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Stingray sailing or Nativeway

descotes

By descotes,
in Cayman Islands

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descotes

descotes

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Traveling on the Freedom in July with 2 kids (aged 14 and 12). Was going to book the Nativeway - Rays Reef & Rum Point tour but then was reading about the Stingray sailing company. Wondering what other's thoughts were one way or the other.

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kjeff760

kjeff760

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We went on the Stingray Sailing tour last September and it was great. They were very easy to find once off the ship. They had drinks and snacks on the boat. It was very relaxed and casual. And they only take a certain amount of people, I believe 18-20 at a time, so it wasn't too crowded or anything. They were very knowledgeable about the stingrays, and provided fish for you to hold and let the stingrays eat out of your hand. It was a great experience. I would highly recommend.

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CocoaMom

CocoaMom

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Traveling on the Freedom in July with 2 kids (aged 14 and 12). Was going to book the Nativeway - Rays Reef & Rum Point tour but then was reading about the Stingray sailing company. Wondering what other's thoughts were one way or the other.

 

We've been with Stingray Sailing and had a fantastic time - our kids loved sitting out on the trampoline (thrilled it was a catamaran). The sandbar was very crowded when we arrived so they took us to the reef first then back to the stingrays. Overall just a great time & yes, they limit the number of people!

 

Something to keep in mind (no matter who you book with) is - beyond stingrays, what are you looking for? For us, we only wanted stingrays & snorkel because we really wanted to eat/explore a bit on our own. Some other companies might include a quick lunch @ Rum Point (like Nativeway) ... and that's terrific IF that's what you're looking for. Heard good things about Nativeway, but for us it just wasn't a fit.

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Whoop98

Whoop98

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Loved Stingray Sailings. I have used them twice and Chip is about the experience. Have heard about others canceling the day of if they did not have "enough" people. But Chip will go out, our first tour had 13 and our second had 7, 4 were our party. I highly recommend Stingray Sailings!

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cmdknw

cmdknw

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NativeWay is AMAZING...and includes lunch at Rum Point Beach. They give you a menu to look over after the snorkeling and call your order in, when you get there, they have a table reserved and your food is ready. When you get ready to head back to the ship, you tell the people working and they call for you.

 

We are booked with them again for our cruise in March!

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descotes

descotes

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We've been with Stingray Sailing and had a fantastic time - our kids loved sitting out on the trampoline (thrilled it was a catamaran). The sandbar was very crowded when we arrived so they took us to the reef first then back to the stingrays. Overall just a great time & yes, they limit the number of people!

 

Something to keep in mind (no matter who you book with) is - beyond stingrays, what are you looking for? For us, we only wanted stingrays & snorkel because we really wanted to eat/explore a bit on our own. Some other companies might include a quick lunch @ Rum Point (like Nativeway) ... and that's terrific IF that's what you're looking for. Heard good things about Nativeway, but for us it just wasn't a fit.

 

Understandable. Thank you for your input. Helpful things to think about. So then I'm wondering 2 things -- if the stingray sailing doesn't include lunch what is the cost difference and if you don't eat there then where do you eat? I have 2 kids that will probably get hungry. I'm thinking it may be a good thing that there's a "lunchtime" built in.

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ashmac8

ashmac8

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NativeWay is AMAZING...and includes lunch at Rum Point Beach. They give you a menu to look over after the snorkeling and call your order in, when you get there, they have a table reserved and your food is ready. When you get ready to head back to the ship, you tell the people working and they call for you.

 

We are booked with them again for our cruise in March!

 

Quick question... do you take a shuttle back to port from Rum Point or do you get back on the boat? I ask because there were two recent reviews on trip advisor that expressed fear of missing the ship. This makes me nervous....

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Whoop98

Whoop98

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Understandable. Thank you for your input. Helpful things to think about. So then I'm wondering 2 things -- if the stingray sailing doesn't include lunch what is the cost difference and if you don't eat there then where do you eat? I have 2 kids that will probably get hungry. I'm thinking it may be a good thing that there's a "lunchtime" built in.

 

They don't provide lunch, but the do provide water going and coming. Fruit on the way back. (And beer for purchase). The fruit might hold the kids until you get to town.

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cmdknw

cmdknw

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Quick question... do you take a shuttle back to port from Rum Point or do you get back on the boat? I ask because there were two recent reviews on trip advisor that expressed fear of missing the ship. This makes me nervous....

