Anyone go with Native Way tours?

[mitsugirly]

I looked into using this company, but since fatfishadventures came so highly recommended were going to use them, were going in sept so I will post after and let you know how it was, but trip advisor reviews and reviews on here look and sound good, plus money back if u can't make it into port. only 20% down required.

 

When you come back with your review, please link back here so that I will be able to find it and read it. Thanks :)

[erby2283]

Since I don't drink, I reserved the Stingray and Island Tour for Nov. I had read a couple of negative posts but also read some really positive ones. I'm willing to take the chance :)

[annabell08]

We did the same tour, Stingray Sandbar, Coral Gardens, and Starfish Snorkel, with Nativeway twice (2008 and 2012). Our captain was Thomas both times. For our December cruise, I am recommending that my niece and her friend do this tour with their daughters.

[moxie31]

We returned from our cruise yesterday morning and had a FABULOUS excursion with Native Way while we were in Grand Cayman. There were only 16 tourists on our boat, something we definitely appreciated when we saw dozens of people crowded into other boats. We had Captain Andrew and two others as our crew members/guides (another Andrew and JC, I believe). They were all knowledgeable and friendly. I would definitely recommend this excursion, we had a great day.

[seetosea]

While the tour was okay, we were to arrive back at the port at 2:30. We did not get back until 3:00 and that was only because we kept saying we had to get back. They say that the last tender is at 3:15 but since it's a tender port, the line to get back on the ship is monumental so the last tender is much later.

 

It seems that of the 17 on the tour, we were the only ones from the Freedom of the Seas while the others were from Carnival. Carnival was in port an hour longer than us.

 

My concern in any port is that I arrive back when contracted to do so. Nativeway failed to do so.

[ahecht]

A scheduled return at 2:30 for a 3:15 last tender is cutting it close. What if the van or boat broke down?

[seetosea]

We returned from our cruise yesterday morning and had a FABULOUS excursion with Native Way while we were in Grand Cayman. There were only 16 tourists on our boat, something we definitely appreciated when we saw dozens of people crowded into other boats. We had Captain Andrew and two others as our crew members/guides (another Andrew and JC, I believe). They were all knowledgeable and friendly. I would definitely recommend this excursion, we had a great day.

 

We just did this tour on July 26th and there were only two young crew members on our boat - No Captain on ours.

 

Perhaps that's why we were late getting back to port - no Captain to make sure everything went as planned.

[ahecht]

Here's my review I did on them: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=33256125&postcount=37

 

For what it's worth, Nativeways responded to mitsugirly on TripAdvisor admitting that they made a mistake with the times, explaining that they were put on a non-nativeways tour, and offering them a free tour on a future visit:

 

First, I am sincerely sorry you had that REALLY bad experience. You booked a tour in March (after Daylight Saving Time went into effect). Since Cayman does not observe DST, we have to monitor each ship's activity to see if, moving forward during DST, a given ship will operate on local Cayman Time (or not). We quote our tours in "ship time". Most ships stay on the time of the city that they start out from. For years, Norwegian did just that. For example, if the ship started out in Miami, the ship would operate on Eastern Daylight Saving Time, throughout the cruise. Unfortunately, I assumed that in 2012, Norwegian would continue its historical pattern and operate on Eastern DST. They did not. The ship asked everyone on board to turn their clocks back on hour. While most of the people booked with us realized they had to convert the time back to Eastern Daylight Saving Time as the tour time stated, 3 families that week, including yours did not. I added to the confusion by stating that 9:15 AM Eastern DST was ship time. But is was no longer ship time (as the ship had you turn your clock back 1 hour). When you arrived, all of our tours had left. I worked to get you on another tour. I thought I was clear that you were NOT GOING ON A Native Way tour. Again, I sincerely apologize for your bad experience. The next time you plan to visit Cayman, pls. e-mail me and I promise to send you on a complimentary special tour. My apologies to your family.

[mitsugirly]

For what it's worth, Nativeways responded to mitsugirly on TripAdvisor admitting that they made a mistake with the times, explaining that they were put on a non-nativeways tour, and offering them a free tour on a future visit:

 

Wow really? I wonder why I didn't get a notice about that. I will have to go check. I am MORE THAN WILLING to give them another chance. I hear such good reviews about them. However, I think when their reputation is on the line, they should not offer their clients to another company that is less superb than what they would consider doing themselves.

 

i will go check this out.

 

Thanks so much for posting this. We do plan on going back to Grand Caymen...but not until our Dec 2013 cruise which I just booked.

