Stingray City?

[kdmkdm7]

Can anyone give me suggestions for a good tour to the Stingray City Sandbar in Grand Cayman?

 

[kpros]

We used Native Way Sports back in May. They did a great job and were somewhat less expensive then some of the others.

Ken

 

[WDWLVR]

We did the Disney excursion that included Hell and the Turtle Farm. I've also heard really great things about Captain Marvins.

 

[cjsmith]

We did Captain Marvins in June 2003 and as you can see by my tag , loved it and them!

 

[TammyC]

Another vote for Capt Marvin!

 

[cotomom]

And another vote for Captain Marvins!!! Fantastic!

 

[Jules1]

We had a great experience with Captain Marvin's....

 

[two4ruff]

We were lucky to have THE Captain Marvin guide our tour!

Would book with them again in a heartbeat (but then anyone who gives me free rum cake wins my heart!)

 

[Mmketeer]

Hi,

I just got off of RCCL's new Mariner of the Seas ship out of Port Canaveral at the begining of December (been there, done that before on DCL and wanted to try the newest and biggest ship out of that port) and I went to Stingray City with Nativeways.
www.nativewaywatersports.com

I highley reccomend them as they are only $25.pp if you book with them online in advance. They were professional, knowledgable and a breeze to use. They will meet you at the port where the boat docks, right under a covered rotunda. Their are lots of tour groups meeting up there so you can't miss them...just look for the guy holding up the Native Way's sign. We gathered in another area and were then taken on a shuttle van to a yacht club (not what I would consider a yacht club here in Florida, but a nice boat dock with boat storages and a fill up area). No restrooms or restaurants or bars at this so called yacht club, so go before you go and don't skip on breakfast if you know what I mean. The dive boat we went out on was clean and the guides were very freindly and extremly knowledgable. The lady who owns the company did a great job hiring her employees in my opinion. They served water and juice on the way out and the way in and provided all the nec. equipment like fins, masks, snorkels and life vests (if you wanted them). They take you to the sandbar to swim with the stingrays and even provide the food to feed them. The stingrays are everywhere...you can't even hardly step on the sand without stepping near one. Keep this in mind if your at all sqeemish, cause you can not wear any type of shoes at the sandbar as it will hurt the rays. My suggestion if standing and having them swim next to you and under your feet is to much then take the boat's life vest they offer and just float over them. The water at the sand bar they went to was about chest high and I am 5'4, so their is plenty of room to float over them without touching them. Though it's hard to control your movement with the waves doing it this way. Yes, I figured this out after I about drowned my husband trying to climb on top of him to get these things away from my leggs and feet. I know, I know, and I am a Florida native and swim with these things here all the time when I snorkel, but hey it was different this way, really! <BG> Anyway the guides are Cayman natives, real friendly and they will hold the rays out of the water so you can take a picture with them or touch them and they will even tell you their age and sex! Then, they take you over to another area to do a little open snorkling near a few reef areas. I enjoyed going with them and we only had 14 people on our boat, so a pretty small group as out of those 14, two were kids (that absolutley refused to get in with the rays) and two were older adults that had already been there and done that before, so they just stayed on the boat the whole time to watch their family do the excursion.

Have fun no matter who you choose,
Mmketeer

 

[dianthus]

We did Stingray City with Nativeway too. Owners Eldon, Sharon & their crew are great. Really nice boats & helpful crew. It was $25 PP with an online ressie you do by email with the owners, paid at the yacht club- no deposit req., which is nice if you don't get into the Cayman's or weather is nasty. We had 16 on our boat- 3 kids. The DCL excursion in the distance looked like a mob scene...


Mmketeer explained everything so well. I would go with them in a heartbeat again. They will drop you back in Port afterwards or drop you at 7 mile beach- your choice. The day we were there the water was very choppy, wavy, but still great. 2 of them dove in to get an older gentlemen who was in trouble on the reef snorkeling afterward. He went out too far & the choppy water was pounding him. They got him in with no problems. It was a great experience!

Mmketeer~ I know this is off topic, but how did you like the Mariner? We saw her in Port ready for her Maiden voyage after our last DCL cruise & she looked magnificent! After 3 DCL cruises, we're ready to try another ship! I'd be interested in hearing your comparisons & experience, as you have sailed DCL before. DCL doesn't have much for tweens as far as programming goes & we heard RCCL is better for this age group.

~ Linda

 

[sstucush]

WDWLVR- Would you do the Disney Stingray City excursion again or would you try one of the independent guys? Is it really super crowded? We are strongly leaning toward Disney for all of our excursions because it seems like the "safest" decision and this is our first cruise.

 

[ELIJAH'S GRANDPA]

We took the Stingray City and Island Tour though Disney and had a great time!
John

 

[The Brechun's]

Thumbs up Captin Marvin's.

Did stingray tour with wife and 8 year old daughter in Oct 2003 and it was fantastic.

 

[grlzmom]

Another thumbs up for Capt Marvin They really did a great job with our tour. We also had Capt Marvin himself and had an incredible day.

 

[jgalecpa]

Three Recommendations:

Capt Marvins, or
Capt Marvins, or
Capt Marvins.

They were great.

Some on our trip last week used DCL and had there trips cancelled at the last minute because of "rough water". We were out the same day at the same time and the water was fine.

One last tip:

Capt Marvins.

Jim

 

[airbusdrvr]

We will be in GC on Feb 3 and would like to know if anyone has done Sting Ray City around this time of year and what the water temps and conditions were like .

 

[inkkognito]

We did the Disney tour and did not find it to be crowded at all. All the people were broken down into vanloads for the visit to Hell and the turtle farm. Then we drove to a pier with a number of small boats. Each vanload of people had its own boat, so we didn't feel crowded or rushed. The captain of the boat spent all the time in the water with us giving us food for the rays, helping us hold them for photos, and coaxing in any reluctant kids. Although the boat was small, it had a (tiny) bathroom and a fresh water showerhead to rinse off as we reboarded. The only caution I would give you is that it came back much later than the stated time.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Skybaby]

Does Capt Marvins have a web site? Any info would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[MNmom]

Try Captainmarvins.com We are booked there two weeks from TODAY

We were there last year too on a RCCL cruise for Valentine's Day and the water was great with air temps in the upper 80s.

 

[toot2]

Thanks for the reviews and web site!

How far in advance did you book Capt Marvins? We'll be on the Magic late April.

Has anyone had problems when they had to cancel?

Half-day or short excursion? It's my DH, myself, DD 16 and DS 14.

Oh yes, my DD is only 5' 2" and wants to know how deep the water is!

Thanks!