Catamaran Snorkeling

[shensadie]

Anyone done snorkeling on a catamaran in Grand Cayman through cruise ship.

[mrsfuzzmo]

Only the first time many years ago, but have done it many times on excursions booked outside of ship.

 

If you list which ship you will be on, you may have better luck getting answers.

[monicajay]

Anyone done snorkeling on a catamaran in Grand Cayman through cruise ship.

 

I have only ever done one cruise line excursion and that was because my husband was sick and wanted to stay on the ship. He wasn't thrilled with me going adventuring alone so I booked a ship excursion.

 

Private excursion are always cheaper and often have a lot less people on them which allows you to enjoy it more. Some will try to scare you with the 'missing the ship' story. But, if you read these boards that doesn't happen too often. Do the research, book with a reputable operator, wear a watch (and make sure you know the difference between ship and local time if there is one).

 

The only exception would be if you are going on a long, far trip such as ruins in Belize that you might decide it was worth the extra to book with the ship. This is not the case for a Catamaran in Grand Cayman.

 

IF you really are considering a ship excursion you should mention the name of the Ship and will be more likely to find someone who has been on a particular catamaran as they don't all use the same suppliers.

[shensadie]

I would like to just do a catamaran sail and snorkel in Grand Cayman without Stingray City. I was looking at the one offered by the ship. Has anyone just done the Catamaran Sail and Snorkel without Stingray City(done Stingray City several times already).

[cwolf1858]

Stingray Sailing is the exact type of excursion for anybody that doesn’t want to fight the crowds on a big boat or pay the extra fees that the cruise ship adds on. Everything about our experience with Captain Chip and his Dad more than met our expectations. We booked via website prior to our cruise after finding them as the #3 excursion in Grand Cayman on Trip Advisor. When my family of 4 arrived via tender on the Disney Fantasy, Chip was waiting for my family and another group of 9 people. So there were 13 people on the catamaran built for ~30 people. Captain Chip explained that the days of multiple cruise ships are gone since the laws state that local tenders have to be used and the port is less than equipped to handle the masses pre-hurricane. It did seem pretty quiet on the island compared to the past trips I have taken there before the big hurricane ~10 years ago. We all boarded a small bus and headed out to the yacht club where the catamaran was docked. There was plenty of room on the trampoline at the front for everybody and we took off. The views of the houses on both sides of the boat were amazing. Chip and his Dad were very chatty with us giving us all kinds of tidbits of information about the Island. Chip has lived there for his whole life and his Dad for ~40 years. After a short ride out to the sandbar, we saw a large boat carrying ~150 people all bunched up trying to get as close to the stingrays as possible (with no food to feed them). When the 13 of us got off of the boat, we had tons of fish to feed to the stingrays and we were immediately surrounded by them. You could tell the people off of the larger boat were wishing they were with us. Chip was very cool with the stingrays and all of the kids in our group. He would get one to come up to him and then gently hold it so the kids could get close and pet them. After a while, the kids were very comfortable standing on their own petting and feeding them as they swam by. We did this for about 30-45 minutes and then picked up anchor and moved to the nearby reef where a few of us jumped in the water for snorkeling. Once again, perfect. We didn’t have to fight off the big crowds and had the water to ourselves. The people that stayed on the boat had complimentary fruit and bottled water and just soaked up the sun (my wife and 2 4-year-olds did a photo shootJ). After 30 minutes of swimming we headed in. Chip asked us if we wanted to sail for a while in the perfect weather and turn off the engine. We did and it seemed like a perfect ending to a perfect day as we drank a couple of bottles of local beer they carry. Just know that Stingray Sailing relies 100% on return business and referrals. Based on what people have been saying about them online, I would argue that they have 1 of the best running excursions in the Caribbean. I would definitely recommend to anybody.

[hockeypapa]

WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE COMPANY THE COST AND WHERE CAN I FIND THEM:eek:

[cwolf1858]

It is called Stingray Sailing and can be found at:

http://www.stingraysailing.com/