Sailing on the Mariner march 26th through the Panama Canal any advice as to what to do in the Grand Caymans? A friend told us that it has the best snorkeling but RSSC doesn't offer snorkeling just swimming with the Stingrays has anyone done this and is this what we should do for snorkeling?
Thanks for any advice

Penny - let us know what you decide to do. We're going through the Canal on Voyager 4/13. I haven't been to Grand Cayman in at least 15 years so wouldn't be up to speed on the shore excursions. I remember Richard (Dolebludger) wanting to take his kids to Stingray City when he did the Diamond in July and being disappointed when the Diamond had to skip that stop. Anyway .. let us know what you decide to do. Thanks & have a great trip. Anne

I've booked my own snorkeling trip to Stingray City outside of the cruise lines (I went on a non-RSSC ship *shudder* :) ).

We booked through Nativeway (http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/) and did Stingray City and Coral Gardens ... was (if I remember correctly) $25/person and was a great experience.

Masaki

Hi Penny - I think we've emailed before. Our favorite thing to do in Cayman is to walk the 7 mile beach (stopping for an occasional swim - the water is wonderful) and have lunch at one of the hotels on the beach. It's really only 4 miles long. We;'ve been there twice. Once with RSSC and we did go to StingRay City/Hell/Turtle Farm. We did not snorkel there, but, RSSC did have a snorkel tour with the StingRay City excursion. We went in a viewing submarine while a diver fed the stingrays. It was interesting, but, we preferred the walk/swim/lunch.

Sting Ray City is worth seeing, the rays are everywhere. Seeing them up close is really an experience. Unfortuntely there is no snorkling on this tour.

We found the tour to Hell/Turtle Farm to be really long and boring. I remember a group snorkling somewhere near the port, but don't know how they booked.

You may want to check how many ships will be in George Town at the same time. This port has become very popular and somewhat overwhelmed by cruise ship visits.

Grand Cayman Port Schedule

We were on a cruise many years ago and stopped at Cayman.We had our own snorkling gear because we wear prescription masks.A lot of people paid for an excursion and were taken right to the place at the port where we went on our own. It was not an RSSC cruise. You could probably rent equipment right there.

Margo:
Thanks for the great website on the Grand Cayman port. There are going to be 6 ships in port the day we are going to be there so it will be really crowded but we don't have any choice. we booked the Stingray city trip through RSSC hopefully they will be able to get us close enough to see the rays.
Penny

Penny,

They have a diver who feeds the rays and they come right up to the windows on the oberservation submersion thing (I don't know what else to call it). Take your camera.

Penny:

The rays will come to you! We actually got into the water and fed them! It was really fun...they are so graceful and friendly - not afraid of people with food (squid, I think) at all! Lots of photo opportunities.

I just got around to posting the pictures from our Western Caribbean cruise in October 2003 on our website ... if you're interested in seeing what the stingrays are like at Stingray City, you may want to look at the 2nd section of my Caribbean cruise pictures which has some underwater photos.

Masaki

We will be in Grand Cayman on a Sunday. The good news is that we will be the only ship in port. Does anyone know if the stores and all are open on a Sunday?

We were in Grand Cayman once before. The stingray trip is a must at least once. We had a great time seeing them up close. There are several web sites for companies that take you to see the stingrays. Or you can just wait until you get off the ship and you will find lots of people waiting for you to take you on trips. You can save some money booking it on your own.

Mike