Cayman Islands swim with the stingrays

[ronin2077]

Going to be visiting the Cayman Islands and want to swim with the stingrays. It looks like fun, but we do not want to be on a boat with 100 other people. Any recommendations for a company that offers good trips with no more than 25 people.

Thanks

[CruiserBruce]

It would be nice if you got a boat with less than 25 people, but could they make a profit?

 

Some research on the Grand Cayman board would be beneficial.

[kingoftheicedragons]

Check out the Grand Cayman Board. They can direct you to private excursions which are sure to have less than 25 people. It's been a few years, and I don't know if this is the correct name or if they're still in business, but I think it was something like Captain Ron's.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Here is the link for the Ports of Call for Grand Cayman:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=147

[Lionesss]

I can understand your concerns about being on a boat with alot of tourist, but, it really wasn't that bad. Also, I know you realize when you get to the sandbar where the stingrays come in, you will be with a ton of people. The last time we sailed RCI we booked the excursion thru them, and we were hooked up with a company that had 3 boats, we were one of the first to get to the stingrays, and man were they hungry, playful. We were there about 45 min. And as we were there we watched over 30 boats come in and let there customers off. WOW even for a big area it got crowded.

We were lucky to get there early, then we left and snorkel on a reef.

Best of Luck in what you find.

 

Sea Ya

[Lsimon]

You can take a look at the Cayman Islands board for private tour guide recommendations. Only issue is the starting time for some are too early as you'll have to tender at Grand Cayman and that takes a while.

 

We once did a trip with only 6 people (plus boat crew) on a small boat hired by some friends staying on the Island at the time.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We had a great time with Captain Marvin--I'd say about 20 or so on the boat.

 

However, this was 8 years ago, so I'm not sure they are still running. Captain Marvin himself piloted our boat and he was turning 90 in a month! So, I'd say check the boards to see if that company is still going (I assume not run by the Captain himself, but who knows, he was in amazing shape for his age.) There are other great private tours too.

 

We have also done a ship tour; the stingray part was fine. There were a lot of people on the boat, but it wasn't uncomfortable. The bus tour part that went with it was another story, and the main reason we seldom book ship tours anymore.

[GORDONCHICK]

We went with Moby Dick tours and had a great time! I'd read about them, but hadn't prebooked because I'd never been able to get DH to agree to do it. He asked me the morning we got there if I still wanted to go to Stingray City and of course I said yes. So we found Moby Dick tours close to where our tenders docking and they had room for us. There were probably 25-30 people on our boat. I would definitely recommend them, and we will pre-book with them next time.

http://www.mobydicktours.com/?gclid=CMTQrfOKrLUCFRSTPAodZ0AARg

 

I will say that they told us they weren't doing any tours with a couple of the ships because they weren't in port long enough.

[karen&roy]

WE also went with Moby Dick tours...twice. Loved it and never had more than 15 people on our boat :D

[bsell53]

We went with Stingray Sailing. Check them out on TripAdvisor. They have almost 500 reviews, almost all of them excellent. They were great, very affordable, and no more than 29 I believe on the boat.

[Sheffie]

We have done the ship's tour (didn't know about cruise critic), Captain Marvin and the Buccaneer. I would recommend either of the last two and NOT the ship's tour. As said, check out their times and what they are doing and go from there. There are Many good companies on that island.

[sunshine20001]

My sis and I just used Stingray Sailing last Oct and had a fabulous time. They only take up to 29 people and use a catamaran. Very nice people and would highly recommend!

[Suzanne123]

We went with the cruiseline and Capt. Marvin, and I didn't see much diference, but check out how many ships will be in port at the same time. On our first cruise we were the only ship. The tour out to Stingray City was fabulous. The next cruise had seven ships in port and the same tour was terrible. Several hundred people on all size boats jumping in the water, screaming, and just ruining the experience.

[chipq]

There may be small tour outfits on Grand Cayman you can find on the internet or with tour books. Someone posted this Grand Cayman excursion video which includes the stingray swim.

http://quassmedia.com/cruisevids/?p=1358