Has anyone heard of stingray sailing tours in Grand Cayman?

We want to book with an independent tour operator to go to Stingray City and ran across Stingray Sailing tours. Not much mentioned on the website and just thought I would run it past some people on here.

website: stingraysailing.com

Rosemont5380

We used them on the 23rd of October - WONDERFUL - Chip the owner was our guide and I can't explain how great the day was.

This was not the first time for us to swim with the stingrays and I will say I enjoyed our day with Chip more than the trips in the past.

Try to book with them, you won't be sorry.

Thanks for the advise. I'm going to book with them right now.

rosemont5380

We have them booked for early Feb. and have read some great reviews about them. Please let us know how it goes when you return.

Thank you for the info! I just sent them an email and hope to hear back soon. We'll be there on 1/13/08 and their tour sounds fun!

This is a great owner operated trip chip does a great job, very personel service only takes out small group while your out at teh sandbar you will see boats with 50,75,100,people on each boat and only two guides. Chipp will get into the water and teach you how to feed them and handle them safetly. We ended up being the only family family on our trip as the destiny did it trip in reverse due to the hurricane and chips trip was a highlight of our trip i cant say enough about how we treated and all the informaton he gave us about the island and it culture you will not be disapointed

We're looking at this tour too. Does anyone know if they rent snorkle equipment and could give us some brief instruction? Also, I've got a bad knee; is it hard to get to get back in the boat from the water?

Hey Dcappa, how many people in your group? We will also be in Grand Cayman on the 1/13 do you have any kids going? I have an 8 and 9 year old and thought a smaller sailing with a few families would be good. Do you know if there is a stop for lunch? Thanks, Meredith

Just wanted to update the board on Stingray Sailing Tours out of Grand Cayman. We were on the Carnival Legend and went to Grand Cayman on 12/09/08. I booked the tour with stingray sailing tours online and got an immediate response with instructions for pick up at the dock. The only thing negative I can say is that Stingray Sailing Tours was hard to find at the dock. Evidently, there are two tender docks and the day we were there, Stingray Sailing only had one representative and he was at the other dock. We eventually hooked up and there were 12 of us sailing that day. Chip, the owner and captain did an excellent job and I can highly recommend this tour. First, he will meet you at the tender dock and you will take a short walk to his van. He drives the van to the pier where he keeps his catamaran. The catamaran was easy to get on and off as it is docked at a pier. The catamaran had many different places to sit, the women chose the trampoline type tarp at the bow and the men mainly hung out near Chip. There is a head (boat toilet) on board and it does offer privacy. Chip provides cold water free of charge, but he does charge for the soft drinks and beer. The first stop was stingray city where Chip gets out to feed the stingrays and teaches you how to do it. Don't worry, you will see plenty of stingrays. It was nice to be on a boat with just 12 as most of the other tours had at least 25. After Stingray city we motored over to the nearby reef for snorkeling. Chip does provide the snorkel gear and I am sure he would give you some instruction if you are unfamiliar with snorkeling. After snorkeling we sailed back to the pier for a van ride back. Along the way back, Chip drives by 7 mile beach and will offer to let you off if you want to have some beach time. The tour took about 3 hours and we were back in Georgetown in time for lunch. Sailing, stingrays and snorkeling...what more can you ask for?

We had a wonderful time with Captain Chip and Stringray Sailing! He was waiting with a sign so we spotted him right away as we left the tender. All we had to do was jump in his nice big van and off we went. There were nine of us in total, later we could see the other boats loaded full of folks. Sure were happy to be on Chip's boat..he does own it and takes a lot of pride in his business. We enjoyed learning about his young family and living on Grand Cayman. On a fun note his boat, The Far Tortuga, sails with a pirate flag..very fun to be a pirate of the Caribbean for three hours!

The stingrays were a little spooky at first, but we got used to them. Snorkling was new for me, however, it didn't take long to figure it out..Wow I really enjoyed myself! Chip was right there with us every time we were in the water ready to help or answer questions. He'll show you how to feed the stingrays and point out fish, etc that he spots.

As the above reviewer mentioned there is free water and he even brought out a container of cut fruit for us as we were headed back in. There was plenty of seating in the shade or you could go up front for lots of sun. The sail was put up as we motored back in, we only wish we could stay out all day with Captain Chip on the Far Tortuga. Overall we were very pleased and would highly recommend Stingray Sailing.

