Stingraycity or mobydick?

[superwell]

I am tossed between these 2 stingray tours. Which would you recommend? Also is there a nice beach that we can go to after the excursion?

[chris2597]

We booked a tour with Mark from Moby Dick in the GC. Mark met us at the dock,as promised. Our time slot was escorted to a bus for the 10minute trip to the boat. The boat appeared well maintained, was a comfortable vessel with ample seating, a bathroom and changing area below, juice and water were provided. The boat ride to the reef took about 20-30 minutes. Snorkle gear was provided. The gear looked new and clean. We enjoyed snorkeling in the clear water, near the coral reef. The fish were interesting and ample. The next stop was a few hundred feet away to the sand bar where we swam with the stingrays. These beautiful and gentle creatures were amazing. The crew was in the water with the group from the start, helping to calm skittish tourist and allow for touching, giving the coveted "good luck kiss" to the ray, and even placing the huge rays in our arms. We were told that you will have 7 years of good luck, if you kiss a ray. The rays swam through the waters with no apparent fear of humans. The rays were calm and relaxed when held, petted and kissed. We spent approx. an hour with the rays before heading back to shore.

We were very happy with Moby Dick tours. A huge plus was the small group. The tour maximum is 50 passengers, our tour had 32. I noticed several huge boats at the sandbar with large numbers of passengers jockeying for space and help from their guides. Our small group had ample help from the crew and time with the rays, which would have not been possible with a large tour.

The tour was relaxing, exciting, and interesting. All of the components we are looking for while on vacation.

If we ever go back to GC's we will definetly use Moby Dick. The owner, Mark told us that he was going to be taking possesion of a new tour bus that will

make the ride to and from the boat more comfortable, another plus for Moby Dick.

I would be happy to answer any questions.

[djo631]

How much did it cost and do they have a website to look at??

 

Thanks

 

Mark

[chris2597]

djo,

yes, Moby Dick has a website. We emailed Mark at MD and reserved a space on the tour. You do not pay until you get there. The cost is $35pp if you reserve in advance and I think $40 as a walk up. The tours start at approx 930am, 1130am.

[Jeanne B]

How much did it cost and do they have a website to look at??

 

Thanks

 

Mark

 

http://www.mobydicktours.com/

[BNBear]

We booked with them just this past December. When you meet them at the end of the pier, if they tell you it is really rough out on the sandbar, I'd suggest not going. We opted to go and rough doesn't describe it! We were drenched within 5 min. of leaving the channel that goes into the open water. They took us to the sandbar, but they couldn't even let us off as some of the 1st people were thrown around on the ladder. They told us sorry, but for safety to the passengers they were taking us back to port and would refund our money. We gave them a very generous tip! I'm impressed by someone that is more concerned for the safety of guests and making a $$$ ... we will use them when we go in September. But if they tell us that it is rough - we will stay on land!

[superwell]

We booked with them just this past December. When you meet them at the end of the pier, if they tell you it is really rough out on the sandbar, I'd suggest not going. We opted to go and rough doesn't describe it! We were drenched within 5 min. of leaving the channel that goes into the open water. They took us to the sandbar, but they couldn't even let us off as some of the 1st people were thrown around on the ladder. They told us sorry, but for safety to the passengers they were taking us back to port and would refund our money. We gave them a very generous tip! I'm impressed by someone that is more concerned for the safety of guests and making a $$$ ... we will use them when we go in September. But if they tell us that it is rough - we will stay on land!

 

that's mobydick your referring too?

[BNBear]

Yes ... plus they have you wait for the tour to leave in a nice little shopping area. We had about 1/2 hour to shop before the boat left.

[asiandiva71]

djo,

yes, Moby Dick has a website. We emailed Mark at MD and reserved a space on the tour. You do not pay until you get there. The cost is $35pp if you reserve in advance and I think $40 as a walk up. The tours start at approx 930am, 1130am.

That's 9:30 local time, right?

