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Rays, Reef & Rum Point Tour - Grand Cayman
By Steph | November 5, 2007
My husband and I are just back from our cruise on the Norwegian Pearl and did this tour on 10-17-07. We loved it!!! Never would have known about it without Cruise Critic.
The tour is offered through Native Way Watersports in Grand Cayman. I made our reservations online. We were on the Pearl and got into port at 10:00am and of course had to tender. Native Way was willing to work with our ships port time and start a tour later. We met up by 11:15 and headed to the bus. We were the only ship in port that day and had 12 people on our tour. Never felt crowded. The bus ride was about 15 minutes, I would guess. I had never been to Grand Cayman before and enjoyed seeing some of the island.
We arrived at the marina and met up with boat and our driver Chris. The boat had plenty of space for the 12 of us and could easily handle more passengers. The boat was nice and clean. We headed out and picked up our photographer, George, I think. He was Scottish.
At our first stop Chris dove off the back of the boat and brought up starfish for us to hold.
Next stop, Stingray City. The water was warm, clear, shallow and beautiful. When we arrived there was only one other boat and a few people on a jetski. Chris wrangled a few rays for us. We started out just petting one. Then moved on to holding and feeding. Some even got a back massage from the rays.
The last picture was one taken by the Native Way photographer. Pictures were $20 for the first one and $10 for each picture after that. I purchased three, but George threw in another shot for free. What a nice guy! Once we got to Rum Point the photographer sat in the bar and you could visit him there to see your photos. He would then burn what you bought to a disc.
Our next stop was at the barrier reef for some snorkeling. This area was very near Stingray City. You could see the boats there as well as Rum Point. We hoped right in and did some snorkeling. Saw a huge lobster. Clarity was decent and saw a number of fish. Nothing bigger than a foot or so long. Well, I did see one small stingray. Enjoyed the snorkeling.
Back on the boat, Chris rinsed us off with the hose to get rid of the salt water. We looked over menus and ordered our lunch. After a short ride we arrived at Rum Point Beach where lunch was waiting. Scot had the Fish and Chips. It was delicious grouper. I had the Jerk Pork sandwich and fries. it was yummy as well. Water and tea were available at no cost.
After lunch, we walked around a bit and then settled in some lounge chairs, but I didn’t stay there long. The water was so beautiful. I had to get in. We were able to go way put and the water was only to our chest. There was plenty of shade when we were there in the afternoon. Sandy beach.
Before long, it was time to head back. Took the boat back to the marina and the bus back to the port. Chris had asked us what time our last tender would be and planned to get us back to the port an hour or two before then. They delivered us back to the pier as promised. We had a wonderful day and didn’t feel rushed in the least. Although, I easily could have spent more time at the beach. Can’t wait to return to Grand Cayman.
Technorati Tags: Grand Cayman , Island Marketing , Cruise , Norwegian Pearl , Stingray City , Rum Point Beach , Rays , Reef & Rum Point tour , Native Way Watersports
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