Moby Dick or Native Ways

[HappyHappy1]

This was our second trip to Grand Cayman to do the snorkeling with the Sting Rays. Last time we used Captain Bryan and had a good time. He runs a very nice tour. This time, on a recommendation from a friend, we tried Moby Dick. WOW! They were fabulous. Captain Nick was awesome as was William. On our trip out, they explained alot about the sting rays and how to handle them. William also gave a very funny demonstration with his stuffed stingray. They helped us hold and feed the sting rays and helped us to feel relaxed aroudn them.

 

The snorkeling was also great. They brought us to an area where not many boats were located. We saw so many fish we ran out of film on our underwater disposable cameras. Total time on the boat and in the water was more than 3 hours.

 

They have a freshwater shower on the boat to rince the salt off when you come out of the water. Also water and lemonade to drink.

 

This tour was fantastic. I can't recommend them highly enough! If you want to visit the stingrays and have a great time with some fun guys and great music...you have to use Moby Dick Tours!

 

Dawn

[rainbow396]

We are going to GC in March, 2010. I definitely want to go back to see the stingrays (we were there 5-6 years ago). I have looked at both the sites for Moby Dick Tours and Native Ways. Does anyone have a preference and why...Thanks

[BPutnam]

That's great to hear. We booked them for November. We are first time cruisers and I was a little nervous about not doing the cruise ship excursions, but this looked so much better. Thanks for posting.

[acumenhokie]

This was our second trip to Grand Cayman to do the snorkeling with the Sting Rays. Last time we used Captain Bryan and had a good time. He runs a very nice tour. This time, on a recommendation from a friend, we tried Moby Dick. WOW! They were fabulous. Captain Nick was awesome as was William. On our trip out, they explained alot about the sting rays and how to handle them. William also gave a very funny demonstration with his stuffed stingray. They helped us hold and feed the sting rays and helped us to feel relaxed aroudn them.

 

The snorkeling was also great. They brought us to an area where not many boats were located. We saw so many fish we ran out of film on our underwater disposable cameras. Total time on the boat and in the water was more than 3 hours.

 

They have a freshwater shower on the boat to rince the salt off when you come out of the water. Also water and lemonade to drink.

 

This tour was fantastic. I can't recommend them highly enough! If you want to visit the stingrays and have a great time with some fun guys and great music...you have to use Moby Dick Tours!

 

Dawn

 

We did the same tour with Moby Dick in September and loved it too. Highly recommended.

[acumenhokie]

We are going to GC in March, 2010. I definitely want to go back to see the stingrays (we were there 5-6 years ago). I have looked at both the sites for Moby Dick Tours and Native Ways. Does anyone have a preference and why...Thanks

 

Not familiar with Native Ways but we did Moby Dick and loved every minute of it. Can't say enough good things about them.

[Name Of The Game]

We liked Captain Marvin. There were only 8 of us that day.

[Beaching It]

How much was the Moby Dick Stingray Tour? We are definitely considering doing this.

[acumenhokie]

How much was the Moby Dick Stingray Tour? We are definitely considering doing this.

 

From the Moby Dick website:

 

Morning thru Afternoon cruises (advanced booking recommended)

Cost:

$40 us dollars per person adults (12 years and up)

$35 us dollars per person children (4-11 years)

Under 4 years no charge.

[jamerly]

Moby Dick is well worth it. We loved our time with them. They want you to have a great experience. They were in the water with us making sure we got to experience the rays fully. So calm, laid back & relaxed, yet 100% on top of things. Exactly what we wanted. I looked around at the other groups that were there at the same time & was really glad we chose Moby Dick.

[LRav19]

Moby Dick for sure!! They did an excellent job with our group when we went in October. Did a great job of explaining how to handle the stingray's and what to expect.

[InternetAgeTraveler]

We used Moby Dick a year ago and had a great time, this is an excerpt from my Conquest review

 

In Grand Cayman, we booked a stingray excursion directly with Moby Dick Tours. This was greatly entertaining and well managed. When we got to the sandbar, there were a lot of boats there and Mark elected to reverse the snorkeling and stingrays. The snorkeling was nearby on a reef with a fair amount of fish, coral and even some eels. The kids thought it was great once they got accustomed to it. Despite making a note to do so otherwise, we had never had them practice and learning in the open ocean is a bit more difficult. We brought our own masks and snorkels although the ones that Moby dick had available were very good quality (a lot of people just brought snorkels). We then went over to the stingrays. We had plenty of squid to feed, the guides made sure everyone got to feed, hold and kiss the stingrays. This was our favorite excursion overall. Afterwards, on the recommendation from the tour owner, we stopped at restaurant called Rack ‘Em for lunch which was about half a block from the cruise terminal. Although a bit pricey, the food was very good and they offered a ladder down into the bay where we did some more snorkeling. We saw a lot of sea life and enjoyed it almost as much, if not more than the snorkeling at the reef.

 

Pictures can be found here

[cruz guy]

After you went on the excursion, was there enough time for them to drop you off for a short time at 7 mile beach?

[InternetAgeTraveler]

After you went on the excursion, was there enough time for them to drop you off for a short time at 7 mile beach?

