Grand Cayman - what do you do after the stingray excursion?

[Kim&Chris]

I think we're going to do the 2.5 hour excursion, which is perfect for us.

For those of you who have already done the Western Cruise, what do you do after the stingray excursion? Do you have time to shop? Do you visit Seven Mile Beach?

I admit to being very nervous about doing this stuff on our own because I have nightmares of not being able to get back to the ship on time & it leaving without us

I'd love to hear what experienced cruisers recommend - thanks!

 

[lovinaz]

I don't have an answer, but will be anxiously awating to hear what others have to say. We would like to take the public bus to the Turtle Farm after our Stingray City trip (which ends at 1pm) but I am like you - paranoid about missing the last tender back to the boat!

 

[GenieDana]

Nativeway has a trip to Rum Point after their Stingray City tour including a seafood BBQ on the beach.

http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/shiptours.html

We you can snorkel off-shore too; there are several great spots...

 

[windermerejudy]

Just my 2 cents
When you get back from the Stingrays it will probably be around 1:30. The Magic departs at 4:30 which means the last tender will probably be around 4:00 (?). The turtle farm is all the way to one end of the island and rum point is all the way at the other. Tender dock is relatively in the middle. If you were to go to 7mile beach you might have an hour. I recommend shopping as it is right at the dock. I have been there several times not on DCL and once with DCL and it honestly would make me very nervous to head very far off from the ship after returning from stingrays. One other thing to consider is its hot there and if you spend all day out in the bay with the stingrays are you really going to want to go to the beach? There are a lot of questions that are unpredictablelike are you going to get back right on time from the stingrays? How long is it going to take to get a cab and get to one of these places? Are there cabs waiting there to bring you back and how long will it take to get back?

 

[Kim&Chris]

Whoa! Good points! That's why I'm so glad the DIS boards exist.

Thanks

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

I concur with WindemereJudy.
I've played with the Stingrays more times than I can count...that, and swimming with dolphins are my fav things to do!!!

THe boat ride out and back will give you plenty of sunbathing time...more than you need probably. If you book a tour not thru Dis, but at the dock (there are many and cheaper), you can ask them to let you off on Seven Mile Beach if you really have your heart set on seeing it. It isn't all that special...it is nice, but the 'public' place where they let you off is really just ok. Actually, I 'd ask them to let you off at one of the main hotels and use that beach (the Westin and HI come to mind). What you'll have to remember is that even tho it is only 3 miles away...it is very congested traffic and you would only have an hour at most on the beach. I like to stop at a nice hotel for a drink by the pool/beach however, as I am not a shopper.

The shopping right by the dock is fun though...you can sample rum cake and the gold jewelry is nice as I recall. So if shopping is your thing anyway...that is what I would do.

going up to the turtle farm really wouldn't be enough time with your stingray visit ending at 1:30. If the ship leaves port at 4, my guess is the last 'scheduled' shuttle will be at 3...not 3:30. (tho that last shuttle is usually so full they HAVE to do a later one.)

I think you will so enjoy your snorkling with the rays that you will be very pleased and 'full' of adventure for the day...the turtle farm is really cute, but leave that for another trip.

 

[goofymama]

I concur with WindemereJudy.
I've played with the Stingrays more times than I can count...that, and swimming with dolphins are my fav things to do!!!

do you mind if I ask which tour(s) you have done to Stingray City? Have you gone through DCL or booked on your own? Which is your favorite? I definately want to do this on our next cruise, but I'm kind of nervous about not booking through DCL as I will probably leave my kids on board. At least if I booked with DCL, they would know where I went if something happened vs. just getting off the ship on my own.

TIA for your thoughts.

 

[Wavegirl]

If you go on the 2-1/2 hr trip with Captain Bryan's- the Catamaran stingray city tour its from 9:30am-12noon and they give you the choice of going to seven mile beach or back to the port area. We loved seven mile beach so we've done that many times, our kids love the water there, calm and clear.

Once we did the combo stingray city with Captain Bryans and then arranged a beach horseback ride right afterwards. They picked us up as soon as we got off the boat and took us out to the horses. Really nice day and we were back with time to buy the usually stuff, rum cakes etc

 

[mog]

We booked our own tour through Capt. Marvin's. I think it was the 11:00 AM tour that was 2.5 hours. We got back a little late, but still had some time for souvenir shopping. When we got off the ship, we went and checked in at Capt. Marvin's and had a short amount of time to wander around before having to be back to get on the bus for the tour.

 

[lovinaz]

Yikes, it sounds like I am a little too ambitious with my excursion planning! My DS9 and DD6 will probably be exhausted after the 3 hour Stingray City and snorkeling tour anyway... I know they'd love the Turtle Farm, but I'd be too paranoid about missing the boat to enjoy it. I never mentioned it to them, so they won't even know they are missing it!!

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[Momeska]

We booked the 3-3.5 hr. Stingray City Snorkel beginning at 1:00, admittedly concerned about the timing. Our bus picked us up and took us to the boat to take us to Stingray City. Our skipper told us he was having some trouble with his boat but had it all under control. About 1/2 hr. out, he said the problem had gotten worse and that he needed to return to get a different boat. Back we went and switched boats. I really don't know how long we spent at Stingray City but they didn't rush us at all and we had a nice long visit with the gentle creatures. Little did we know that the Magic was waiting for our tour to return. Once we got back on, they wasted no time in sailing off. We DID book through Disney...whether that matters or not, I don't know but when I booked it, the operator told me they would NOT leave without everyone aboard. Now, maybe she meant only those booking through Disney, that I don't know. But, how would they know where others are??? They obviously would know if you weren't aboard because your KTTW card is swiped when you disembark and when you return but unless you're booked through them, they wouldn't know where you are on the island. I know it's more expensive to book through Disney but considering our little boat mishap, the security of knowing they waited for us was well worth the extra $$.