[Springbreak08]

I have a question about the time of the tour. We are going on it in a couple of weeks. So, when we get into port, it is 7 a.m. Is that 7 a.m. boat time or 7 a.m. island time. We have to meet at 9 a.m. What time should we get off the ship? Because of the time changes, I am not sure.

[superwell]

I have a question for anyone that has done a 11:40am tour. Since the ship leave at 4pm, mark has insured me that we will be back by 2:45, which is plenty of time but if anyone has been on the 11:40am tour can you give me a time that you were brought back?

[kareng1]

We booked online with Moby Dick and went on our tour Feb. 20/08. It was a great tour! The guides were fantastic in making sure anyone who wanted to hold/feed/kiss the stingrays got a chance to. I have a couple pics attached. I wouldn't want to miss this experience, and I'd do it again if we go back to Grand Cayman. We went on the 9am tour (local time), so we still had a few hours after the tour to walk around and shop, or you can ask to be let off at seven mile beach if you want some beach time (just make sure you tell them ahead of time, because if no one asks, they don't stop there). They did appear to have a new bus, because I heard they used to have a school bus and we definitely didn't go on a school bus.

[stevesul]

We did Moby Dick with Mark two weeks ago (Presidents Week) off Voyager. We singed up for the 9am (local time) tour. We got on the first Tender (7:40am ships time) and still missed the 8am (ships time) 9am(local) tour by 10 minutes. Mark put us on the 11:40am tour. We had plenty of time (2.5 hours) to shop and eat before the tour.

 

We went on the 11:40am (local) tour (it was great) and got dropped off at Royal Palms by 3pm (local) time. We were the only ones going to the beach (everyone else went back to the ship or shopped). People had already cleared out on the beach by then and there was only twenty or so people still there. The only negative is Royal Palms was not serving food anymore (bar was open) but we had eaten right before the tour. We spent over an hour on the beach, took a 5 minute taxi back (there were plenty), and were in line for the 4:30 (local time) tender at 4:10.

 

A full day (first and last tender) but we didn't feel rushed and we got everything we wanted to do in.

 

You will have plenty of time to get back to the ship with Mark's 11:40am tour.

[superwell]

We did Moby Dick with Mark two weeks ago (Presidents Week) off Voyager. We singed up for the 9am (local time) tour. We got on the first Tender (7:40am ships time) and still missed the 8am (ships time) 9am(local) tour by 10 minutes. Mark put us on the 11:40am tour. We had plenty of time (2.5 hours) to shop and eat before the tour.

 

We went on the 11:40am (local) tour (it was great) and got dropped off at Royal Palms by 3pm (local) time. We were the only ones going to the beach (everyone else went back to the ship or shopped). People had already cleared out on the beach by then and there was only twenty or so people still there. The only negative is Royal Palms was not serving food anymore (bar was open) but we had eaten right before the tour. We spent over an hour on the beach, took a 5 minute taxi back (there were plenty), and were in line for the 4:30 (local time) tender at 4:10.

 

A full day (first and last tender) but we didn't feel rushed and we got everything we wanted to do in.

 

You will have plenty of time to get back to the ship with Mark's 11:40am tour.

 

sweet good to hear!!...and am confussed about the local time and ship time thing, but I assume that the times his tours start are local time? So 11:40 local time? do you gain an hr or loose and hr when you dock?

[stevesul]

You don't gain or lose an hour at all..your only in port for the amount of hours stated on your itinerary.

 

The time depends on your ship. Voyager is out of Galveston so its Central Time. It was one hour behind local time of Grand Cayman and we were to stay on ship time. So ship time of 8am was 9am Grand Cayman time.

 

Grand Cayman does not follow Daylight Saving Time so Central Time will equal local time from this weekend through November 2nd. If you are leaving from the Eastern Time Zone (Miami, etc), then I assume you will be an hour ahead after this weekend (just my guess).

