Just booked Captain Marvins!!

[torontodisney]

I am worried my children will be afraid of the rays but I don't want them to miss it . I have an 8 year old and a 4 year old. Wow are they ever lucky kids, I never did anything like this when I was their age. Any info from you experienced cruisers would be great. We will be on the February 14th sailing. Anyone else booked Captain Marvins for that trip?

 

[tweidner]

We just returned from the 1/3/04 western cruise. We did Captain Marvin's and loved it. On the trip was my husband, almost 3 year daughter, 10 year old daughter and myself. As soon as we got to Stingray City, the 10 yr old and I were out of the boat. It was kind of unnerving at first when the rays would slide up against you but, it was also very exciting. I will say that it seemed as if everyone had to scream the first time one touched them. Men included. My daughter was very hesitant at first but I insisted she get out there and touch one. After that one of the guys who worked on the boat held one and asked if anyone else would like to. She didn't want to but, once again I insisted. She loved it. The next thing the guy did was hold the ray up out of the water and it would spit at you. Well of course she thought that was hilarious. The 10 year old had a great time, as did I. Now the 2 year old is a diffierent story. She got in the water with her Dad about the time that everyone was screaming. That was the beginning of the end for her. My husband stayed at the edge of the excitement and let her watch from a distance. A stingray came up and rubbed against my husband, that was the end of her stingray adventure. She was hysterical and they got back in the boat. The whole thing was too much for her and she ended up napping for the rest of the trip. All in all it was a great trip. I would recommend to anyone to take the Captain Marvin trip. The boat was clean, the staff friendly and you can't beat the price.

 

[mmouse37]

We also enjoyed Captain Marvins last year. Here are some pic links to our adventure with the rays!!! My DD14 and hubby were very skeptical about getting in the water (as was I at first) but then I jumped in and they saw how much fun I was having and soon followed!!!

http://community.webshots.com/photo/48196942/48731914ZhBAek

http://community.webshots.com/photo/48196942/48731982ojyNxN

http://community.webshots.com/photo/48196942/48732013Vsgszl

http://community.webshots.com/photo/48196942/48732141PeVoTW

MJ

 

[torontodisney]

Thank you so much. Sounds like my girls will love it.

 

[RKB]

It was great!! My 10 year old DS was a bit freaked out at first, but I convinced him to stay with me in the water and he ended up really having fun. They are so soft and velvety. We bought the DVD (45.00 VHS or 57.00 DVD).

 

[robins]

Hi,
We are also boooked for captain marvins on the 17th. There will be kids with us from the ages of 6-13. what time and excursion did you book.
Robin S

 

[fred ferdlap]

which captain Marvin tour did most people book?, They have a short stingray and snorkel or the half day which includes multiple snorkel trips?

We are thinking of the half day which is about 1 hour or so longer.

 

[tweidner]

We did the 8:30 AM two hour trip which was great with younger kids. If I had older kids, who relly enjoyed snorkeling, I would go on the longer trip.

 

[MarkLem]

We did the half-day last week from 10:00 - 1:00 with an 8, 6, and 2 1/2 year old. It was great! They all loved the boat (we had a beautiful sunny calm day).

The two snorkeling dives were actually better than Stingray City! The clarity was unbelievable - at least 100 feet. Tons of fish and great variety - the captain even got in the water at one spot and lured a 6 foot Green Moray Eel out of hiding with a piece of squid. It was as tame as a house cat or dog! Excellent experience.

We had to drag our 8 year old OUT of the water she was having so much fun. The 6 year old jumped in at the first snorkel site, looked around with me for a minute, then wanted to get back in the boat. Our youngest (2 1/2) stayed on the boat for the snorkel, but both my wife & I were able to get in together as one of the crew watched him (he also had a life vest on should anything happen) and our 6 year old. WE gave them a great tip at the end for freeing us up!

At Stingray City they all got in (the water is waste deep). The 6 year old and 2 year old were clingy, but nonetheless truly enjoyed touching the rays and looking at them through their masks.