In our case, yes there was time and they made a stop and people on our tour did just that. We did the morning excursion and were back by lunch time. As I noted above, we ate lunch, the kids snorkeled (and we did some shopping), we had a mid afternoon departure, and we weren't the last ones back on board but quite a few were. Of course, your port times could be different....

[Booked]

We went out with Moby Dick last week and everything was perfect.

Lots of fun and totally stress free. The boat is comfortable, clean and even has a bathroom and shower.

After the Stingrays (awesome) and some snorkeling (amazing), we were dropped off at 7-Mile Beach by noon, so we had lots of time to swim and have lunch and drinks. Took the shuttle bus back to the port with time to spare for shopping and checking internet. Moby Dick is a great choice!

[wavecruiser]

We just went on the stingray and Island Tour with Nativeways - highly recommend, it was so much fun. Our guides, Sharon and her husband, were so knowledgeable and personable and wanted everyone to have a great time. They also wanted to make sure our group for the stingray trip was as small as possible - we ended up hooking up with another group, which they kept apologizing for, but it was still only about 25 people on the boat.

[louthebowler]

we went last week, booked moby dick on-line and didnt pay till we arrived. ship was late getting there but they just changed everything to suit, we were the only ship so that might have helped but nothing was tooo much trouble for them. they do a snorkle stop and stingray stop so they decide which one to do first based on how many boats they see by the stingrays which was good so it wasnt too crowded when we got to see these lovely creatures, words cant describe how good it was to be in the water with them and we'd been told all about them on the way out too and having the moby dick folks in the water all the time gave me lots of confidence. they were also happy to drop people off on the way back to ship if needed, although i did feel it was a shame that a few of the younger folks that were dropped off before the ship didnt think to tip the driver who had been great with lots of info and help. as for who to go with, i cant tell you these are better as dont know the others, but i would go with these again

without a doubt.

[Eeyoregon]

We also went with MobyDick tours and could not have been happier. The hands on time with the rays was outstanding and the guides were the best!!! What a memorable day! We had less than 25 people on our tour.

 

Loved the snorkeling stop at the reef too! Our driver stopped to let people off at 7 mile beach on the way back to the ship. He also stopped and let folks off at the "Rack Em" restaurant. The food was delish and the waterside view was amazing! If you mention MobyDick you get a discount off of your bill. Had my 1st conch fritters - yum!

 

The $40 price was worth every penny! Dang I miss that crystal clear aqua blue warm water!!!

 

Gina

[Irishlinny]

We used Moby Dick last week and they were great! We also used Nativeway 3 years ago...they were fine also, but we preferred Moby Dick. Great experience!:D

[vacruizer]

It was back in 2006, but we almost missed the ship with Nativeways. :eek: The tour itself was wonderful, but the timing issue was due to them mixing two ships with different port times on the same tour. We were quite late leaving, but the owner kept assuring us we'd be back with two hours time to shop. Once we got close to our last tender time, I was getting nervous. The guides were completely unconcerned when we kept pointing out that we were going to miss our last tender. I was ready to smack the next person that said "island time" to me. At 20 minutes to our last tender, we were still out on the boat stopping to look an mansions and iguanas. There were only a few of us from our ship so most people on the tour had another two hours in port. We thankfully had no traffic on the way back to Georgetown and made the bus driver pull over in front of the tender pier instead of continuing on the 4 or 5 blocks further to the bus lot. We literally ran across the street dodging traffic, straight onto a tender ( no lines) and turned out we were on the second to the last tender. By the time we went to our cabin, dropped off our stuff, and headed up to the Lido deck, the ship had sailed - even leaving early. Others may have had great experiences with them, but I can't in good conscience recommend them and wouldn't use them again. I thought they handled the whole thing poorly by tossing 6 or so of us in with a larger group from another ship, and we didn't even get the 7 mile beach/shopping time the tour promised at the end.

 

Now if I could just find another way to get to Rum Point for the day I'd be thrilled! :p

[truchattycathy]

I have been on NativeWays tour twice and loved it. Never had any problem. I did the Rays, Rumpoint, Reef tour.

[Caribbean Sunsets]

I've used Nativeway for the RRR Tour and loved it. In fact, I'm trying to get reservations with them for January but they are booked. I do know they contract with Princess (and maybe other lines) so there is no fear that you will miss the ship. My previous tour included people who booked through the ship although we had booked directly with Nativeway.

[Seavoyage]

Just back from cruise. Booked the Rays, Reef and Rum tour with Native Way tours. One of the highlights of our 14 day HAL cruise. We booked on our own. Only had 12 people (including us (2))on our tour boat (MY WAY). Like a private tour - had the very best time. Happy to answer any questions and I have contact information if requsted.

[Finbar127]

We also used Native Way for the Rays, Reef and Rum tour a few years ago. Excellent service and no problems at all. Rum Point was fantastic.

[BillyJen]

Take it from a Canadian who like to get his money's worth, you can't go wrong with Moby Dick Tours.

 

Have a good cruise.

 

Bill

[Rita/KY]

I booked with Native Way for our cruise in June. The only thing that I am worried about is the time we are to meet. Our ship is supposed to be there by 8:00 and my confirmation information says to meet our tour guide by 8:45, as our tour begins at 9:00. I am worried about getting there on time, since we tender to the island.