Nativeway

[officerswife]

Looking to do the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour. I am very nervous as I never booked privately, always used the cruise tours. Where do you meet? Are their reps easy to find?

Has anyone never made in back to the ship in time using Nativeway?

They have such good reviews. I want to do this, but I am scared.

Please convince me to do this!!

Thanks.

[dkfan81]

We are booked with them in May for the Stingray, Coral Reef and Starfish Snorkel tour. I've read the great reviews on them as well and was emailed back promptly. Here is an excerpt of the email that I got from Nativeway:

 

The price is $40 USD per person. Children under the age of 12 will pay $30 USD each. We no longer require that you provide your credit card number to guarantee your arrival, so you're all set! Your credit card will not be charged for the tour, just used to insure that you will show up. You will pay on our tour boat. We accept cash, Traveler's Checks, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover. If you pay via credit card, you will be charged a 4% processing fee.

The tour departs the pier at 8:30 AM Central Time (this is 9:30 AM ship time, if your ship stays on Eastern Time throughout the voyage). The tour completes at around 11:45 AM Central Time. We ask that you check in no later than 8:15 AM Central Time (this is 9:15 AM ship time, if your ship stays on Eastern Time throughout the voyage). When you come ashore, look for the person carrying the sign that says Native Way Watersports. You may also ask for us at the information booth at the cruise ship terminal.

We provide free use of all snorkeling gear and vests, food for the Rays, and complimentary punch and bottled water. After the tour, you will be driven back to the pier.

We ask that you provide at least one week advance notice to cancel. If your ship is unable to dock in Grand Cayman, we will automatically cancel your reservation, at no cost to you.

Please remember that this is for the Stingray, Coral Reef and Starfish Snorkel tour, and your instructions may be different. But this should give you a good idea of what to expect :D

[officerswife]

dkfan81 -

Have you ever used them before? I e-mailed them with some questions, just waiting to hear back. Who knows, they may be full as we are only 4 weeks away. We will see.

Thanks

[jbroons]

Leaving Freedom was totally painless.....I really think that Carnival/Freedom gets special treatment in ports as it happened during our entire cruise....maybe it's just me;)...Bflow....little help here...you recall better than me!! Anyway, this was a spectacular day, including weather....82 degrees...perfect!

 

So we waited a little while next to the NativeWay sign...20 minutes or so and boarded a bus to our boat. NativeWay was great. We cruised out over beautiful open water to Stingray City. NW had only like 20 people on board while the other boats in the area were loaded with 40-50 people....and they went to the stingray sandbar away from the other boats....wonderful!!

 

We got in the pristine water and when the stingrays came my girls jumped right back onto the boat....scared beyond belief!! They had kissed dolphins before but somehow this was different;)....I loved it!! Anyway, they eventually felt bad and joined me long enough to snap a few pictures (priceless) and, when I fed the beautiful beasts squid, the Rays commenced a gentle feeding-frenzy. It was truly a "not to miss experience"...really!!

 

We then went out to a reef 15 minutes away and snorkeled for 35 minutes.....great. I got some nice pictures of some beautiful fishies....blues, yellows, reds...just great!! Then Captain Chris gave us menus and took our lunch orders to be served at Rum Pointe Beach. Well, we arrived at Rum Pointe and the food was there, hot & fresh, on picnic tables, along with iced-tea & lemonade. I had a Jamaican jerk-chicken sandwich (excellent) & my girls had a cheeseburger and some kind of veggie-wrap thing (Kyra is apparently a vegetarian these days....saw some film in school about how "meat" is cured, etc., enough!!) We then just lounged in chairs...but then Kyra, who loves sea shells, walked the beach and found this incredibly beautiful conch (I think) shell....it must weigh 15 pounds and I carried it from there back to home...YAY!! The beach is beautiful as was the entire excursion....I really recommend it.

 

I'll finish this day tomorrow as I'm exhausted but felt compelled to give you more this evening!!;)

[jbroons]

Leaving Freedom was totally painless.....I really think that Carnival/Freedom gets special treatment in ports as it happened during our entire cruise....maybe it's just me;)...Bflow....little help here...you recall better than me!! Anyway, this was a spectacular day, including weather....82 degrees...perfect!

 

So we waited a little while next to the NativeWay sign...20 minutes or so and boarded a bus to our boat. NativeWay was great. We cruised out over beautiful open water to Stingray City. NW had only like 20 people on board while the other boats in the area were loaded with 40-50 people....and they went to the stingray sandbar away from the other boats....wonderful!!

