Excursions??????

[jamaica06]

Is stingray the absolute #1 tour to take or is there something else that is Great. I think it would be really fun but I love the beach so that would be just fine for me. Are prices that high there in the caymens, luch and drink wise?

[jean-lynd]

Depending on your port time you should be able to do the stingrays and still have some beach time. The stingrays are pretty amazing and it is a unique experience.

 

Everything is expensive there but we didn't think it was that much higher then places like New York or Chicago. The problem is that everything has to be shipped in and then there is the unfavorable exchange rate.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Enjoy!

[2PinaColadas]

We did a stingray tour that dropped us off at Sea Grape Beach afterwards. I would consider the stingrays the #1 must do in Grand Cayman.

[falkcor]

I would consider the stingrays the #1 must do in Grand Cayman.

 

agreed.

[ScttSki04]

If your looking for a great stingray tour, I highly recommend stingray sailings!!!! Chip and Michelle will take great care of you!!! They have a catameran easily capable of taking 50-60 guests, they limit there tours to about 30 people!!!! We were sailing with a 4 yr old and Michelle showed up with a van and a car seat for the little guy!!!! The Cat ride to and from is worth the cost!!! (and it's still cheaper that the ship!!) You get free bottled water on the trip and a fruit tray on the way back!! The crew is very knowledgable and super friendly!!! I can't tell you what a special trip this was! I've taken both the ship offered excursion and their trip, no contest!!! If you book with them you are guarenteed to be satisfied!! Just wish they had t-shirts for sale!!! ( Chip says they are working on that!) and yes you'll still have time for the beach and some shopping, depending on your ships schedule.

http://stingraysailing.com/

[TheWog]

If you want to do an excursion then yes Stingray City is the one to do when at Grand Cayman. If you are not that interested, then the beaches there are very beautiful and if you don't eat or drink will only cost you the price of a cab ride. Chairs, umbrellas, food, drink, etc. all will cost and while the price might be a bit inflated it is not incredibly unreasonable. I think Nassau is a bit more expensive for food.

[IGGY63]

If your looking for a great stingray tour, I highly recommend stingray sailings!!!! Chip and Michelle will take great care of you!!! They have a catameran easily capable of taking 50-60 guests, they limit there tours to about 30 people!!!! We were sailing with a 4 yr old and Michelle showed up with a van and a car seat for the little guy!!!! The Cat ride to and from is worth the cost!!! (and it's still cheaper that the ship!!) You get free bottled water on the trip and a fruit tray on the way back!! The crew is very knowledgeable and super friendly!!! I can't tell you what a special trip this was! I've taken both the ship offered excursion and their trip, no contest!!! If you book with them you are guarenteed to be satisfied!! Just wish they had t-shirts for sale!!! ( Chip says they are working on that!) and yes you'll still have time for the beach and some shopping, depending on your ships schedule.

http://stingraysailing.com/

 

 

Agreed!

 

I booked them in January and were fantastic.

 

There are some stingray excursions on other islands, but THIS is the place. You can google earth the site which shows the travel out to the sand bar...pretty kewl....

 

You can 'beach it' anywhere practically, but this is a must do!

 

They do not barter here, and the prices are on average a bit higher. However it is very clean and very safe.

 

Cheers!

[yung4evr]

If your looking for a great stingray tour, I highly recommend stingray sailings!!!!

 

Thank you so much for your recommendation - I contacted them, and they have room for us on our date. Possible problem being our Freedom of the Seas itinerary shows us tendering at 8am, and Michelle said they leave at 8:15, "on the dot," not waiting for passengers who may be delayed.

 

She also said the Freedom may be using Daylight Savings Time, where Grand Cayman does not observe that - meaning the ship would actually be tendering local time of 7am. All RCI would say is that they use "Eastern Time."

 

Hope I'm not being too confusing - anyone from an RCI cruise face this and had a problem/not had a problem? Just don't want to book this only to miss it . . .

 

Thanks!

[BaseballMomof4]

We did stingrays, hell and turtle farm last time. Stingrays are awesome, hell was a waste of time except for the souvenirs, the turtle farm was really nice though.

[gcaskew]

Ezona from Ezona's Aquatics took us to sting ray city and it was a GREAT time. She provided all the gear and even provided a freshly cooked lunch of island snapper, which was out of this world good.

After the sting rays and lunch, she then took us to some beautiful coral reefs and told us about the islands and what types of coral we were seeing. She also pointed out many kinds of tropical fish.

 

This was a once in a life time day that my family will never forget..

 

 

I would highly recommend using her services...

 

http://www.ezonasaquatics.com/index.htm

 

[PAMWANTSTOCRUISE]

HI everyone. Just wanted to report in that we did the excursion at Dolphine Cove. We did the dolphin encounter/stingray city one for $100 each. I believe the dolphine swim/stingray was about $149.

