captain marvins

[wendyk]

Hi Everone:

I am thinking of booking captain marvins 2 hour excursion with the sting rays. My daughter is 8 and will go in the water with my husband. I will stay on the boat with our son (19 months)
Is this an OK excursion for the toddler? Is the boat they take you on really small? Will we be able to make the 8:30 am trip?

Thanks,
Wendy

 

[AnnMorin]

they have different size boats, we were on a small one but they did have a larger on go out the same day. There were ten people on our boat and you can get in and out of the water as you please. They were excellent. Our DS nine was a bit nervous at the sand bar (had no problem at the reef) and the guide picked up a sting ray and carried it over for him to pet while he was still on the boat. Then mike went in the water. We requested the small boat which I would recommend you do. They were great!

 

[wendyk]

Thanks for your reply. What time did you go out? Will the 8:30 be too early for us?

 

[AnnMorin]

we took the 11:15-1:15 tour. I am sure you could make the 8:30 but it made me nervous with the tender situation. We took our time had a good breakfast and still tendered in by 9:30. We spent the time shopping (but did not pay for anything until after our snorkle trip) that left us plenty of time to get back to the ship avoiding the tender crush. The trip does take longer than two hours by the way, we did not get back to captian marvins store front until after 2:00. It was just great, we will definately do it again!

 

[sassytpotts]

You can make the 8:30 trip, no problem.

We had plenty of time for the 11:00 trip. (Thank goodness, we did not realize two block to the left was more like 10 blocks. We kept turning around and wasted a lot of time. Just keep walking to the left until you see the yellow building after the church. They must think of blocks differently.)

We took the smaller boat. It was awesome, but my 10 year old, 12 year old and 14 year old were a little freaked out by the rays. They are harmless and once you let go of the fear, it's no problem. Some of their fear I am sure was because the seas were choppy and they couldn't touch bottom where we entered the water.

Be prepared for crowds no matter what size your boat is because there were plenty of other boats at the site at the same time.


It was a really neat experience.

 

[Masonpips]

We did the 3 hour tour and it was wonderful. DD (3) LOVED the stingrays and begged to pet more, hold more, feed more, etc. She was laughing the whole time. DS (5) loved them at first but got a leg scrape and then was slightly freaked. Once he got back on the boat, he was fine.

We had a decent size boat, about 20 people and it was the BEST excursion I've ever done - highly recommend it.

Both of my kids attempted to snorkel and did a great job (this was prior to the ray visit) but the waves were a bit much for them and they got salt water in their mouths so then it was all over for that. We just held them for the ray part (with life jackets).

Be warned that when you first get out of the boat, the rays literally swarm your legs and it's a riot, but can be scary. They are HUGE (60 pounds) and you feel as if you might be knocked over (but the water is very shallow). They will not hurt you, they just know you're bringing food

 

[jennifersmith23]

We also did the Captain Marvins 2 hours tour but I believe we did the 1:45 - 3:45 one. It was definately worth it and ended up being cheaper than the Disney excursion. We were on a smaller boat (I believe there were 9 in our party). My then 6 year old loved swimming with the sting rays (holding on to hubby of course) and I was the one who freaked out and got back on the boat.

It is definately a unique experience and I would like to try it again.

I would NOT recommend the 8:30 trip because you would cut it close. They always tender the people going on Disney excursions first and it is a 10 minute walk to the shop. They also want you at the store earlier than the time of the excursion because they have to drive you to the boat dock (about another 10 minutes). Give yourself a little more time. It is your vacation time and you don't want to have to stress over making it on time.

 

[Bob Noble]

No worries about the 8:30. We did the full day with CM in November and found ourselves waiting for the shuttle bus with a half hour to spare for coffee and muffins ( next door).

Please do not fall for the Disney excursion off first threat, it is just not true..We were on the first tender off the ship and it had plenty of room to spare.

Have fun and save money by booking on your own.

 

[Rikersmom]

How do you get in touch with Captain Marvin's?

 

[TeamMom011]

you can deal directly with them at www.captainmarvins.com. The website has their snail mail address: PO Box 413 WB, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands and their e-mail:info@captainmarvins.com