 

We got in the pristine water and when the stingrays came my girls jumped right back onto the boat....scared beyond belief!! They had kissed dolphins before but somehow this was different;)....I loved it!! Anyway, they eventually felt bad and joined me long enough to snap a few pictures (priceless) and, when I fed the beautiful beasts squid, the Rays commenced a gentle feeding-frenzy. It was truly a "not to miss experience"...really!!

 

We then went out to a reef 15 minutes away and snorkeled for 35 minutes.....great. I got some nice pictures of some beautiful fishies....blues, yellows, reds...just great!! Then Captain Chris gave us menus and took our lunch orders to be served at Rum Pointe Beach. Well, we arrived at Rum Pointe and the food was there, hot & fresh, on picnic tables, along with iced-tea & lemonade. I had a Jamaican jerk-chicken sandwich (excellent) & my girls had a cheeseburger and some kind of veggie-wrap thing (Kyra is apparently a vegetarian these days....saw some film in school about how "meat" is cured, etc., enough!!) We then just lounged in chairs...but then Kyra, who loves sea shells, walked the beach and found this incredibly beautiful conch (I think) shell....it must weigh 15 pounds and I carried it from there back to home...YAY!! The beach is beautiful as was the entire excursion....I really recommend it.

 

OK, so we then hear the "horn call" from the NW boat and we all walked down the pier to the boat which took us back to the bus. On the way we went through this little channel with absolutely gorgeous homes on its right side. There was a sign that read "Make No Wake...Swimming Iguanas"...and then there they were. Iguanas everywhere, including the beautiful blue Cayman iguanas. There was a huge yellow one on our left sitting in a Mangrove....very neat!!

[dkfan81]

No I've never used them before but I've read great things about them on CC. We will be using them in a few short weeks (YAY!) so I'll be sure to let you know how we like our tour with them :D

[mh15]

Just off the Carnival Destiny yesterday and we used Native Way in Grand Cayman on Monday. We did their RRR excursion and could not have been happier! We booked on the internet and received an email confirmation with complete details about where to meet them, what time to meer them, and the total cost. They DO NOT require a deposit or a credit card to hold the excursion.

 

We tendered off the boat and found their sign right away. There were only 15 of us!! It was like a private tour. We boarded a bus to their boat. The boat was large and clean.

 

It was a fantastic day and we couldn't say enough about their professionalism and expertise. We had no problem getting back to the boat and we were "held up" for a little bit in the ocean by an annual boat race. Once the bus dropped us off at the pier we shopped for just a few minutes and were back on the boat in plenty of time!

[mh15]

We just got off our Carnival Destiny cruise yesterday and our time in Grand Cayman with Nativeway was WONDERFUL!! We booked on the internet and received a detailed email concerning when and where to meet them on the pier.

 

We have always booked our excursions through the cruiseline and I will NEVER do that again. This was the first cruise we booked privately on our own and were so glad we did. Not only was the price much lower, but there were only 15 of us on the excursion. You are usually one of 100 on a cruise excursion.

 

Once the 15 had checked in, we boarded a bus to take us to the boat. The boat was very clean and spacious with a bathroom. We had two tour guides. We started our tour with a 25 minute ride to StingRay City. This was definitely a tourist spot, but since we're tourists, we enjoyed it! One of our tour guides helped so we could touch and feed the rays. There was also a photographer on board who took pictures and sold them to us at the end.

 

We then boarded the boat again to head out for snorkeling. The snorkeling was OK, not too much to look at. The water was also COLD!!

 

When we left the snorkeling spot we were given a menu to order lunch from RumPoint Beach which was included in the cost. There was a great menu selection. Once we arrived our lunch was waiting for us and we sat at one of the tables to enjoy. Then we had some time to lounge by the beach before heading back to the pier.

 

I would highly recommend Natove Way!!

[LeisaH3067]

Looking to do the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour. I am very nervous as I never booked privately, always used the cruise tours. Where do you meet? Are their reps easy to find?

 

Has anyone never made in back to the ship in time using Nativeway?

 

They have such good reviews. I want to do this, but I am scared.

 

Please convince me to do this!!

 

Thanks.

 

 

We did this tour with Nativeway last week, it was fantastic and we had no problems at all! When you get to the top of the pier near the shopping area there will be a man holding a Nativeways sign near one of the tents. We had no problems finding him and he checked us right in. Once everyone arrived, we rode a school bus over to the marina and did the tour. We were dropped back off at the pier about 45 minutes before the last tender. Enjoy Rum Point, I have never seen a more beautiful beach!

