Stingray City discover scuba question

[BigHilda]

Hello,

We will be going to Grand Cayman in February and are trying to save money off Carnival's shore tours. I found a tour online called "Stingray City Discover Scuba Diving" which is posted at $110. I can reserve a spot with 20% down and was trying to see if anyone else has been on this tour or done anything like this on Grand Cayman. The people who replied to my email seem very friendly but I don't want to mess up by not going through Carnival for this.

 

Thanks,

Laura

[divemedic]

I am also hoping to do the discover scuba in stingray city next feb. I am certified but my wife and boys are not..so thought this would be good way to get them interested. I am not finding much related to peoples experience with this excursion. I can only find it offered by 2 "broker" companies and they have not emailed back info. Has anyone else had any experience and know what companies do they use. Will they refund your excursion if cruise visit cancelled due to weather? Sorry to be a bother but not having much luck with any info. I believe the price has now gone to $140.

 

Thanks in advance!

[BigHilda]

I am also hoping to do the discover scuba in stingray city next feb. I am certified but my wife and boys are not..so thought this would be good way to get them interested. I am not finding much related to peoples experience with this excursion. I can only find it offered by 2 "broker" companies and they have not emailed back info. Has anyone else had any experience and know what companies do they use. Will they refund your excursion if cruise visit cancelled due to weather? Sorry to be a bother but not having much luck with any info. I believe the price has now gone to $140.

 

 

Hello, my husband and I did this excursion with Off the Wall Divers, and it was just great. I booked it through Island Marketing Ltd at the following site: http://caymanislandsdiscounts.com/GrandCaymanDiscoverDiving.htm. It was confirmed quickly by Island Marketing Ltd and I was sent information for Off the Wall Divers who was actually conducting the tour: http://www.otwdivers.com/contact/. I bet you could book with them directly, but I am not positive what the price would be.

Anyway, about the excursion - it was amazing and a wonderful time! We had Marty for our instructor. Neither my husband or I had ever dived before. It was easy to follow the directions Island Marketing Ltd sent to find the pickup location except we came in to a different pier than the one they gave directions from. But we had an hour to spare so it was OK. Make sure you get on the first tender to shore by getting to the lounge where they hand out the tender tickets before they tell you to arrive (like 20-25 minutes early) and you will get a sticker with the number 1 on it. They don't seem to care if you are on a Carnival excursion or not when handing out the tickets either, or at least not when we went. So we got to shore very early and had plenty of time to find the pickup location. We were the only 2 people on this excursion which was great! First we went to the dive shop, got outfitted, paid the rest of the price in cash, and then had a brief class on the basics of SCUBA and what to expect. Marty was patient and answered our questions and concerns. Then, he drove us to the dive boat and took us out to Stingray City. After we got there, he explained more of how to interact with the stingrays, how to feed them, reviewed how to use our equipment, etc. I got into the water first, he made sure I was doing okay, and then sent me to the bottom. He came down to make sure I was okay, then went back to the surface to get my husband and bring him down as well. Once we were down there, we had tons of fun with the stingrays, taking photos, having Marty take photos of us, and I fed the stingrays a little bit. He also swam around and brought us to see some other areas with fish and coral. I think we were underwater for maybe 45 or 50 minutes total. That was really the most amazing part of the whole cruise, for me. On the way back, he took the boat by some areas to see many large iguanas which was also very cool, and suggested a good restaurant for our lunch. I think we met around 9 am, and were back from it all by 12:30 or 1 pm for lunch. Let me know if you have any other questions!

[divemedic]

Thanks for your comments...we are going to book with them direct. $10 cheaper per person. Sounds great.

 

Divemedic