Best family excursions in grand cayman?

[Kittylover513]

We'll be going on the Fantasy in Feb with our 9 and 5 year old. What would be so,e good family excursions there? I was looking at the stingray city, but honestly I'm a little afraid of stingrays...I'd get over it if it's a great excursion. Suggestions?
Thanks!

 

[JohnDS]

We are thinking about Boatswain's adventure marine park. Sea turtles, tropical fish and lunch is included. Stingray city was also high on our list though.

 

[mrssmiddy]

We did the dolphin adventure and turtle farm with a 10 and 6 year old and my parents. We all loved it!

 

[ocspartan]

We are thinking about Boatswain's adventure marine park. Sea turtles, tropical fish and lunch is included. Stingray city was also high on our list though.

Has anyone done the turtle park on your own? so purchasing tickets direct instead of through DCL? if so any tips on transportation to and from? seems like a huge savings but didn't know if there were unexpected challenges.... thx

 

[JohnDS]

We were planning on purchasing through disney, for what I presume is more like door to door service and the peace of mind that we won't "miss the boat"

 

[bliscum]

I did the dolphin and turtle farm excursion and it was awesome. Cheaper than Nassau. Just remember if doing dolphins to bring credit card for cd of photos.

 

[CruisingSarah]

We'll be going on the Fantasy in Feb with our 9 and 5 year old. What would be so,e good family excursions there? I was looking at the stingray city, but honestly I'm a little afraid of stingrays...I'd get over it if it's a great excursion. Suggestions?
Thanks!

Be sure that your kids will be up for the stingrays before you spend that money, I read that they can be huge and some people really aren't comfortable around them. I think the rays at CC might be a gentler experience.

I fancied the turtle farm as apparently you can swim with turtles which appealed to me more than rays! But my 8 year old didn't seem so bothered about it.

So we took a minivan taxi for $5 each up to Public Beach/Sea Grape Beach which is just along from Tiki Beach where the ship tour goes. It was a nice spot, there was a great beach bar where we had drinks and lunch, we rented chairs for $4 each and snorkel gear from Red Sail just there for about $10. My husband and son also went out on a waverunner. We walked up the beach a little to the reef and snorkelled there and saw quite a lot of fish. We had a really nice day even though it was quite a rainy day. The taxiwas fine and easy, the driver really nice and when we wanted to leave there were taxis waiting outside but you could have made an arrangement with the driver dropping you for a specific time.

 

[KayR]

We visited Stingray City during 2012 - took a non Disney excursion which visited 3 places for snorkeling / experiencing the stingrays. On a previous cruise we did Disney's Castaway Cay Stingray experience.

Hands down, for seeing and interacting with the rays, Stingray City wins.

However, the rays can get pretty big, and because they are offered free food, there are a lot of them hanging around. That is cool because you get to see a lot of the rays swimming around you and up to your legs, but it can freak out some people. The rays are very used to human visitors and I never felt there was a safety issue. Both of my kids didn't spend long in the water, but were happy to sit at the edge of the boat and watch from a 'safer' distance (it may have been the rays that made the decision for them, or it may have been the fact that there were drinks and snacks on the boat!). They were 8 and 12 at the time. This was also our last stop of the day and the kids may have simply just had enough time in the water.

Here is a photo to give you an idea of the number of rays



and this should give you an idea of how big they get and the fact that they will get really close to you.

I loved the excursion and would happily do it again.

 

[barbmouse]

Our GC was one of our favorites ever! I don't recall the exact company name but we did a catamaran sail and snorkeling trip. We met them at 7 Mile beach and sailed and snorkeled in two different locations/wrecks. Our group had teens/tweens and adults and we all really enjoyed it. We also had time left to shop after the excursion.

 

[IrishCowboy]

If you are going to do a stingray excursion, look into Captain Marvin's in Grand Cayman. We've used them 3 times and always had a great time.

Smaller groups, better service and much cheaper than Disney excursion.

