Grand Cayman Expedition! HELP

[mybis1]

Can anyone recommend an excursion company for Stingray city in the Grand Caymans? Fat Fish had a lot of recommendations but they are not avail the date we are going. Also, we are thinking about renting waverunners instead of going on the boat- has anyone done this? We have a 6 and 8 year old- would this be too rough or fun? Thanks!

[firefly333]

Captain Marvins, no lunch but best price. Nativeway if you want lunch included.

[scottinnh]

Moby Dick.

 

Done them twice, great time both times.No frills or lunch etc, but a good bang for the buck.

[myamifin]

We did Captain Marvin's in January and had a blast with them. Not very crowded, and they were great with our kids. I would highly recommend them, and they are very easy to get to from the tenders - only a 2 minute walk from the pier.

 

Have a great time

[SeaScout]

We've used Native Way on 3 occasions and were pleased each time. As for renting the wave runners to go out to Sting Ray city. DO NOT do it under any circumstances. It is much too far for such a small vessel and the sea conditions can change incredibly fast. Calm one minute, nasty thunder storm the next with large seas. Been there, done that, was glad I was on a 35 foot boat and not a wave runner.

[Ron_L]

Another vote for Native Way although you probably would be fine with any of the three mentioned.

 

You may want to check out the Grand Cayman forum in the Ports of Call section for more info.

[maxamuus]

We did Nativeways also, but they cut it VERY close to the ships departure. Yes i loved the tour but man i was sweating bullets getting back to the ship with only 30 mins to spare....

[newbieMom]

Another vote for Native Way. They were FAB-U-LOUS with our 5 year old. They also have a few different tours to choose from, and very affordable!

[zqvol]

Can anyone recommend an excursion company for Stingray city in the Grand Caymans? Fat Fish had a lot of recommendations but they are not avail the date we are going. Also, we are thinking about renting waverunners instead of going on the boat- has anyone done this? We have a 6 and 8 year old- would this be too rough or fun? Thanks!

 

Welcome to the boards. Last year we used Nativeway and had a good excursion. I would not recommend the wave runners with the kids. It is a long way over open water and can be bouncy at times. Great fun for an adult, especially if you want tired arms the next day, but a bit much for your little ones, IMO.

[falkcor]

another vote / endorsement for moby dick. haven't been with any of the others, so can't comment, but i had a great time on moby dick. my review of the tour is linked - i'll repost it for you here in a sec... one way or another, you're going with some tour operator - it'll give you a good idea of what it's all about :cool:

[falkcor]

(19) GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – ON THE WAY

 

The parking lot where the buses are is a short 2-3 minute walk from where the shore excursion tents are set up. As we approached, we were directed to board what they lovingly refer to as ‘the barney bus’ since it’s painted purple – don’t ask me why. The bus was nothing special (an old school bus), but the driver was rather amicable. As we were driving from Georgetown along seven mile beach, he provided us with some key points of information about the history of Grand Cayman. He pointed out that all of the cemeteries on the Island are actually in pretty prime locations along the beach, because before the advent of the backhoe / excavator, it was a lot simpler to dig through the sand than the rockier land inland – interesting point. Seven Mile beach, as we could see from driving by, looked great and was sparsely populated. If I were more of a beach person, I’m sure I would have enjoyed a stop here.

 

After about a 15 minute or so bus ride to a parking lot and port bordering the North Sound, we arrived at the tour boat, and as the previous tour debarked, we were invited to jump on. There was lemonade and fruit punch available on board, and they do sell re-usable underwater cameras for 20.00 on board. Once we were all on the ship and ready to take off, the staff removed the lines tethering us to the dock and we were on our way. Captain Mark Button came on the public address system, and covered some of the details of the tour, and provided a brief history of how Sting Ray City came about. Here he is (not the best photo – it was nicely shaded on the boat):

 

 

As we approached the sand bar where the sting rays live and the adjacent coral reef, Mark lead a talk about sting rays and these ones in particular. They have some favorites which are named, like stubby and tripod, and we even saw stubby (he doesn’t have his tail) as we approached. One of the crew members – I forget his name but remember his nickname was ‘the Italian stallion’, stood on the bow of the boat with a stuffed sting ray, using it to demonstrate what Mark was talking about:

 

 

They explained that the stingrays have a hard ridge along their backs, that the top of their bodies are somewhat more rough than their bellies, the texture of which they likened to a smooth portabella mushroom (and I’d tend to concur). They talked about their tales and barbs, and the difference between the males and females. Despite the obvious gender differences, the female rays are about 3-4 times larger than the males, and females are far more prevalent on the sand bar.

