Rum, Reef And Ray Review

[GINNY L]

I just did this tour on January 4th. It was myself, my 16yr old daughter, my 11yrold son and my 72yr old mother. The people (workers) on this tour was great.

 

For the stingray part, it was great. It is a sandbar in the middle of the ocean so it was really easy to get off the boat and walk around. They (The boat crew) were very patient with helping my mother off the boat so she can enjoy herself. The crew will pick up the sting ray for you and if you want you can hold one. Which I did. They ask everybody to kiss the stingray because you supposably get seven years of good luck. (After I kissed the stingray I started loosing at the casino. I was $500 ahead):cool: They also gave you food to feed the stingrays.

 

The snorkeling part was not far from the sting ray area. I did not really care for this part, because when you are snorkeling you get waves that come over you and down your air pipe. Therefore, everybody was sucking in water. If there was no waves it would have been great.

 

Rum point was beautiful. Save your snorkeling for here. Very calm water and large area to snorkel. The food that is included was great. There was many choices to choose from for lunch. They called in our order ahead of time so we did not have to wait long for our lunch at all. They do have a bar there where you can get your favorite alcoholic beverage but make sure you bring extra money. The Cayman Islands is expensive. Our dollar is only worth $.75 to their dollar. I order one cocktail and one beer and it came to $15:mad: . They also automatically include a 15% tip. So make sure you check your receipt. Plus make sure you bring small bills because they gave me all Cayman bills back. But, they are very beautful bills.

 

I think this tour was worth the price.

[realent]

Thanks Ginny, we are signed up to do this next month!

[akcruz]

We are looking at booking this tour when we are in GC in June, did you have any concerns in making it back in time for when the ship leaves? We are scheduled to be in port from 8 - 4. Have done many tours on our own in the past and prefer this but want to make sure the timing works without too much worry. Thanks.

[jrlaurie]

akcruz- we did this tour in 2005, and as Ginny stated it was wonderful. We had no worries at all about time. Our guide always told as how much time we had to do something, or when we had to meet him to go back. We used Nativeways before and are using them again in May. We can't wait. If I remember correctly we had about 1 1/2- 2 hour to browse and do some shopping before catching the tender back to the ship.

 

Have a wonderful time.

[CurlyRed964]

I am waiting for Sharon from Nativeway to give me a reservations confirmation. I am booking this tour on the strength of this review and reviews on Rum Point. Any idea what the cost is per person. We're a group fo six (four adults and two kids, ages 4 and 5). I can hardly wait, we're on the Valor and will be in GC on 2/6. Yahoo!:)

[jrlaurie]

I just heard back from her this morning regarding this tour, she said it was $60.00p.p. I was interested in the Rays and Island tour this time though, so she wrote me back, that tour is $45.00p.p. You'll have a blast.

[Dgonza]

The Rays, Reef, and Rumpoint tour is $60 for adults and $45 for children. I will be there in march ( 71 more days til the cruise) not soon enough though.

[weeza]

We were there back in 3/06, we had a blast. We had no experience in snorkling so didn't stay in the water that long, but we still had fun. Rum point beach was beautiful. Not very crowded when we were there. They have lounge chairs available (no cost). They had changing areas/bathrooms which were nice and clean. The lunch was ready and waiting for us, plenty of food.

 

Hope everybody has fun. Relax and enjoy the day. Nativeway crew was terrific. We were back in plenty of time to catch the ship. No worries!

[akcruz]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful reviews and reassurance that the timing will work. Sounds like Nativeway is the way to go. I still have almost 5 months before we cruise, and can't wait. One more port to make decisions on excursions then just sit back and count the days!

 

Any other reviews of this excursion are welcomed.

[Dgonza]

I just got my confirmation on my last excursion of the cruise. Now I can just sit back and count the days. Only 71 more by the way....lol Happy planning everyone!!

[Hebejeebe]

We did this tour with Nativeways in August 05. I have to say it was the highlight of the cruise for us.