[jkskrap]

I highly recommend Native Way. We used them 2 weeks ago for an Island & Stingray tour and it was awesome. I have a review on the RCI page (or you can get to it by clicking on my username).

 

Sharon & Eldon were very personable and could not have been better. The guys on the boat were also great (Thomas and JC).

[girlscruise2011]

For what it's worth, Nativeways responded to mitsugirly on TripAdvisor admitting that they made a mistake with the times, explaining that they were put on a non-nativeways tour, and offering them a free tour on a future visit:

 

Wow really? I wonder why I didn't get a notice about that. I will have to go check. I am MORE THAN WILLING to give them another chance. I hear such good reviews about them. However, I think when their reputation is on the line, they should not offer their clients to another company that is less superb than what they would consider doing themselves.

 

i will go check this out.

 

Thanks so much for posting this. We do plan on going back to Grand Caymen...but not until our Dec 2013 cruise which I just booked.

 

I think thats great of them to admit their mistake BUT not everyone gets to cruise again, never mind going back to the same port. If it was truly their error, then I think they should offer a refund or the free excursion. Luckily mitsugirly is going back or else she'd get nothing for their error :(. Sorry, doesn't impress me and glad I'm using Stingray Sailing instead for my excursion in November

[jkskrap]

I think thats great of them to admit their mistake BUT not everyone gets to cruise again, never mind going back to the same port. If it was truly their error, then I think they should offer a refund or the free excursion. Luckily mitsugirly is going back or else she'd get nothing for their error :(. Sorry, doesn't impress me and glad I'm using Stingray Sailing instead for my excursion in November

 

I understand your point, but Native Way did not take our money up front (no deposit/no credit card), so I doubt that these folks were worried about money, just the fact that they had to make other arrangements themselves.

[bguppies]

I tried Nativeways on my first trip to Grand Cayman and it was a complete cluster#@^% the entire day.

 

They were running 3 different tours that day.

 

I was prebooked.on the Rays, Reef, Rum Point one.

We were supposed to leave at 8 or 9, but the tour people there decided to hang around and try to pack the 3 tours out.

I wasn't too upset, figuring they knew their time and what they were doing.

So 30 minutes late, we start piling on three busses.

The 4 people in charge, then argued for another ten minutes, about who was supposed to be on which bus.:rolleyes:

 

Finally we all get on the busses and head to the dock to board the 3 boats.

When we get there, they again start arguing amongst themselves about who should be on which boat.

It was unreal.

 

Finally we are off and heading to Sting Ray City.

 

Guess what.

 

They clearly did not get the passengers right.

Because we had to stop en route to SRC and again en route to Rum Point, to swap passengers. (about 5-10 minutes each time.)

 

Our stop at SRC was about 35-45 minutes. (don't know how long it should have been)

Our stop at Rum Point was get off the boat, and they had our lunches waiting on the table. As we started to eat, the captain told us we had 30 minutes or so to eat, look around and be back on the boat to head back.:eek:

 

Those of us on the Carnival Freedom and a few people on one of the RCCL ships were starting to get nervous, as we were supposed to be back at the pier in less than an hour and we were slowly rolling back in, so the crew could ask for more tips.

The captain kept assuring us we had plenty of time.

 

Well we finally start heading back, 5 minutes before we were supposed to be being dropped back at the pier.

 

Well guess what.

With two RCCL, two Carnival and one Princess ship docked, there was alot of cabs and busses heading back into town and it was bumper to bumper miles out.

 

According to the times we were told when booking, we should have been back with over an hour before final tenders.

 

We were still probably a half mile from the tender area and it was ten minutes until final tenders for Freedom and one RCCL ship.

Meanwhile the driver just kept saying, no worries, plenty of time.

Seven of us said screw this and made him stop and we jumped out and ran the rest of the way and the 3 of us from the Freedom barely made the last tender. (I hope the RCCL foursome made it)

 

Now from the reviews in here, I assume my day was just a brain fart day for nativeways.

But they were so unprofessional, I will never consider them again.

 

My last two trips there I have used Stingray Sailing.

They limit the passngers on their catamaran to 29 and only run one tour and both trips were incredible.

The crew was great.

Have them booked for two weeks from Monday when we will be back again.