 

Mark also explained how these sting rays are different than those you might find in the open sea, or that sting ray that Steve Irwin aka the croc hunter encountered that fateful day. Sting Ray City has been frequented for about the last 30 years by several tour groups, and hundreds of thousands of people. In the beginning, local fishermen used to stop at this sandbar to clean their fish before heading to port, dropping the refuse overboard. The stingrays caught on, and as they’d hear the boats motoring to the sandbar, they’d show up for an easy meal – and that’s how Sting Ray City was born. Today, thousands of people visit these rays every day, and they are very used to human interaction. As they’re not threatened in anyway, they pose little danger, and nobody from Moby Dick Tours has ever been injured on the tour.

 

As we approached, there were a few boats on the sand bar already, so Mark said we’d save the best for last, and start out by snorkeling at the adjacent (very close – maybe about 2-3 minutes by boat) coral reef, and then visit the sting rays after, by which time the other groups would have left. So, next up, snorkeling!

[falkcor]

(20) GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – SNORKELING

 

All of the snorkeling equipment – mask, snorkel and flippers were provided, and the crew provided a few helpful tips, such as do NOT try to climb the ladder back on to the boat with your flippers on! Good point. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and in this case I’m inclined to agree – so here’s some photos captured on my underwater camera, with some quick explanations along the way.

 

Off the boat, gotta get a photo in this surreal environ, right? Here’s me – waving hello:

 

 

This is one of the first fish I saw:

 

 

There was an abundance of different types of coral living in the reef. That big round one had to have been a good 6’ across, and you can see a few of the fish species I’d encounter here:

 

These little striped fish were all over the place, and pretty handsome fish:

 

 

And yet another type of fish – this one was kind of grayish-blue and a bit bigger than some of the others:

 

I thought the black fish with white stripes on top and bottom was a pretty neat fish – their fins are on top and bottom, not on the sides:

 

 

Last two photos in the next post – apparently you can only post 6 per message.

[falkcor]

(21) GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – SNORKELING CONTINUED

 

 

Here’s some more of those neat black fish, and this is when I really felt like I was snorkeling through a national geographic channel special – or planet earth:

 

 

We snorkeled all around the reef for about 45 minutes or so. Some people didn’t last the whole time, but I sure did. With such a small group, it was pretty easy to find yourself alone in the midst of the reef. It was almost disarming at times, to look all around with the myriad species of fish schooling around and coral everywhere you could see, thoughts like ‘what if a shark is around the corner?!’ cross the mind. But the tour guides made it clear – no sharks. Good thing, too. As our time elapsed, I heard the sound of a horn as ‘the Italian stallion’ blew into a conch shell (nice touch, I thought) to call us back to the boat. By this time, I was a good half a mile from the boat, I’d estimate, so it was a five plus minute swim back toward the boat.

 

Just before reaching the boat and getting closer to the sandbar, I noticed a harbinger of what was to come. Next up, the sting rays!

 

[falkcor]

(22) GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – MOBY DICK SNORKELING PICS

 

So Stingray City review & photos are in the works, but I thought before moving on, I’d post a few photos from Moby Dick Tours, which are definitely of higher quality than those from my simplest of simple underwater cameras, and the photos posted above from that camera.

 

Let me say, these photos are a lot more true-to-life than mine, it’s remarkably vivid down there, and the experience is awe-inspiring. I really had the feeling of swimming through a program on the National Geographic Channel or Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel. Take a look…

 

This is Mark Button, the tour leader:

 

 

A bunch of shiny silver fish gathered at the ladders off the back of the baot:

 

 

A squid with a fancy name among the coral:

 

 

A lobster on the reef:

 

 

And this is what most of the reef looked like – great coral formations, and a great number of diverse beautiful fish species:

 

 

Photo credit for all of these go to Moby Dick Tours. You can check out their photo gallery here:

 

http://www.mobydicktours.com/Stingray-City/gallery.html

 

Stingrays up next!