I am thinking about booking through Stingray Sailing now that I have read this post. However, my DD and I have never been snorkeling before. Is this for experienced only, or would we fit in as beginners?

Thanks!

I'd never been snorkling either before going out on this tour. My husband had, but only in swimming pools, etc as a kid. Chip is certainly willing to be of help, tell him up front you need his assistance. I wasn't even sure how to put the gear on (although we both swim we still chose to wear the thin life vests that can be inflated, if needed).

My hubby has asthma and just couldn't relax..plus simply being in open water really put him out of his comfort zone. He ended up just floating close to Chip. For him it would have been better if we'd just gone off a beach. For me the first five minutes were a little spooky..the mask and snorkle felt claustrophobic plus the ocean sure moves much more than a swimming pool! However, I found as soon as I put my face down and actually snorkled I started relaxing...it was so cool! Make sure to bring an underwater camera! I didn't want to head back to the boat at all, the time goes very quicky..can't wait to go back!

All in all I'd say look at your own comfort level swimming in open water with waves. By all means be honest with Chip..he'll stay close to you in the water. Honestly even if I'd never snorkled on this trip I enjoyed the boat ride, stingrays and good company so much it wouldn't have mattered.

If we get to Grand Cayman again we will go snorkling, but probably at Eden Rock or other place off the beach so my husband can it enjoy too.

Also, I can't imagine that the folks on the big tours around us got much attention from their guides. Some of those boats were packed full. Forgot to mention in my first post that we did feed the stingrays with squid Chip brought. Didn't think I could do it but I did..twice! Not all the tours do this...in fact, people from the other tours were coming over and helping themselves to our squid bucket..not too cool.

I emailed Stingray Sailing three times with questions before we ever booked. Michelle (Chip's wife) replied quickly. I would suggest contacting her if you have specific questions or concerns, she was very nice and helpful.

Also, I've got a bad knee; is it hard to get to get back in the boat from the water?

We were wondering this too... A friend of ours is doing this tour and she has some physical limitations. How exactly do you get on and off the boat? (Do you just dive right in?) Is there a ladder to get back on?

Before I went on their tour I emailed Stingray Sailing and asked about getting in and out of the water. They said there was ladder and even people with a bad knee...like me usually had no problem. Long story short they were right. No way could or would I jump off a boat into the water, although a couple people did. Also knew I'm not flexible enough to put on fins while in the water. So I just carefully-slowly went down the ladder wearing the fins and mask, etc (several of us did it this way). Then did the same coming out of the water. The first step up is the biggest, but it wasn't hard at all. I'm 50ish and not in good shape either. No problem!

I'd never been snorkling either before going out on this tour. My husband had, but only in swimming pools, etc as a kid. Chip is certainly willing to be of help, tell him up front you need his assistance. I wasn't even sure how to put the gear on (although we both swim we still chose to wear the thin life vests that can be inflated, if needed).

My hubby has asthma and just couldn't relax..plus simply being in open water really put him out of his comfort zone. He ended up just floating close to Chip. For him it would have been better if we'd just gone off a beach. For me the first five minutes were a little spooky..the mask and snorkle felt claustrophobic plus the ocean sure moves much more than a swimming pool! However, I found as soon as I put my face down and actually snorkled I started relaxing...it was so cool! Make sure to bring an underwater camera! I didn't want to head back to the boat at all, the time goes very quicky..can't wait to go back!

All in all I'd say look at your own comfort level swimming in open water with waves. By all means be honest with Chip..he'll stay close to you in the water. Honestly even if I'd never snorkled on this trip I enjoyed the boat ride, stingrays and good company so much it wouldn't have mattered.

If we get to Grand Cayman again we will go snorkling, but probably at Eden Rock or other place off the beach so my husband can it enjoy too.

Also, I can't imagine that the folks on the big tours around us got much attention from their guides. Some of those boats were packed full. Forgot to mention in my first post that we did feed the stingrays with squid Chip brought. Didn't think I could do it but I did..twice! Not all the tours do this...in fact, people from the other tours were coming over and helping themselves to our squid bucket..not too cool.

