Nativeway - Rays, Reef & Rum Point

[picktowncruzr]

Did this tour last week - - OUTSTANDING! This was our 4th trip to the Caymans, and they best tour yet. We did ship tours to Stingray City twice before but WOW - - this was soooo much better. Had about 18 people on our boat. Went snorkeling at the reef first - - they coaxed out a nurse shark and a very large moray eel. These things were RIGHT THERE with us. The guides were hand feeding them - - very cool. Also saw a barracuda and some rock lobsters. After snorkeling we went to the rays and this was great too. With there being so few of us they made sure we all had plenty of one-on-one time with the rays. I probably had one all to myself for about 5-7 minutes - - finally had to put him down as he was too heavy. Very cool excursion. Rum Point was great too - - beautiful beach and scenery and yummy food. Hung around there for a while and then headed back in. What a great day. Very organized and well run. Thumbs up!

[WeatherGeek]

Thanks for the review. This is the tour I am looking most forward to for our trip in December.

[PhilsGirl]

We're looking into this tour for our February cruise. How far in advance do you think we should reserve?

[picktowncruzr]

Really depends on how many ships are in port that day - - if there are a lot, I'd book earlier. You confirm with your credit card, but nothing is charged until the end of your excursion. If I were you, I'd book! Ask her what the cancellation policy is, but she was very flexible with us as we had a couple that was questionable and she said if they didn't show up she wouldn't charge us. We all made it and this was everyones favorite excursion of the entire trip! Have fun!

[PhilsGirl]

Thanks. I just sent them an e-mail. Don't want to miss out since there are 5 other ships in port that day.

[TamaLee]

We also took this tour on our recent Explorer cruise. I would highly recommend them. Never a worry in the world and, if I don't say so myself, some of the best looking tour guides I've ever seen! The young girls on our boat could not stop talking about them.

 

Rum Point is a great place to end your day. I was able to get a hammock and just fall asleep after lunch. But be careful if you want to have drinks other than the ones provided. We ordered a beer and a pina colada and it was $22! :eek: Other people had the same experiance with just getting a soda. I think they said it was $4 or $5 dollars. Also if you pay in US dollars you will get Cayman dollars back. Which really didn't make sense since everyone was paying in US monies.

[islander1763]

I am also booked for dec 20. with nativways. I have been in contact with Sharon, and every detail is taken care of. Are ther any shops at Rum Point? Do they sell Rum cakes or would it be better to buy them in town?

 

Islander1763

[oregon runner]

I would love to do this excursion but our ship port hours are 9-5. The Rays, Reef, and Rum Point Tour STARTS at 9. So I emailed Nativeways and they will set up a new time for this 5 hour excursion, 10:30a.m for the day we are in port to accomodate our time frame IF enough people are interested. I am in port Monday December 19th. If you are too, and want the opprtunity to do this great excursion, please let me know! She said she put me on a waitlist, but I'd sure like to know if it's a "go" before I get there.

[TamaLee]

I am also booked for dec 20. with nativways. I have been in contact with Sharon, and every detail is taken care of. Are ther any shops at Rum Point? Do they sell Rum cakes or would it be better to buy them in town?

 

Islander1763

 

They do not have any shops at Rum Point that I noticed. I don't know what time your tour is or when your ship docks, but we had time before our tour started to shop in town.

[KMMCRUISER]

Can someone email me the web site so I can look into this?

[TamaLee]

You can view their web site at http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/

[picktowncruzr]

Actually there is a gift shop at rum point - - has tshirts, rum cakes, clothing, etc. I would just get the rum cakes on the boat - - same stuff and you don't have to drag them around the island.

[picktowncruzr]

Yes, that's what we did was the $30 deal. Honestly it was a GREAT deal for the $$, just confusing because there really was no 'Salt & Pepper'. I would contact Fosters directly and just book through them, I think they offer the same $30pp deal. Not sure how much the transportation would be if you did it on your own. We did meet up with a couple that rented a scooter and drove themselves out there and they enjoyed that. If you do something like that - - the lunch is $16pp and they were giving people chairs for $1.

[islander1763]

I will be in port from 7 to 4. I think I would have enough time to do some shopping in town before the tour starts?

 

Islander1763

 

They do not have any shops at Rum Point that I noticed. I don't know what time your tour is or when your ship docks, but we had time before our tour started to shop in town.

[picktowncruzr]

You should - - but you never know. We were scheduled to get in port at 9:00 and our tour wasn't until 11:15. Due to some pretty good swells (5-6') we didn't get to shore until almost 11:00 which meant no shopping (of course, we needed all the money to buy drinks at rum point - - ha!). Also, Grand Cayman really runs on 'Island Time' meaning they'll open when they feel like it. Not sure how many stores will be open before 9:00am.

[TamaLee]

We had about an hour to shop before our tour started. We were off the ship at 9:00 am Central time and the tour started at 10:00 am Central time. Our ship arrived in port a 9:30 ship time which would have been 8:30 central time. Plenty of time to shop. There was no time after the tour. We were on the last tender back.

[islander1763]

Thanks so much for the info. It gives an idea of time; and what to expect.

 

 

Islander1763

[KMMCRUISER]

We tried to make reservations for this exursion but we won't be in Port early enough. Does anyone know of another excursion that goes to Rum Point Beach?

[picktowncruzr]

We didn't leave until 11:15 - - what time are you getting into Caymans??

[KMMCRUISER]

9am - 5:30

 

they emailed me and said I didn't fit into the schedule for the Rays, Reef and Rum Point. I tried the Jeep excursion also and they are fully reserved.

 

I'm batting 0 here

[picktowncruzr]

That's too bad - - we were there during the same time period - - our excursion left at 11:15 and we were back by 4:15-4:30.

[Litewait]

How lond did you actually spend at each location on the tour??

 

Thanks

[TamaLee]

How lond did you actually spend at each location on the tour??

 

I would say we spent about 45 minutes snorkeling and playnig with the Stingrays and maybe about an hour at Rum Point. I didn't have a watch so I couldn't tell you for sure.

 

The tour did take up the whole afternoon. I think I said before that we were on one of the last tenders back.

[BoopTennis]

i can never remember how this works - the time on the ship - what time zone are they following? if our ship leaves out of Miami -- what times are posted on the itinerary - so it if says it ports in Cayman at 7 am, what time zone is that?

[LuvMyBasset]

Hi!

We are booked with Nativeway for the Stingrays and Coral Gardens in December. Haven't I seen somewhere on these boards that they do a video? Can anybody give me specifics on that?

Do you get the video at that time, or is it shipped later?

Is the video of everyone in the group, or do they do it of each individual person?

If you couldn't talk DH into buying the video on the tour boat because of all the $ he is spending that week, do they give you an option of contacting them and ordering later? ;)

Anyone who has purchased the video, please let me know all about it--quality and exactly what is videoed. Thanks in advance!