Disappointed in Nativeway/Stingrays

[jcs56]

Last week on the Victory we did the Nativeway tour. We had booked it several months earlier. My family (hubby is 51, I am 49, daughter 23, and son 18) met up with Nativeway for our excursion. We had a 9 am tour scheduled but it began at 10 because of the docking situation. We docked at the other pier....horrible!!!!!!! Anyway, we were bussed for 30 min. (rather than 10) to the pier for the stingray tour. The ride out in the boat was very pretty. When we arrived at the sandbar there were about 6 or 8 other boats there. We got out of the boat to see and swim with the stingrays. What a disappointment. We had researched and read about this for so long....we were so disappointed. We saw maybe.....10 rays. We were in the water about 1/2 hr. I expected to see many, many stingrays but that is NOT the case. The free refreshments consisted of a gallon jug of hi-C fruit punch and a gallon of water that you could pour yourself. It wasn't even offered, it was just there in a cooler. There was no festive or party atmosphere. We certainly didn't feel it was worth the money at all. By the time we got to the reef it was raining and cold so most of the people didn't even go in the water. I don't blame the rain on our disappointment....it just wasn't at all what we anticipated.

[VaCruzers]

Sorry you were disappointed in your trip, but I have to make a few comments. First, I don't understand how Nativeway is at fault for where your ship docked. Secondly, stingrays are in their natural habitat, not confinement, and therefore, no one can control their behavior. So how is Nativeway at fault that you only saw 10 stingrays? On each of our trips with them, it has been announced that there are drinks in the cooler, help yourself. Perhaps you expected someone to wait on you? And the rain? Surely you don't expect that any tour company has control over that?

 

I understand that this trip didn't meet your expectations and I am sorry you were disappointed. Thanks for posting your experiences.

[Family Girl]

jcs56,

I would like to see some details on how Nativeway let you down.

From the post, your biggest complaints were related to Mother Nature, no steel drum island music playing, and nobody pouring your drink.

 

Sorry you were disappointed, but can you give some details ?

[Fiddlemama]

My kids (teens) and I did the Stingray City Sandbar/Coral Gardens tour with Nativeway last March and could not have been more pleased. We have to budget so for our $30 a piece this was a treasure of a tour. I ck'd Nativeways site just now and see that they have increased it to $35 a person and even that is cheap. I am taking my mom on a Mother's Day cruise on the Imagination this May and you can bet we will be booking this tour again!

[jcs56]

I specifically said.....I don't blame the rain on the bad trip. I know that is is no way Nativeways fault. I just wanted to post my thoughts on how we felt about our tour. After a couple years of researching the tour I just expected to see a lot more rays. That's all I am trying to say. And yes, I guess I did expect them to serve us a drink...whats wrong with that? And I did not say it was Nativeways fault that we docked further away. The 30 minute drive didn't bother me. I said the ride out was very pretty....just disappointed in the lack of stingrays.

[VaCruzers]

So, now you are saying you were disappointed with your Nativeway tour because they didn't serve you a drink. That is disappointing. Did you lodge your complaint while on the tour or contact them afterwards to make them aware of your disappointment? Maybe next time you should bring your butler/housekeeper/cook from home so that you don't have to open the cooler & pour yourself a cup of water.

 

Nativeway had no control over any of the other things you complained about. I'm not so sure that I am sorry you were disappointed, but I am glad that I was not on your tour.

[sdf89]

jcs56: thank you for your post. It helps all of us who are looking into Cayman stingray excursions... and for all the other posters on this thread, the OP says he was disappointed and gave clear reasons. Nothing more or less!!!

[jcs56]

So, now you are saying you were disappointed with your Nativeway tour because they didn't serve you a drink. That is disappointing. Did you lodge your complaint while on the tour or contact them afterwards to make them aware of your disappointment? Maybe next time you should bring your butler/housekeeper/cook from home so that you don't have to open the cooler & pour yourself a cup of water.

 

Nativeway had no control over any of the other things you complained about. I'm not so sure that I am sorry you were disappointed, but I am glad that I was not on your tour.

 

You are rude!!!! Since when can someone not come on here and post that they were disappointed? I have been doing this a long time and rarely complain. I just feel since everyone talks about their experiences that I should tell ours. And NO I didn't tell Nativeway I was disappointed...as a matter of fact supposedly you don't have to pay if its not what you expected....and I didn't complain to them. Maybe I just misunderstood what the experience would be like. And yeah, since I'm a millionaire next time I will bring my own yacht and butlere as you suggested....maybe I will invite you to come along for a good time.

You don't read very well.....I have now said TWICE that I know Nativeway had no control over the weather or the lack of stingrays in the water.....plain and simple.....not what we expected.

