Stingray City--not with Carnival

[Chris and Em]

Hi everyone:

 

Just got back, literally today... from a great cruise aboard the Carnival Freedom. The ship is great, you'll have lots of fun...

 

At our Grand Cayman Stop, we used Nativeway for the stingray, reef and rum beach excursion. It was an excellant adventure. The crew, especially Solomon our Captain was great. They were at the port waiting for our arrival and our experience was wonderful. I would highly recommend this company and this excursion. Rum Point Beach was clean, the restrooms were spotless, and the food was great. Alcoholic drinks were expensive, but that's par for the course in Grand Cayman..

 

Enjoy.....

[trvllover]

Glad to hear you had a great trip! I totally agree, I took this tour through them in January, and LOVED it! They were great! :)

[DDFla]

We went with Moby Dicks On July 1st and couldn't have been happier. Smaller operation, more personalized, very good crew. Booked online, saved about $30 a person over the ship. Wish the ship would have been in port longer.

[sns101]

We just went with Stingray Sailing on June 29th and couldn't have been happier with our choice. We preferred sailing over on the catamaran, and by not going on to Rum Point we gave ourselves more time in port if we wanted to shop or eat. However, from the reviews on this board it sounds as if there are many good choices without paying extra going through Carnival.

[PlanoDebbie]

My exact feelings.... Top Notch tour operator and once you go to Rum Point and the gorgeous water and wonderful meal served... you will want to come back soon !

 

I have to agree. Based upon the many positive reviews I read here on CC, we booked with Nativeway and did the Rays, Reef and Rum Point excursion.

 

Everyone in our group of six was SOOOO impressed with them and kept asking me how I found them. Price was great too, as it included lunch!

 

We were just in Cayman last week, and would absolutely book with them again. I told our Captain Thomas that I found them through Cruise Critic and would definitely be posting a very positive review of them as well.

 

Very small groups. We had 17 guests and 4 crew on our boat. They could have easily packed double that amount on the boat, so we had plenty of room to move about and sit in sun or shade.

 

They also took some awesome pictures that you may purchase as well. Absolutely NO PRESSURE or guilt if you choose not to buy them. So.... of course I think everyone purchased the CD of pictures.

 

Two thumbs up for Nativeway!

[PlanoDebbie]

Does native ways get you back to the ship in time? Just a little nervous not booking thru the ship.

 

We were just on Cayman last week and booked with Nativeway. Our port time was 7:00 - 4:00. Our tour was supposed to start at 8:30, but we were waiting for one more party of two who had pre-booked. By 8:45 we had to give up on them. Had about 35 folks on our bus to the boats. Our group was split between two boats. We had plenty of room to sit in sun or shade and move around on the boat. Tour included a stop at Stingray City, Barrier reef for snorkeling and lunch at Rum Point Beach. Our lunch was included in the cost of the tour. We also had nearly 90 minutes AFTER lunch to enjoy the beach and water. We left Rum Point Beach around 1:30 and arrived back at the pier around 2:15. Last tender was supposed to be at 3:00, but they kept running tenders until about 3:45.

 

So...to answer your question, we had plenty of time to get back to our ship. This was the first time I've booked outside of the cruiseline, and I would absolutely pick them again. The tour was pier to pier. We did not just get dropped off at the Beach and have to find our own way back to the pier. It was great.

[AngelMc78]

I just booked our Stingray City excursion through MobyDickTours. $40 per adult. I did the reservation on their website, and received my emailed confirmation today. Pay cash when we check in. Easy as that! So excited!!!

[happybooker1]

There were 27 on board the cat. Plus Capt. Chip, his father, and Mark to help out.

 

I booked & paid online. They were waiting for us @ the dock to take us to the boat. We were out on the sandbar with the 'rays by 9:15! We were the second tour out there so the 'rays were extra-hungry! It was an amazing adventure and one to not be missed!

