Carnival Excursions-Stingray City and Beaches? Which one is best?

[CruiserKatie]

I need the good, bad and ugly.

 

Two moms and two 14 yr old boys looking for Stingray City(sandbar) and beach time.

Must go with Carnival excursion per husband who are staying home to work..lol

[2PinaColadas]

Honestly, I felt completely safe in Grand Cayman. We booked the snorkel/stingray tour with Moby Dick. They are set up right by the port. After the snorkel/stingrays, they dropped us off at Sea Grape/Seven Mile Beach. Very nice beach and again we felt completely safe. Cabs back to the port were readily available.

 

Carnival excursions to the stingray sandbar are about 100 people per tour--with Moby Dick there were about 25 of us. The crew was great and took really good care of everyone. It was one of the best excursions we have ever done.

[pjtulsa]

I Booked with Native Way in October and took a Girl Scout troop so safety was my number one issue. I can honestly say that the Carnival excursion looked unsafe from a distance, they must have had over 100 people crammed on a boat and they were just all over the place in the water.

 

Our tour on the other hand had 20 people on it and the tour guide stayed right by our side in the water. We also went to Rum Point and had a very nice lunch that was included in the price. Our excursion was also less expensive and the people that took the Carnival trip later told me that they wish they had known about our tour because they felt ripped off when they saw our boat and heard about our trip and lunch.

 

Talk to your husband because you will honestly have a better experience with one of the private tours. (Native Way or Moby Dick) Just because you are with Carnival you have no guarantees that it is safer. I am not trying to scare you but Carnival as well as other cruise lines have had their share of troubles on excursions.

 

If you are worried about missing the boat, I don't see that as a problem in Cayman because the guides know all too well when you need to be back by. Plus the line for the tender was so long when we got back to the pier long before the last tender was set to leave, that the last tender did leave late.

 

 

Best of Luck with your decision. I hope that which ever tour you choose, that you are able to make unforgettable memories with your son. :D