[ColleenN]

We are thinking of taking the Nativway tour which includes a boat to the Stingray sandbar. My mom was in a car accident a few months ago and broke both ankles, tore cartilege in a knee, broke a collarbone. She is able to walk fine and climb steps, but is the climb onto and off the dock to get onto the boat to the sandbar difficult? She could manage a ladder or a large step, but if she had to pull herself up onto something it could be a problem. Anyone have any opinions whether this tour is for her? I hate to have her miss seeing the rays, even if she doesn't get off the boat to swim with them!

[jcs56]

No, getting on the dock was very simple...no steps and onto the boat the same. Getting into the water was just a platform that you hop off of to get into the water. They have more than one boat, but ours was the YO YO....(haha) and it was very easy. To get to the upper deck was a ladder so she may not be able to do that but she can sit on the lower deck. Also...getting down to the bathroom was a small ladder type steps and very small area.

[VaCruzers]

Perspective is a point of view. The OP has a point of view different from mine.

 

Now that I have made my point, I am done with this thread. I will think of you as I am getting myself a drink from the cooler while enjoying my Nativeway tour week after next.

[TidePrideGA]

jcs, I, for one, want to thank you for your perspective. Like you, I will be going to Stingray City for the first time next week (although with Capt Bryan rather than Nativeway) and the glowing reviews here do make it seem as though it will be perfect. I appreciate a realistic opinion of one experience there.

 

I have read several posts on several boards recently and all have been disappointed there have been fewer stingrays around lately than they had come to expect. Don't know why, but it's nice to know ahead of time.

 

And believe me I would MUCH rather cruise with you than with someone who is judgmental, rude and elitist. MUCH MUCH rather.

[TidePrideGA]

logan, of course you won't go wrong taking RCI's excursion. The biggest difference is that the ship-sponsored boats are usually much bigger which means you may have 40 or so that your guides are trying to help, while excurions like Nativeway, Capt Bryan, etc. usually have 10-15 so a little more personalized service. The private excursions also try to beat the ship excursions out there, giving you a little less "crowd" in general.... maybe.

[logan1_2000]

One of the cool things about these boards is the amount of info and confidence you can gain as a cruiser. I read tide pride's response and then was really surprised to see at the bottom that tide has 5 days to go until 1st cruise!! Yet an answer with detail, balance and perspective--presumably gained from spending waaaay too much time scrolling and learning at these boards (and I say that as someone who pleads guilty to spending waaaaay too much time at these boards!). TidePride, have a great first cruise--you'll be back for more, they're addictive.

[jcs56]

Sorry if anyone was offended by my thoughts on the stingray thing!! I guess we just expected more....but we enjoyed the day, the scenery and all....the rain sucked but we made the best of it...and I paid for our excursion even though I wasn't too thrilled. I could have been rude and told them I wouldn't pay, but I wasn't going to do that...oh, and I tipped too. Imagine that!! And yes, we have been on alot of excursion type things on catamarans and boats and had a bar that served us a drink, so I just expected that....not so bad, is it? But not being served a drink is not why I was disappointed...I was disappointed in the amount of stingrays I guess......I don't know.

I have a review of our entire cruise on the Carnival portion...called "Just returned from the Victory"...everyone loved it and said it was a great review. I am in no way a negative person. It is very difficult for our family to get away and to afford a cruise, it doesn't come that easy for us. We loved our CARNIVAL cruise and will go Carnival again and again....I just think when you review something you should tell the truth...good, bad, horrible and even fantastic....just want to be truthful thats all.

Thanks everyone and enjoy the rays!!!! And yes, we all kissed one for 7 years good luck.

Happy cruising everyone.

[gizmo]

My 2 cents.

 

When I saw the title of the thread I thought the problem was with Nativeways. After reading it, it appeared your biggest complaint was the excursion itself do to lack of sting rays but there were with a couple of issues with Nativeway also.

 

I think I would be disappointed if I only saw 10 rays. I have read reviews where there were a lot more than 10 rays swimming around. For whatever reason there were very few on your excursion.

 

At times people tend to overrate things so expectations are not met. Like me you have probably read that this excursion was "the best", "terrific", "wonderful", "not to be missed" etc.

 

Refreshments never mean booze unless the excursion specifies it. If you are not sure you should always ask first.

 

I agree that they should have offered you a refreshment or at least let you know they were in the cooler and to help yourself.

 

Maybe it is me, but I don't recall reading that these tours are party atmosphere type excursions. Maybe some reviews led you to believe they were?

 

I appreciate your review, it was honest and enlightening. I always pictured lots and lots of rays, not 10 so. It did inform me that this is a possibility.

 

I read your posts as saying that you were disappointed and expected something somewhat different.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write this.

[jennybabee]

Dont worry Jan - only takes a few to be insulting. You were just trying to give your honest opinion which EVERYONE is entitled to. And for the record, my husband and I make ALOT of money and I still enjoy the "Lower class" carnival more then the stuffy ships lol- so you know what they say opinions are like ........................

