Best Tour Operator for Stingray Sandbar?

[Melismass1]

Hi everyone! Im looking for a great tour operator for a party of 17. We want to do the Stingray Sandbar and maybe 1 or 2 snorkeling stops. Any suggestions for a private charter that is affordable? How about a non- private that is not too over crowded? Thanks

[Ohio-C-Luver]

Hi everyone! Im looking for a great tour operator for a party of 17. We want to do the Stingray Sandbar and maybe 1 or 2 snorkeling stops. Any suggestions for a private charter that is affordable? How about a non- private that is not too over crowded? Thanks

Our Soto Cruise Excursion in Grand Cayman was excellent!

 

Soto Excursion in Grand Cayman was excellent!

We contacted Randy and Kerry about their excursions to Stingray City by email and Kerry (Randy's wife) answered our email very quickly with all the directions on where to meet et. We went to the Coral Gardens first and then to Stingray City. We had a super time with Randy and his hand Eddie. Half of us could swim the other half not, but we still had a great and unforgetable time. There was only 7 passengers on our tour but the boat could have held many more, only 6 got in the water. Randy the Capt. took pictures using our cameras from the boat while we swam and held the stingrays. The water at Stingray City was about 3 1/2 feet deep, Coral Gardens about 8 ft deep. Eddie, taught us the correct way to feed, hold and pet the Rays and walk in the sand when they came around. It was quite fun, safe and they kept a careful eye on all of us. We had a specticular time and will use them again the next time we're in the Caymans. It was fun, educational and very relaxing. You can find them at http://www.sotoscruises.com/. The boat had a bathroom. They kept fresh cold water onboard for drinking, and provided a fresh water rinse for us after we were finished swimming in the salt water. It was a very nice day for all us.

 

 

 

Jan

[Name Of The Game]

I could write the identical review for Captain Marvins. It, too, was a great time.

[tonyt]

Will they pick you up at the tender dock or must you take a cab to their location?

tonyt

[Name Of The Game]

You just walked a block or so to their little storefront location, then took an A/C van ride to the boat.

[Ohio-C-Luver]

Will they pick you up at the tender dock or must you take a cab to their location?

tonyt

Soto Cruises will pick you up and re deliver you to the tender dock or any where else that is on the way. They are super to work with! Good Sailing!

 

Jan

[Kim.cc]

We love the Buccaneer Catamaran which goes to stingray city and two snorkeling stops.

 

However we have heard great things about Grand Cayman Excursions private luxury Yacht. I think the boat holds up to 20 and its $850 us. A great deal for a private trip! Our friends chartered it and raved about it!

[Ohio-C-Luver]

Soto Cruises will pick you up and re deliver you to the tender dock or any where else that is on the way. They are super to work with! Good Sailing!

 

Jan

Soto Cruises charges $40 for 3 hrs, but I'm sure if you charter the whole boat you can customize your own arrangements with Kerry and Randy. \

 

Have Fun!

 

Jan

[Melismass]

Wow! I am so sorry. I have never left a question and then disapeared. I have been so busy I didn't have time to think about vacation. Thats bad! Anyway thanks again. I am looking into each of these suggestions!

[Venus4NU]

We had a party of 30 and Captain Marvin picked us up at the dock. I was so impressed with him tours that I booked them two more times when I returned to Caymen, this time with just 4 in our group. These times he had us walk to his store front and other people were in the boat with us. I am fairly sure if it is 17 of you he will take you out without other people. I am leaving on a cruise with two of the couples who were with the group of 30 and we just got talking about what a great adventure Captain Marvin provided. They asked me to set up something similar in Samana.

[tonppa]

What stingray-excursion will be first there on the stingray city? We would like to leave Carnival Valor early to have also some time to spend at 7 mile beach after the stingrays.

[Joeinmo]

I've heard horror stories of boats all lining up in the same area and dumping everyone in the same space, are these tours different?

[workn2cruise]

I've heard horror stories of boats all lining up in the same area and dumping everyone in the same space, are these tours different?

 

they stop in the same vicinity; the sandbar is only so big. But they're not on top of each other either. Each private tour operator has more than enough space to give their passengers individual attention which makes such a difference in this awesome experience. The worst thing I've ever seen down there are the ship's tours, those poor passengers are crammed onto a double decker boat and dumped out when they reach the sandbar.