We also got free rum cakes from Capt marvin at the end, and they dropped us off at the Holiday Inn beach, which we enjoyed for a couple great hours before taking a taxi back to the ship.

 

[toot2]

Great pictures. I'm going to try to get my family to go and the pictures will help!. The water looks so beautiful. It sounds like fun once you get used to the rays touching you.

How far in advance did you book with Capt Marvins? We'll be going in late April.

Why is this area so popular with the stingrays? I mean besides the fact that there are a bunch of tourists feeding them?

Sue

 

[fred ferdlap]

MarkLEM;

Good info, how many folks were on your tour?

We will be going out next week with our 2, 10,12. We figured the longer trip was better as DW and I would need to swap on and off with the little guy. although we have a blow up pool for him to ride in while we snorkel.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

If this is redundant forgive me; I have not been on these boards for a month or so.
Is Capt. Marvin's better than the DCL excursion? We definately want to do stingrays (kids will be 6,9 and 12) and were going to book the DCL stingray excursion (just the rays, not the hell/turtle farm stuff). What is the price difference?
Robin M.

 

[Diznut84]

Tweidner, we must have been on Captain Marvin's boat together!

My 6 year old was fine as long as I held her, but the 9 year old would have nothing to do with it. No problem! Let those who enjoy it go for it. The others can watch from the boat. Even my wife spent a minimal amount of time at Stingray City. She was also intimidated. In retrospect, she wishes she would have been more courageous, but I'm glad she made the decision for herself.

 

[MarkLem]

Originally posted by fred ferdlap
MarkLEM;

Good info, how many folks were on your tour?

We will be going out next week with our 2, 10,12. We figured the longer trip was better as DW and I would need to swap on and off with the little guy. although we have a blow up pool for him to ride in while we snorkel.

That was another nice thing about Capt. Marvin. Our boat was the least crowded of any that I saw at Stingray City. I'd say maybe 16-20. We saw other boats about the same size with twice that. If you get there early, and get on board, have one of the mates pick out some fins for you & your group before you leave the dock if possible (if there is time). That way when you hit the first snorkel site you are ready to get in, rather than wait to get fins sized. The three hour 10-1 trip goes by quite quicky, and was not long for the kids in the least.

Capt. Marvins (as I would guess other private boats would as well) blows away the Disney Stingray City excursion. First of all, the cutoff age on Disney is 5, so we wouldn't have been able to go at all with our 2 1/2 year old, and he was excellent on the boat - no problems at all. Second, Disney only goes to Stingray City and back. Stingray City was our third stop of three. Capt. Marvins was ALOT less expensive than the Disney excursion (for us almost $60 or so). And, we got free rum cakes which we ate after we got home from the cruise and were a nice remembrance of the trip. And the 3 hours was much nicer than being on the water for 2 (of course we had calm seas and nothing but sun all day).

 

[tweidner]

So how did everyone get rum cakes from Captain Marvin's? We didn't. On our way back to the ship we did stop at the Tortuga Rum Cake Factory and got a chocolate rum cake. We just finished it lastnight and I am already considering having them send me another. They are delicious.

 

[DMOMof3]

We will be on the February 14th sailing. Anyone else booked Captain Marvins for that trip?

torontodisney

we booked also for this trip, don't know how many boats Captain Marvin's send out for each excursion though.

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

Captain Marvins' is awesome. We used them on our honeymoon and it was truly one of the best experiences of our lives. We cannot wait to take our DD6 and DS5 to Stingray City with them. They watch the video we purchased and are looking forward to it. It is one of the main reasons we are going with the Western versus the Eastern.

Does anyone have their website so I can start looking into booking it. We stayed on Cayman Islands on our honeymoon so the hotel handled everything.

Everyone enjoy the experience!!!!

 

[DMOMof3]

http://www.captainmarvins.com/

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

DMOMof3:

Thanks--I guess I should of been able to figure that one out.

 

[Skybaby]

I have a question. Is Capt Marvins just for snorkeling? There will be 5 of us and 2 would not participate in snorkeling.