[falkcor]

(23) GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – STING RAY CITY (!)

 

After about 45 minutes of snorkeling through the coral reef, we were beckoned back to the boat by a blow of the conch shell (lord of the flies, anybody?), and everybody started back toward the boat. As posted earlier, this right here was the first indication of what we were in for, the first sting ray I encountered ‘up close’!

 

 

It took just a few minutes to pull up the anchor and prepare the boat for departure from the reef. We could very well see the location of the stingray city sandbar from the reef, so it was a short little trip over there, about 5 minutes or so. By this time, as Captain Mark had predicted, the other tour groups had pretty well cleared out and the sandbar was nearly empty – there were two or three other ships, with tours of varying sizes. The crew maneuvered the ship toward the shallowest area where they could safely anchor the ship, and we were ‘there’!

 

Now as I had mentioned in my description of the tour, remember, these aren’t just any stingrays. These are about as ‘domesticated’ a wild sea animal could be, and they know very well, that when they hear the engines of a boat motoring toward the sandbar, that food, and well, frankly affection (I swear they really love the interaction, and the tour guides and visitors show them some love), are not far behind. I think this photo from moby dick pretty well sums it up:

 

 

 

Think about it for a second. Thousands of people a day come to feed you, hold you, and kiss you, because someone told them it’d bring 7 years of good luck? Sounds like a pretty sweet gig to me.

 

So anyhow, after we were anchored, the crew invited us all to debark the boat, and get this show on the road! Life vests in all sizes were available free of charge, though they were optional and really not needed except for the little ones. We had stopped in an area of the sandbar where the water was only maybe about 3 feet deep, and remember, this is 25 minutes and about as many miles from shore. The water was crystal clear, and all around you could see ‘shadows’ in the water (stingrays) approaching.

 

And when they got close… They were REALLY BIG!

 

 

 

There were less than 20 people in our tour group, and definitely at least as many sting rays! Most of the other groups we had seen here this day were at least several times larger, and they looked a little silly all wearing their fluorescent yellow life jackets… in three feet of water. Another thing that I had read about some of the other tours was that they do not all give you food (squid) for the sting rays. That’s like going to a petting zoo without a quarter for the pellets. You can see the white bucket with a life preserver around it, among our modestly sized group and the stingrays, floating in the middle of this next picture:

 

 

 

While still on board, Mark had given us a proper primer on stingray etiquette, including on how to feed them. They love squid, which is what the tour provides, cut into little 2” or so segments – that’s what the bucket was full of. A couple tips they offered… After handling the squid, do not wipe your hands off on your bathing suit or body, they’ll know! And for the men in the audience – do NOT put squid in your pocket, just think about what’s next door to your pocket! :eek:

 

To feed them, you should hold the squid (it’s like a little cylinder) in your hand like an ice cream cone, with your fist wrapped around it. They’ll come up, and suck it right out of your hand. That’s how they eat – it’s not like a mouth full of big teeth or anything, they work more like a vacuum cleaner. If you’re holding the squid, say, between two fingers and waving it around – they just might suck up your finger(s) with it!

 

They also generally advised that children refrain from feeding the rays, and if they did to do so with supervision only. Frankly, most of the younger ones weren’t dismayed, and didn’t really have a desire to do as much anyway. The rays get most excited when being fed, so they’ll flap around their ‘wings’, splash water around, and even push you around a little. Some of the kids didn’t really jive with that, and some were even afraid (for just a minute). It’s certainly not a scary situation, but a little overwhelming to the kids – it’s really not a common situation to be in…

[falkcor]

(24) GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – MORE STING RAY CITY (!)

 

One of the secrets to effectively wrangling / holding a stingray, is to pretty much put your arms out under them, and just kind of relax. If you use your muscles / tense up your arms, as if you were trying to pick them up out of the water, they’ll pretty quickly just swim right away. Mark demonstrated here – you can tell they love him, and he returns their affection.

