Captain Marvin's review

[TravelFiend]

Just back and wanted to share some reviews of the excursions we did. In Grand Cayman we booked with Captain Marvin's for the Stingray City and Two snorkeling stops to Coral Gardens and the Barrier Reef. We had an AMAZING time and I would highly recommend this!

 

https://captainmarvins.com/product/three-stop-stingray-snorkel-tours/

 

When I booked, we were told that as it was conch season, we'd actually be doing a conch dive session instead of one of the snorkel stops. I was sad, but when I told my kids, they were THRILLED. I had no idea what this even was, but it ended up being so much fun! So just know that if it is conch season when you visit (which I admit I don't have any idea when that actually is, though we were there over Thanksgiving) you'll get to do that instead of the two snorkel stops.

 

We walked off the ship with plenty of time to spare, and made our way over to the Captain Marvin's office, which was less than a block away. So super easy and convenient. We then hopped in an air conditioned van for a short ride to the marina/canal where we boarded the boat. There were about 15 people booked on the tour for the day, which was a perfect number - I've done Stingray City before and had the boat absolutely swamped and had a hard time finding a place to sit! This was perfect. The crew were great and kept offering us water and making sure we were comfortable, while also getting us all fitted for fins and snorkel gear.

 

We arrived at the first stop for conch diving and got a quick lesson in choosing which conchs were good, versus which had been harvested already. Then it was time to dive! We all hopped in and were able to harvest about 10-12 conchs in the time we were there. We didn't want to take too many, so we quit at that number, but still enjoyed the gorgeous water. We then moved on to the Coral Garden, which was absolutely stunning! Our guides cleaned the conch while we snorkeled, and used the extra bits of conch to chum the water a bit to get us tons of fish! We even had four rays swimming with us! They were so excited to see us, and my 10 year old ended up exclaiming "The stingray just hugged me!" We honestly had just as good of interaction with these as we did in Stingray City!

 

We then moved on to Stingray City, and our guide found his favorite ray, "Emily". I thought he was joking, but he showed us her markings and she really did seem to know him! She was a total ham and let all of us hold her and take photos, and even let the guide show us her stinger, her mouth, and a full anatomy lesson. She was so patient, and of course we rewarded her with lots of squid after! All the rays were delighted to see us and my kids just had a blast feeding them and holding them. 

 

Then it was time for lunch, and we sailed to a little beach on one of the outer islands. The food was INCREDIBLE. Fish, chicken, red beans & rice, pasta salad, salad, etc. We also had a delicious ceviche made from the conch. We ate and ate, and left so happy and full to hop back on the boat and lay out on the front for a cruise back to the marina. Overall just a fantastic day and one that my kids will remember forever! Would absolutely recommend this tour to anyone heading to Grand Cayman!

[KGab]

Thank you so much for your review! I'm just about to book a stingray city tour and I think you helped me to decide quickly that Captain Marvin's is the best choice!

 

[bguppies]

On 12/9/2023 at 3:11 PM, KGab said:

Thank you so much for your review! I'm just about to book a stingray city tour and I think you helped me to decide quickly that Captain Marvin's is the best choice!

 

 

On 12/5/2023 at 12:45 AM, TravelFiend said:

Just back and wanted to share some reviews of the excursions we did. In Grand Cayman we booked with Captain Marvin's for the Stingray City and Two snorkeling stops to Coral Gardens and the Barrier Reef. We had an AMAZING time and I would highly recommend this!

 

https://captainmarvins.com/product/three-stop-stingray-snorkel-tours/

 

When I booked, we were told that as it was conch season, we'd actually be doing a conch dive session instead of one of the snorkel stops. I was sad, but when I told my kids, they were THRILLED. I had no idea what this even was, but it ended up being so much fun! So just know that if it is conch season when you visit (which I admit I don't have any idea when that actually is, though we were there over Thanksgiving) you'll get to do that instead of the two snorkel stops.

 

We walked off the ship with plenty of time to spare, and made our way over to the Captain Marvin's office, which was less than a block away. So super easy and convenient. We then hopped in an air conditioned van for a short ride to the marina/canal where we boarded the boat. There were about 15 people booked on the tour for the day, which was a perfect number - I've done Stingray City before and had the boat absolutely swamped and had a hard time finding a place to sit! This was perfect. The crew were great and kept offering us water and making sure we were comfortable, while also getting us all fitted for fins and snorkel gear.

 

We arrived at the first stop for conch diving and got a quick lesson in choosing which conchs were good, versus which had been harvested already. Then it was time to dive! We all hopped in and were able to harvest about 10-12 conchs in the time we were there. We didn't want to take too many, so we quit at that number, but still enjoyed the gorgeous water. We then moved on to the Coral Garden, which was absolutely stunning! Our guides cleaned the conch while we snorkeled, and used the extra bits of conch to chum the water a bit to get us tons of fish! We even had four rays swimming with us! They were so excited to see us, and my 10 year old ended up exclaiming "The stingray just hugged me!" We honestly had just as good of interaction with these as we did in Stingray City!

 

We then moved on to Stingray City, and our guide found his favorite ray, "Emily". I thought he was joking, but he showed us her markings and she really did seem to know him! She was a total ham and let all of us hold her and take photos, and even let the guide show us her stinger, her mouth, and a full anatomy lesson. She was so patient, and of course we rewarded her with lots of squid after! All the rays were delighted to see us and my kids just had a blast feeding them and holding them. 

 

Then it was time for lunch, and we sailed to a little beach on one of the outer islands. The food was INCREDIBLE. Fish, chicken, red beans & rice, pasta salad, salad, etc. We also had a delicious ceviche made from the conch. We ate and ate, and left so happy and full to hop back on the boat and lay out on the front for a cruise back to the marina. Overall just a fantastic day and one that my kids will remember forever! Would absolutely recommend this tour to anyone heading to Grand Cayman!

Thanks for such a well written review.

[Hult5]

Did Captain Marvin's Stingray City, 2 snorkel stops and lunch 20 years ago on our honeymoon, and his was the best excursion that week.  Was going to book again with him when we are there in November but he doesn't go out on Sundays - any suggestions???

[bguppies]

On 1/8/2024 at 2:16 PM, Hult5 said:

Did Captain Marvin's Stingray City, 2 snorkel stops and lunch 20 years ago on our honeymoon, and his was the best excursion that week.  Was going to book again with him when we are there in November but he doesn't go out on Sundays - any suggestions???

I've been trying to find out what my options next month are, but this is the only review I've been able to find in here the past two months...

 

I've done stingray city with two different companies that used to be highly recommended in here before the shutdowns. (haven't been back to Grand Cayman since the shutdowns.

 

I can't remember the name of the first company I tried, but it wasn't a bad excursion, just a little unfocused (we had to keep stopping to try and swap passengers who had apparently gotten on the wrong excursion, they had 3 different stingray city excursions. We wasted at least an hour, stopping in the middle of nowhere and swapping passengers, then wound up fetting back to the pier less than 15 minutes before the last tender.)

 

Went with Stingray Sailing after that, many times, and have had a great experience every time.

Not sure if they run on Sundays but I'm sure it would say on their website.

https://stingraysailing.com/

 

 

Best of luck in your hunt.

Edited January 11 by bguppies

[kcroxyoursox]

SOOO glad to hear Marvin's not only survived the shutdowns but is still thriving! Will be visiting Cayman again in November and can't wait for my third trip with them. Thankful I got to meet Marvin and thank him in person before he passed. 

 

From 2010: