Stingray City--not with Carnival

[beachgirl1987]

Hi,

 

We are sailing the Legend in August and are interested in Stingray City. Do you all think it's ok to book outside of Carnival, and if so, any recommendations?

 

Thanks,

 

Maria

[calicruise74]

Hi,

 

We are sailing the Legend in August and are interested in Stingray City. Do you all think it's ok to book outside of Carnival, and if so, any recommendations?

 

Thanks,

 

Maria

 

 

YES! Do Nativeways....Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour. http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/

 

I learned about them here on CC and good reviews from Tripadvisor. Small groups...personal service and Rum Point is just awesome! It includes lunch on the beach at Rum Point.

[ejchron]

Hi,

 

We are sailing the Legend in August and are interested in Stingray City. Do you all think it's ok to book outside of Carnival, and if so, any recommendations?

 

Thanks,

 

Maria

 

 

We were there in '06 and used Captain Marvins. We had a great time. One thing I noticed is that our boat didn't seem as packed out with people as the others that were there. Some of those other boats looked like "standing room only".

[nanuak]

Captain Marvins get my vote!

[falkcor]

it's definitely 'safe' to book with independent operators. grand cayman is a really easy port, with plenty of established and reputable sting ray city tours.

 

i recommend moby dick tours - http://www.mobydicktours.com/ - i wrote about it with pics in my review (linked in signature), there's also comments on the g.c. port board:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=147

 

the independent operators are less expensive, and more personal / smaller sized groups.

[travelntreats]

YES! Do Nativeways....Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour. http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/

 

I learned about them here on CC and good reviews from Tripadvisor. Small groups...personal service and Rum Point is just awesome! It includes lunch on the beach at Rum Point.

My exact feelings.... Top Notch tour operator and once you go to Rum Point and the gorgeous water and wonderful meal served... you will want to come back soon !

[iancal]

We used Capt. Marvins. First rate. Very few of us in the boat. They dropped us off at one of the hotel on seven mile beach, we went thru the hotel and down the beach. Caught the local bus back to town. Wonderful day. We seldom use ship exursions..they are overpriced, crowded, and geared to the lowest common denomimator.

[calicruise74]

My exact feelings.... Top Notch tour operator and once you go to Rum Point and the gorgeous water and wonderful meal served... you will want to come back soon !

 

 

I want to go back now! LOL!! Rum Point is not offered by all of the tour companies, so this really set them apart when we were making our decision. The tour guide told us that they film Corona commercials there from time to time....I can see why! I think we only had 10 people on our boat and we had the grilled fish for lunch.

[Th3BuffetAssassin]

We went with Capt. Marvins and had a great time.

[gone_cruisin]

We used Capt. Marvins also. Paid half the price of Carnival.

[IGGY63]

You have some great options here. I booked stingraysailing.com and they were fantastic.

 

However, I suggest you DO NOT book through Carnival unless you will really enjoy sharing a boat with about 200+ other people, and tripping over the Carnival photographer.....

[MrsCoach95]

We just got back and we booked through www.mobydicktours.com We paid about half the price as those who booked with the ship and we got to get in the water and interact with the stingrays. Friends of ours that booked through the ship said they just got to watch the tour operators mess with the stingrays. Our snorkeling session was really nice too. The guys on Moby Dick will make sure you come back with a good knowledge of the area, lunch recommendations and a longing to move there!!!!

[PYB2008]

Peter with http:// FatFishAdventures.com made our Thanksgiving Day AMAZING!! :D

[BigRed93]

Stingray Sailing. You still get to hand feed the stingrays with them, it's a catamaran so you can sail back if the conditions are right and you will have less than 30 people on a cat that could hold twice as many. No one else was snorkeling where we were and it was amazing.

[MamaParrotHead]

I personally chose Nativeway, after contacting all of the above mentioned operators, plus a few not mentioned here (but in other threads). Be sure you know what you want and what you're willing to pay, as the price does vary quite a bit and doesn't necessarily mean higher price is better service or better/longer tour (based on the reviews here).

[Tbuzzard]

We used Stingray Sailing in February and it was great. Prompt pickup at the dock; less people of the boat(there were only 13 on our trip, including 5 from our group) ; great crew. Plus you get to sail on the ocean, not just motor out stingray city, in a boat that is elbow to elbow with people. I highly recommend this tour. Check out others who have used them and you will see what I mean.

[regardless1]

We used Soto's Cruises when we went two years ago. Plan on using them again this December. Small groups, nice snorkeling stop, and plenty of time to feed the stingrays. They pick you up in town and drop you off where you'd like after (to the beach or back downtown) for no charge.

[morgan1929]

Another vote for Captain Marvins. We have used his services on 4 different cruises. When we took our grand-daughters, they did a great job of re-assuring them, and making sure they had fun. Our last 2 trips, they fed an eel while everyone watched.

[GinDon]

Moby dick!

[Romoad]

Does native ways get you back to the ship in time? Just a little nervous not booking thru the ship.

[Gail Boertzel]

Just back. Had a great trip on a catamaran with 10 people with stingraysailing.com. What a difference looking at other boats where people were packed like sardines on the boat and in the water. Husband and wife own and operate this tour and Michele is very prompt in responding to emails. All went extremely smoothly and I would highly recommend.

[DukeFamily]

Does native ways get you back to the ship in time? Just a little nervous not booking thru the ship.

 

Oh hardly ever - that's just part of the adventure :o. Kidding, of course they do! Would they get so many recommendations if they didn't? Would they even stay in business if they didn't? The RR&R tour is a long one, and depending on your ship's departure time, you may not have any shopping time after the excursion. We were on Carnival's Ecstasy, and I just had enough time to dash into the closest place and grab my requisite refrigerator magnet before catching the last tender.

[hayloburger]

We just returned from the Legend in early June.

We booked through Captain Marvins (I just heard good things about it, however, I have good things about all the tour operators in GC). It's easy to find....out of the cruise gates to the left...about 1-2 blocks. We had a photographer on board (we didn't buy), and we had about 20 people onboard too.

 

The staff was really nice...if you have questions, call Captain Marvins, Joan is wonderful. They won't charge you if your ship doesn't make the port (I don't know if the other operators do that).

 

We also booked Cave-tubing.com on our own in Belize.

Roatan, we just hired a cab to take us out to Tabyana Beach (great beach..I am so glad that we chose that beach)..there is a reef right off the shore, perfect for kids.

[DiveCruiser]

Hi,

 

We are sailing the Legend in August and are interested in Stingray City. Do you all think it's ok to book outside of Carnival, and if so, any recommendations?

 

Thanks,

 

Maria

Maria,

Check out ShoreTrips that is who we used with no problems.

 

Bob

[fcsharry]

I highly recommend Stingray Sailing. They offer a catamaran sailing tour that we really enjoyed in June 2009 from the Carnival Valor. Chip Whitney is the owner/operator of this tour and his personalized service was excellent. The tour makes stops at Stingray City and the Barrier Reef. Pick-up is right at the pier and easy to locate. No problem getting from and back to the ship. For comparison - Native Way and Captain Marvins are very good also but they are on power boats instead of a catamaran. We have tried all three and recommend Stingray Sailing due to our preference for sailing.