 

[Sixks]

Just off the Wonder and loved Grand Cayman. We did not book any excursions through Disney. We did a dolphin swim, Turtle Farm, and the beach all on our own. We went to Dolphin Cove (the other Dolphin place that Disney is not contracted with). They were much cheaper and included transportation. We paid $75 a person to swim with the dolphins with kids 8 and under free. DS did the encounter since he couldn't swim and he was free (only paid $59 for me). The CD of experience was $80 for all the pictures of all the people in your group. You can't just buy a single print. We really enjoyed it and the company was great to deal with. They also had a package you could buy that would take you to stingray city and back. We didn't want to do stingray city, so Dolphin Cove then drove us to the Turtle Farm instead of back to the ship. All 4 of my kids LOVED the Turtle Farm. There is a wading tank you can get in and hold the turtles (not swim with them) but you can also stand on dry ground and pick the turtles up out of the water. Then we just got a taxi to the beach and then back to the ship. Grand Cayman is very easy to do on your own.

 

[3Adevas]

We did the snorkel and Stingray tour while in GC on The Fantasy in 12/2012. We used private company called Moby Dick's- outstanding group of people! I too was a little unsure of what to expect and if we would like it, but was SOOOOO glad we did it! It was the most awesome thing I have ever done! I only spent a minimal amount of time in the water with the rays-DH spent the entire time in the water. DS was 3 1/2 and he went in for just a quick pet. The crew made us very comfortable and the rays are like professional entertainers-they seemed quite used to the people experience. Just sitting on the boat looking at the crystal clear water and the experience was just fantastic and once in a lifetime, in my opinion.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

If Marine life is what you like, I once again have to recommend Sting Ray City Sandbar. We did this with Carnival on a yellow brand new modern catamaran. I think the tour company had a turtle on their logo. It was top notch. The sting rays are great. If they want to be around you, they will, if they don't, they won't. My mom pretty much worries about EVERYTHING and even she was ok with it? So as long as you don't have people terrified of sea life, it should be pretty top notch. We loved it. It was natural sea creatures being sea creatures, no tanks, no tails clipped, basically paradise. Our wristbands let us in to Royal Palm beach to enjoy the rest of our day, which was perfect on 7 Mile beach and only $4 shuttle back.

 

[StephC1217]

We did Captain Marvins on our June 2013 cruise. They have a special back to back tours that you can sign up for, especially made for the times that DCL is docked. The first one takes you snorkeling and to Stingray City. The second tour brings you to Turtle Farm and Hell. The turtle farm was cool- we got to pick up and hold baby turtles. We enjoyed it but probably wouldn't do it again now that we have already seen it. I think if you do the Turtle Farm on your own, you can also swim with the turtles. Hell is a tourist trap but we didn't mind seeing it once!

Stingray City was awesome! My son was 7 at the time- he was nervous at first but then ended up loving it. He was petting the stingrays and feeding them. The stingrays are really cool. They love people and will rub right against you like a cat! I found it amazing to see a sea creature who loved people! And they are super smart. We loved this part of the excursion and I highly recommend it!! Some photos from Stingray City

 

[yvetticonfetti]

We really want to do the turtle farm and stingray city, but I am concerned that the only option DCL has is with you spending 2 hours driving around the town which only gives you 30 minutes with the turtles and 45 with the stingrays. They do have the turtle farm only package but that is $95 per person, with a family of 5, that is crazy. Plus, we would miss Stingray City. That is why we are also considering doing the turtle farm on our own. Any thoughts?

 

[n8nally]

would also love to hear more about doing the turtle farm on your own. We are hoping to snorkel and have some beach time, but I would love to add the turtle farm into the day if I can do it on my own without Disney to save $$.

 

[JohnDS]

would also love to hear more about doing the turtle farm on your own. We are hoping to snorkel and have some beach time, but I would love to add the turtle farm into the day if I can do it on my own without Disney to save $$.

The rates are here,

http://www.turtle.ky/

I don't believe you have to book in advance but you can through the website. You should be able to take a cab from the pier to the turtle farm, all the info is on their website.

 

[Four Swampers]

We went on the Atlantis submarine. Enjoyed it quite a bit.

 

[joycsk]

Can anyone weigh in on pros/cons of each?

Thanks SO much!

 

[JohnDS]

We went on the Atlantis submarine. Enjoyed it quite a bit.

Cool pictures, I wanted to do the submarine, but I got outvoted.