Local Tour Operators instead of Cruise Ship Tours

[Lemk85]

:confused: My wife and I, and two children, ages 18 and 16 are heading on HAL for the Western Caribbean on 8/28, with stops at Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Half Moon Cay. I am looking for some advise as to booking shore excursions on line via local operators as opposed to booking thru HAL. I have read many reviews regarding Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman and most all mention the crowds on the ship's tours. Also any other local tour operators that you can recommend in the other ports would be appreciated.

Another question regarding local time. Does HAL change the ship's clocks to central time when we get to Cozumel and Grand Cayman? Some posts have indicated that there is a one hour time difference between island time and ship time.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

[vossjemi]

check out grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com

[Ellya]

We used the following local tour operator in Grand Cayman for their Sting Ray and snorkling tour. It was very fun, longer than the ship's tour, and less expensive. I highly recommend them!

http://www.nativewaywatersports.com

Holland America changes the time for Cozumel and Grand Cayman (not all cruise lines do). Be sure to get the times straight when you make your reservation!

[kvlaurie]

Hi -we booked our own tours instead of the ship ones; it was cheaper and less crowded. We used Captain Bryan's for snorkeling; I heard that Captain Marvin's was great too. The advantage of booking with the cruise line is that by that time, you may get to know some of these folks. We booked snorkeling in the morning and then horseback riding in the afternoon - we should have swapped their times - it was too hot for the horses in the afternoon. It is very easy to find your own tours when you get in; that is no problem. Vic

[alaskancruzr]

We used Native Way last year and will be using them again in December. They had a great crew and we had a wonderful time. I'd highly recommend them.

[Richiebaseball]

Another vote for Nativeway. We have used them twice in the last 2 years. Very enjoyable. Good luck!

Richard

[llund]

We used Captain Marvins, which is a short walk from the tender dock. They arranged a trip to the turtle farm and hell, with a short tour. We were then dropped off at the boat dock where we wend to stingray city. We still had time to go into town, have lunch, do some shopping before getting the last tender to the ship. They were great. We go back to Grand Caymen in January and I am now trying to find something different to do.

[sashapoo]

llund,

When will you be there in Jan?? I am going to be there as well.

[gramshup]

We used Capt. Bryan and had a fantastic time. A great crew, no crowds and just a very nice time.Capt. Bryan's is a short walk from the tender pier and if you are a little early there is a very good bakery next door for coffee and pastries.

[Buckeye Geo]

I want to thank all of you for giving a new comer some valuable info on the Cayman Island. My wife and I are booked on the Galaxy November 13th Panama Canal Cruise and will be visiting The Caymans. I just sent an e-mail to Native Way for information on their Sting Ray City and Island Tour. Thanks again for all the good info.

[Lithium]

:confused: My wife and I, and two children, ages 18 and 16 are heading on HAL for the Western Caribbean on 8/28, with stops at Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Half Moon Cay. I am looking for some advise as to booking shore excursions on line via local operators as opposed to booking thru HAL. I have read many reviews regarding Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman and most all mention the crowds on the ship's tours. Also any other local tour operators that you can recommend in the other ports would be appreciated.

Another question regarding local time. Does HAL change the ship's clocks to central time when we get to Cozumel and Grand Cayman? Some posts have indicated that there is a one hour time difference between island time and ship time.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

maybe I am wrong here, but HAL doesn't have a western caribbean ship sailing on august 28th.......it would be eastern caribbean for that date on the Zuiderdam. Western Caribbean itenerary would be the week after and the week before the 28th.

[Terry King]

We used Captain Marvins, which is a short walk from the tender dock. They arranged a trip to the turtle farm and hell, with a short tour. We were then dropped off at the boat dock where we wend to stingray city. We still had time to go into town, have lunch, do some shopping before getting the last tender to the ship. They were great. We go back to Grand Caymen in January and I am now trying to find something different to do.


can i ask how much this cost you to do everything? this is exactly what we want to do. we are a family of 5 and this would cost an arm and a leg if booked thru the ship.
thanks terry

[zydecocruiser]

can i ask how much this cost you to do everything? this is exactly what we want to do. we are a family of 5 and this would cost an arm and a leg if booked thru the ship.
thanks terry
Perhaps only an arm or a leg. $39.50-$53.50 pp depending on age, per their website:

http://www.captainmarvins.com/snorkel.htm

Need to make sure the times will work with whatever your ship's schedule is.

