Cayman Excursion Dilemma! (Captain Marvin's vs. Turtle Farm vs. ...)

[jeffmw]

Family of four (two adults, 6 yo and 4 yo) headed to Grand Cayman on the Magic in a few weeks. I originally booked the Dolphin Encounter, but from what I'm reading it seems kind of lame and we did something similar last year in Cozumel.

I'm looking at a couple options for what to do instead. In both scenarios we'd have to go outside of Disney's excursions. Would welcome any feedback on the following:

- Turtle Farm: Heard mixed things. We've heard it's great and a can't-miss for children my kids' age, but also heard it can feel dirty and that it has a reputation for being very inhumane. There's also the issue with getting to and from. It seems like taxis, etc. are safe and pretty easy to find, but I suppose I'd always be a little weary of leaving a planned tour

- Captain Marvin's Tour: I was looking at Stingray City and one or two snorkel spots? At first I ruled this out because my kids are average swimmers (and young, at that), but from descriptions it sounds like everyone wears a life vest and it's only 3-4 feet of water. It looks perhaps a little cleaner and less hectic than the turtle farm. Also, a little more organized as far as getting picked up at the tender spot.

On top of all this, we also would like to see a bit of the town as well (local shops, restaurants, etc.)

Any thoughts welcome! Thanks

 

[aliceinvunderland]

We’ve done Captain Marvin’s before and had a great experience! I haven’t taken young kids though, so maybe call and ask? There’s not much swimming involved at Stingray City, but I’m not sure a 4-year-old would be able to touch the ground. And some days the water is more rough than others. Another option would be to get a day pass at one of the hotels on Seven Mile Beach and just spend the day there. The water is usually very calm and perfect for young kids!

 

[dcassetta]

Family of four (two adults, 6 yo and 4 yo) headed to Grand Cayman on the Magic in a few weeks. I originally booked the Dolphin Encounter, but from what I'm reading it seems kind of lame and we did something similar last year in Cozumel.

I'm looking at a couple options for what to do instead. In both scenarios we'd have to go outside of Disney's excursions. Would welcome any feedback on the following:

- Turtle Farm: Heard mixed things. We've heard it's great and a can't-miss for children my kids' age, but also heard it can feel dirty and that it has a reputation for being very inhumane. There's also the issue with getting to and from. It seems like taxis, etc. are safe and pretty easy to find, but I suppose I'd always be a little weary of leaving a planned tour

- Captain Marvin's Tour: I was looking at Stingray City and one or two snorkel spots? At first I ruled this out because my kids are average swimmers (and young, at that), but from descriptions it sounds like everyone wears a life vest and it's only 3-4 feet of water. It looks perhaps a little cleaner and less hectic than the turtle farm. Also, a little more organized as far as getting picked up at the tender spot.

On top of all this, we also would like to see a bit of the town as well (local shops, restaurants, etc.)

Any thoughts welcome! Thanks

Captain Marvin's will allow you to add their Turtle Farm excursion to a Stingray tour as long as your time on shore permits.

The Stingray City area should be fine for your kids as the water is relatively shallow and you can hold them if needed. If they are not strong swimmers, I would not recommend deep water snorkeling even with a life vest.

 

[CinderellaDream]

We did Captain Marvin's excursion to Stingray City with snorkeling when our girls were 7 and 4. We absolutely loved it but our girls are good swimmers because we have a pool at home. Since they were so young we did take our own snorkel equipment so they were comfortable with it. In the snorkel areas, not only do they provide life jackets but they also provided pool noodles to help with flotation. I can't recommend Captain Marvin's enough! It was our first non-cruise line excursion and I was a little nervous but it was an amazing day.

 

[Mitura]

We just did a tour (not Stingray City) with Captain Marvin. Drop them an email, they are great. They will drive you around for a tour and do Turtle Farm just as a tour. But they will also do Stingray City (again we didn't do that). I'd definitely use Captain Marvin in a heartbeat, for either tour.

 

[Jason Lee]

I joined Captain Marvin to Stingray City before. I gave them a big thumb up and actually wrote them an email to praise the staff after (I rarely do that). Very professional, got a lot of info through out the tour, and had a great time with the Stingray and snorkeling as well. Highly recommended.