 

Bill

[mitsugirly]

I think thats great of them to admit their mistake BUT not everyone gets to cruise again, never mind going back to the same port. If it was truly their error, then I think they should offer a refund or the free excursion. Luckily mitsugirly is going back or else she'd get nothing for their error :(. Sorry, doesn't impress me and glad I'm using Stingray Sailing instead for my excursion in November

 

I do tend to agree with this statement. My husband thought that Grand Cayman was such a beautiful place and said while we were there that he wanted to return. I knew some day we would, I just didn't know when. I got the urge to book another cruise during the HSN $100 OBC special they had this month and wanted to try a ship we had never sailed before and it happen to be one that goes there. So, I guess we are in luck. However, it's well over a year away.

 

I really did want the stingray experience to be a good one because I've read all of the reviews, I've seen the pictures and it looked wonderful. Even being in the water with the stingrays during the "encounter" was nothing as I pictured it to be. We did not even get to "hold" them. Someone else held them while we kissed them and on to the next. Every picture that I've ever seen people post, THEY are holding the stingray to get a picture, not the tour operator. :( We missed out on that.

 

I did email Sharon and she promised the tour will be on her when we return and I will just need to email her ahead of time and remind her. Hopefully this will work out the next time around.

 

 

 

Our stop at Rum Point was get off the boat, and they had our lunches waiting on the table. As we started to eat, the captain told us we had 30 minutes or so to eat, look around and be back on the boat to head back.:eek:

 

Now that would have totally pissed me off! I completely booked with Nativeways for the fact that they were the ONLY company I could find that took you to Rum Point after the stingrays. I really wanted to go there and I didn't get to. So to actually get there and be rushed and have to leave 30 minutes later...:eek:

 

We were still probably a half mile from the tender area and it was ten minutes until final tenders for Freedom and one RCCL ship.

Meanwhile the driver just kept saying, no worries, plenty of time.

Seven of us said screw this and made him stop and we jumped out and ran the rest of the way and the 3 of us from the Freedom barely made the last tender. (I hope the RCCL foursome made it)

 

Wow, this worries me after reading this! That's pretty scarey.

 

My last two trips there I have used Stingray Sailing.

They limit the passngers on their catamaran to 29 and only run one tour and both trips were incredible.

The crew was great.

Have them booked for two weeks from Monday when we will be back again.

 

Bill

 

I had not heard of Stingray Sailing when I was looking to book my excursion for the stingrays. Did you write a review on them? Pictures? Only having 29 people on the tour and only 1 tour per day sounds like a great plan to have for the operator in order to really take care of their clients. Our boat was PACKED!! It was very uncomfortable!

[surreymum]

We used Stingray sailing a few weeks ago. They were fantastic and I can't recommend them highly enough. Their emails were very specific about checking ships time compare to Grand Cayman time. When it looked as though Tropical storm Ernesto was going to hit Grand Cayman we were emailed in advance to say they were monitoring the situation.

We were returned to the ship with several hours to spare - anything less than an hour would freak me out and at each point that we stopped head counts were taken.

[girlscruise2011]

We used Stingray sailing a few weeks ago. They were fantastic and I can't recommend them highly enough. Their emails were very specific about checking ships time compare to Grand Cayman time. When it looked as though Tropical storm Ernesto was going to hit Grand Cayman we were emailed in advance to say they were monitoring the situation.

We were returned to the ship with several hours to spare - anything less than an hour would freak me out and at each point that we stopped head counts were taken.

 

Thanks for the great review. I have them booked in November and everytime I read things like this, it gets me more excited. :D

[hrmkr]

We visited Grand Cayman 3 weeks ago on the Carnival Legend and used Nativeways for the Rum, Reef and Rum Point Excursion. It was absolutely amazing and Andrew and TJ (I believe that was his name) were wonderful.

 

We had to wait about 20 minutes to start the tour while the Nativeways person tried to find the other people that were booked on the tour. He could not find them. It ended up only being 8 of us. We were taken to the Nativeways boat and left for Stingray City. We were the first boat there!! We had about 30 minutes all to ourselves. It was Stingray heaven. We were able to have as much individual time as we wanted with them. Once all of the swarm of other boats arrived, we still had plenty of time and then we left to go snorkeling.

 

The snorkeling was very good. I am not a very good swimmer and Andrew kept checking on me to make sure I was alright. He saw a lobster on the bottom and took our underwater camera down and took some pictures for us. He also found some conch shells and brought them up to show us.

 

We then headed to Rum Point which is absolutely gorgeous. Included in our package was a lunch. He called it in while we were on our way and we only had to wait a few minutes before it was ready.

 

On our way back from Rum Point, out of no where, Andrew stopped the boat and said he saw some starfish. He dove down and brought them up so we could see them and then tossed them back into the water. We were amazed that he was able to spot them while driving back.