I emailed Stingray Sailing three times with questions before we ever booked. Michelle (Chip's wife) replied quickly. I would suggest contacting her if you have specific questions or concerns, she was very nice and helpful.

Thank you!!

After reading these posts my wife and I decided to book with Stingray sailing. My wife sent an email to them and we received a response in thirty minutes. We sent a confirmation email back to Michelle and good thing we did, Michelle had let us know in another email that we squeezed in as the last booking for that trip and the trips were filling up fast. I don't want to sound redundant and say everything all over again from the above posts, but this trip was amazing. We also had the added bonus of meeting Michelle and she accompanied us on the trip with Chip and the rest of the passengers. Michelle and Chip are doing a great job, and I would recommend this trip to anyone going to Grand Cayman.

We were on the Veendam and took this excursion on Tues 3/24. I pre-booked; Michelle was great by email, responding quickly with detailed instructions on how to find them, etc. We walked the block or so from our tender landing to their meeting place, and easily found Chip. Left just a few minutes after 8 a.m., transporting the 24 of us in a comfy bus to the marina. Chip met us at the cat; Bert was already aboard.

We motored to Stingray City, and got there before the larger boats (which were many, and which were packed). We then went to a snorkeling spot a few minutes away. The waters were clear, but the seas were a little rough and it was windy - typical for Cayman - so several of us didn't snorkel, but those who did said there were a lot of fish and good visibility. The sails were raised for the return trip - this is always our favorite part of any excursion.

One of the pax had a birthday, so Michelle had baked the most incredible brownie pie which all shared (she could sell this recipe), and Chip also had cut fruit for the return. As mentioned above, water is free, other beverages are not. They'll drop you at the beach, or return to the port - whichever you prefer. I think we got back about 12:15 (wasn't watching the time). All in all, a great excursion on a really nice cat. Highly recommended.

And - as a favor to Chip - he wants everyone to know that he has to answer his (constantly ringing) phone, since all the calls are business-related... We joked about this, but I think he really was uncomfortable with the interruptions. All part of the charm of sailing with a smaller operation.

One more thing - if you go, tell Chip you'd buy tee-shirts and/or flags... if only he had some!! :rolleyes::p;):D

Don't tell the operator of Stingray Sailing, but I would have paid more than the 45 bucks a person he charged. Our family of six all loved this tour (and three of us didn't even get in the water). It helped that the weather was beautiful, but going out on a sailboat is the way to do this tour. It never felt rushed, the boat was not crowded and the owner and his skipper were a pleasure. On the way out, we used the motor but on the way back we sailed and I thought it was the most relaxing part of the entire vacation. None of us wanted to get off. We booked on the website and they got backed to us really quickly. No deposit necessary, no pre-payment. It all worked out really well. When we got out to stingray city, I actually kind of felt bad for some of the other people on clearly inferior tours (super crowded boats with no place to lay out in the sun and horns blasting to tell them when to get back in the boat--boo!!)

I concur. We sailed with Chip & Burt in February and it was great. There were onlly 11 on the boat and 5 of them was our group. Siling is the way to go.

do you have and be willing to post contact info. for the sail charter you used? am going to cayman on RCCL FOS at end of april (wife and 3 daughters). thx. John

Glad to read this. I originally contacted Moby Dick about the possibility of a private charter, and she referred me to Stingray Sailing. I'm hoping they can beat Nativeway's quote. Does anyone happen to have pictures from this tour? Thanks.

http://www.stingraysailing.com

Excellent. Does anyone have pictures of the boat or their tour? I'd appreciate it! Thanks.:)

do you have and be willing to post contact info. for the sail charter you used? am going to cayman on RCCL FOS at end of april (wife and 3 daughters). thx. John

You can go to their web site at stingraysailing.com for more info

I read this thread at 1:00pm and decided this really sounds like a great excursion. I e-mailed them immediately and at 2:30 pm we are already confirmed for our cruise! Yeah! Thanks to all of you for your reviews, it was sooooo helpful! :)

Steph

IN Jan. my sister and I will be cruising with my mom and we will be on Grand Cayman. Is there covered area on the boat in order to stay out of the sun? The 2 other times we were in Grand Cayman it didn't work out for us to go to Sting Ray City and this time it is a priority.