Capt. Marvin

[cruisergrandma]

We just returned from the Carnival Legend. Just before we left someone posted a review of Capt. Marvin complaining about the number of people on their stingray city boat. We did not have this problem. We had 20 people on our boat and the tour was great. We have used this company in the past and have always been pleased. Their guides are great and well informed. When we transferred to the bus for the turtle farm there were only 7 of us. The turtle farm was not crowded at all and we had plenty of time. There was also a short stop in 'Hell'. We did this same tour in January and this stop has changed. They are now stopping next door to the original site. There is only 1 shop here and a slightly different view of the rock formation. Looks like the other area was closed. Possible that they alternate the stops. One stop has been added to this tour. They now make a short stop at the Tortuga rum factory. This guide also offered us photo stops along the way and still got us back for shopping in town.

[Lamar Cheeks]

... we also have had two outstanding Captain Marvin's experiences, as I posted on other threads. I also recommend them.

[teltrainer]

Hi, we've used Capt. Marvin's twice before and were thrilled with the great service and enjoyable time on the boats. We were not crowded before (15-20 onboard) so hope we have the same experience in December. They also are great about responding promptly to reservations and questions.

 

We were lucky enough to have the 80+ year old Capt. M himself on one of our trips. I got a small "nick" on my foot through my own carelessness and he got the First Aid kit and bandage out for me.

 

Looking forward to the next visit with them!

[sdirector77]

We also had a great experience with Captain Marvin and his crew. We were fortunate enough to be on a tour on his birthday and spent a few minutes visiting with him. We enjoyed our tour and requested to be dropped off at 7 mile beach which was accomodated. Would take his tour again in a minute. We were one of the first tours of the day to arrive at Stingray City which was wonderful.

[kids1stcruise]

can you tell me the cost?:rolleyes:

[cruisergrandma]

Cost for the stingray city/snorkeling tour is $35 per person for adults and $27.50 for children (our grandson is 10). To add the Hell/Turtle Farm tour it is an additional $30 per person. This is the cash price. They charge a little more if you pay by credit card.

 

They also have someone on board making a CD. They sell these onboard the boat at a cost of $50 each ($10 for additional copies). They are really great CDs.

[teltrainer]

We purchased one of these videos and relive the snorkeling and kissing the rays many times over. it was well worth the cost. The dive photographer was able to film from the reef bottome to catch us snorkeling overhead, waving down to her, spiny lobsters, puffer fish, butterfly fish, etc.

[cruisergrandma]

I agree. My DVD arrived yesterday and the quality is great! It is well worth the money!

[iancal]

We had a wonderful experience with Captain Marvins. We have recommended them to several people,,,,their comments have all been positive. We were fortunate when we went (Dec) as there were only 8 of us in the boat. What I like about this tour is you do not spend all of you 'on the water' time just getting to the stingrays. Also, they wait until the cruise ship tours (extremely, extremely crowed) have left the area or go prior to them arriving. I think that when we were there, there was only one other very small boat.. The guide was extremely patient with my daughter who had never snorkelled. Cannot say enough about them. Don't even consider a ships tour.

[mgm3430]

There was also a short stop in 'Hell'. We did this same tour in January and this stop has changed. They are now stopping next door to the original site. There is only 1 shop here and a slightly different view of the rock formation. Looks like the other area was closed. Possible that they alternate the stops.

 

 

At the Hell stop, can you still mail postcards from there? Is the gift shop still open?

 

Thanks for the info!

[suezyq50]

We have used him once and enjoyed it. Is it worth the additional going to Hell/turtle farm?

[waiting4acruise]

At the Hell stop, can you still mail postcards from there? Is the gift shop still open?

 

Thanks for the info!

When we went there 2 years ago you could mail post card from the gift shop.

[cruisergrandma]

We have used him once and enjoyed it. Is it worth the additional going to Hell/turtle farm?

 

We love the turtle farm - I think it is well worth it. This trip we had our 10-year-old grandson with us and I think he enjoyed the turtle farm almost as much as the stingrays. You also get a short tour of the island.

[OviedoCruiser]

We used Captain Marvin's (Marvin was not with us; he had taken an all-day fishing tour out) this week while in Grand Caymen. We did the 2 snorkeling stops and stingrays, which we have done before, but not with Captain Marvin's. We decided to book directly with them based on recommendations from this board.

 

Bottom line was we felt they were OK; undistinguished from any of the other tours that we had taken before in Grand Caymen. The 2 snorkeling sites were with 100 yards of each other and they were all by stingray city...from the website, we were thinking that they were taking us to some unique and distinct locations, but they were all basically in the same place. My 15 year old complained that, unlike other tours where the squid to feed the stingrays is in the water on a buoy and you can reach in and feed them, Marvin's left the food on the boat, so he had to swim/walk back to the boat and climb out to get food every time (it's a valid point as you only have so much time there, you don't want to waste it trekking back and forth to the boat, especially when everyone else seems to bring it in the water for the guests to use).

 

Our boat was crowded; every seat was in use and some had to stand. Drinks (water, lemonade, fruit punch and grape drink) are self serve from gallon jugs in a cooler. They really didn't tell anyone how to snorkel (clean mask, etc.); we knew how from prior trips, but I think we would have felt uncomfortable if this was our first time.

 

So I wouldn't say that it was a bad experience as the negatives were minor issues, but I was really expecting something a bit above what I had experienced through other companies, and I would say it was actually pretty much on par, or if anything, a slight tad below.

[Lamar Cheeks]

Rich makes some good points ... but we felt that, for the money, Captain Marvins delivered. They take smaller boats and fewer people, so sometimes it's a bit hard to find a seat.

 

The two snorkeling stops were close to each other, but they were both markedly different.

 

I'd say this, which I say about many snorkeling tours. If you haven't snorkeled before, getting thrown into 20 feet of water can be harrowing. Make sure your kids are comfortable snorkeling before you just expect them to be experts. They can practice in swimming pools or lakes (we live in Minnesota) so they know the secret: You have to relax, and it's hard to relax when you jump into 20 feet of cool, Caribbean water.

 

For people who love snorkeling and are capable, these tours are pretty cool.