Stingray City Eco Tour on Zodiac Boat?

[bzv143]

My family is looking for a private charter for visiting Stingray City and the starfish beach on our December cruise. Anyone used this tour by Grand Cayman Cruise Excursions? It is a full day or half-day private charter on a zodiac boat for $500/$400 for up to 5 passengers. Appreciate any Feedback before I book. :rolleyes:

[DrivesLikeMario]

I haven't used this company, but have been to Stingray City a couple times with our family. I don't know what your family's level of adventure and experience is, so here are some things you might think about before booking:

 

1. Getting into the Zodiac boat might be harder than a regular fishing boat or catamaran. If you have people in your group that aren't good swimmers, they might be intimidated by being so low to the ocean in the boat and/or not having a plank to sit on before getting into the water. (Not everyone is as unintimidated by the ocean as I am and I have to remind myself of this when I book ocean-going tours.)

 

2. Stingray City is a LONG distance from the shore. I would think the Zodiac boat would be a pretty bumpy ride - definitely a loud E-ticket attraction. If you have older people in your group, it might be a bit overwhelming for them. The first time we were there the waves were HUGE. They cancelled all the ships' tours, but our private tour went out there anyway.

 

I've been to Stingray City on a catamaran that was incredibly slow, but quiet and a fishing vessel which was super fast, but really loud and the exhaust from the engine was not so nice. The catamaran took so long, the stringrays weren't hungry. We had to follow them around and try to get them to eat the squid. Even on the faster fishing boat, it took a long time to get out there to the reef.

 

Just some things to consider when making your plans. If it was me, I'd book a boat with an engine that could get us out there quickly even though I adore catamarans and a Zodiac boat sounds fun.

[iancal]

A zodiac boat would not be my preference. We used Captain Marvins a few years ago. It was excellent. One of the big differences, aside from much better tour and much cheaper price, between the ships tour is that you actually drive to Capt. Marvins dock and it is MUCH closer to the areas where you want to snorkel etc. Leaving from the ship to go to the same locations take much longer hence you spend (comparatively) a lot more time going to and fro vs. quality time in the water. On the way back from the dock to the town we got dropped off at seven mile beach-spent some time on the beach and then caught the bus back to town. We are not shoppers so we never spend any time in the stores....there are stores where we live!

[Times Prince]

We have only done this tour (twice) with Princess Excursions. They used a regular dive boat, complete with seating, comfort, rest room and bar service for the return trip. It may not go to your beach, but was far more pleasant of an experience.

 

Our experiences with Zodiacs on other excursions have not been really good, and we came back bruised. For those we were snorkeling in deep water and could roll off the edge to enter the water. Stingray City is not deep water (about 4 foot).

 

Your call, ultimately.