 

Yes, the tour times from private operators always refer to as local time as that is their constant. Mark / Moby Dick joked about why cruise ships state their arrival time as ship time but airlines do not. When you fly, your arrival time is in the time zone you land in and not the one you left from. According to our itinerary, we arrived in Grand Cayman at 7:00 but it was 8:00 local time.

 

I assume they stay on ship time so the passengers do not get confused...and that is enough for me.

 

Don't sweat it...set your watch to ship time and know when the last tender is. Enjoy your trip.

[superwell]

You don't gain or lose an hour at all..your only in port for the amount of hours stated on your itinerary.

 

The time depends on your ship. Voyager is out of Galveston so its Central Time. It was one hour behind local time of Grand Cayman and we were to stay on ship time. So ship time of 8am was 9am Grand Cayman time.

 

Grand Cayman does not follow Daylight Saving Time so Central Time will equal local time from this weekend through November 2nd. If you are leaving from the Eastern Time Zone (Miami, etc), then I assume you will be an hour ahead after this weekend (just my guess).

 

Yes, the tour times from private operators always refer to as local time as that is their constant. Mark / Moby Dick joked about why cruise ships state their arrival time as ship time but airlines do not. When you fly, your arrival time is in the time zone you land in and not the one you left from. According to our itinerary, we arrived in Grand Cayman at 7:00 but it was 8:00 local time.

 

I assume they stay on ship time so the passengers do not get confused...and that is enough for me.

 

Don't sweat it...set your watch to ship time and know when the last tender is. Enjoy your trip.

 

We are leaving from the east (tampa), so I assume from what your saying is that, ship time of arrival is 7am (which will really be 8am after sunday), is 8am grand cayman time or am i missing something? Also if what i said is correct and it's 8am, then do i set my watch to the old time..ie dock at 7am leave at 4pm..sort of thing or what?

[stevesul]

We are leaving from the east (tampa), so I assume from what your saying is that, ship time of arrival is 7am (which will really be 8am after sunday), is 8am grand cayman time or am i missing something? Also if what i said is correct and it's 8am, then do i set my watch to the old time..ie dock at 7am leave at 4pm..sort of thing or what?

 

Disregard what I said earlier as Voyager is from Texas (Central Time).

 

Since you are leaving from Tampa, they are both in the Eastern Time Zone. The only wrinkle is Grand Cayman does not observe DST.

 

You will either be on the same time or 1 hour ahead (7am ship time is 6am local time). If your itinerary says you arrive at 7am, then thats the time you will arrive. They won't change it to 8am after this weekend.

 

Your cruise newsletter you get the night before will have the explanation of ship time vs local time. Also there is a sign when you get off the ship about any time differences. Set your watch to whatever the newsletter tells you (it will tell you to stay on ships time, etc.)

 

I wouldnt worry about it any further. You should easily make the early Moby Dick tour and still have plenty of time to shop or go to the beach.

 

Say hi to Mark from me...I gave him some web site consultation a few months back.

[djo631]

I gotta ask. Is it hard getting back into the boat? I am a big guy and have trouble with "pool" ladders. Does anyone have a picture of the back of the boat?

 

Thanks

 

Mark

[chris2597]

We did Moby Dick with Mark two weeks ago (Presidents Week) off Voyager. We singed up for the 9am (local time) tour. We got on the first Tender (7:40am ships time) and still missed the 8am (ships time) 9am(local) tour by 10 minutes. Mark put us on the 11:40am tour. We had plenty of time (2.5 hours) to shop and eat before the tour.

 

We went on the 11:40am (local) tour (it was great) and got dropped off at Royal Palms by 3pm (local) time. We were the only ones going to the beach (everyone else went back to the ship or shopped). People had already cleared out on the beach by then and there was only twenty or so people still there. The only negative is Royal Palms was not serving food anymore (bar was open) but we had eaten right before the tour. We spent over an hour on the beach, took a 5 minute taxi back (there were plenty), and were in line for the 4:30 (local time) tender at 4:10.