[Sparky58]

We are looking at booking this tour when we are in GC in June, did you have any concerns in making it back in time for when the ship leaves? We are scheduled to be in port from 8 - 4. Have done many tours on our own in the past and prefer this but want to make sure the timing works without too much worry. Thanks.

 

We did this excursion with Nativeway this past December, and I can't say enough about the crew (we were on the boat called Yo-Yo). There was an older woman who had a panic-induced asthma attack while swimming w/the stingrays, and they immediately carried her safely back onto the boat. (she was fine after a puff on her inhaler.)

There was also a couple from another ship who were worried about getting back to the pier and missing their last tender. So when the boat got back to the marina, they put them in a private car to ensure they'd be back to the pier in time!

We give Nativeway 2 thumbs up!!

 

http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/shiptours.html#RRR

[piratemom]

Can anyone tell me...I know this is a 5 hour tour, approximately how much time you get at each stop? Are all the stops the same in length or is the focus mainly on the rays? Thanks:)

[Jan_In_Maine]

Is payment made at the end of the tour, or upon making the reservation? If it is the first is it cash only or do they take credit cards? Thanks (we have until August, but I'm having a great time getting through winter planning this newest adventure). Jan

[GINNY L]

The times at each placed varied a little. But I think it was approximately one to 1.5 hours at each place. You do not have to pay upfront. You need to hold your reservations with a credit card. If you do not show up then they charge the account. But if you do not show up due to the ship not being able to tender, then they do not charge the account. However, they would like to be notified if you can via email on the cruise ship if the ship is not making the stop.

 

When you are done with all the stops and are heading back to the marina, then they collect the money. you can pay cash or credit card.

 

I hope this helps.

[Jan_In_Maine]

Ginny - thanks for the help, I've sent them an e-mail, so I hope to hear back shortly. Jan

[c&a'smom]

When I click on "make a reservation" on their web site it gives me an error message - the users mail plug in blah, blah, blah..........

 

Obviously I don't know much about computers...

 

Can someone just give me their address? THANKS!!

[Nanatravel]

Jan and everyone, Nativeway is a very responsible tour company. Their prices are fair and their attention to detail are good. If your ship cancels their Swim with the Sting Rays and other water tours, Nativeway will often still have their tours if sea conditionas allow. Rum Point is beautiful, too. Cash (US$$) or Credit Card are acceptable payment. Your credit card is used to reserve your spot only or in case of a No Show.

Bon voyage

[TennisLover]

This sounds great! We have less than a month to go!

 

My question -- how much did you tip them at the end? Our group has 4 families (4 people each) and a single. I am group leader -- want to let everyone know what is "suggested." Thank you!!!

[TennisLover]

This sounds great! We have less than a month to go!

 

My question -- how much did you tip them at the end? Our group has 4 families (4 people each) and a single. I am group leader -- want to let everyone know what is "suggested." Thank you!!!

[MCManders99]

Question about rum point. Are there any shops close by? Just curious. Not sure if we will have time to visit shops by the pier, so just wondering. Thanks

[srobins]

Can someone who has taken this tour within the last 6-9 months tell me how many people were on the boat for their tour? Also, if you happen to know how many ships were in port on the day you were there.

 

It has been my experience that the last two times we were in Grand Cayman that there were a lot of ships in the port, and Nativeway signed up a bunch of people as they came off the ships, so the tour that we pre-booked thinking it would be a small group, turned out to have over 50 each time. On our trip last month, we decided not to go, because the NW boat was already full when we got there. I'd like to know if it is the same way on the RRR tour as it is on the Stingray Island tour.

[Dgonza]

No it is not. They will only accomodate up to 25 people to keep the groups small.

[jacrod]

We will be on the Star Princess 4/17/07 docking at 7:00AM leaving at 4:00PM would love to do the Rays, Reef, and Rumpoint tour. My worry is if we have enough time? We tender in and it is a 5 hour tour. Any thoughts?

[2morrow]

I have tried to book with Native Ways for this tour for 3 weeks and they finally got back to me and said that they were full. Do you know of any other tour companies doing something similar??