Judy

When you book an excusion from the ship to sting ray city, does it also take you to a reef for snorkeling? How long is the excursion? I am trying to decide if I should book a tour on my own or go with the ship's excursion. I will be sailing on the Mercury. <BR>

Gina

Judy- <BR> <BR>Well I don't have the answer yet but am wondering the same thing and will ask our travel agent. When is your trip? Ours is October 17th and I can't wait. <BR>

Mike

Hi, Judy and Gina-- We've done the stingray city trip twice (I guess we must like it!); We took a van to the boat dock, followed by a sailing catamaran ride of approx 30 - 45 minutes, followed by a visit with the 'rays for about one hour, followed by the boat and van rides back to the docks. There was no additional stop for snorkeling. There are a couple nice snorkeling trips available, both by boat. Have fun.

Carl

Hi-- <BR>Was on a Princess ship a couple years ago and they offered a combined Sting Ray City and Reef Snorkeling Trip. We did 1 hour in both locations and it was great. Had done just the String Ray City Excursion by itself on previous trips, but the combined trip was the best of both worlds. If the Cruise line doesn't offer a combined trip, (ask the shore excursion office) then check at the dock when you land. There are Loads of independent Tours available at good prices! Just look for the booths or people holding the Cards for the Tour Operators at the docks. Good Luck!!

Judy

<BR>Hi Gina, <BR> <BR>We are going on the Mercury on Nov 14. <BR>I can't seem to find a web site for mercury excursions (it wont open) but hopefully that will be corrected soon. <BR>I looked at other company's excursions and it seems to be that you have the choice of stingray city OR a reef snorkel. It would be kind of expensive to book both. I am a little worried about going with an independant tour operator but other people seem to have good experiences. Have a great cruise! <BR> <BR>Judy <BR>

cathy

Sting Ray City is great. There is a tour company on Grand Caymen called Captain Marvins. We made reservations with them for the day we were going to be in Grand Caymen. Their tour was wonderful. They picked us up from the dock, took us to their office to get snorkling gear and such, then the fun began. First they took us to the famous turtle farm which was interesting and fun, my kids loved it. Next on our tour was the town of Hell. Just a tourist stop, but fun, then we went around the island and got to the boat. We went to 3 snorkling stops which were beautiful, including Sting Ray City. It was lots better than the cruise ship because of the individual attention that you got and there was only about 20 people on the boat instead of 100. Feeding the sting rays was great fun although it takes a little getting used to these giant creatures swimming around you. The guide told us he hasn't had any problem with them. It is really cool going to the sit, the boat ride is about 20 minutes and it seems as if you are out in the middle of the ocean and then you come to this sand abr that is only 3 - 4 feet deep. I would definitly reccomend Captain Marvins to anyone. They did a great job and for less than the ship was offering. Ther phone number is 345-945-4590. Please e-mail me if you have anymore questions about the western itinerary. <BR>

cathy

Didn't finish the last reply. Also, they got us back in time to still tour around the city. We were on the Imagination <BR>