Is Pre-booking private tours a necessity?

[abudawg9]

We are planning to do a private tour in GC as opposed to the more expensive ones offered by the ship. Possibly something like a 1/2 day snorkeling at Stingray sandbar.

 

Do we absolutely need to pre-book with someone like Captain Marvin well before we sail, or once we get off the ship in GC will there be a thousand private tour operators offering trips that we can take on the spot?

[AZdana]

There will definitely be many, many people at the dock trying to get you to take a tour with them. I'm not sure what the benefit of waiting until then is though, at minimum I would note the names you've read on this board and try to sign on with someone you have heard of (and therefore are hopefully reliable). It will certainly be much cheaper than taking the ship tour.

[CruiseMark]

The more reputable ones are the ones you see listed on this board (our personal favorite is Native Way). They're very conscientious about getting you back to the ship on time, keep their boats and equipment in top shape, etc. (and are still MUCH cheaper than the ships tours)

 

Some of the ones you find at the dock have no such accountability as they have no "reputation" to protect. I've heard horror stories about rickety boats, lousy crews, etc.

 

You've saved long and hard for this cruise...why risk it?