Can you just walk up for a stingray tour?

[ferm01]

Here's the history, cruised last January with extended family, did make it to GC, couldn't do stingrays, had my heart set on it, had a ressie, very disappointed.

 

This year, going back to GC, just DH and I. (Point of clarification, I am ferm01's wife posting on his id with his permission, can't figure out how to change to my own)

 

Would like to do stingrays if the weather is nice, just read all of the horror stories on this board. If the weather is bad, I will stay on board the ship and take advantage of the solitude! (And maybe a spa special!)

 

So, what are the chances of just walking up to Captain Marvin's, etc. and getting on a stingray tour?

[Sheffie]

I saw a lot of excursion vendors right there on the pier at GC. I believe one of them that day was Captain Marvin.

 

Captain Bryan's is down to the left a few blocks, across the road and behind the bakery. It is an open lot with a picnic table and a booth. Looks really run-down, but that is just where they pick up the people. You could check them out if you don't find anything else. Their tour we went on was for 10:30.

 

Wow! Only 14 days to go! Have a great cruise!

[Laurab23]

I'm hoping that when we get to shore we can just find someone to take us to Stingray sandbar. I would think there would be alot of tours waiting at the dock for people just like us who don't want to book ahead of time!

 

Laura

[zydecocruiser]

If there is space available, you can walk up to the tours. I have seen Nativeway and others accept walkups. But you will still have to be on time at the right place so you will still need to deal with tender tickets and getting ashore.

[twinkletoes4445]

With the throngs of cruise ship passengers in GC these days, I'd book ahead if you really want to do the excursion.

 

We used Captain Marvin's a week ago today, and had a wonderful time (we've used them before). The weather was a bit cloudy, and all the other operators cancelled, but CM's. We were the only ones at Stingray City and it was AWESOME! The weather cleared and water was fine...

 

I gave CM's our CC info and they held our spots. They didn't charge our card and we gave them cash at their dock. It was fun.

 

I also contacted VIP productions (thanks to heymom32000 here at CC who gave me the contact info), and asked if they'd be on our trip. The DVD is really amazing. It was $65 ($5 more if you have it shipped) and well worth the money. Abbie took our video, and she was really a fun gal. She got in the water and took pictures of things I had no clue that were right underneath us! She also took pictures of us from underneath...which is really fun to watch. VIP delivered the DVD to us at our condo a couple of days later.

 

 

Here's the e-mail address for VIP...

vip@candw.ky

[familyplanner]

We were in Grand Cayman last week. There are alot of vendors ready to book you for stingray sandbar and island tours, but it is more expensive than if you just prebook. If you prebook with nativeway they won't charge you if you are unable to tender. The guides with nativeway were awesome and they had a photographer come along and take pictures. After the rays we snorkeled the barrier reef and the guides coaxed out 2 morray eels and a nurse shark which we were able to pet. Very cool!:D

[twinkletoes4445]

We were in Grand Cayman last week. There are alot of vendors ready to book you for stingray sandbar and island tours, but it is more expensive than if you just prebook. If you prebook with nativeway they won't charge you if you are unable to tender. The guides with nativeway were awesome and they had a photographer come along and take pictures. After the rays we snorkeled the barrier reef and the guides coaxed out 2 morray eels and a nurse shark which we were able to pet. Very cool!:D

 

When we were on our tour with Captain Marvin's, they also coaxed the eels and shark out for us to pet! However, I didn't want to pet them...it was fun to see them up close. :)

[feb06majesty]

from whati understand there are 3 tours... one for 2 hours, 1 for 3 and one for 5 hours... which one is the best to take?

[twinkletoes4445]

from whati understand there are 3 tours... one for 2 hours, 1 for 3 and one for 5 hours... which one is the best to take?

 

I think it depends on what all you want to do. We did the 2 hour tour (the first time when we cruised) because our time on the island was limited and we wanted to be able to eat lunch and shop a bit while we were in GC. We did the 3 hour tour last week because we were there for a week, and had time to do everything else we wanted. We didn't do the 5 hour tour because my kids didn't want to do one that long, and they served lunch, which was fish of some sort, and my kids wanted nothing to do with that.

 

We had a blast on the 3 hour tour, it was just one added stop, but we certainly enjoyed it.

 

Have a great time! :)

[Flytanya]

Bump - looking for more information. Thanks!:)