Rays, Reef and Rum Point vs Stingray Sandbar, Coral Gardens and Starfish

[kobe]

Hi,

 

We're trying to decide between these 2 tours. The main question is time - we want a little time to go to Margaritiville and the RRR tour sounds like we can do it but it would be cutting it close. I haven't read reviews about the other tour. I think the RRR tour would be the most fun. We've been to Grand Cayman once before and booked a stringray/snorkel tour which was great. Since we've done stingrays before we don't have to do it again but RRR seems to get the best reviews. We don't need a lot of time at Margaritiville - just long enough to take some pictures and go to the gift shop.

 

If you did the RRR tour did you have any time left before getting back on the ship? Has anyone done the other Native Way tour?

 

Thanks

[marter99]

We did the RRR on our last cruise (several years ago). It was a fantastic tour, Nativeway was great - but there was no time left afterwards to do anything, pretty much just rushed back to the ship. This time around (just over a week!!!!) we'll be doing the other tour w/the starfish snorkel. If you can wait till we get back, I can fill you in then.

[Cruisin2Sun]

Hi,

 

We're trying to decide between these 2 tours. The main question is time - we want a little time to go to Margaritiville and the RRR tour sounds like we can do it but it would be cutting it close. I haven't read reviews about the other tour. I think the RRR tour would be the most fun. We've been to Grand Cayman once before and booked a stringray/snorkel tour which was great. Since we've done stingrays before we don't have to do it again but RRR seems to get the best reviews. We don't need a lot of time at Margaritiville - just long enough to take some pictures and go to the gift shop.

 

If you did the RRR tour did you have any time left before getting back on the ship? Has anyone done the other Native Way tour?

 

Thanks

 

We did the Stingray, Coral Gardens and Starfish Tour with Nativeway for the exact reason you mentioned above. I wanted to have time afterwards to enjoy the island because Grand Cayman is our favorite. We were finished with the tour sometime around 12:00 noon. We had time to eat lunch in port and shop. It was exactly what I wanted. BTW, the starfish stop on the tour is awesome. They dive down and bring up huge starfish.

[azkcruizers]

I did RRR in January and some people got off the bus around Margaritaville to look around. They had enough time to do what you would like to do there. You could email Sharon and ask her if you would be able to get off their bus at Margaritaville on the way back. Tell her what time your ship will be leaving and see what she thinks. Good luck;)

[dachshunddoglover]

What's "Nativeway"? I would love to know if it is a independent tour company. I'm looking for an exscursion that is not from the ship. Thanks for the info.

 

E-Beth

[christineann]

Nativeway is a private company on Grand Cayman. We have taken excursions with them twice - 2003 and a few weeks ago. They are reasonably priced, they take a limited number of passengers (book early!), and their guides are great. The stingray sandbar is a highlight for us. The rays are beautiful creatures.

 

http://www.nativewaywatersports.com

[Peachy~Girl]

We just used Nativeway last week for the rays reef and rumpoint excursion and it was great!!!! But you wont have alot of time to do anything after the excursion. But since it was our first time there this was a must do for us :D

[desert2tropics]

How about combining rays, starfish & coral gardens with fishing? This is what we did (on private charter). Doing a private charter isn't too costly, especially if you can get others to do it with you. This way you have your own boat and dictate the day as you please.

 

We have been to GC several times and always book with Franks Watersports and request Deon as our captain. He is AWESOME!!! Their website is www.frankswatersports.ky and their prices are on their website. They have regular tours (with other guests) and private charters available. Our trips out with Franks has always been the highlights of our vacations. Here is a link to my trip report I just posted with what we did in Grand Cayman. We chartered a boat for 6 hours and had about 30 minutes of shopping time (directly across from our cruise ship). But because it was a private charter we could have had a lot more time to shop or go to the beach had we wanted to.

