Excursions- Key West & Grand Cayman

[o bald one]

We are first time DCL cruisers(dd, dw,ds-12, dd-9,dd-4). We will be leaving on the 01-03-2004 Magic and would like to go kayaking in Key West. Has anyone had any positive or negative experiences with any of the companies?

We would also appreciate any recommendations for Grand Cayman snorkeling and scuba diving. We have read all of the great stuff about Capt. Marvin's. Is he really as good as he appears. Has anyone had kids on his trips? We are going with a large family gathering (25) with kids 6mos to 12yrs. We want to make sure we will all have a great day.

Thanks to everyone for all of the great information. We can't wait to experience it all ourselves.

 

[ThreeCircles]

Can't really offer much information about kayaking in Key West but I give Captain Marvins a very strong thumbs up!

We did the Stingray City excursion through Captain Marvins in August and had a blast. So much so, that we're planning on doing a longer excursion with them next time.

The staff was very friendly and professional and also had a lot of information about the areas we were visiting and about the aquatic life that we saw. From what I remember, there were all ages on the boat, including younger children.

Hope this helps!

Jason

 

[AnnMorin]

Top notch service all the way!!! I would use them again and again!!

 

[disneyeveryyear]

Ditto on Capt. Marvin's!

We were on the 11/8 cruise and booked a boat-load of DISers on the 3 hour cruise.

We were lucky enough to be piloted by Capt. Marvin himself. 87 and still goes out every day.

We had a lot of kids on our boat (age 9+), and a good time was had by all. Crew did a great job and we were joined by a videographer who did a great job. Just waiting for my DVD to arrive!

Don't hesitate to contact Capt. Marvin's. Ruth is wonderful to deal with online.

 

[BAKAROMA]

o bald one

I HOPE you will write a complete report when you get back we are western 1/17 and will really be getting antsy about everything and would love all info you could supply.

Keith

 

[mcnuss]

If you can find a trip report done last year in late November/early December by DisneyDarwin, he talks about Key West kayaking. We were supposed to meet his family there, but I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the outfitter. Sorry!

We used Red Sail Sports on Cayman for a catamaran snorkel cruise. I don't do well on motor boats so it was perfect for us. They served a nice lunch and it was a very lovely boat. They can be found at www.redsailsports.com.

Have a great cruise. I am soooo jealous!

 

[princessdaisy]

We are also sailing on the Jan 3, 2004 cruise! I was wondering the same about Capt. Marvins! we have a 21 month old who would be going with us.

 

[snelsonbrown]

Hi this is Shirley - I am an ol' conch (Konk) from Key West - born and raised there - first off I have a lot of information to offer as far of things to do in Key West and they are at no cost - all it does cost tho is the the stamps and envelope to sent it to you - you need a large manilla envelope, self addressed and with $3.75 worth of stamps on it - I fill it up and send it right back to you - now as for kayaking in Key West - that is the top of the joke list, then following such as the ghost tour, among a number of other stuff that is being offered. I witness the kayaking while I was "home" last weekend and Norm and I just sat there stunned as to where these are held - which is right off the only way out of Key West and it is a small bridge that runs right to the "kayaking" - there is nothing out there for the fishing, trapping of over the years, plus the growth of Key West - it is not worth the time or money - now I love my home town, but unfortunalty everything that can be thought up to charge the tourist is still being invented - Do as you wish, but I will not recommend farce.
Sincerely
Shirley

 

[tkd lisa]

I was going to suggest you ask Shirley about the kayaking thing, but she beat me to it!

As far as Capt. Marvins, we did the 1/2 day excursion with them and really enjoyed it. The boat was clean and safe (included a bathroom, unlike our fishing charter in Cozumel!), and the staff was very good about working with the kids if they were scared.

Our kids were 8 1/2 and 10 at the time. We also had DIS friends who had a 3 and 5 year old. The littlest one got in the water and paddled around at the first stop, but after that, he just stayed on the boat with his grandparents. I'm not sure if they charged for him, but if it were me, I wouldn't take a child younger than 5 or so unless they were a really good swimmer and very comfortable in the water. It seems a waste to pay for the adult excursion, then miss most of the fun because you're staying with the kids.

Just my two cents. Best of luck and have a great time.

 

[minniemouse1]

We went to stingray city this October with Capt. Bryans (don't recommend them). We brought with our group a 1 1/2, 2 1/2 and 2 3/4 yo and all was well. We bought very small inflatable pools from walmart (they had one ring and the floor also held a small amount of air) and put the 2 youngest in them with life jackets on and they worked great! They floated around and enjoyed the sun and water. The oldest child swam with the stingray with a life preserver on.

I recommend that if you are bringing very young children to make sure that you bring your own life jackets and the pools. We used them at Grand Cayman, Cozumel and at CC. We definately got our $0.97 worth.

