What to take off with you when going on excursion

[eastcoastman]

Looked around the board and couldn't find this asked/answered.

 

We will be going on a self-bokked stingray excursion in GC. When we get off ship, do we take our SS cards with us? Besides your money, wallet, sunscreen, and your body, what do we need to take off the ship on our excursion? What are the things that you experts see us newbies take off the ship that you say "they won't need that, if they only know"?

And if we don't need to take our SS cards off, how do they know who we are when reboarding?

On the excursion, do they have places for us to hide our valuables? Does anyone in our group need to keep an eye on our stuff while we're out there?

 

Thank you again :cool::cool:

[Pegs222]

Looked around the board and couldn't find this asked/answered.

 

We will be going on a self-bokked stingray excursion in GC. When we get off ship, do we take our SS cards with us? Besides your money, wallet, sunscreen, and your body, what do we need to take off the ship on our excursion? What are the things that you experts see us newbies take off the ship that you say "they won't need that, if they only know"?

And if we don't need to take our SS cards off, how do they know who we are when reboarding?

On the excursion, do they have places for us to hide our valuables? Does anyone in our group need to keep an eye on our stuff while we're out there?

 

Thank you again :cool::cool:

 

You have to take your S&S card; as that is the only way you can get off the ship and back on. They scan your card when you get off and then again when you get on.

 

If you have tickets for your excursion, you will need to take those. And your Passport of course. :D

[EBallgrl]

yes, you WILL need your SS card for each person.

 

Dont forget a camera! Get a disposable underwater camera for that excursion. Its great!

 

Dont know what company you are going with, but I have gone to Stingray City twice with the same company and never had a problem with leaving my things on board.

 

It might be a good idea to take at least 1 towel (even a small one) to dry off a little before putting your clothes back on.

 

I always take hand sanitizer with me on excursions, maybe a bottled drink if they arent provided on the tour.

[noblepa]

Yes, you will absolutely need your S & S card to leave the ship. They scan the card when you leave and again when you return. This does two things; it assures that you are really the passenger who paid for the trip, and it lets the ship's security people know if all the passengers have made it back.

 

I don't remember about Grand Cayman, but many ports require a picture ID just to enter the pier area to board the ship or tender. A driver's license is usually sufficient.

 

There is disagreement as to whether to take your passport or not. Some feel it is best left in the cabin safe. My feeling is that this is what a passport was created for and if you leave it in the cabin, you may as well leave it home. I always take my passport ashore.

 

Other than those items, it is up to you. I usually take my ship ID, my passport, one or two credit cards and no more than $50 cash. I take my camera and a couple of bottles of water. My wife leaves her purse on board, and I carry her passport and ship ID.

 

Oh, and don't forget the sunscreen.

 

I did the Stingray City tour a couple of years ago in GC. Great! The tour operator provided snorkels and masks, but many people didn't use them. Big mistake, IMHO. While it was fun to stand and watch the rays, the water surface distorted the view quite a bit. I used the mask and snorkel to float, face-down, and let the rays swim past, for an unobstructed view.

 

If you don't have a waterproof camera, get a cheap waterproof, one-time use 35mm camera. You can't really aim it very well underwater, so you have to sort of point it in the general direction and hope for the best, but you can get some very nice pictures. Buy one at Walmart for less than $10 before you go. On board, you'll pay closer to $20.

 

Have fun.

 

Paul

[klfrodo]

On the excursion, do they have places for us to hide our valuables? Does anyone in our group need to keep an eye on our stuff while we're out there?

 

Thank you again :cool::cool:

 

Always assume the answer to this is NO. Everyone in your group should be watching each others back. If there are more than 2 of you, someone should always be watching you stuff while the others play. You should be rotating this responsibility. All the vendors are very nice and professional people, but, at the end of the day, you're responsible.

[eastcoastman]

Thank you all for such quick responses.

 

Very, very helpful.

 

We were looking at Capt Marvins or Dexters, we found them online, but are open to suggestions if we should look elsewhere?

There are 6 of us in our group, all adults. No young one's on this trip for us. :cool::cool::cool:

[Minoushka]

Bring a lock TSA combination type to lock your bag .Never had a problem

If you have your own equipment bring it

We always do

Or buy a cheap snorkel SAFER

Bring Water bottle

Caps/ Hat /T shirts/ Towel /Sunscreen /KLeenex

I bring photocopy of passport only $$$ for RUM CAKES go sample YUMMIE!!!

 

Have a great time

We have done this 4 times with Captain Marvin's ...the best

[kyrisong1]

Hi there, we always take a big bottle of water with us (usually for sale right before you go off the ship) we take good sunscreen, drivers license and copy of passport, s and s card, minimal money and a credit card which we always check for as we get back on the boat from the water.

Towels for water excursions and hand sanitizer.

We leave most of our money and other valuable including our passports locked in the safe on board the ship.

The only time we take our passports with us is if we are going on an excursion that would put us really close to sail away time, then you really might need it to fly out and catch up with ship.

If your going to ruins or a jungle type excursion remember some Off or other bug spray.

Have a great time!!!

Although I disagree with mmichelle, Nativeway is the best for stingray/snorkle excursion!!!! :-P

Carole

[kyrisong1]

Thank you all for such quick responses.

 

Very, very helpful.

 

We were looking at Capt Marvins or Dexters, we found them online, but are open to suggestions if we should look elsewhere?

There are 6 of us in our group, all adults. No young one's on this trip for us. :cool::cool::cool:

Try googling Nativeway they have reef,rays and rumpoint excursion, they ROCK, also included is lunch on rum point beach, the grilled mahi mahi with mago mayo is to die for, we always bring enough for the expensive drinks here because these are the BEST rumrunners I've ever had, although expensive, one is more than enough for me!!! Been on this one twice cause we had so much fun the first time.

Have fun, Carole

[Minoushka]

Bring a lock TSA combination type to lock your bag .Never had a problem

If you have your own equipment bring it

We always do

Or buy a cheap snorkel SAFER

Bring Water bottle

Caps/ Hat /T shirts/ Towel /Sunscreen /KLeenex

I bring photocopy of passport only $$$ for RUM CAKES go sample YUMMIE!!!

 

Have a great time

We have done this 4 times with Captain Marvin's ...the best

[Froufie]

This has been answered before - you might find some good info here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=939414

[LoriTX]

I now take a backpack with a LOCK on it. We had some cash stolen on a excursion in Cozumel. Wasnt much ($15) but could not prove who did it. They managed to leave just a few dollar bills. Like we would not notice that the money we took for tipping is missing at the end. I believe it was another passenger. Others were missing money also - we had left the backpack on the boat while we snorkled - and those who were not snorkling were watching us in the water!!

So now the lock goes with and if we are not 'right there' we lock it closed and to something!! On a boat tour it would be kind of hard to steal a backpack anyway and this keeps HANDS out of it!!!

[TrevyMcShaw]

My beach/snorkel/excursion bag consists of:

 

Sunscreen

Insect Repellant

Chapstick

Towel

Water Wallet with Driver's License, Passport, Credit Card, Cash, & SS Card

Underwear in a zip lock bag (for changing when there is water activity planned)

Snorkel gear

Bottled Water (if it's not provided in the excursion)