[Melismass]

Well, after careful consideration I have decided to go with Stingraysailing. They have a very nice catamaran and limit their passenger number to 25. The price for an adult is $45.00, a kid under 13 is $35.00. It includes a stop at the stingray sandbar and a snorkel at the reef as well as sailing on the beautiful cat. (with room to breath). The total excursion is 3.5 hours and transportation is provided. They do require a $10.0 pp deposit! I will be sure to write a review when I get back! Thanks again for the suggestions!

[Redheada]

I went on a tour with them last year and they are a super nice couple and despite the weather (bad rain entire ride back) it was still a fantastic experience.

[nlond]

Just got back. Went with Stingray Sailing and we also did not have great weather. Lots of fun and the water was warm. Very relaxed with Stingray Sailing, you will really enjoy it. There is a canopy for those that do not want sun - hopefully it will be sunny for you - and an open front for those sun bathers. They take photos of you in the water and you can purchase a disc that they burn right on the boat if you want, but no pressure.

[kamilli]

How much time do you get to snorkel on these trips with captain marvin or stingray sailing? I know the entire trips are about 3 hours...but how much of that is transportation time? Did you feel rushed at all at the snorkeling, or was it about right?

[ylimemh]

My DH and I also used Stingray Sailing and loved them! All of the staff was extremely professional, but very fun the same time. The catamaran was relaxing, especially when the sail was up on the way back in. We had plenty of time both before and after the excursion to shop and look around the port area. We booked private excursions through our whole western carribean trip, and not that the other operators were bad, but Stingray sailing was the best!

[nlond]

How much time do you get to snorkel on these trips with captain marvin or stingray sailing? I know the entire trips are about 3 hours...but how much of that is transportation time? Did you feel rushed at all at the snorkeling, or was it about right?

 

I think we have about 45 min with the Stingrays. Most of the people were in the boat by then so it was plenty of time. It is then a short ride to the snorkeling and I think we were there about 45 min. This time could have been longer but we got to see many interesting fish, coral, eel and a couple of lobsters. Someone from our ship when on the Bucaneer (I think that was the name) and they went to two snorkeling locations so you might want to check them out.

[dkb363]

I'm glad to read the good reviews for Stingwaysailings. I've booked them for the end of March. We wanted to take a catamaran there, instead of a motor boat. They did require a $10 deposit - and I'm not big on paying for something before I get it - but they said they will bill me through Paypal on Feb. 2 - so if the excursion is cancelled or the boat doesn't make port, I can get a refund within the 60 days paypal gives. That made me feel a lot better. I booked the last 3 spots with them - my DH is on the waiting list - I'm hoping when the first of Feb. comes and people have to make deposits, some will drop out. But he doesn't really care one way or another.

[The Scottish Kirks]

I have booked with Stingray Sailings for 17th February and they didn't ask for a deposit :confused: Hope my booking is okay.

 

Glad to see the good reviews although I did a lot of searching before deciding to book them, they have great reviews on various site. I also loved the Catamaran aspect and limited numbers.

 

Would love to hear any more reviews before we sail on 15th February.

[dkb363]

Did anyone else who has used them need to send in a $10 deposit?

[IM4LSU]

I just booked them for a tour on the 17th and they did send a paypal request for the deposit. They said that I could pay the balance on the 17th.

 

I was a little worried about the whole timing thing. They garantee we will be back by 4:15 and our ship leaves at 6:00 so that should be plenty of time in theory. But the email had a bunch of disclaimers about 'ship time' vs 'Cayman time'. They stated that if the ship leaves galveston (which it does) the ship time may be 'behind' Cayman time...does this mean 6:00 pm Cayman time means 5:00 pm ship time?

 

Anyway....when reading the meet and mingle posts for VOS there were several others on our tour as well so I decided to go for it.

[Lizzzys]

Did anyone else who has used them need to send in a $10 deposit?

 

 

Yes, we are with them in May and will be receiving a Paypal invoice for the deposit in April. I would double check your documents because my first email response was NOT a reservation, it just gave information about the excursion. I was required to follow up to that email to confirm my reservation.

[evergladesgator]

The kids were great. No deposit required when i booked online. Chip came lookin for us . I would highly recommend them. They have a real nice steady cat to sale on to the reef site.