Can't Recommend Capt. Bryan's

[envirochick]

We just returned from a cruise on the Valor. We booked Capt. Bryan's in the Caymans and felt the outfit was very unprofessional. From the minute we saw their "office" to the hour our captain wasted trying to anchor the boat at Stingray and at the reef it was a fiasco. I don't think the "captain" had ever anchored a sailboat before and an adjacent boat captain seemed to deduce the same thing as he was yelling and cursing our captain for continually drifting into his boat. He had the same problem when we got to the reef. The reef is dead and the highlight is a crewmember coaxing an eel out of his hole with some squid and grabbing onto it while it fights to get back in its hole and people snap underwater pictures. Coral Gardens is some of the same dead coral head outcroppings with less marine life. In its advertising the outfit also boasts amore personalized experience with fewer people; we had two bus loads of folks for our trip, although the boat could easily handle the fifty people and not feel overly crowded. Stick to the stingrays and stay away from Capt. Bryans. There are too many other companies vying for your business that will give you a more pleasant experience for the same money.

[vmom]

That's unfortunate you had such a bad experience.

 

We were on Capt. Bryan's in Aug 2005 and had a fabulous experience. Staff was great. Very professional, handled the boat well, friendly. No complaints at all.

 

The problems with the coral are due to last year's hurricanes, not due to Capt. Bryan's. It will likely take time to recover. I do imagine some damage may be due to rude tourists who touch or stand on the coral after repeated attempts to be told not to.

[nanaK]

That's unfortunate you had such a bad experience.

 

We were on Capt. Bryan's in Aug 2005 and had a fabulous experience. Staff was great. Very professional, handled the boat well, friendly. No complaints at all.

 

The problems with the coral are due to last year's hurricanes, not due to Capt. Bryan's. It will likely take time to recover. I do imagine some damage may be due to rude tourists who touch or stand on the coral after repeated attempts to be told not to.

 

I agree! We were there this past August and loved our experience with Capt. Bryan and the crew. I would book again with them in a heartbeat

[vmom]

Wonder if they have some new crew members in training??? New crew that failed the boat handling and customer service part of the instruction. They probably won't last long if they're still even with the company after the fiasco you've described.

[idocdlw]

Envirochick,

 

I had the same experience you did. We went with Captain Bryans on 13 April 2006 and were sorely disappointed...same experience...long time anchoring...very unprofessional staff...filthy boat and unusable lavatory.

[dcourt]

We did this with Captain Bryan just last week and there were only 11 adults and 1 child on board. We couldn't have had a better experience. The other boats that pulled up after us were loaded to the gills. It was a great day and an experience I will always remember fondly. I would do it again with Captain Bryan in a New York second!!!