[officerswife]

Thanks for all your responses.

Sharon e-mailed me back and they still have openings. Yeah!

How long did you stay at each place? 30-45 min?

[MDSue]

I just did the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour on April 7th and had a great time. They will make sure you get back to the ship on time. We had to depart an hour early due to possible incoming weather and they made sure we were on time. The guides were excellent, the rays were fun, snorkelling very good and Rum Point was a beautiful beach. I highly recommend this tour.

[SraLiz]

I am so happy to hear all the positive responses! I just booked the RRR tour for our group of 6. We will be 3 adults and 3 kids and I just want the kids to have fun!

Thanks to all who post experience on this site, we appreciate you!

[georgep]

Do they offer a tour for this?

[reno3]

Do they offer a tour for this?

 

Yes, they call it Stingray and Island Tour.

We had it booked for our last cruise on the Legend but we missed Grand Cayman due to weather conditions:( I will book again for my Conquest cruise and hope to make it this time:D

[jbroons]

Thanks for all your responses.

 

Sharon e-mailed me back and they still have openings. Yeah!

 

How long did you stay at each place? 30-45 min?

 

 

 

Let's see...I would say 45 minutes with the Rays (loved them), 45 minutes snorkeling and 1 hour 25 minutes at Rum Point....It really was excellent!! Enjoy!!

[academic3]

Just got back from our cruise on the Conquest. This was our second time with Nativeway in GC. To be honest, it was not as good as the first, but still a good day. There were only about 20 on the boat, so that is definitely a nice small tour. The biggest complaint I had was that while at Stingray City, they didn't bring but one small handful of squid to feed the stingrays. We had done this before so I wasn't all that disappointed not to do it again, but one of our daughters didn't get to have that experience and that was dissappointing. They should have planned better for the number of people on the boat. For some reason, our family of four were the only ones on the boat going to Rum Point. They dropped us off and told us that a van would be picking us up in about an hour and 45 minutes to take us back to the ship. They had one of the tour guides get off with us. It turned out great, but was not expected. I probably wouldn't do Nativeway again, we've used them twice now, but they still provide a good tour experience.

[MDSue]

Looking to do the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour. I am very nervous as I never booked privately, always used the cruise tours. Where do you meet? Are their reps easy to find?

 

Has anyone never made in back to the ship in time using Nativeway?

 

They have such good reviews. I want to do this, but I am scared.

 

Please convince me to do this!!

 

Thanks.

How about some pics of my recent R,R and R tour:)

Rum Point

 

Snorkelling

[patsbosoxfan]

I just returned from a cruise that docked in Grand Cayman. We went on the island tour that ended at Stingray City. The staff was wonderful-polite, patient and responsible. Sharon was knowlegeable and answered all of our questions. The boat operators were fabulous. They were funny, yet polite. They went out of their way to calm nerves and to make the experience at Stingray City memorable for everyone. We had a great time! I would highly recommend Nativeway for a safe, pleasant experience with tour operators who will absolutely do their best to assure that you have a great time.

[Ohio-C-Luver]

Looking to do the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour. I am very nervous as I never booked privately, always used the cruise tours. Where do you meet? Are their reps easy to find?

Has anyone never made in back to the ship in time using Nativeway?

They have such good reviews. I want to do this, but I am scared.

Please convince me to do this!!

Thanks.

We booked with Nativeway several months ago. We were sadly disappointed. We went to the wait on our tender onboard the Jewel of the Seas an hour early to catch the first tender, to assure that we would arrive in time. Sharon Eubanks had sent me a confirmation email from Nativeway but had 3 times listed at departure time, 8:30, 9am and 9:30 for that Wedsday. We were aboard the first tender that was on time at 8:30 on April 22,2009. and arrived at Nativeways site at the port at 8:45 am to learn that they had left without us. They tried to get us to take the island tour at almost the same cost, but we had wanted the Rays, Reef and Rum Point excursion as we have stayed in the Caymens when land traveling. We were really disappointed since we had reserved that tour months in advance and would have even paid more for that excursion. I'm sure Nativeway knows the ships tender schedule-Never Again Nativeway! I'd either book with the ship or find another more reliable tour company! We had read the great reviews about this company also, but now I'm wondering how many people didn't write reviews that weren't favorable?

Best of Luck!

