Grand Cayman tours! Private company or ship tour?

[flippa]

Hey fellow cruisers. My girlfriend and I will be travelling all the way from Australia to cruise on Freedom of the seas. We want to go to stingray city and do some snorkling while we are in grand cayman. I have read that the tours that you book through RCCI have many passengers on the 1 tour boat, and the private tours have less people and is less frantic.

 

Can anyone give me their thoughts on this.

 

Also, what are some of the better private tour companies, and how do you book them? Do you need to pre-book them, or can you do it on the ship?

 

Cheers,

Flippa.

[cruisevers]

Definitely do a private excursion. We did the Stingray tour with Nativeway and it was great. We got out there before the ships tour boats arrived. They had hundreds on their boats and we had maybe 15-20. We had personal service without any crowds. We were ready to leave by the time they got there. We then went and snorkeled the reef. Can't say enough great things about Nativeway. They picked us up and drove us back to the pier. All for way less than the ship excursions!! http://http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/shiptours.html

[D4]

We did it with a Carnival tour last week and there were about 24 on our boat. We took the early tour so we were out there before the other boats. We also had very personalized service. I was surprised.

 

We switched from an independent vendor to Carnival a few weeks before the cruise because my DH had been in the hospital. Walking & standing a long time are difficult for him so we wanted the ship tours for the ease of tendering.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I read tons of reviews for the different independents before deciding on Captain Marvin's (http://www.captainmarvins.com/). Their pre-cruise service has been excellent with prompt and detailed responses.

 

Cheers!

Jayne

[Jukebox Eddie]

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Just got back from the Navigator of the Seas tour of western Caribbean, which included a stop at Grand Caymen. I was concerned as I had read some very old postings about stingray city tours, so we booked with Moby Dick's. http://www.mobydicktours.com/ We had a party of 35, and we LOVED IT! Not only did we love Stingray City, as I had been there before with another company, Captain Marvins, and I must say I liked Moby Dicks much more! Why? Well,

The boat was great, holds about 50 people, and when you get out there and you see some of the mega sized tour boats (working with the cruise ships I am sure), double deckers with over 200 people, you will appreciate Moby Dicks great boat. Big ladders in the back to get in and out, and a great fresh water shower to rinse the salt off when you get back on. Plus great music for the whole trip!

 

The 2 man crew is what makes the difference, We had captain Zak, and a young Italian assistant, sorry mates, I dont remember his name, but they were awsome! They gave us a great demo on the way out of how to deal with the stingrays, how to hold em, touch em, even kiss em! (7 years good luck). They use a stuffed stingray, sort of an oversized beanie baby, it is amusing as well as imformative.

 

When you get out to the sandbar, they will find a great place to park, and in the water they go, they will pick up a stingray and show you how to hold it, how to pet it, feed it, it really is amazing.

 

It is very apparent that these guys love what they do, thats why they are here. You will not leave stingray city until everyone on the boat has had a chance to hold a stingray and interact with the captain and first mate if you wish. There is no hurry, they are not watch watchers, ready to pull out when time is up. They will stay as long as it takes for everyone to have a great experience.

 

http://www.mobydicktours.com/

 

On the way back we had the option of being dropped off at the public beach on 7mile beach, or going back to the port, but we decided to make a detour, and were dropped of at Senior Frogs instead!

 

Must do at Grand Caymen is Stingray City, and Moby Dick's is the way to do it!