[xcell]

Do you have to book in advance or can you book when you get there...granted i understand the tour may not be available, but im not to comfortable giving credit info over the net as of yet...

[zydecocruiser]

Do you have to book in advance or can you book when you get there...granted i understand the tour may not be available, but im not to comfortable giving credit info over the net as of yet...

You should make a reservation. What about calling them with your credit card info? Email the operator of your choice and ask if you could send a check or some other payment as a deposit?

[ParrotHeadFL]

...im not to comfortable giving credit info over the net as of yet...


Do you have good cause to believe it's any less secure than, say, giving your credit card to a waiter at a restaurant? Or providing it to someone over a cordless phone?

Countless millions of people provide their CC numbers to Web sites on a regular basis without incident. It's time to let go of those old fears, buddy! Join the 21st century!!!

:)

[skybuffalo]

We also had five in our group, so I understand your concern. Last week we did the Half-day Excursion with Capt Marvin. It included Stingray City and two snorkel stops (both were fantastic and breath taking). The cost was $39 each. This was the highlight of our cruise and the wife is still going on about it. Her concern was she wears glasses but the magnification of the water gave her a clear view.

You can go to their website and get further information on how to make reservations. They always responded within on day by email. Others on our cruise also gave Soto's a good review

Price included bus transportation from the Waterfront Centre (a short walk from the pier), snorkel gear, life vest (we had one who could not swim), food for the stingrays, and ice water and fruit punch on board the boat.

It was fantastic and we will be going back again. Ron

[xcell]

Let me clarify, when I book an excursion not with the cruiseline, do they have a set time to pick everyone up? Meaning, if my tender comes in late, will they wait for me or will they make alternative arrangements?

Newbie...humour me please

[skybuffalo]

Hi Xcell,
I can only reference Capt. Marvin's so others will have to give input on the other operators. They seemed to be pretty flexible but had a schedule to maintain. For our tour there two time periods: 10 AM to 1 PM, or 2 PM to 5 PM (Check in by 9:15 AM or by 1:15 PM). Our first tender did not leave the ship until 8:30 AM but we did not have a problem. There were other schedules for the shorter trips so I am sure that we could have been moved to one of them if needed. They seemed to used to the problems of tender scheduling.

No problem with your questions. They are the same that we have all had. I had the same ones right up to our cruise last week. I was pretty nervous about it all since it was our first time scheduling on our own. It worked out well for us thanks to all of the input on the cruisecritic boards.

Just plan on having a time of your life. Ron

[xcell]

Thanks Ron

How do we know the tender times for our cruises?

I know the general arrival times but that's it....

Jermaine

[skybuffalo]

xcell (Jermaine)
There are many who are more experienced then myself but I used the cruise itinerary. It shows the planned docking time at each port and if it was tendered or not. I was told that the cruise tours would be the first off of the ship so planned some flextime. There were some good recommendations by others on the different port threads.

On our first cruise we took only the cruise tours and that took all of the pressure off of the scheduling. On last week's cruise I planned the Grand Cayman part because there was so many postings available that I felt comfortable. The Tuluman tour in Cancun I did through Royal Caribbean and it went fantastic.

Take care and happy holidays. Ron

[PINEVIEW01]

Hi Xcell,
I can only reference Capt. Marvin's so others will have to give input on the other operators. They seemed to be pretty flexible but had a schedule to maintain. For our tour there two time periods: 10 AM to 1 PM, or 2 PM to 5 PM (Check in by 9:15 AM or by 1:15 PM). Our first tender did not leave the ship until 8:30 AM but we did not have a problem. There were other schedules for the shorter trips so I am sure that we could have been moved to one of them if needed. They seemed to used to the problems of tender scheduling.

This was the same for us. When we got back to the ship that night are table mates asked what we did. Everyone was so jealous as all The ships sting Rays tours were canceled. We got to go:)