Grand Cayman excursions

[Dreamtrip*]

Hello everyone!
I just had a question for anyone who has done a great Grand Cayman excursion. Which would you suggest? I am currently looking at Stingray City, but they all look great. OR should we just relax on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world? Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
We will be on the Magic the last week of April.
Thank you!

 

[shellymo]

We just did a stop in Grand Cayman last week. We used an independent tour called Moby Dick. It was highly rated on tripadvisor.com and we had a great time! We fed the sting rays at Stingray City and then snorkeled. About a 3 hour excursion and was $45 each. They also took young kids where the Disney one starts at 4+ There was a baby with his parents on this trip, no other kids but if that matters to some it is an option. Highly recommend them.

 

[KAS_73]

I've done two. Stingray city which we really enjoyed and Botswain's (or something close to that?) turtle farm which was somewhat underwhelming...

 

[anricat]

We did a great excursion that combined a little bus tour of the island with Stingray City and the turtle farm. It was just the right amount of time at the turtle farm and also stopped at Hell (for just a little too long, but it was still okay) and a stop at Stingray City, for, again, just the right about of time.

It was this one: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...an-island-tour-and-snorkeling-with-stingrays/

My DD is 7 and it was the perfect length for her. We were back to the ship in time for a late lunch after some quick shopping near the tender dock.

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

Just did the Grand Cayman Island Tour last month. They take you on a small shuttle around town and then stop at the Turtle Farm and at "Hell". Our driver also stopped us by the beach so we could take some pictures. I was traveling with my 6 year old and my 72 year old mom so it was perfect for us. We were back on the ship just in time for a late lunch.

 

[JW9DVC]

We did a great excursion that combined a little bus tour of the island with Stingray City and the turtle farm. It was just the right amount of time at the turtle farm and also stopped at Hell (for just a little too long, but it was still okay) and a stop at Stingray City, for, again, just the right about of time.

It was this one: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...an-island-tour-and-snorkeling-with-stingrays/

My DD is 7 and it was the perfect length for her. We were back to the ship in time for a late lunch after some quick shopping near the tender dock.

What tour operator did they use? As we are interested to book directly with the operator and cut out the additional cost from Disney.

 

[2prettygirl]

What tour operator did they use? As we are interested to book directly with the operator and cut out the additional cost from Disney.

We are looking to book with Captain Marvins Tours, check them out on Trip Advisor. The reviews are great! They are highly recommended on the message boards here.

 

[sparklinducky]

We also did the Grand Cayman Island Tour and loved it!

 

[crafty91]

It would help us to guide you if we knew your family dynamic. How many kids, are you/they athletic, like the water, laidback, etc. Some great stuff to do in Grand Cayman for all levels!

 

[anricat]

What tour operator did they use? As we are interested to book directly with the operator and cut out the additional cost from Disney.

No clue. It wasn't readily apparent and the only people on our tour were from the ship. I thought the price was reasonable, though, regardless.

 

[jrabbit]

I've done 3 different snorkeling excursions through DCL on Grand Cayman (I don't know the exact names ) over the past 12 years (#1 was done in the first year that DCL sailed the western Caribbean)

1. Shipwreck and Reef Snorkel - snorkeled around / over a sunken tug boat. This was RIGHT IN FRONT of where the Magic was anchored (so cool). It was like snorkeling in fish tank since the tour operators had fish food. so lots of fish and the tug boat. We then moved a little ways and snorkeled over reefs that were very active with fish and other critters

2. "Stingray City" - but ours was NOT the one where you go to the sand bar. We were in the "general area". we snorkeled in 20-30 feet deep water. If you went venturing into the reef / breakwater reef if you were not careful you could end up in less than a foot of water. But there were lots of cool sea-life and crustaceans. And we say a couple of sting rays as well.

3. Kittiwake - this ship was sunk here on purpose several years ago. It's in over 60 feet of water (it's a big ship). the top of the ship at places is less than 20 feet underwater. We where there on a fairly cloudy / stormy day but you could see the ship easily, and there was enough fish in the area to keep it interesting. We moved closer to shore for the second snorkeling stop - where we snorkel over a reef. With the overcast, the colors of the reef and of its inhabitants was pretty muted (I blame the weather)

I would do any of these excursions again.

Have only had an underwater camera for a few years so here's a couple of pics from the Kittiwake and the nearby reef. The Kittiwake is a popular Dive location. The person you see without air tanks was part of our snorkel group. He said that it was a bit of a stretch for his lungs to make it there and back again - I would not have tried this, but I'm old. Oh yea, you can see the dark clouds as we were boarding the catamaran. I will spread these pics over a couple of posts ....

 

[jrabbit]

pic post 2 of 3

 

[jrabbit]

pic post 3 of 3

 

[misbwb]

Hello everyone!
I just had a question for anyone who has done a great Grand Cayman excursion. Which would you suggest? I am currently looking at Stingray City, but they all look great. OR should we just relax on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world? Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
We will be on the Magic the last week of April.
Thank you!

My wife and I will be on that same cruise and are already signed up for the Sea Trek experience!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Our family did Stingray City last year and we all loved it! We were quite a mixture of ages too in that my DD was 5, I'm in my 40's and the 3 grandparents were in their 70s. All of us LOVED it!!

 

[sambycat]

The first one you mention, snorkeling in front of the ship, we did that too and I saw the most creatures I've ever seen so far snorkeling. We really liked it. People were nice, small group, you go to two locations to snorkel and who'd have think that right there in front of the ship and the dock area there would be so much to see!

 

[Debbie]

We did a great excursion that combined a little bus tour of the island with Stingray City and the turtle farm. It was just the right amount of time at the turtle farm and also stopped at Hell (for just a little too long, but it was still okay) and a stop at Stingray City, for, again, just the right about of time.

It was this one: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...an-island-tour-and-snorkeling-with-stingrays/

My DD is 7 and it was the perfect length for her. We were back to the ship in time for a late lunch after some quick shopping near the tender dock.

We are looking to book with Captain Marvins Tours, check them out on Trip Advisor. The reviews are great! They are highly recommended on the message boards here.

We did the Captain Marvin's tour of Hell, turtle farm and then Stingray City. It was a little cheaper than Disney. On the bus part of the tour, there were just 6 of us. On the stingray/snorkel boat, there were probably 25 from about 2 1/2 to us oldsters. DH did NOT snorkel well, but the crew gave him LOTS of attention and support. I would ABSOLUTELY do this again! In fact, I'm hoping that my DSis will do it in January next year when we do the Western Caribbean on NCL.

 

[coupon cache]

We went last year and had an amazing excursion! We booked privately through Stingray Sailing. There was literally less then 10 passengers on the boat. It was a catamaran, and there was room for about 8 people on the fabric part. It was amazing, less expensive than Disney, and sooo much more relaxed! We saw the Disney boat pull up and dozens of people just poured out, packed in like sardines. We then got to snorkel on the reef for a while, snorkel gear provided for free! They were highly rated, and I would definitely recommend them!

 

[Dreamtrip*]

I thank everyone for their input. My girls are 7 and 9...very adventurous. Up for anything. Based on the feedback, I am going to look into booking an excursion privately. I would love the catamaran! Thanks to everyone!