 

 

:D

[captainron]

Logan,

Did this last year when on EOS.

 

The tour was great. They bus you to the recreation marina where everyone gets off the bus and loads onto boats (different sizes). Drive from Georgetown is about 10-15 mins if that.

 

I managed to get on a boat called the "Stingray" which is a two deck vessel, and has two to three ladders down the stern into the water. You can sit underneath on the maindeck or out ion the bow or up top.

 

Once at the reef, one of the crew (a guide) takes a bucket of fresh squid and swirls it in the water. That brings the girls coming in a hurry.

When entering the water don't jump right down as if you land on one, they'll bring the tail up and jab you. So...enter the water slowly and once you're on the reef, don't lift your feet up...do what they call the "stingray shuffle" in the sand, so that if your foot goes under one, she'll just up and swim away.

 

When feeding, remember that the females are the big ones (up to 4 ft across) and are the most predominant on the reef. The males are smaller and in the masses you'll encounter you may only see one or two...if you're lucky. The females are beuatiful creatures and very playful. When you feed them, you hold a squid in your fist with your thumb down and wave it in front of you. One of the girls will swim up to you and bring her mouth uo to your hand. Once you feel the suction motion release the squid and she'll swim away...but now you're her friend and she'll come back for more. After feeding ensure you do not wipe your feeding hand on your legs or anywhere else. They'll still smell the squid on you.. One of the girls on our trip ended up with a "stingray hickey" and wondered how she was going to explain to here husband how she got it.

 

Once all the squid is gone, the girls will continue to swim up to you. You can hold them facing you and they'll bring their snouts up to kiss you. To say you've kissed a stingray stinger, it's simple. Have the girls swim across your body in front you then support under the max width of their body. While holding them, cup your free hand lightly around the tail, slide itn down over the stinger and cock your thumb under the stinger. Bring ti up slowly and gently, give it a kiss and then let her go to swim some more.

 

While snorkrlling with them I made a friend and the two of us played and frolicked in 3-6 feet of water for over half an hour, she swam on my back, beside me and belly to belly.

 

I must say that this was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and if back in GC would do it on a moment's notice.

 

Enjoy yourself with these beautiful and gentle creatures of the ocean. The reef is anywhere from 3-6 feet depending on the waves on the reef and most of the time you can stand on the sandbar. Everyone wears a BC flotation device so it's quite safe.

 

If you get on the morning tour, you'll have enough time to get back to Georgetown for a few hours before tendering back to the ship.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[TidePrideGA]

One of the cool things about these boards is the amount of info and confidence you can gain as a cruiser. I read tide pride's response and then was really surprised to see at the bottom that tide has 5 days to go until 1st cruise!! Yet an answer with detail, balance and perspective--presumably gained from spending waaaay too much time scrolling and learning at these boards (and I say that as someone who pleads guilty to spending waaaaay too much time at these boards!). TidePride, have a great first cruise--you'll be back for more, they're addictive.

 

Guilty as charged, logan, guilty as charged.

 

But you are absolutely correct. When I booked this cruise in July I knew NOTHING about cruising and couldn't have pointed to Grand Cayman on a map. My TA mentioned CC in our initial conversation and I've been here ever since. DH and DS laughed at me at first for obsessing, but I told them then - and they realize now - "When we board that ship and know the drill and procedures as though it were our 10th cruise instead of our first, you'll thank me for being O-C".

 

CC is WONDERFUL! For the most part helpful, informative and friendly. What more could one ask?

[captainron]

In response to your email, I did the 2.5 trip that took 3 hrs.

 

You have to look out on the ship excursions, as some indicate that they have a short stop at another location for snorkelling as well. Gets pretty pricy for that extra little bit, and sometimes the snorkelling's just in deeper water adjacent to the sandbar.

If you want to concentrate on the stingrays...I'd recommend do that only without any other add ons.

Have a great call in Georgetown.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[skm]

Just curious as to what it feels like to get jabbed by the tail of a stingray?:confused: SKM

[captainron]

Hi skm,

Stingray Jabs are not poisonous, just painful.

The actual stinger is like a bone extension from the tail. There is no toxicity or poison associated with it. The female stingray stingers are about 4-6 ins long and are about half an inch in diameter at the top end closest to the place where it enters the skin surface. The tip is sharp but not like a hypodermic needle.

I know people that have been swimming with and feeding them for over 20 years and have never been zapped. Most of the odd cases are as a result of stepping on them and they are surprised, so the swing of the stinger is a reactive and defensive motion more than anything else.

Hope this clears it up. Cheers, and...

 

Ciao for now!!!

[jcs56]

When you first ge into the water they will tell you not to jump around or get too crazy because this is what may cause the rays to get "spooked" and possible someone would get stung accidentally.