 

They put up the sails on the way back and we just lazed about the boat. We were back in town by 12:30 or so and had the driver drop us off @ Margaritaville. There is a free slide there, so DS amused himself on the slide while I had a couple of drinks and then we shared a plate of nachos. We hit a few of the stores around there also, and had plenty of time to shop. I loved GC!

[jbroons]

YES! Do Nativeways....Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour. http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/

 

I learned about them here on CC and good reviews from Tripadvisor. Small groups...personal service and Rum Point is just awesome! It includes lunch on the beach at Rum Point.

 

 

Yep, this is absolutely the way to go.......excellent!! $62pp for 5 hours....45 mins with the rays, 45 mins snorkeling and included hot lunch at beautiful Rum Point Beach...Do it!!!

[jess1851]

Yep, this is absolutely the way to go.......excellent!! $62pp for 5 hours....45 mins with the rays, 45 mins snorkeling and included hot lunch at beautiful Rum Point Beach...Do it!!!

I agree! We just sailed on the Valor on 6/28 and booked the Rays, Reef & Rum Point tour with Nativeways. It was amazing! Our boat had approximately 20 people on it. Not crowded at all. We were able to get personal attention with the stingrays and were able to hold and feed the stingrays as well as the stingray "massage". The excursions through Carnival seemed very crowded and I'm not sure that many of those people even got to hold/touch the stingrays.

 

After the stingrays, we snorkeled at the Barrier Reef for almost 45 minutes. It was beautiful and there weren't any other snorkelers around.

 

We then went to Rum Point Beach. So beautiful! Our boat captain gave us such personal attention -- always checking on us to see if we were ok or if we had any questions. Lunch was included in the price. I had the jerk pork plate which was amazing!! My husband had the jerk sandwich which was good as well. I noticed that the drink prices were expensive (similar to the Carnival prices on the ship) but I've heard that Grand Cayman is very expensive.

 

All in all, I would definitely recommend Nativeways. They were amazing. They accept credit cards and the charge showed up promptly on our card (sometime w/international purchases there is an annoying delay).

 

If we go back to GC, we'll definitely use Nativeways again!!

[Divine-Miss-N]

Another vote for Nativeway! We were in Grand Cayman on June 25th and we booked the Stingray and Island tour. It was fantastic. We were a party of 8 and were joined by a party of 3...We enjoyed ourselves. Sharon is great. Eldon - our land tour guide, Andrew and Chris-our stingray city tour guides were all professional yet laid back...Can't wait to go again! Price was very reasonable and we appreciated not being with the crowds! Nativeway is the way to go!

[pjtulsa]

Another vote for Native Way's Reef, Rays & Rumpoint! We did it in Oct. and it was one of the Best Excursions I have ever done... I had a group of Teens with me that absolutely LOVED it!!!

 

You won't be sorry if you go with Native Way!

[johndavidsimmons]

Quick question about Nativeways. For the snorkeling portion, how deep is the water? I will be with a non-swimmer, and it will be hard enough to talk her into the sandbar / stingray part much alone snorkeling!

[Perfect Stranger]

What time does Moby Dick leave in the morning? Web site says it depends on ships time. I e-mailed them regarding a specific date but haven't heard back.

[ronllave]

What time does Moby Dick leave in the morning? Web site says it depends on ships time. I e-mailed them regarding a specific date but haven't heard back.

They leave at 8 AM local time (sometimes the ship is 1 hr ahead so double check about that). However, on days where there are multiple ships in port, they sometimes will do a second tour that leaves at 10:40 AM local time. The day I will be there, they are doing two tours. I requested the later one since I heard that it is less crowded at stingray city at that time.

[Perfect Stranger]

OK, thanks. They will be an hour ahead when I'm there. I'd rather take the earlier one because there's probably a longer line at the tender in the afternoon.

[DBKK]

Has anyone booked recently for Stingray and snorkel with Frank's and if so, any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.