First time in Grand Cayman - which to do?

[jimbug]

After six cruises I'm FINALLY making it to GC...unfortunately, we only have a very short time scheduled in port. We're scheduled to be there from 8am-3pm, which I realize actually means we'll only have from about 8:30am-2:15pm as "usable" time on the island. One other thing to note...we are the ONLY ship in port that day...so crowds/tender waits, etc., will hopefully not be a factor.

 

So, here's the background...this will be my 6th cruise...I love swimming/snorkeling, etc. My friend who is going with me will be on her 1st cruise, and she's of the take-it-or-leave-it mentality when it comes to shore excursions or whatever. Also, our other port on this trip is Cozumel, and in that port, we plan to do an all-inclusive beach day.

 

The first option I have is booking the StingraySailing.com catamaran trip to Stingray City with one other snorkel stop. That would give us approximately 1 1/2 hours afterwards to do a bit of shopping before we had to tender back to the ship.

 

The second option I was thinking of was doing our shopping early, then cabbing it down to Royal Palms or Sea Grape on Seven Mile Beach. Assuming we shopped until 10 am, that would give us maybe 3 hours at the beach before we needed to head back.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions? This might be the only time my friend ever makes it to GC, at least in the foreseeable future, and really, maybe for me, as well. I will certainly be cruising again soon, but we're looking at eastern Caribbean or Alaska, so no GC/stingrays, etc. Any ideas, comments, etc.???

 

(Oh, and finally, for those of you who saw my other thread from a few days ago, we have decided against tattoos, at least in GC. I really appreciated [and took to heart] the comment from someone who said they know they'll never see us again, so what kind of quality can I expect? Good point....)

 

Thanks!

[2PinaColadas]

We are taking the stingray/snorkel tour with Moby Dick. After that we are going to Royal Palms for a couple of hours. Taxis are suppose to be easy to get from there.

 

Also, keep in mind when planning that port time and ship time are different.

[stlrboo]

I'd do StingRay City ... It's almost a 'once in a lifetime thing'..:p We've done it twice thru Captain Marvins..

Short bus ride thru the port, then a powerboat out to the 'City'..:)

 

A lot of the other tours use catamarans directly from the pier area, or close by.. Really up to you, the mode of transport you want to pick!;)

 

I'll bet the lady friend will have the 'time of her life'.. Mine did..:D

[SAAdds1]

<<The second option I was thinking of was doing our shopping early, then cabbing it down to Royal Palms or Sea Grape on Seven Mile Beach. Assuming we shopped until 10 am,>>

 

What time do the shops open up? What if they don't open until 9:30 or 10:00? Then this plan would not work.

[bookbabe]

Do Stingray City. It's unique to Cayman, and something that you'll remember forever.

 

There are lots of tour options that go there, so you should easily be able to find one that suits your interests. There are short trips there, waverunner or catamaran trips there, trips that combine it with snorkel stops or island tours, trips that also stop at Rum Point or Starfish Beach, etc. Many of the tours will even finish early enough that you could still do some shopping or visit the beach for a bit.

 

Whichever you pick, you'll have a great time!

[jimbug]

Thanks for the replies, everyone! I would love to do the jet ski tour that goes to the stingrays and then to Rum Point, but that's an awful lot of $$ for just 2 hours. I think we will do the stingrays, though...

[JSQ01]

I agree with Stingray City...we did our tour with Moby Dick and they were awesome...they have their own boat with a fresh water shower on board. They take you to a great snorkeling spot and Stingray City, and it's cheaper than the cruise excursion. Also less crowded! You can google Moby Dick to find their website and reserve your excursion. They will pick you up right at the port.

[Tbuzzard]

We just returned today from Carnival Liberty and did Stingray Sailing and snorkling. Chip and Burt were great and provided us with a lot of interaction and information. there were only 11 of us on the boat and the crew knows there stuff. The snorkling was not the best because of high winds but the sailing back to port was great. I highly recomend this tour.

[travel_mom_1]

Stingray City. I have gone twice with Native Way Watersports. It is such a cool experience.

[jenphan]

Definitely stingray city, it was an amazing experience, I still cannot believe i kissed a stingray twice. Fortunately I was able to book a combo excursion and see the GC highlights which included Hell, Tortuga rum cake factory, boatswain turtle farm and 7 mile beach. However, because of the winds, we were forced to switch ports, costing us more time to get in and out of the city, so I was not able to make it to 7 mile beach. But check out the excursions on your ship, maybe you can get stingray city and 7 mile beach

[Dpeeps]

Stingray City. I have gone twice with Native Way Watersports. It is such a cool experience.

We are planning on doing the stingray tour thru Nativeway......on our trip there next month. Can you tell me how they do the drop off after the excursion? I was told you can either go back to the ship or to the beach??? Where is it that they drop you off at the beach? Do you know if there are more than one "beach stop" or if they give you a choice?? Wanted to meet up with some friends afterwards....but need to tell them where to meet us! Thanks!

[97gst]

The first option I have is booking the StingraySailing.com catamaran trip to Stingray City with one other snorkel stop. That would give us approximately 1 1/2 hours afterwards to do a bit of shopping before we had to tender back to the ship.

 

I just came back from the Catamaran trip with StingraySailing at the beginning for February, and I would recommend it hands down over the 'other' tours (which I have done also).

 

Very personalized service, and you actually get the fun of 'sailing' back instead of just taking another boring tourist boat. You get the feeling of being out on a boat with a bunch of friends. Being on the Catamaran makes all the other boats look like no fun!

 

With the sailboat you can sit out on the 'trampoline' or hang your legs over the edge.

 

Hands down, this is the best 'sting ray' tour you can do, especially for the cost. All the tour do the same stops, so the crew and the boat should be the deciding factor.

 

For an interesting story, be sure to ask Chip why there seem to be so many Iguanas around the Caymans.

 

I would recommend StingraySailing anyone planning to stop in Grand Cayman. They could double the price, and it would still be the best value on the island!

[divemedic]

Add my agreement for Stingray City, however, we decided to do the discover scuba there to avoid the crowds, do something even more unique and be underwater for an just over a 1 hour swimming and studing the stingrays and other fish, etc. in 15' of water. It was excellent and we were lucky as there hadn't been any boats out to SC for 10 days previously due to the prevailing winds. The stingrays were hungry when we got there! I have a hickey to prove it! Definitely the highlight of the cruise for my family. Now my wife, 15 and 13 yr olds are addicted to scuba and want to take the full course. So you think SC is expensive...my bill is just starting!!!:rolleyes:

[surfgirl67]

I've done the stingray tour 2 years in a row and loved it. It's really cool - also 7 mile beach is breathtaking. Also, there is a shop right off the pier - they have the best coconut rum ever - buy some to take home. The usually have a rum cake made for people to sample - it's very yummy.

 

Have fun!!!

 

I'm off to the Eastern Caribbean for the first time on May 23rd. We are taking our 9 year old son.

 

 

Carnival Fantasy 1995 - Western Caribbean

Carnival Sensation 1996 - Western Carbbean (Ocho Rios)....we were suppose to be on the Eastern Caribbean cruise but thanks to a hurricane we had to go Western.

Carnival Glory May 23, 2009