Capt. Marvin's 1/3/07

[drpepr]

Greetings

This is our report live from the Radiance of the Seas.

 

Today we arrived in Grand Cayman (currently there a 7 ships in port). After reading the boards we booked a trip with Capt. Marvin. We did this online and confirmed via phone.

 

We chose the Half Day trip at $40pp which was scheduled at 10AM. We were told to be at the Capt. Marvin storefront at 9:15AM for check-in. The ship arrived at 7am and we chose to forego breakfast and took one of the first tenders open to the public (non-priority, non-excursion) at about 8:30am. The tender was a very choppy ride.

 

Capt. Marvin's storefront was a short (<2 block walk) from the pier. There was about a 15 minute line to the cashier. They had our reservation and told us that a bus would be in front at 9:15am. The bus loaded at 9:15 and was full. It is about a 10 minute ride to the Capt. Marvin dock during which time the bus driver told us a little about the history/government of the island and pointed out some sites along the main road.

 

Upon arrive to Capt. Marvin's dock we were directed to a boat and had 50 people for our trip. The water was rough. Fruit punch and water was available. A videographer who took video on the boat and in the water, was selling copies for $60. Snorkel gear was provided. We made two snorkel stops for 30 minutes each. The snorkeling was great but since the water was so rough it was tough to stay near the boat. The third stop was stringray city. We had some trouble finding a spot to park there since there were so many boats with tourists around the sandbar. After about a half hour we finally found a spot to drop anchor and walked along the sandbar. There are certainly many big rays there that you can feed and touch and kiss. We stayed there for 30 mins and then returned to Capt. Marvin's dock. The boat ride with stops was about 3 hrs. A bus took us back to Capt. Marvin's store which was a little slow due to traffic.

 

The staff of Capt. Marvin's was friendly and helpful. Just be advised that the waters could be rough making the snorkeling quite a challenge.

 

Costa Maya tomorrow.....