 

A full day (first and last tender) but we didn't feel rushed and we got

everything we wanted to do in.

 

You will have plenty of time to get back to the ship with Mark's 11:40am tour.

 

 

Steve

We were on the same cruise and the same Moby Dick tour. We missed the tender for the earlier time slot.

[Springbreak08]

Ok - this is my question. Our itinerary says we are in Grand Cayman from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. So, really (according to island time) it is 8 a.m.? So, with that said, we would have a half of an hour to get off the ship and get to where we need to meet Mark? Our tour information says to be there by 8:30 (local time).

Is this possible? And where do we go once we get off the ship? We are cruising on the Inspiration.

[Springbreak08]

Ok - disregard my last post about being confused. I just talked to my TA and she said that whatever the itinerary says (7 a.m. - 2 p.m.) is set for island time - meaning we will be in Grand Cayman from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. their time. The ship will have us reset our watches so we match island time and then when we leave that port, if needed, we will reset again. So, I guess we get to Grand Cayman at 7 a.m. and we don't have to meet Mark until 8:30, which should give us plenty of time. Sound right to everyone?

[rtsmqa]

You don't gain or lose an hour at all..your only in port for the amount of hours stated on your itinerary.

 

The time depends on your ship. Voyager is out of Galveston so its Central Time. It was one hour behind local time of Grand Cayman and we were to stay on ship time. So ship time of 8am was 9am Grand Cayman time.

 

Grand Cayman does not follow Daylight Saving Time so Central Time will equal local time from this weekend through November 2nd. If you are leaving from the Eastern Time Zone (Miami, etc), then I assume you will be an hour ahead after this weekend (just my guess).

 

Yes, the tour times from private operators always refer to as local time as that is their constant. Mark / Moby Dick joked about why cruise ships state their arrival time as ship time but airlines do not. When you fly, your arrival time is in the time zone you land in and not the one you left from. According to our itinerary, we arrived in Grand Cayman at 7:00 but it was 8:00 local time.

 

I assume they stay on ship time so the passengers do not get confused...and that is enough for me.

 

Don't sweat it...set your watch to ship time and know when the last tender is. Enjoy your trip.

 

Hi Stevesul, We will be on the Voyager on the Seas and arrive in Grand Cayman at 7:30. Now that we are on daylight savings time, the ship's time is the same as the local time, correct? My question is we are supposed to meet Mark at 8:30am. Do you think that we will be able to meet him on time? Also, how difficult was it to tender off the ship? I've heard that you have to get a ticket/time as to when you can use the tender. Also, are the people with ship excursions' off first? Thanks for your help!

[stevesul]

Hi Stevesul, We will be on the Voyager on the Seas and arrive in Grand Cayman at 7:30. Now that we are on daylight savings time, the ship's time is the same as the local time, correct? My question is we are supposed to meet Mark at 8:30am. Do you think that we will be able to meet him on time? Also, how difficult was it to tender off the ship? I've heard that you have to get a ticket/time as to when you can use the tender. Also, are the people with ship excursions' off first? Thanks for your help!

 

I went down to Cleopatra's Needle? to get the tender tickets 20 minutes before they said they would start giving them out in the compass. There was already a short line. I got tickets for tender #2 and we were on the second tender leaving only a few minutes after the first..

 

Just go down 20 minutes before they say it starts. If they get in at 7:30 like they did for us, you should have plenty of time if you get on one of the first two tenders. Mark is right there at a table once you go through the gates (along with 30 other tour operators). He was setup on the far right last month.

 

Have fun

[rtsmqa]

Thanks for the tip! I spoke to Mark from Moby Dick and he said that if we happen to miss the first tour, we could get on the next one. We are looking forward to it!

[superwell]

well we are just back and we managed to to the tour with moby dick. I have to say that they are the best people to do the tour with. Also there, answering questions, very professional. Highly recommended.