Stingray Island tour $40 w/Nativeway *or* Stingray city snorkle w/Soto's $24

[tamariadawn]

Which would you do? I am leaning towards http://www.nativewaywatersports.com Stingray city and Island tour option for $40 pp verses just snorkling with the rays at Soto's. Any comments?

Tamariadawn@yahoo.com

[cruisinqt]

I think time would be a big factor in my decision. Is your time in port limited? Do you want to stop and eat or shop somewhere? The island tour will take longer and leave you less time to do other things.:( On the other hand, you get a tour of the whole island.:) But with Soto's it's a shorter two stop tour that will leave you with some time afterwards to eat and shop.:) But you don't get to tour the whole island.:( I think my decision would be based on how much time I had and how much I did or didn't want to do other things besides my tour.

[hkolln]

In March we did the stingray and snorkeling tour and it was GREAT! I highly recommend Nativeways if you are undecided. The DVD they made us was good too and it was delivered directly to our ship before we left GC.

[cantwait2cruise]

We just booked Soto's for our upcoming Sensation cruise. I'll post a review when I get back!

[obosix]

Just back from the VOS 8/13-22 cruise. We did the Sotos tour and it was great. We docked at 8 am which is 7 am Cayman time, took the first tender off and walked around a bit before we were picked up by Randy of Sotos. They drove us a short way and we boarded a real nice boat (with a bathroom) they had drinks for all and we were off. The crew was awsome. real helpful and knowledgeable. We went to three different stops. the last stop is Sting ray alley. They has us all holding the rays, petting and feeding them. Ester was aboard taking photos(which you can purchase) My kids, hubby and myself had the best time. We has snorkeled in Belize previously but didn't see as much there as we were able to see in Cayman. We highly recommend Sotos. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did

[cantwait2cruise]

Just back from the VOS 8/13-22 cruise. We did the Sotos tour and it was great. We docked at 8 am which is 7 am Cayman time, took the first tender off and walked around a bit before we were picked up by Randy of Sotos. They drove us a short way and we boarded a real nice boat (with a bathroom) they had drinks for all and we were off. The crew was awsome. real helpful and knowledgeable. We went to three different stops. the last stop is Sting ray alley. They has us all holding the rays, petting and feeding them. Ester was aboard taking photos(which you can purchase) My kids, hubby and myself had the best time. We has snorkeled in Belize previously but didn't see as much there as we were able to see in Cayman. We highly recommend Sotos. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did

 

 

Good to hear!!! We're really excited about the stingrays!

[truckintocruisin]

we have snorkled in cozumel couple of times and loved it, also in St Thomas, it was good, and in Belize but it was a horrible day to snorkle and saw basically nothing. After this one we have thought about waiting until we get to the port to ck the weather since if we book on board most of the time it is non refundable. Did you book your stingray snorkling trip on board or after you docked?

[amberds21]

I just got my confirmation for my booking for the Sotos tour on 10/14/04 - sailing on the Conquest!

 

I got a little worried because it took several days to get my email confirmation, but it came through some time during the weekend.

 

I can't wait, we are soooo excited!

[cruisinqt]

Last january we were supposed to dock at the Cayman islands but the seas were too rough and we had to skip them.:( We headed into Cozumel early. I was a little worried about the stingray excursion we had booked online and whether or not we would get our money back. As soon as I got home I e-mailed the online agency we had booked with telling them that our ship couldn't make it into port that day. They refunded our deposit without a question and asked us to keep them in mind for our next trip.:) I think if you book a stingray excursion online now you will probably be okay. These companies wouldn't stay in business long if they didn't refund the deposit back to their customers when the weather's bad. There's a lot of competition out there and they can't afford a bad reputation. I have read of other people getting their deposits back when the weather kept them from going on their excursions too.

[cantwait2cruise]

Here's what Kerry from Soto's told me when I inquired about missing the port:

 

CANCELLATION POLICY

4 days advance notice.

If the ship cannot dock because of weather conditions or arrives

very late and you miss the tour, you will not be charged. If we are

notified in advance in case of illness, there's no charge.

"No shows" are automatically charged 50%.

[jebridan]

I can't say enough good things about Nativeway! We have been to GC twice and used them both times! They were knowledgable, courteous, prefessional and just plain great! You won't be disappointed!

[photog4fun]

Could a person with bad knees be able to climb into the boat from the water?

[obosix]

Think it shouldn't be a problem With Sotos they have a ladder that extends into the water.