Help with Stingray Tour Co. and their photos.

[ghirardellichic]

We are leaving next Saturday on a cruise that stops in the Caymans. We want to do a Stingray Sandbar tour but we're not which company we should choose from.

 

Okay these are our options that we need some experienced guidance on:

 

1) Do the excursion with a company (recommend one) and let them take our pics (just my husband and I) but we want to know how much the pics are usually sold for and if they are good quality so that we can budget this into our expenses that we may expect.

 

2) Do the excursion and take along a Kodak Max waterproof disposable camera and take our own and risk none of the pictures turning out because we all know that disposables are not always reliable.

 

TIA for any ideas and suggestions you may have.

[cntrydncr1]

we went with Native Ways I think. You can take a camera but they also take pics. We purchased a disc with all the pics from the trip for about $30 if I recall correctly. It may have been even less. The pics were awesome.

[taillon]

We went with stingraysailing . com and Mark took pictures of us while in the water. We also had a disposable underwater camera with us. We don't usually buy pictures from tour guides but he brought out his laptop and showed them to us and they were great! He had different plans with different prices. We went together with our friends and bought a CD with 10 pictures for $50 (so $25 for each couple). I don't remember all the pricing now...I know it was a better deal with more pictures purchased. I liked that they were pushy about buying their pics....they just offered to let you look at them if you wanted and you could decide if you wanted to buy them. He burned a CD right there.

[Grannycb]

Native Way was asking $40 for pictures last week.

[cruisingforsix]

We had booked a tour with Sotos back in October. when we got there the gentleman was there with a sign and said we should come back in about 45 min. to an hour .so we went and did some shopping and returned to find him trying to fill up the tour. that i don't have a problem with , but giving it to them for a cheaper price was just wrong. when we questioned the guy on the pier and the guy on the boat they gave us some song and dance story. Also the guy who drove the van and the boat had zero personality and was almost borderline rude. we had a nice tour at stinray city and a snorkel spot but would never use them again.

[boopie1026]

did Rays, Reefs, and Rum Point with Nativeways and they were wonderful-they were helpful with our 6 yr old who had never snorkeled b4- only had about 15 people on the excursion. we also bought a cd with pics for around 40- they were great and would use them again in a second.

[PinkSand26]

I just got back from my cruise yesterday and one of the stops was to the Grand Cayman Islands. I booked the excursion through Moby Dick, and it was FANTASTIC!! Best excursion I have ever done and money well spent at $40 pp. There were many other Sting Ray City excursions there at the same time, but all of the sting rays were at our boat.

 

We started out snorkeling near the site of the sting rays near a reef, which was beautiful. The guide was so nice and informative and made you feel very comfortable. We snorkeled for about 45 min - 1 hour.

 

Then we went to the sting ray site, which was very close. I was so scared to do this and ended up actually holding one quite a while, because the guides were so informative and helpful, they made me feel very comfortable. It looked like our tour was the only ones feeding the sting rays, so they were all by our boat. They are magnificent creatures and so tame!! This was hands down the best excursion I have ever done.

 

Once that was done, we were dropped off at 7 mile beach, which was the nicest beach I have ever been to. The water was crystal clear and had some good snorkeling right off the beach.

 

All in all, this was a fabulous choice and I'd be happy to answer any questions!

[PinkSand26]

We did Moby Dick Tours last week and it was awesome!!! We brought our own underwater camera and took a million pics. The guides help us with the sting rays and helped take pictures. They did not take their own pics or ask for any money. All of the sting rays were by our boat and the other tours didn't have any. I guess it was the squid we were feeding them and the other boats were not. I would really recomend this tour. It was GREAT!! Plus it includes a snorkeling stop and then being dropped off at 7 mile beach if you choose. You have to take your own cab back, but it was only $2.50 pp.

[Pompeia]

We used Soto's Cruises a couple of years ago and thought the van driver and boat staff were very surly and downright rude. The captain had no problem talking unpleasantly about the passengers and Hello... we are all right here! :eek:

Stingray City was a total blast, just would not use Soto's again.

[OVgirl]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed your trip with Moby Dick. I do have a few questions for you. What time did your tour start? Were they at the pier to pick you up? How long was your tour? How many people were in your group? Did you pay when you arrived at the pier or beforehand?