Where the boat dropped us off at stingray city I nor my husband who is 6ft could not touch the bottom so they came in handy to just get the kids to the sand bar.

Have a great time and don't let anyone discourage you into leaving your children behind. We enjoyed bringing ours on every excursion. Other guests need to be aware that this is Disney so crying children is something they signed up for when they booked their cruise!

Enjoy and Good Luck

 

[mcnuss]

Shirley, with all due respect, I think there are still nice places to kayak in KW. I have friends who did it and loved it, and here is the quote from DisneyDarwin's trip report. NB: The guide takes them out of KW proper, quite aways away, hence getting out of the over-developed areas, I guess.

Key West. We went ashore and took the trolley tour. DW and I had done this before, but wanted to do it again as a good way to see the town and show it to DD. At about 2pm, we met our kayak guide, Leo, from Crystal Seas. He drove us north about 20 miles to Sugarloaf, where we took 2 sea kayaks out into the mangrove forests just off shore. We saw lots of birds (my wife is an avid birder), plenty of fish and a few nurse sharks. The trip was very quiet and very pretty, a great nature experience if you are in to that kind of thing. I prefer whitewater canoeing, but enjoyed weaving throught the mangroves and viewing the wildlife and scenery. Leo was a well educated guide, and a very polite and considerate guide. Be forewarned, that on a kayak trip such as this, you actually paddle yourself about. And, you may get tired or a tiny bit wet from paddle splashes. Also, it is VERY salty off shore, and you will beg for a shower afterwards. But, if this kind of trip appeals to you, and you know what you are getting into, you will really enjoy it.

 

[MarkLem]

We are also on the 1/3/04 Magic. We are signed up for Capt Marvins on the half-day with our 8, 6, 2 1/2 year old kids.

 

[o bald one]

Thanks for all of the great advice!

We had a friend recommend Nativeway for snorkeling in Grand Cayman. Has anyone used or heard good things about them. She had a great experience, but we haven't heard of this co. before. ::

 

[S. C.]

Here is a trip report about nativeway, sounds wonderful.
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=451358


Here is all the different ports of call Q&A forums on things to do. Just scroll down and there is a list of the ports.
http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=cfrm&s=927093444&f=253093035

Hope this helps.

 

[Chessa]

Hi, we are on the 1/17/04 cruise and are looking into Bayside Watersports. Has anyone had any dealings with them, or heard of them?

Thanks

 

[rae519]

My 8 year old son and I have horseback ridden on the beach at Grand Cayman with Nicki - and enjoyed it immensely. We highly recommend that as an activity. There is a weight limit. But her horses are beautiful, healthy and very well trained for both beginner and expert riders.

nikiride@candw.ky

Rae

 

[snelsonbrown]

Hi McNuss,
If the kakaying was done in Sugarloaf Key - then I do apologize - the ones I saw being offered around Key West were a disgrace and I still will not recommend it - Sugarloaf Key, at one time, was almost a very isolated key and the sights there were awesome from birds, wildlife to sea life - it is starting to being built up which will take away from the beauty of it all - guess it is called progress - the trip from Key West to Sugarloaf is very interesting and also Sea Plane Base is passed which at one time was very active with Military personals - also you pass Big Coppitt and see quite a bit of the Atlantic Ocean from US 1 -
You will also notice where at one time, a great deal of fishing, crabbing, crawfishing and conch was very easy to get - wade in water, reach down and the choice was whatever -
Anyhow thanks for sharing with me.
Always
Shirley

 

[rae519]

No trip to Canaveral is complete without a trip to see Shirley at her store!!!!

And you gotta "pet the pooch"!

Rae

 

[mcnuss]

Oh Shirley, no need to apologize! For us "foreigners", it all seems like Key West. I did not even realize that they'd left KW proper, just thought it was the outskirts. Anyhow, we're going to try it next year. Hope progress has not progressed too far by then.

Allison

 

[Bev J]

We used Nativeway for our tour last month, we really enjoyed this trip and our playtime with the rays. For where the boats anchor the water is deep, more than 6-8 feet. We had to swim about 20ft. to get to the sand bar where we could stand to interact with the rays. Eldon Ebanks was our guide and he was great and we had plenty of time at the sandbar and then moved to coral gardens for snorkeling. For a cost of $25pp this was the best bargain of our cruise. No video but pics were taken of us with the rays, a download is sent to your computer so you can print the pics when you get home.

I personally would not recommend this tour for kids under 5 or so since with ride out and back from the sandbar is a bit rough at times and takes about 20 min, I feel younger kids would get bored, there is no room to roam or anything to do on the boat. I think my 8 year old would just freek out with the rays all over him, when we cruise the mariner next year with our kids we will probably split up and take the older kids to stingray city and the younger to hell and the turtle farm.