 

Considering most of the dolphin encounters seem to go for $100+ on their own I thought this was a great deal.

 

Picked us up at the pier, took a comfy bus to Dolphine Cove, they split us into the encounter/swim groups, enjoyed the encounter very much. Then we took their boat to Stingray City.

 

They took pictures at both places, along with video at Dolphin.

 

It was great, we may do the swim next time. Very beautiful.

 

If you have any questions, please ask away.....

[lisa702]

Hi did you purchase the video or photos and how much were they? Thanks!

[DBKK]

who did you book this with?

[PAMWANTSTOCRUISE]

I'm not sure about the cost breakdown. I believe the pictures were $15 each. It looked like most people purchased a couple.

 

You can take your own pictures at stingray city but not at Dolphin Cove (during the swim and encounters).

 

My husband was put in charge and he purchased the picture cds and video. It was around $160. So we got all pictures of dolphin and stingray and the video of the dolphins.

 

We book directly with the ship. Time was tight. Supposed to be in grand cayman 8-3. Didn't get off ship until after 9:00. Returned to the dock sometime after 1:30. Last tender was SUPPOSED to be at 2:00 but the line was so long (down the street and around the corner) it was a bit later.

[DiveCruiser]

Is stingray the absolute #1 tour to take or is there something else that is Great. I think it would be really fun but I love the beach so that would be just fine for me. Are prices that high there in the caymens, luch and drink wise?

 

Try ShoreTrips.com we have used them for years on cruises and land with no problems.

[Perfect Stranger]

You can find less expensive stingray sailings than Shore Trips.

[spammie]

Thank you so much for posting your mini-review. My two children are booked just for the dolphin swim through RCCL. I want to go with them and was wondering if it is possible to pay an entrance or transportation fee to tag along. I'm not doing the swim. Thank you. Wanda

[Joeybun]

Ezona from Ezona's Aquatics took us to sting ray city and it was a GREAT time. She provided all the gear and even provided a freshly cooked lunch of island snapper, which was out of this world good.

 

After the sting rays and lunch, she then took us to some beautiful coral reefs and told us about the islands and what types of coral we were seeing. She also pointed out many kinds of tropical fish.

 

This was a once in a life time day that my family will never forget..

 

 

I would highly recommend using her services...

 

 

http://www.ezonasaquatics.com/index.htm

 

 

I checked that website and it looks good. Can you tell me the specifics of the tour...what times, where you boarded, the name of the beach you ate lunch at, the price? Any other information you can add wuldbe highly appreciated!

 

Thanks

[nwbtennis]

I have the same problem with the times. If our ship arrives at 7am, does that mean 6am their time? Have you gone on your cruise yet? Ours leaves Aug. 9 and I need to figure this out soon! Sting Ray Sailings sounds great, but not real flexible with times. I wouldn't want to miss the tour (or the boat on the way back!)

[lisa702]

I'm not sure about the cost breakdown. I believe the pictures were $15 each. It looked like most people purchased a couple.

 

You can take your own pictures at stingray city but not at Dolphin Cove (during the swim and encounters).

 

My husband was put in charge and he purchased the picture cds and video. It was around $160. So we got all pictures of dolphin and stingray and the video of the dolphins.

 

We book directly with the ship. Time was tight. Supposed to be in grand cayman 8-3. Didn't get off ship until after 9:00. Returned to the dock sometime after 1:30. Last tender was SUPPOSED to be at 2:00 but the line was so long (down the street and around the corner) it was a bit later.

 

Thank you! We have this booked for next week when we sail on the Carnival Inspiration. Do you happen to know if Carnival's photogs are there to take pics during the excursion? Thanks!

[PAMWANTSTOCRUISE]

Carnival photogs were not a part of this excursion. They didn't go at all.

Dolphine Cove employees picked us up at the pier, took the pics, and returned us to the pier.

 

I will say that carnival told us to meet at the Paris Lounge at 8:15 for this excursion, we thought we would go down and get on the tender as a group.

 

Nope, they had several excursions meet in the lounge then they just say "Go and have fun, go to deck (3?) and please do not take the elevators unless absolutely necessary.

 

Not a big deal, but we just won't go to the lounge in the future.

[PAMWANTSTOCRUISE]

Does anyone know why my thread was moved into this thread?

[Shipshape7]

Does anyone know why my thread was moved into this thread?

 

Because it was about a matter specific to one port, Grand Cayman. The "big board" is for more general discussions of Carnival Cruiseline. They always move threads that pertain to only one port to that port's board.

[agwen3]

Chip and Michelle are awesome - we cruised RC and had no problem with timing whatsoever. This is a must do!!!!

[laurabegorrah]

Question for Pam - What was the difference between the dolphin encounter and the swim (other than price ofcoasrse! lol) Just trying to see if only doing the encounter will get me enough of a dolphin fix!

 

Thanks!