than Stingray City.

[Krysse]

We just got back from the CI with the Conquest. It was a total mess getting there and getting off the boat. We got there on the wrong day due to Gustav, didnt get to the island till after 12:30. The highlight of our cruise was going to be The Caymans, I was almost in tears by the time I got to the pier. Then, I saw a man with a sign from the people we booked with... Native Way tours. We were on the wrong day, wrong time, way too late in the day, and I decided to just see if they had anything we could squeeze into. I told the guy what was going on, he asked my name, and smiled. He told me we were who he was waiting on, so lets go. The salvaged my whole day, and made it the best experience ever!!! They took us to a boat, where we were the only 6 there, we went to the stingrays, and my son even got to drive the boat some of the time. While there, the crew got in with us, and just made it amazing. The stingrays were everywhere around us, and they would pick them up and bring them to us. They showed us how to hold them, and after a short time, we were holding them like pros. They took a ton of pictures with our cameras and theirs. Needless to say, I bought every one of them. They were perfect. After the stingrays, we then were taken on a personalized tour through the Island by a wonderful woman who make it so personable and interesting. She made sure we got to see everything we wanted and adjusted our time at each place to accomodate us. We had to be on the last tender at 5pm, and she ended the tour by dropping us off right in line to get back to the boat.

 

I cant say enough about how wonderful every one of them were. If you want a group of people that really know their island and know how to help you enjoy the best of it, I highly recommend Native Way tours. They took an almost devistating day and turned it into the best time of the whole trip.

[jean-lynd]

I have done the stingray city trip 3 times with 3 different operators and evey time there have been people that just go along for the boat ride. The guides have always brought stingrays up close to the boat so that those on the boat can get a good look and take pictures.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Enjoy!

[calgary cruiser]

Jean Lynd - who would you recommend as a tour operator in the Caymans?

[jean-lynd]

calgary cruiser - Actually, I have used a different operator each time and I was happy with all of them. The last one we did was Captain Marvin. The time before that was with Dexter and the first time was a ship excursion and I don't know who the operator was. We had private charters with Dexter and Captain Marvins so I guess that could make a difference.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Enjoy!

[CurlyQ132]

Who did you book the Reef and Wreck Snorkel Tour through? Thank you.