Jan

[KOOLBEANS]

Just book it and there is no need to worry!!! Nothing but totally 100% thrilled with our tour and the company. Fortunately, I always received clear directions from Sharon @ nativeway. Way, way better excursion than the over-filled carnival excursion.

 

Take a breath and just book it and sit back and wait your time!!

 

Enjoy!!

[thehogsters]

Did the rays, snorkel & starfish tour on April 22nd. At $80 for DW and I both we were very pleased. The crew were very nice and made shure everyone had a good time.

[texlatin1]

We have now been using Sharon and Eldon Ebanks, proprietors of NativeWay Watersports for over 8 years now. With many years of experience and a great crew, we would not venture off to use anyone else.

 

Booking tours thru the cruise line or with one of the other vendors at the pier will most definitely put you on a boat with over 80 people (unless you charter a private boat) and in MY experience, each time we've done the Stingray City tour, there has never been more than 25 people on a single boat.

 

There is a Captain and two crew members to advise you of the regulations prior to arriving to the Stingray City sandbar and also assist in issuing life preservers for those who need them, snorkel and flippers and of course, punch and water is provided as well. The crew is very friendly and very knowledgeable of which ever tour you will be taking. We have done the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour now for the last 3 years and it includes lunch on beautiful Rum Point (never a large crowd and a nice place to enjoy some down time).

 

Email correspondence with Sharon is excellent and she will send you your time and payment confirmation at least one week prior to departure. Of course sometimes with ship delays or other unforseen issues, problems may arise but Sharon has always done her best to rectify the situation.

 

We've done large groups with NativeWay as well and for those persons who do not do the watersports, the Island tour which consists of the Turtle Farm and Town of Hell is a good alternative. If time allows after the tours, they will also drop you off at 7 Mile Beach (of course transportation back to the pier is at your own expense) to enjoy a few more hours of sun and beach.

 

With almost 5 ships in Grand Cayman in one day, tours in Cayman can be a bit hectic but be assured that NativeWay has always taken care of us and the crew will make you feel very welcome.

 

Give them a shot and see for yourself, tell them Adam from Houston sent you and she'll know exactly who I am since I'm there so often with new friends that I want to show Stingray City. The crew has even asked me if I'm a citizen yet! LOL

 

Peace

[texlatin1]

Did the rays, snorkel & starfish tour on April 22nd. At $80 for DW and I both we were very pleased. The crew were very nice and made shure everyone had a good time.

 

Wow, I was there on the 22nd as well but we did the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour! It was incredible! Two of the crew members even went diving for Conch and showed us what they look like in the shell. Took some great pix at Coral Gardens.

[texlatin1]

Looking to do the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour. I am very nervous as I never booked privately, always used the cruise tours. Where do you meet? A crew member will be waiting at the designated time for you with a bright sign that reads "NativeWay Watersports" at the pier as soon as you exit the tender boat disembarkation area.

Are their reps easy to find? Yes, they have the sign and will also call out your name should you not see them. Do not venture off into the shops or street area without checking in with them first so they'll know you are there.

 

Has anyone never made in back to the ship in time using Nativeway? We've used them for going on 8 years now and have never been late. They usually book their tours as early as 8:30 and have you back by 1:30 (enough time to do some shopping). If there are too many ships and traffic is heavy, they even take the back streets to bypass it all. Grand Cayman is not a very big Island and so there is plenty of time not too worry about getting back.

 

They have such good reviews. I want to do this, but I am scared.

 

Please convince me to do this!! DO IT AND SHARON WILL TAKE VERY GOOD CARE OF YOU!!!

 

Thanks.

 

Hope you have a wonderful vacation!

[PACURN]

Looking to do the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour. I am very nervous as I never booked privately, always used the cruise tours. Where do you meet? Are their reps easy to find?

 

Has anyone never made in back to the ship in time using Nativeway?

 

They have such good reviews. I want to do this, but I am scared.

 

Please convince me to do this!!

 

Thanks.

Don't be scared. Once you book privately you will never go back to ship tours again. They are cheaper and more personal, less people. They will meet you right off the ship. If you can't find them ask anyone around and they usually know where to direct you. I have never had any problems locating a tour guide that I am booked with. They all pretty much know each other.

As far as the above tour.i just came back for doing this and it was great. I highly recommend it. We were one of 2 boats out on the reef (ship tours hadn't gotten there yet). The tour guides help you with the stingrays, holding them, kissing them, and feeding them. Snorkeling was great, and the beach was really nice. We ordered lunch before we got there and it was waiting for us. Beer was quite expensive but Oh Well!!!

Go you will not regret it.