ArmyEngrWife Posted November 6, 2005 #1 Share Posted November 6, 2005 Hi Everyone! We are leaving out next week on the Miracle! Yeah! I was looking at doing the stringray city tour. What company do you recommend? I've looked at just booking it through Carnival. Which is $62 per person. You do the stingrays, City of Hell and Turtle farm. But I also saved a recommended site that someone mentioned through Native Water Sports. They seem to be just as nice with the same tihngs to do and it's only $45 per person. Just wondering if anyone else could tell me which one might be better. I don't know if maybe Carnivals might have more to offer or if an island company would be better. Price wise of course I'd go with Native tours. Thanks! Tamara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klfrodo Posted November 6, 2005 #2 Share Posted November 6, 2005 You've done the research. Basically, It's your call now. We've been twice. Haven't gone with Native Way but have read good things about them. We've always gone with Captain Marvins. Either way, both time we went, the Carnival sponsered tours had around 100 people on each tour boat. When we went on the private tours there were only around 15 - 20 people on the boat. We received more personal attention and we appreciated it. Also we had a diver/video camerperson with us. They would video the excursion, with you and your family as co-sars, and then if you chose to , you could purchase the video for around $40 U.S. What a wonderful memory that is. The down side of going private excursion: If for any reason, the excursion company doesn't get you back to the ship on time, you're stuck. The ship sails without you. On a Carnival sponsered excursion, the ship will wait. The Captain won't be happy, but he'll wait. I've never had a problem with this, but just wanted to share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurfAtHome Posted November 6, 2005 #3 Share Posted November 6, 2005 Definatly Capt. Marvins. He takes a small group as compared to the masses that the cruise ship do. Aircondition VW Bus....Nice boat. His store front is a quick walk from the ship. He was very patient with kids and was very educational about the reef and the stingray. He poses with each family/group for a good picture with the rays. We snorkled for about a half and hour and then went out to stingray city. My husband swallowed too much salt water and wasn't feeling well. They helped him with limes and other methods and he was fine in no time. Forget the cruise line excursions.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeidiHo Posted November 6, 2005 #4 Share Posted November 6, 2005 Another outfit with a good rep is Captain Bryan's. We have booked him for March. We haven't actually used him but a friend recommended him and many people on this board have recommended him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettyB2 Posted November 6, 2005 #5 Share Posted November 6, 2005 Just about the best time of my life!! I believe any of the private excursions mentioned above will do and are MUCH better than the excursion that Carnival offers. www.cayman.org/captainbryan EMAIL captainbryan@cayman.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabee Posted November 6, 2005 #6 Share Posted November 6, 2005 I really enjoyed it. Since it was our first cruise, I was a little concerned with the fears of "missing the boat." Next time I would definitely use a private provider, and I have heard lots of good words for Captain Marvin... Funny thing....is everybody likes something different.... My wife felt like the visit to the turtles was one of the highlights of the trip... another friend said she has never seen anything like Hell...(which to me was nothing but s simple tourist attaction...and nothing to get excited about...) I enjoyed the stingrays once I got over my fear (I have know two people who have been stung by them.) Once I realized how these stingrays are so used to people and do not lay of the bottom to be stepped on, I really enjoyed myself. One thind I did miss with the Carnival trip...we did not get to snorkle off the reef. That is something I wanted to do, and will do next time I go. Have fun no matter what you decide to do or how much you pay. Whether you pay $45 or $62...if you enjoy it then it is worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadiansnowbirds Posted November 7, 2005 #7 Share Posted November 7, 2005 Hi Everyone! We are leaving out next week on the Miracle! Yeah! I was looking at doing the stringray city tour. What company do you recommend? I've looked at just booking it through Carnival. Which is $62 per person. You do the stingrays, City of Hell and Turtle farm. But I also saved a recommended site that someone mentioned through Native Water Sports. They seem to be just as nice with the same tihngs to do and it's only $45 per person. Just wondering if anyone else could tell me which one might be better. I don't know if maybe Carnivals might have more to offer or if an island company would be better. Price wise of course I'd go with Native tours. Thanks! Tamara I did the Stingray tour both with Carnival in 1996 and a private company called Soto's Cruises (http://www.sotoscruises.com) a couple of weeks ago. I was concerned about not getting back to the ship on time so I went with the morning tour offered by Soto's (9:30 to 11:30am). We were picked up just down from the pier (1 minute walk) by Randy; brought directly to their catamaran and supplied with our snorkel equipment. We then proceeded to the Coral Reef where we stopped for 30 minutes and then on to Stingray City for another 30 minutes. I liked this company better because there were only 12 of us on the catamaran with three guys assisting us (Randy, Billy & Juan). Not only did I get my own underwater pictures, Juan took over a dozen pictures of us holding, petting, feeding and even kissing the Stingrays (you have the option to purchase them) and will be sending them to me in a couple of weeks. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone. I have been on four cruises and did a number of shore excursions and I would have to say this one was my favorite. Everything from e-mailing Kerry with all of my questions to dropping us off back to the pier was perfect. I feel that this is the best $60.00 ($30.00 each) my husband and I have ever spent on our vacations. Tip: Grand Cayman is a tendered port therefore if you decide to go with a private company to tour with go to the lounge for the tender tickets by 7:45am and Carnival staff will give you a ticket to be on the tender by 8:15, 6 minutes to get to the pier and a 1 minute walk to the pickup spot (Kerry will supply you with the very simple directions for pickup). I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyEngrWife Posted November 7, 2005 Author #8 Share Posted November 7, 2005 Thanks everyone! I am going to look at all the suggestions and see what everyone offers to do along with the stingray tour. I'm very excited as this is our first cruise. My husband and I with our two boys ages 11 and 4 and my Mom. Hey she's paying! lol Also thanks canadiansnowbirds for the GC tip of the times and tickets. Tamara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmysmommy Posted November 7, 2005 #9 Share Posted November 7, 2005 Here's another vote for Captain Marvin's - they were FANTASTIC and a real bargain at $39/pp for a 1/2 day excursion. A lot of the boats have videographers that film the group during the excursion - we bought the video for $60 (pricey, but what the heck) after watching it on the way back to the dock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heymom32000 Posted November 7, 2005 #10 Share Posted November 7, 2005 We used Capt Marvins after reading so many positive things about them. They were one of the very few that did the tour when we got to port. The ship and many others canceled due to the rain. Capt. Marvins said that because the waters were calm enough we would go ahead with the tour. They had been in radio contact with others on the bay to make sure waters were ok. Once we got out there the water was murky in the bay so Chester took us to the outer part of the reef. They were wonderful with our 10 yr old daughter....helping her figure out snorkeling for the first time. If we ever go to GC again we will use Capt Marvins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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