 

 

A general note about the stingrays is that they really are like big, 5’ pancake shaped puppy dogs. Puppy dogs, or cats, and the cat analogy works pretty well in a particular right. Do you know how cats will just kind of walk by and rub themselves up against your leg, or shoulder, or whatever? The stingrays do the same thing. It was a little disarming at first – but they’ll come by and gently slap you with their ‘wings’, etc. Here’s one of them flapping up against my brother, and you can see from the ray in the bottom left portion of the picture, how this would be an astute possibility given how they swim around, flapping their ‘wings’.

 

 

Another one of the crew members, the aforementioned ‘italian stallion’ is in the lower right of the photo – he was really helpful, especially in coaching us on how to approach and hold the rays. With his help, I GOT A BIG ONE!

 

 

So the stingrays themselves, beside being friendly – they felt a little gritty, like a fine grade sandpaper on top, rather comparable to a shark’s skin if you’ve ever felt that, but with just a little more ‘grit’. On the bottom, their smooth white bellies felt more something like a wet portabella mushroom, if that makes any sense – sort of soft and rubbery, and very smooth.

 

I was surprised at just how friendly and outgoing they were, frankly. Even if you weren’t offering food or actively seeking to hold one, they’d swim around in a circuit, and brush up against you if you were in the general vicinity. I really am convinced that they like and seek the attention of the tourists. They’re kind of like a pet when you first get home from work – they’re so happy to see you, and they want some attention.

 

Apparently, if you kiss a sting ray, Mark told us that you’re in for seven years of good luck… Who could pass that up?!

 

[falkcor]

(25) GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – THE WAY BACK

 

Here’s a few final photos from Moby Dick before moving on…

 

Another look at a tour group on the sandbar. In the FAQ section, Moby Dick notes that the cruise ship tours are twice the price with 100 of your new best friends. I was really pleased that we had such a small group, more stingrays to go around!

 

 

Mark demonstrating how it’s done!

 

Up close and personal with a new flat friend.

 

 

And here’s a nice close-up shot of a ray gliding through the water.

 

 

After about forty five minutes with the stingrays, we’d all pretty much had our fill of playing with the rays, and it was time to head back to shore. It was about a 25 minute boat ride back to the dock, sitting back, relaxing, and listening to some choice songs while sipping lemonade. What an excursion! Here’s one last look at the shore of the North Sound, while we were on our way back to shore:

 

 

We arrived back at the docks, tipped Mark and the staff for this great experience, and boarded the big purple barney bus once more. One the return trip, as with the previous from port, the driver shared a few bits of information about the island, it’s culture, people and everything else. He even stopped the bus along the road away from the port, to point out a grand cayman local:

 

One last note on the tour – you can make reservations online, without having to pay in advance. You pay at the port when you check in for the tour, and they accept payments in cash or money orders. The cost is 40.00 per adult, 35.00 per child.

 

Arrival back at the port was a little bit of a shocker. We got back at some time around 3.15, 3.30, kind of close to the ‘deadline’ since we opted for the afternoon tour. Immediately upon walking up to the main area, we found the line… Snaking its way through the square, and wrapping around @ the fence along the street! :-O

 

There was a good several hundred people, in line BEFORE you even get to the gate where they check your S&S card, etc, and almost as many people after it. As there were four ships in port, we had a wait a decent amount of time between tender boats, and the line didn’t move so quickly. And it was hot! While sometimes along the way in the main square, you could stand in the shade of some of the shops, etc, once past the gate there was no shade to be had. If you’re someone sensitive to the heat, I’d highly recommend bringing some water, or whatever else is good for that. A lady standing in front of us nearly passed out from the heat until we doused her head with some of our water. It took at least 30 minutes to get on the tender, and then it was just a few minutes back to the boat, thankfully.

 

So then it was back to the room to shower and change… And read the capers to plan our evening!

[falkcor]

wow, kinda didn't realize how long that was until i was posting it. but then didn't want to stop in the middle :cool:

 

i hope that was helpful. seriously though, it's a great experience and i highly recommend it. most of the tours are rather similar, but this is one i'd definitely recommend booking through an independent operator. in my opinion, moby dick was great. and i know a lot of the others are too.

 

BUT, this is a really 'safe' island and excursion, and it's much better to be with an independent operator than through the cruiseline-offered excursions. those boats are MUCH larger and carry 100-200 people. it'd be tight on the boat, and over saturated with people while in the water. and they MAKE you wear a life vest, which is kinda silly if you're standing in 3' of water.