 

I would highly, highly recommend Nativeways for a tour if you visit Grand Cayman!!!! It was the highlight of our entire trip.

[mitsugirly]

We visited Grand Cayman 3 weeks ago on the Carnival Legend and used Nativeways for the Rum, Reef and Rum Point Excursion. It was absolutely amazing and Andrew and TJ (I believe that was his name) were wonderful.

 

We had to wait about 20 minutes to start the tour while the Nativeways person tried to find the other people that were booked on the tour. He could not find them. It ended up only being 8 of us. We were taken to the Nativeways boat and left for Stingray City. We were the first boat there!! We had about 30 minutes all to ourselves. It was Stingray heaven. We were able to have as much individual time as we wanted with them. Once all of the swarm of other boats arrived, we still had plenty of time and then we left to go snorkeling.

 

The snorkeling was very good. I am not a very good swimmer and Andrew kept checking on me to make sure I was alright. He saw a lobster on the bottom and took our underwater camera down and took some pictures for us. He also found some conch shells and brought them up to show us.

 

We then headed to Rum Point which is absolutely gorgeous. Included in our package was a lunch. He called it in while we were on our way and we only had to wait a few minutes before it was ready.

 

On our way back from Rum Point, out of no where, Andrew stopped the boat and said he saw some starfish. He dove down and brought them up so we could see them and then tossed them back into the water. We were amazed that he was able to spot them while driving back.

 

I would highly, highly recommend Nativeways for a tour if you visit Grand Cayman!!!! It was the highlight of our entire trip.

 

This review sounds EXACTLY like the review I read when I was doing research on what tour company to take and someone had wrote a review like this and posted pictures and I KNEW it was going to be great. That is what I was looking for when I went. I will definitely take Sharon up on her offer to go again and hopefully have this experience. :)

[belkin]

I plan on doing a full review at some point when i get caught up. But i went with http://caymanecoadventures.com and it was by far the best excursion i have ever been on. There were only 10 of us on a boat that could hold 25 and the capt (Kevin) is flexible its your boat for the day. You can go wherever you like and spend as much time as you like at each stop.. We did rays, snorkeling and rum point. Wow, to get away from the crowds and do a private excursion is the only way to go. There email address is stingraysailing@gmail.com.

 

When I went to their site I only see a 3 1/2 hour stingray tour. Was the tour you were on private? I really want to go to rum point :)

[Crazy4Koko]

I'm cancelling my Moby Dick tour and going with the 5 hour reef, ray, rum point tour with Nativeway! I'm sure both would be excellent, tho....

 

 

We are in port from 10 until 6.. I like that they listed the tours as 'eastern daylight time.. which is the same as ship time!

[katti michele]

I'm contemplating doing the Nativeways "Stingray and Island" tour ($60pp) or going through Carnival with the "Stingray Sandbar, Hell, and Turtle Farm Experience" ($71.99pp). I see most of you have done the Rays, Reef, and Rum Point one, but has anyone done either of the ones i'm considering? Both seem relatively the same, so personal experience would be great! Thanks.

[dz63]

Just wondering if this is a good tour company?

 

We did the Rays, Reef and Rum Point excursion with Nativeways last month and had an awesome time. I have written a detailed review of our experience and have also included lots of photos. If you are interested, you can read my review located at the link below. It may help to answer your questions and give you an idea what to expect.

 

My review begins at post #137 and ends at post #145.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1704270&page=7

 

If you have any other questions, just ask!

[kiraryker]

We did the Rays, Reef and Rum Point excursion with Nativeways last month and had an awesome time. I have written a detailed review of our experience and have also included lots of photos. If you are interested, you can read my review located at the link below. It may help to answer your questions and give you an idea what to expect.

 

My review begins at post #137 and ends at post #145.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1704270&page=7

 

If you have any other questions, just ask!

 

Thanks! About how many people do they take on the tour? As we will either have 7 or 11 depending on if everyone goes along

[dz63]

Thanks! About how many people do they take on the tour? As we will either have 7 or 11 depending on if everyone goes along

 

I am not sure what their limit is, but I know they do have one. There were about 20 people on the Stingray and Reef tour and our family of 5 were the only ones on the Ray, Reef and Rum Point excursion.

 

If you really want to book with Nativeways, it is best to book as soon as you can. I have read of people who had tried to book last minute only to be disappointed that they were already filled up!

 

You can always email Nativeways. Sharon is fairly quick at responding to any questions.