What to do, who to do it with?

[rockbock]

I want to share with everybody the INCREDIBLE experience my family of 5 had with Frank's Watersports last Wednesday (10/5/11) when we were in Grand Cayman!

 

I came very close to booking with either Nativeway or Captain Marvins, since they are both so highly regarded here in the CC forum. Then I stumbled onto a few favorable reviews of Frank's Watersports. I ultimately went with Frank's because the price was a little lower and more seemed to be included in the price. I'm so glad I booked with Frank's!!!

 

First things first, the price. We paid $35/pp for a 3-hour excursion. The price included RT shuttle from the Carnival port, Stingray City, and snorkeling at Tropical Fish Gardens (which I later learned was actually the same "Coral Reef" as the other excursions). Also included were light snacks, punch, and rum punch.

 

A female employee (I think her name was Kay?) met us at the Carnival port and processed our payment. We met up with another couple and got onto the shuttle bus. There would only be SEVEN of us on this excursion!!! Kay pointed out some sites on the island as we drove to the dock.

 

We boarded a very nice, clean, double-decker boat and departed on the short ride to Stingray City. On our way there, Captain Frank showed us how to choose and use our snorkel equipment. He had a thick accent which was a little hard to understand at times, but he was very friendly and helpful. By the time we arrived at Stingray City, we already had our equipment picked out and all we had to do was put it on and exit the boat. We were in the water within about 2 minutes after the boat was anchored.

 

I couldn't help but feel like we were getting the royal treatment as I watched the 75-100 people who paid $70 each to take the Carnival excursion waiting in line to get their equipment and exit the boat. There were several other boats there from the other local companies. Their groups weren't as crowded as the Carnival group, but they certainly didn't get the "private tour" experience that we did. In fact, throughout the course of our stay at Stingray City, several guests from the other boats tried to join in with our tour because they weren't getting the constant one-on-one treatment that we were!

 

Once we got into the water, Captain Frank and his employee (whose name I can't recall) immediately grabbed some stingrays for us to touch and hold. They also brought calamari for us to feed the stingrays and they offered to take group photos for us with our camera.

 

We stayed at Stingray City for about 45 minutes (which felt like a lot less!). The other boats also stayed for about 45 minutes. The difference is that the other boats had 1-3 guides handling anywhere from 20-75+ passengers. We had 2 guides for only 7 passengers!

 

We re-boarded the boat and took a short ride to Tropical Fish Gardens, where we were able to immediately exit the boat and snorkel in the reef. The water was about 10 feet deep. Captain Frank and his employee threw fish food into the water to attract the fish to our area. He also gave us food to feed the fish by hand. In what seemed like no time at all, our 45 minutes was up.

 

When we got back on the boat, we were offered bags of chips (Fritos, Cheetos, Sun Chips, etc.), fruit punch, and rum punch. The punch wasn't great, but it was cold and the rum punch was mixed strong lol. I think my husband drank four cups of rum punch before we made it back to the dock!

 

After another short bus ride, we were back at the Carnival port in Grand Cayman.

 

This excursion was the highlight of the cruise for our entire family. If we ever end up back in Grand Cayman for just a few hours, I will be booking with Frank's Watersports again! Here's a link to the Frank's Watersports website: http://www.frankswatersports.ky/tours-rates.html

 

And now for some pictures (all were taken with a Sony DSC-TX10.

[rockbock]

IMAGES OF BOAT - UNFORTUNATELY, I DIDN'T GET A FULL PHOTO OF THE BOAT.

 

 

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[lhoover01]

WOW! I was about to book Capt. Marvins, but you have made me change my mind!

 

A few questions if you have a moment:

-What time did you do this excursion? Did you feel rushed to get off of the boat in time? or to get back before the ship leaves? :eek:

 

-If you did this excursion in the morning, how much time did you have before you had to be back on your ship? We are sailing on the carnival destiny which will be in port from 8am-4pm (ship time).

 

-lastly, I am curious about the area that you are dropped off at. Is there any shopping or food around?

 

Thanks so much!!

[rockbock]

-What time did you do this excursion? Did you feel rushed to get off of the boat in time? or to get back before the ship leaves? :eek:

 

-If you did this excursion in the morning, how much time did you have before you had to be back on your ship? We are sailing on the carnival destiny which will be in port from 8am-4pm (ship time).

 

-lastly, I am curious about the area that you are dropped off at. Is there any shopping or food around?

 

Our ship was only in port from 8:00am until 3:00pm, ship time. The last tender out was supposedly at 2:00pm (although they apparently ran a bit later than that).