 

 

 

The lady that is co-owner picked us up. We did get stuck in traffic, but in all honesty, we waited until the last minute to call her to pick us up. We should have called about 30 minutes before we did.

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  • 2 weeks later...
hawk1972

hawk1972

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Quick question... do you take a shuttle back to port from Rum Point or do you get back on the boat? I ask because there were two recent reviews on trip advisor that expressed fear of missing the ship. This makes me nervous....

 

When we went with Nativeway in January 2013 (on RCI Mariner of the Seas) we didn't have to call anyone. The captain of our boat (Capt. Chris of the "Trippin' Out") watched the time and after we ate lunch at Rum Point and had some time to swim or relax (we were there from 1:30-3 pm ship time), they got us back on board and took us back to the Yacht Club (at 4 pm) where the Nativeway shuttle met us and took us back to the dock (at 4:30) where we caught the tender back to the cruise ship. We had a little time to shop and caught the next to last tender (I think), arriving back on the MOTS at 5:30 pm.

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ashmac8

ashmac8

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The lady that is co-owner picked us up. We did get stuck in traffic, but in all honesty, we waited until the last minute to call her to pick us up. We should have called about 30 minutes before we did.

 

When we went with Nativeway in January 2013 (on RCI Mariner of the Seas) we didn't have to call anyone. The captain of our boat (Capt. Chris of the "Trippin' Out") watched the time and after we ate lunch at Rum Point and had some time to swim or relax (we were there from 1:30-3 pm ship time), they got us back on board and took us back to the Yacht Club (at 4 pm) where the Nativeway shuttle met us and took us back to the dock (at 4:30) where we caught the tender back to the cruise ship. We had a little time to shop and caught the next to last tender (I think), arriving back on the MOTS at 5:30 pm.

 

Thanks. Good info. Did you feel like it was cutting it too close at all?

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Marie51

Marie51

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We just went with Nativeway last month (well December) and I HIGHLY recommend them. It was the best day of our cruise. Simply amazing.

 

HERE is my review of the day with TONS of pictures from start to finish. It starts at post #318. :)

 

I emailed Nativeway 3 days ago and never got an answer. My concern is getting on a tender and into the city in time to make the tour. Was this a problem for you?

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redfish

redfish

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We just went with Nativeway last month (well December) and I HIGHLY recommend them. It was the best day of our cruise. Simply amazing.

 

HERE is my review of the day with TONS of pictures from start to finish. It starts at post #318. :)

 

Great review and pictures. We have done several tours including the three stop with Captain Marvin's but after your review and pictures we think we will give Nativeway a shot.

 

Thanks again for sharing.

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mitsugirly Great Review Rare

mitsugirly

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Great review and pictures. We have done several tours including the three stop with Captain Marvin's but after your review and pictures we think we will give Nativeway a shot.

 

Thanks again for sharing.

 

No problem. I'm glad I could share. They give you 110% and go out of their way to make you have a wonderful experience. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
Morgsmom Great Review Rare

Morgsmom

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I've used Nativeways 4 or 5 times over the years and always for the full Rays, Reef & Rum Point day; Sharon and her team are great. I will say that the first year that we did the excursion I was a *wee bit* scared that we'd miss the last tender, but we were fine. All of the companies know that their reputation is on the line and they will get you back in time, usually with about 40 minutes to walk around Front Street in case you choose to take the last tender. They all have cell phones and since they KNOW EVERYONE (obviously) on the island in the business they call ahead to see what traffic is like, know alternate routes, etc. Now I let them do the worrying...

 

and the lunch at Rum Point is always extra delicious after a morning snorkeling or playing with the rays. You place your order while onboard and they call it in; it's ready when the boat pulls into Rum Point. (I recommend their grilled fish of the day and DD always gets their yummy chicken fingers and fries). Enjoy

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Marie51

Marie51

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For those of you that have been on Nativeway, how long did it take for you to receive a response when you first made an inquiry regarding tour availability? I e-mailed several days ago and haven't heard anything back.

 

Me too. I got a response when I first emailed them but it took 2 days. Then I emailed back with a couple questions and never heard back from them again. This was 3 weeks ago. I just booked with Soto as they got back to me almost immediately and have emailed me 3 times since with answers to my questions. Their tour is $35 and they have good reviews.

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