I have their site bookmarked. Looks like one of the better choices.

Thanks.

[dstone]

Will be there in two weeks and will do this with Capt Marvin. Can't wait, will also do Hell and the Turtle Farm.

Were you on the Liberty? What time did you tender?

[dstone]

we are booked with Capt Marvin in two weeks, can't wait. gonna take a disposale underwater camera and our kodak playsport waterproof.

[acumenhokie]

We booked the same tour with Moby Dick back in September and loved it too. Glad to hear they are consistently awesome :)

[PinkSand26]

Hello, I'd be glad to answer questions.

 

We were in port on the Carnival Valor from 7am-4pm that day.

 

We got off the boat and met our tour guide around 8:30am. The tour started at 9am. They were right off the port under a canopy holding a sign, in bright teal shirts. VERY hard to miss. If you can't find them, there are people everywhere that will point you in the right direction. It was just my husband and I, and the tour took about 30 people. It did not feel crowded at all. You have to pay them cash when you meet them when you get off the boat for this tour. They do not require a deposit. You just email them and make a reservation, and them pay them that day. If the boat does not make it to port or it's canceled due to weather, you do not have to pay for it.

 

From there we took a bus to the boat, where we took about a 15-20 minute boat ride to the snorkeling site. During the boat ride, they shared their knowledge of sting rays with us, and instructed us on what to do and made us feel very comfortable. They were very knowledgeable and friendly and ready to answer any questions.

 

The snorkeling session lasted about 45 min to an hour, and was on a nice reef. We saw many colorful coral, fish, an eel, and some stingrays.

 

Then we went to sting ray city, which was about 2 min away. We were there for about another 45 min to and hour, where we fed them squid and held, pet, and kissed them! Kissing them is 7 years good luck I guess, and the guide convinced me to do it, while my husband took a picture.

 

After that, we took the 15-20 min boat ride back to the dock, where we got back on the bus. We either had the option to be dropped off at 7 mile beach for the rest of the day, which is about 5 minutes from the port. You then have to take a taxi back. It only costs $2.50 per person and was easy to do. This is what we did and the beach was BEAUTIFUL!! There was a nice restaurant on the beach, too. I think we got here between 12:30-1pm. We stayed here for a few hours and then went back to the ship around 2:30pm. This was a tender port, so we had to be back a little earlier. I believe the last tender was scheduled to go out at like 330pm or something, since our ship was leaving at 4pm.

 

I would HIGHLY recommend this tour through Moby Dick. You will not be disappointed, and it was the best money we spent on the whole cruise. :) Hope this helps!!

[OVgirl]

Thanks for the added information. I think we will certainly book with Moby Dick.

[Havin'fun]

Thanks for the info, we are taking this tour in Jan.

Is it easy to get from the boat into the water and then back into the boat? I am asking because my DH is a little mobility limited. He has broken both hips over the last few years and now tends to be very careful. Are there handrails to hold onto when going up and down the steps into the water? Also is the last step on the ladder close enough to the bottom of the sea/ocean floor that you do not have to pull yourself up?

Thanks for the help!

[truchattycathy]

I have done this excursion twice with NativeWay and plan on doing it again in Jan 2012. They will takes pics with your camera or you can purchase theirs. The disposable is fine. I think they have options to purchase the disc, or individual pics. This is a must do excursion. I highly recommend NativeWay. They have two excursions, both including Stingray City. Have a great time!

[kckick]

We used captain marvin again the friday after thanksgiving. everything was good and fed the stingrays with squid and we had ariund 15 to 20 around us. they took pictures and it was 40 us for the the disk and we received 12 pictures. real easy to get to his office it is right across the street and half a bbolck to your left when you leave the shoppping center where you tender.

[kckick]

We did the 1:15 in the afternoon with captain marvin and we where on the liberty. his office is across the street and to your left. it isa white building and is located on the end (dairy queen is the middle of the building). It took us 10 minutes at the most from getting off the tender to being at his office. we went to stingray city for around 30 minutes and had 1 snokel stop and was back to the tender by 4:00 since we the last tender was 4:30