 

I got into the tender "line" of about 20 people at 7:45am and walked right onto the tender boat. I was on the mainland of Grand Cayman at 8:00am, which was actually 7:00am local time. We were to meet Frank's Watersports at 9:00am for a 9:30am departure.

 

We were dropped off in a touristy shopping area, but most of the shops didn't open for another 30 minutes or so. We walked around for about an hour and a half, observing the area. We stopped in a coffee shop for free wifi and checked out emails.

 

We returned to the port at about 8:30am to 8:45am local time and the representative from Frank's was already there. She walked with us to another port to pick up the other couple and we left at a few minutes before 9:30am local time for the excursion.

 

We made it back to port at 12:35pm local time. The tender line was so long that we didn't even get on the boat for about 40 minutes and there was a huge line behind us! So we had plenty of time. Since your ship doesn't leave until 3pm local time, you should be just fine.

 

One of the other advantages that I didn't mention in the long review was that we could leave our belongings on the boat without worrying about people stealing anything. I had a waterproof fanny pack with me, which I intended to use to keep my iPhone, cash, and credit cards on me at all times. Since the only people on this boat were my family, the nice couple we met, and the two crew members, I felt comfortable just leaving my stuff semi-hidden on the boat.

[lhoover01]

Thank you so much. I am anxiously awaiting Frank's email response so we can book with him! Your pictures were gorgeous.

[rockbock]

Oh yeah...forgot to mention this also! No deposit is required to reserve your spot, so if you can't make it to port for some reason you won't lose any money.

 

I also saw a bunch of companies trying to sell $25 excursions after we got off the boat. I asked them about the trips just out of curiosity and they were much shorter (2 or 2.5 hours). I wouldn't do anything less than a 3-hour excursion. We used every bit of the 3 hours and it went by sooooo fast! I wanted more time with the stingrays and fish!!!

[onepug]

Did you happen to notice if anyone was offering snorkeling ONLY and not Stingray City? We just want to snorkel...been there, done that with the Rays.

Thanks...:)

[rockbock]

Yes, there is a 2.5 hour snorkeling excursion. It's either $30 or $35 per person, depending on the season. That's the one that we'll probably do if we ever get back there.

[onepug]

These excursions...do you remember any names for snorkeling only? Did you notice one for snorkeling only, or were there several? Did it look like a cattlecar, or was it a small boat? Are they at the tender pier, which one, I hear there are several tender piers. I know.lots of questions, but if I don't have a well defined plan of attack, we generally flounder, waste a lot of time and just give up! I don't do ship excusions any more, and book independent ahead of time, but in this case all I find are snorkel and Rays...can't find anyone to just snorkel!

[bookbabe]

These excursions...do you remember any names for snorkeling only? Did you notice one for snorkeling only, or were there several? Did it look like a cattlecar, or was it a small boat? Are they at the tender pier, which one, I hear there are several tender piers. I know.lots of questions, but if I don't have a well defined plan of attack, we generally flounder, waste a lot of time and just give up! I don't do ship excusions any more, and book independent ahead of time, but in this case all I find are snorkel and Rays...can't find anyone to just snorkel!

 

Few of the operators will be at the tender pier with their boats, as the main snorkelling and Stingray City are on the opposite side of the island. It's easier to drive across the short distance on land than it is to go around the whole island by boat.

 

If you just want snorkelling, you could "do-it-yourself" for the cost of the rental gear (or bring your own for free) at Eden Rock, which is a shore snorkelling location about a 5 minute walk from the port area. http://www.edenrockdive.com/Snorkeling/Snorkeling.html

 

Or, if you want an excursion with a guide, there's lots of operators that will take people to the Kittiwake wreck, which is at the far end of Seven Mile Beach so trips there are rarely combined with Stingray City visits. http://www.kittiwakecayman.com/schedules/

[mela921]

Great information and Great Pics... I have to ask what camera you used?

 

We are getting ready to pruchase a camera we can use underwater and your underwater pics are awesome. We cruise in december. Thanks

[rockbock]

These excursions...do you remember any names for snorkeling only? Did you notice one for snorkeling only, or were there several? Did it look like a cattlecar, or was it a small boat? Are they at the tender pier, which one, I hear there are several tender piers. I know.lots of questions, but if I don't have a well defined plan of attack, we generally flounder, waste a lot of time and just give up! I don't do ship excusions any more, and book independent ahead of time, but in this case all I find are snorkel and Rays...can't find anyone to just snorkel!

 

If you click on the Frank's Watersports website from my first post, the snorkeling tour is listed as "Tour # 2 Fisherman's Rock / Reef Snorkel Tour." There were other boats at the dock we left from, but I don't know if they were owned by Captain Frank. I can tell you that the one we used was the best looking one at that dock. You might want to email Frank's Watersports to get definitive answers to your questions, since I'm not really sure.