 

do your research, and i'm sure you'll be happy with whatever you choose, it's a great experience.

[courtneyMC]

Can anyone recommend an excursion company for Stingray city in the Grand Caymans? Fat Fish had a lot of recommendations but they are not avail the date we are going. Also, we are thinking about renting waverunners instead of going on the boat- has anyone done this? We have a 6 and 8 year old- would this be too rough or fun? Thanks!

 

We did Ebanks Watersports, and they were GREAT- a wave runner ride to sting ray city, then snorkeling and ride back. HOWEVER- it was very choppy on our day. I was holding on to DH for dear life. I wouldn't do it with kids that young- I was flying up in the air, bouncing around, and was SORE the next day - thighs, arms, and tailbone. I loved it, but wanted to let you know it can be pretty choppy. For adults or teens, a great excursion, but I would be careful with younger kids.

[ata1976]

We used Moby Dick Tours also and had a great time. We also had our 2 year old with us. I would recommend them.

[melissamg30]

Falkor- Thanks for the great review!!! It has been one of the best I have seen, Great job! We did the stingray city tour threw the cruise ship in 2007.. No snorkeling:(! We are going back to Grand Caymen this October, Taking the kids...They loved our pictures we took of the rays, they all said "Auwww we wanna do that!". I think it will be a nice suprise for them. The prices threw Moby Dick's are great and not only do you get to swim with rays but you get to snorkel too!!:D

[falkcor]

Falkor- Thanks for the great review!!! It has been one of the best I have seen, Great job! We did the stingray city tour threw the cruise ship in 2007.. No snorkeling:(! We are going back to Grand Caymen this October, Taking the kids...They loved our pictures we took of the rays, they all said "Auwww we wanna do that!". I think it will be a nice suprise for them. The prices threw Moby Dick's are great and not only do you get to swim with rays but you get to snorkel too!!:D

 

my pleasure, glad you enjoyed it. i think that's a great surprise! moby dick was very reasonable and a great tour. i like the more intimate and private nature of the expedition - for instance, when we got there (later 2nd tour) there were plenty of people on the sand bar. so they decided we'd snorkel first. brilliant idea. by the time we were through snorkeling, we were one of only 3 boats on the sandbar! i'm sure you guys are gonna have a blast. :cool:

[Bdd2043]

I JUST got back from Cayman yesterday and we did Nativeway. DG and I loved it! Sharon was excellent and managed to find everyone even though there were 4 ships in port! The boat had under 30 people on it, and was not crowded at all. Everton, CJ and Solomon were great guides!

 

We saw a few boats at Stingray City and had to have 100 people on them jammed like sardines. I think one was Wallys Watersports or something like that. I heard that those are the ones that offer you the tour for $20 when you get off the ship. I'd stick with any of them reccomended on here.

 

GREAT fun!

[Hollyday]

We've done Capt Marvin's twice. Once with kids, once without. I'm not a strong swimmer and had a rough time on a rough day. Both of my kids are very strong swimmers and we all had a great time. The guides were amazing with those of us that didn't swim very well and the children. It is really great for everyone no matter what your swimming skill level is.

[MDSue]

wow, kinda didn't realize how long that was until i was posting it. but then didn't want to stop in the middle :cool:

 

i hope that was helpful. seriously though, it's a great experience and i highly recommend it. most of the tours are rather similar, but this is one i'd definitely recommend booking through an independent operator. in my opinion, moby dick was great. and i know a lot of the others are too.

 

BUT, this is a really 'safe' island and excursion, and it's much better to be with an independent operator than through the cruiseline-offered excursions. those boats are MUCH larger and carry 100-200 people. it'd be tight on the boat, and over saturated with people while in the water. and they MAKE you wear a life vest, which is kinda silly if you're standing in 3' of water.

 

do your research, and i'm sure you'll be happy with whatever you choose, it's a great experience.

 

I just wanted to say that you posted a fabulous review:) It brings back fond memories of my day in Grand Cayman. We used Nativeways, but the experience was very similar. You are right about the rays- They do seem to truly enjoy human interaction. It's really heartwarming to be out in the ocean, no cages and very willing participants for this wonderful attraction

Here's my stingray kiss: