Okay, I take everything back about Nativeway, they're great!

[CruiseMark]

We spent a fabulous day on Grand Cayman with Nativeway last week, on 8/23. They were fantastic.

 

Our ship, the Sensation, was late letting people off the ship due to some customs issues, but since we arrived at 7 (ship time) and Cayman was on Central time, there was plenty of time to catch our tender.

 

When we arrived on the dock there was Eldon holding up a sign for Nativeway. Were were smiling because the ships tour on their big boats was $49 per person and the other vendors on the dock were holding up signs for $35 per person yet there we were for $25 per person getting all this personalized attention. We (two adults and two kids) got on Eldon's van/bus and stopped at two resorts to pick up two couples. That was the entire group for our trip. In all there were 8 customers on our boat plus 4 crew. A pretty good ratio!

 

We boarded then headed out to Stingray Sandbar. Gorgeous blue water. When we got there about 10 minutes later, many boats were already there, but most were much more crowded, directing their people through loudspeakers when to come back to the boat, making them all wear funky life jackets (even though it's only 3-4 feet deep). With Nativeway it was optional if you wanted one. You could also use the snorkel gear there if you wanted to watch them underwater.

 

My daughter, 14, was absolutely terrified of the stingrays, yet the crew was so great. They found a smaller, younger stingray and brought it over to her. They never forced her to do anything she wasn't ready for. Eventually she touched one, then petted it, then kissed one, then they had one give her a "shoulder massage" and by the end she was wearing one like a hat. Like I said the Nativeway crew was great.

 

We then headed out to the barrier reef for some snorkeling, which was a lot of fun. Some amazing coral there, the crew tried to coax out a barracuda that lives around there, but no luck.

 

After about a half hour there, we headed to Coral Gardens for more snorkeling. Tons of fish there, bright and colorful.

 

We then headed back to the dock and were safely deposited at the cruise ship dock in time for our tender. They asked specifically which ship we were on a couple times so then made sure we got back. When we arrived at the dock, there was a loooooooong line for the tenders (Tip: We were anchored with the Imagination and there were TWO lines, but for some reason everyone was lining up in the Sensation line which was way longer. Check which line you're in!).

 

They had a videographer on board who was great too. They offer a video tape (for I think $45) or a DVD for $60. We ordered the DVD to remember this wonderful day.

 

Anyway, I was a little worried when I didn't get responses to my e-mails for a few days, but it all worked out even better than we had hoped. In fact it was probably the highlight of our cruise!

[waterbound]

Cruisemark... Im glad you liked them and had such a great time!! We used Nativeway last year but was just myself and my boyfriend and we had probably about 15 on ours and was amazed at how many people the other boats had on them.. It looked like a herd of cattle bringing them in on those double decker boats.. and just knowing that we paid half the price they did was even better!!.. I got to get a picture of myself holding one and can tell you this was the best excursion ever for me... We are taking our kids and my boyfriends mom on a cruise in March and already have our reservation for Nativeway and cant wait for the kids to experience this.. Although Im a little afraid that they will freak out, but hoping they will at least give it a chance.. I think that this excursion and the dolphin swim in Cozumel will be the highlights for them and will have many talks about them after the cruise!! I cant wait to go.. Personally Im sooooo glad I found these boards.. I have saved so much money on the cruises and the excursions since I book them on my own now and am amazed every time when I find out what the others are paying for the same wonderful experience that we are!

 

Oh.. Forgot to add... Im glad to hear that there is someone on board that videos it.. Ive read that a few times recently about that and when we went they werent doing it, so maybe they started since we were there in October or for some reason they just werent doing it that day.. I will definitely budget in $$ for this video just in case they do offer it while we are there!

[jebridan]

Waterbound, I have used Nativeway twice. Once when we were in GC on a cruise and this last time was when we stayed there on the island for a week. The first time which was the cruise, there was no videographer on board, that was last Oct. This time, just a few weeks ago, there was one onboard. Now I am not sure if the difference was that when we went the first time there were about 20 of us on the boat. When we went last month there were only about 10 of us (3 families). (We went on a day when there were no ships in port) I had wondered if the difference was that when they do cruiseship excursions, there are just too many people to do the videotaping. Like she wouldn't be able to get enough footage of everyone individually. Or like you said, it could be something they offer now that they never offered before. I would call or email Sharon and ask her if there will be a videographer onboard the day you plan on going. We bought the DVD of our trip and it's a wonderful memory of the day. It was $60 (yikes) but we split the cost with another family and we burned a copy when we got home. Ruth, the videographer we had, was great. She took our info about where we were staying, took the video to her home and edited it, set it to music and then delivered it to our condo about 90 minutes later. She would probably have to do something similar for people on cruiseships I would imagine. Sorry to have rambled :-)

[nycny]

We were with Nativeway on 9/1 and I specifically requested a videographer. Talk or e-mail Sharon about it and there will be a videographer on board. We have watched the video and it is great. Plus, you can do stills from the video for great pictures. Elise

[sealegs9]

NYCNY- we were on Nativeway 9/1 with a videographer,too. Perhaps same boat- early AM trip with male videographer? We were on the Voyager. What ship were you on? We were a family of 3 (young son) and sat on top.

 

Eldon met us at the tender pier, checked us in, loaded us on the mini busses to the boats and we were off. Everything went smoothly.

 

The seas were very rough on 9/1 due to Frances. There were even waves at Stingray city. My son was afraid to leave the boat, so the crew breought the rays to him to pet and kiss. The videographer got it all on "tape". I "swam" with the rays, fed them, etc. Fun. We then went to a reef, but because of the waves, did not swim out far enough to see the coral. We made a third stop at another reef, where I snorkeled and got great pics. We purchased the DVD ($60) and love it. I'm the last shot on it- taking a picture of the videographer under water.

I recommend Nativeways - great experience. Hopefully, next time, the weather will cooperate and we won't have waves @ Stingray City.

[clsee1515]

How early should we book this excursion for our summer cruise?:cool:

[unique]

Do you have their email address?

[unique]

Can you give me the email address for Nativeway?

[jayevee44]

Here is their website.

 

http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/

 

Click on "Make a Reservation" and it will send an e-mail.

 

I hope they survived Ivan.

 

Jim

[nycny]

Sealegs -- I must have my date wrong -- The day we were there was the calmest, nicest day. We were on EOS on 8/29 and arrived in Grand Cayman on Friday (last stop). I guess it was really 9/3. OOPS. We were also the only ship in town that day. I am still in vacation mode. Great day!!