FYI I went to SC two times with different tours, Captain Marvin's staff are WAY better.

 

[Juan M]

We did Captain Marvin last year for a Stingray City and snorkel stop tour. They booked us on the 2nd boat out, which was perfect as it would've been a rush to tender and try and make the 1st boat, (they actually wouldnt book us on the first one as it would've cut it too close). That gave us plenty of time to shop and explore around the port area.

We made it to Stingray city before (or after) a lot of the other boats, so it was nice having it not be so crowded. Water is approximately 4 feet deep, so was able to hold our then 2 year old son with a life jacket. We didnt go snorkeling with him though, as my wife and i took turns staying on the boat with him. Our son ended up falling asleep on the boat ride back, and their shuttle driver was really accomodating, allowing us to leave him asleep in his stroller, and use the wheelchair ramp to lift him into the shuttle so he could stay asleep.

All in all it was a great tour experience, and i wouldn't hesitate to book them again or recommend them to anyone.

 

[AgentMama]

On our last trip to stingray city, there were a couple of kids that could not swim. It honestly didn't look fun for the parents even though the guides did their best to make it a positive experience for everyone. I'm not sure I would want to take children who aren't swimmers on that type of excursion, even with life vests. So average swimmers might be okay, but I'm not sure how competent average is.

I think the turtle farm is a neat, educational experience. There are places you can interact with young sea turtles and if you do the full tour option (we have never done that), there is a water park and area you can snorkel with turtles (I think some of the areas are shallow). I think the controversy over how humane the turtle farm is comes into play that while they have a large conservation breeding program, they also breed for consumption. I think the positive contribution they make outweighs the negative perception of the turtles for food issue. And they are not trapping and eating wild turtles.

 

[SL6827]

Family of four (two adults, 6 yo and 4 yo) headed to Grand Cayman on the Magic in a few weeks. I originally booked the Dolphin Encounter, but from what I'm reading it seems kind of lame and we did something similar last year in Cozumel.

I'm looking at a couple options for what to do instead. In both scenarios we'd have to go outside of Disney's excursions. Would welcome any feedback on the following:

- Turtle Farm: Heard mixed things. We've heard it's great and a can't-miss for children my kids' age, but also heard it can feel dirty and that it has a reputation for being very inhumane. There's also the issue with getting to and from. It seems like taxis, etc. are safe and pretty easy to find, but I suppose I'd always be a little weary of leaving a planned tour

- Captain Marvin's Tour: I was looking at Stingray City and one or two snorkel spots? At first I ruled this out because my kids are average swimmers (and young, at that), but from descriptions it sounds like everyone wears a life vest and it's only 3-4 feet of water. It looks perhaps a little cleaner and less hectic than the turtle farm. Also, a little more organized as far as getting picked up at the tender spot.

On top of all this, we also would like to see a bit of the town as well (local shops, restaurants, etc.)

Any thoughts welcome! Thanks

If you want to visit "local shops" go to Camana Bay. This place is awesome. Super nice, very much a Disney Springs vibe. Grab a taxi or a public bus there. Much, much nicer than the George Town shops. Just returned from Grand Cayman this week. I can't stress enough how much nicer this place is than the area of George Town.

 

[ForMyBoys]

Dito to the above. We did a tour to turtle farm with stingray city. As far as the Turtle farm we liked it and I didn't find it dirty or inhumane.

I actually found the stingray part more inhumane because the guys running the cruise had every family get photos with a large stingray. I felt bad for the stingray. And yes the water was clear and relatively shallow. My youngest was 6 and we still had to hold him a bit.

 

[angie7911922]

We did the Turtle Farm. Our boys really liked it. They were 7 and 4 at the time. When we were there (a couple years ago now) it was not dirty, or inhumane. We all really enjoyed it. We took a taxi, had no issues at all, and no problems getting back to the ship on time.

 

[Kkb0517]

I found the turtle center very clean and took a public bus (a mini van) really there easily. I really enjoyed it.