Stingray City with Moby Dick Tours
Written: Sep 13 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: experience of a lifetime, highly personal service, small groups
Cons: none-if you go with a private tour
The Bottom Line: This is an amazing experience but go with a private tour operator like Moby Dick. The personal service is excellent!
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| stevesul's Full Review: Stingray City |
We (me, my wife and 15 year old daughter) were on a Royal Carribbean cruise in Feb 2008 and went to Stingray City with http://www.mobydicktours.com/ This is an amazing experience as you get into shallow water (3-4 feet) and the Stingrays swim up and around you. I did some research before on cruisecritic.com and tripadvisor.com. There are a few private tour operators that are popular (capt marvin, nativeway, soho and moby dick). Most people will tell you to NOT do this through the cruise line. Grand Cayman is a safe, small island and there is no risk of missing the tender. The cruise line excursions have huge boats with over 100 people and you are packed in like sardines. We ended up going with Moby Dick Tours as they were the best on tripadvisor and I didnt see one negative review.
After you tender, there is an area with all the tour operators and we quickly saw the Moby Dick tent. We then went on a bus to the boat (about a 10 minute ride). The boat looks fairly new and all the safety and snorkeling equipment looks the same.
When we were going out there, the owner Mark was talking about the history of Stingray City and they did a little show with a stuffed stingray on how to pet them etc. He said we would "beat the rush" and get to Stingray City before the large ship excursions did. It took about 45 minutes to get to Stingray City and we all jumped in the water. The range of people was from 5- 75 years old. At first its a bit wierd with them swimming around, but after a few minutes you get used to it. We fed the Stingrays (they suck the squid out of your hand like a vacuum cleaner) and all three of us even held some several times. If I could attach a picture I would.. We have a TON of pictures holding them, etc.
All three of the Moby Dick crew were in the water with about 30 of us. The crew made sure to spend time with everyone...very personal service!
When we were leaving, we saw a cruise line boat (it was a double decker) and there were over 100 people with 2 crew in the water.
After about 50 minutes, we got back in the boat and took a short ride to a snorkeling area. The reef was amazing and it was some of the best snorkeling I ever did. We have a bunch of pictures of some very colorful fish.
We spent another 50 minutes there and then headed back to the marina. After we got back, you had the option to go to the Beach or go back to Georgetown. We went to the beach (Royal Palms) for 3-4 hours..
It was an amazing experience...and I am glad I did my homework and went with a private tour. I have heard good things about all those operators, but the one I highly recommend from experience is Moby Dick. A first-class operation!
The cost was $35 each...and the tour was about 2.5-3 hours.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Dec - Feb
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Epinions.com ID:
stevesul
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Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 0 members
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