Just of the Dream with a visit to Grand Cayman - Stingray Swim Review

Grand Cayman Excursion Review: Captain Marvin’s Stingray Swim. Booked through shoreexcursioner. Cayman is a tender port and when you get off the tender, head out of the port and when you get to the first street, take a left and look for a yellow building on the opposite side of the road. Yeah,there is more than one yellow building. It’s the building past the Diamond Marquise place. Capt. Marvin’s office is next to a souvenir shop on the corner.A Dairy Queen is also in the same building.

Fill out a waiver and settle up your account. Wait on a bus to take you to the boat. We had about 18 in our group and Capt. Marvin’s worked very well with us to insure we were all on the same boat. The souvenir shop sales snacks and it’s a good idea to grab something for the day. No food is offered on the boat.

The ride to the excursion boat takes 20-30 minutes if I remember correctly. The part of Cayman we pasted is just like any upscale beach town.High rise condos, expensive houses and luxury cars are the norm. Huge change from Jamaica which was our first stop. We reach our spot where Capt. Marvin’s boats are docked and ready to go. If you use google maps, find Raleigh Quay in Grand Cayman. The boats are docked in the northwest corner of this subdivision.Take Raleigh Quay off Esterly Tibbetts Highway, then the first left. The boats are docked at the first curve at the gray roofed building across from the mangroves.

On the boat, we make our way out of the inland waterway,passing a number of ‘to die for’ houses along the way. Sit up where the captain steers to get the best view and a nice breeze. When we reach the open water, it’s a straight shot to the reef where the stingrays are. Again, look at google map sand look for Stingray City Cayman Islands. That’s where you’re headed. Its just inside a reef that makes for very calm waters. And crystal clear I might add.We could see the bottom all the way from the dock to the spot of the excursion.

First stop was a chance to snorkel. Cool stuff. Clear water and refreshing. The crew is most helpful with getting the life jackets on correctly and helping you get your mask properly fitted. The masks and snorkels are floating in a garbage can with what I’m guessing is some sort of cleaner\antiseptic solution. They don’t tell you to rinse your mask first, so hopefully this solution is ok for humans. We had brought masks for our kids just to know they had ones that fit. But the boat had plenty so I wouldn’t bother taking our own next time.

Next to the stingray area. Several other boats are out butthe captain positions the boat alongside the others without crowding anyone.Takes a while to get the anchors set and the boat just right. The captain gives you a short briefing on the stringray do’s and don’ts. Very informative and reassuring. Anyway, into the water and wow…those stingrays are huge!!! And they are everywhere!! They swim up to you looking for food which is handed out by the crew. Just hold a piece of squid in your hand, the rays will find it. Erie feeling when they suck it out of your hand. Just stand still and they check you out. No food, they move on. Very, very cool. Spend a good deal of time with the rays. The water is about waist deep and so clear. No life jackets needed. Big sandbar sorta.

Then a short ride to our third and final stop, another snorkel stop. This one is right next to the reef and in deeper water. Able to see a lot of fish and coral. Very interesting. Well worth the trip.

Back on the boat and we head back to base. Felt very good about our day. I did a lot of reading on here about excursions and this one is a winner. Highly recommend. Capt. Marvin’s is the original stingray city vendor. I think our bus driver said he recently died at the age of 97. 95 maybe?

I was somewhat worried about booking an excursion independently and taking a chance of missing the ship due to a late return. No need to worry.Capt. Marvin had several boats out and if anything happened say to one boat,there were others that could take you back to base and the bus. And I bet Capt.Marvin’s and the other boats help each other in times of need while on the water. It would be a benefit to everyone.

Back to the bus and then the port. We were hungry so we headed back to the ship. It was a good day.

So, if you’re able to stop in Grand Cayman and want to swim with the rays, this should be your excursion vendor. Several boats, great crew,fun time.

Thank you! We're visiting this port in December and thought about which excursion to take.

Great review and very informative.

Do you think you could have had time to shop or eat in GC after this excursion?

Great review!

Been there a few times but PIC hasn't so we'll give these guys a try.

is that true that sandbar water is just waist level, for people who don't swim is it worth it to visit just the sandbar and no snorkeling??

Thanks for this info. The other tour companies don't offer tours that end early enough for the time I am in port, so I decided to book this one with Captain Marvin.

You are awesome, and I can't wait to do it in two weeks! Woohoo!

is that true that sandbar water is just waist level, for people who don't swim is it worth it to visit just the sandbar and no snorkeling??

I went on the Stingray Sailing excursion with Chip and his crew. I have bad knees and was concerned not only about the stairs down but maintaining my balance in the water. Water on the sandbar was about four feet deep and I had no problems. The snorkeling area was 10 to 12 feet deep so I stayed aboard the boat. Nobody was judgmental and I had a great day.