What are some good companies to book through in Grand Cayman?

[Jaymee287]

I just recieved an email today and our excursions that we were planning to book later this week for our June 2010 cruise is full...... :( this is our first cruise and we are sad to see that happen. BUT I guess that just means theres something BETTER out there for us :o.

 

We had planned to do a Stingray Sandbar, Coral Garden snorkel, and Starfish Snorkel, through NativeWay Watersports.

 

So please any suggestions that you have on companies or excursions. We are avoiding the ship and have saved almost $200.00 just by doing our research!

 

We have heard that Grand Cayman is fabulous for Snorkeling and we would like to do the Stingrays. So please offer your assistance if you know of anything.

[GinDon]

We did the Stingray Sandbar excursion with Moby Dick, and can highly recommend them. There are two stops.....................one is a deeper water snorkel (about 45 min. I think), then on to Stingray City. There, the water is waist deep, and you have another 45 min or so to interact with the huge stingrays. It was amazing! Moby Dick is well recommended on these boards.

[bmdlover]

We just got back from a week on the Crown Princess, and we selected Stingray Sailing for our tour. I liked it because it takes only a small group (24, I think, were in our group and it was sold out). They motor to the Stingray sandbar, and we spent almost an hour out there with the stingrays. The crew gets in the water with you, and shows you the ropes, and you get a lot of interaction with the critters because you can get in a smaller area due to the catamaran design. We saw much larger tours (80-100 folks) off the ship tours. My husband was initially put off by swimming with stingrays, but he ended up loving it. They are a bit rough on top, but like velvet underneath. We then went a little farther out to the reef and were able to snorkle a lot around the reef. We then sailed back to their anchorage. They provide transportation to and from the ship too. There is plenty of water to drink, and some fresh fruit. Beer and soft drinks are for sale at prevailing island prices ($5 for beer). Chip and his crew were really outstanding, and a pleasure to sail with. One of the crew members took pictures, and made up a great CD with our picx and others shot on the reefs. Price is a bit negotiable, so don't hesitate to follow the island custom and do a bit of bartering. The pix are excellent.

 

Chip's wife Michele is a dream to deal with for reservations, and we heard tell she will whip up a batch of cookies if you tell her it's an occasion. And if you can't sail, your money will be refunded. In fact, they trust you enough to wait for payment until sailing if necessary, tho they take payment through PayPal. Would we go on Stingray Sailing again? Definitely Ya Mon!