 

I have been to Rum Point on our last vacation & while the kids had fun on the jet skis, our lowlights were: my son got stung by a jellyfish, the beach we were on was small, and not so great, snorkeling wasn't anything to write home about AND a man told me that there was a snake in the water shortly before we arrived which is why no one was really in the water. I would spend my time on 7 mile beach over Rum Pointe personally, but again...this is just my opinion. Here is my trip report from our latest vacation: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=43234

[rosemail]

"AND a man told me that there was a snake in the water shortly before we arrived"

 

I suspect he was wrong. There are no salt water snakes in the Caribbean. There are no poisinous snakes in Cayman. There are some eels (fish, not reptiles) that look a bit like snakes.

 

I was not there so I cannot say he did not see a snake, but if you see a horselike hoofprint in the dirt, chances are it was made by a horse, not a zebra.

[Morgsmom]

We have done the Rays, Reef & Rum Point tour once and just the Rays & Reef tour once due to timing. On the first RR&R we ALMOST missed the last tender back to ship. Big traffic jam on the only street back to the port area. Fortunatley, there were about 15 other passengers on the same ship (Mariner) with us so I felt pretty confident that they wouldn't leave without 17 pax (but I could have been wrong.) It was stressful, though, so the next time we didn't do the extended tour and only did the Stingray City part as well as the snorkeling. This was, unfortunately, only a couple of months after Steve Irwin's unfortunate encounter with a Ray and DD (10 at the time) wouldn't even get in the water for the 2nd trip. Regardless, it is a fabulous excursion and Nativeways (shout out to Sharon at the office!) is first rate-- just check how much time you have in Grand Cayman to figure out what itinerary would work best for you.

[desert2tropics]

Hi Rosemail,

 

Just so that you don't think I'm totally crazy, I "Googled" snakes in Grand Cayman and found out there are 4 species (all non-venomous). One of the 4 is a water snake that is also indigenous to Cuba:

 

Water Snake Tretanorhinus variabilis lewisi GC IndigenousCuba

 

Here is the complete list (GC stands for Grand Cayman, of course): http://www.caymanwildlife.org/wildlife.html#snakes

[marter99]

We just got home from our cruise, and did the Rays, Coral Gardens, and Starfish snorkel last week with Nativeways. Last time we did RRR (3 years ago). We had a great time again, however, there weren't a lot of starfish out there to be found. And where they snorkeled for the starfish, there was nothing else to be seen. Aside from that, we loved the excursion, and would recommend it if you wanted to snorkel and see the stingrays. Nativeways was great, and I would use them again without a doubt. We had about an hour after the excursion to do some shopping, but you're usually pretty exhausted by that point to do much else.

[PTN96]

We are in port from 7:30 to 4:30 so we should have time do the RRR tour right? Is lunch included if not where do you eat lunch?

Thanks.

[mics pics]

We are in port from 7:30 to 4:30 so we should have time do the RRR tour right? Is lunch included if not where do you eat lunch?

Thanks.

 

Should be no problem - my port times are 7:00 to 4:30 and Sharon didn't even comment on it being close or anything. Then again, I've been to GC before so I don't need time for shopping.

 

Here's the reservation confirmation I received today. Maybe it will answer questions?

 

Greetings from Grand Cayman and thanks for contacting us again!

I have reserved 1 space for you on our July 10, "Rays, Reef, and Rum Point" excursion. The price is $60 USD each. Children under the age of 10 will pay $45 USD each. You are all set! You will pay on our tour boat. We accept cash, Traveler's Checks, MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover. If you pay via credit card, you will be charged a 4% processing fee.

The tour departs the pier at 8:30 AM Central Time and completes at around 1:45 AM Central Time. We ask that you check in no later than 8:15 AM Central Time. When you come ashore, look for the person carrying the sign that says Native Way Watersports. You may also ask for us at the information booth at the cruise ship terminal.

We provide free use of all snorkeling gear and vests, food for the Rays, and complimentary punch and bottled water. At Rum Point, you will have a nice grilled lunch. After the tour, you will be driven back to the pier.

We ask that you provide at least one week advance notice to cancel. If your ship is unable to dock in Grand Cayman, we will automatically cancel your reservation, at no cost to you.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I look forward to seeing you in Grand Cayman on July 10!