[rockbock]

Great information and Great Pics... I have to ask what camera you used?

 

We are getting ready to pruchase a camera we can use underwater and your underwater pics are awesome. We cruise in december. Thanks

 

Thanks! All of the photos were taken with a Sony DSC-TX10. This was the first trip I've taken with the camera where I had the ability to test it underwater. I took about 300 water shots and every single one was clear and beautiful. The camera takes HD photos and HD video (even when used underwater). You can also zoom underwater, even when shooting video. It also takes INCREDIBLE 360 degree panorama photos, which can also be viewed videos. There's a feature to take 3D photos as well, but I haven't used it since I don't have a 3D television to view them on. The big difference between this camera and most other underwater cameras in the same price range is that this one take AMAZING indoor photos as well (even in low light). Most of the other underwater cameras seem to take somewhat grainy indoor and low-light photos. I did a full review of this camera when I bought it a few months ago. You can find it here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1467458

 

I think I'll add some underwater, outdoor, and indoor photo examples to my review thread. :)

[irenen]

I am looking for some advice to save me days of research. First time Caribbean cruise in January 2012 ( Celebrity Solstice) for DH and I, and although I have read the whole brochure about excursions, I am still not sure what to choose.

 

DH ( aged 62) and I (60) are both in excellent health. I'd love to hear from anyone who has taken a tour which they LOVED and would recommend. Did you do it with the ship's tour or an independent operator? We don't want to do diving, or anything too strenuous such as very difficult hiking but small hills are OK. Not interested in golf or pirates. Also don't want to spend a whole day lying on a beach but would prefer something where we see/learn something new and memorable.

 

I will be posting this same question on 3 other destination pages so apologies if you come across my post more than once.

 

Thanks so much in advance for your wealth of experience.

[Traveling Library]

When we walked off the ship at Grand Cayman there were many jitney drivers offering a tour. We hopped on a 10 person jitney and went to the turtle farm (as the driver said "go into the gift shop (free) and look out the window. You see one turtle you've seen them all") and Hell, and stopped at a beach. Trip was $20 or $15 per person (I've forgotten). After the ride we walked to the house where the Grand Cayman History Museum is located. The museum was under renovation but we had a lovely tour for $5 each.

If you go in the other direction (away from Hell) you can see St. Pedro's Castle which is a historic home. We took a ship's tour for this trip.

Downtown Grand Cayman is flat and easy to walk around. The plaza in front of the library (an Art Deco building) has some lovely statutes and historical timelines.

[Grandpaul]

Having been to Grand Cayman many times the thing I like there best is going to Stingray City with Capt. Marvin. I'm doing it again in 12 days as a matter of fact. You're only in about 4 feet of water so it's not strenuous. And the rays are fun animals. I suspect they have a sense of humor. And it doesn't take all day. THis is one of my favorite things to do.

[Keith1010]

If you have any interest in snorkeling consider the stingrays.

 

Keith

[uvasag]

Can I snorkel if I don't know to swim ? We have a cruise coming up with Cayman Islands as one of the ports and I would love to do the stingray tours.

[rockbock]

Can I snorkel if I don't know to swim ? We have a cruise coming up with Cayman Islands as one of the ports and I would love to do the stingray tours.

 

I think you could do this tour, since there are life preservers available on the boat. The water in the area near the stingrays is only 3-4 feet deep. For the snorkeling portion of the trip, the water is 8-10 feet deep. Obviously, this would be over your head, but it's shallow enough that you could float with a life preserver on the top of the water and still see all the fish. I am a strong swimmer, but I spent MOST of my time floating on the top of the water and it was amazing.

[uvasag]

Thank you. Will the same apply to my 7 and 5 year old boys too ? Will they be able to float and watch the fish ? They can swim but I don't want to risk it in the ocean.

[maumekim]

Thank you. Will the same apply to my 7 and 5 year old boys too ? Will they be able to float and watch the fish ? They can swim but I don't want to risk it in the ocean.

 

With the life vests, anyone can snorkel in theory, but will they be non panicked??

 

I am an excellent swimmer but I was a bit "afraid", took me a little while to get comfortable so I wore a vest and sure enough I just gently floated on top looking around. I think they will be fine.

[threecolours]

Thank you so much for your kind words. We love showing visitors the best of the Cayman Islands and it is through your reviews that local Operators such as ours, Frank Watersports, are still able to compete in this global economy. Again, thank you and we hope you come back to visit our islands. :)