Capt. Marvin 2 hour question

[mog]

Has anyone been on one of Capt. Marvin's 2 hour tour things? It looks like they go to a reef for snorkeling and stingray city. Is that possible in 2 hours? I just wondered if anyone had personal experience with it.

 

[AnnMorin]

Can let you know next week as we are doing it this comming tuesday!

 

[DisneyDarwin]

We took this tour on 11/24/02. We went to their office at Watefront Centre at 1:15pm where we caught a shuttle to their boat dock around 1:30 or 1:40, I can't be more exact. We were on the water just after 2pm, and I guess it took about 20 or 25 minutes to get to Coral Gardens, the snorkel site. We snorkeled for maybe 20 minutes or so. I would have liked a bit longer, but our excellent guide suggested we'd want more time at Stingray City. We then motored to Stingray City, where we had a blast. It wasn't that far from the snorkel site. I can't say how long we stayed, but I felt like we had plenty of time. We had told the guide that we needed to be back to the dock by 4:30. I think we headed back in around 3:30 or 3:40. Anyway, when we got to the dock, a shuttle was waiting and we hopped on. We got to the dock around 4:15pm. The line was massive and I don't think we got on the tender until right around 5. Anyway, if my math is right, our "2 hour tour" took about 3 hours total from 1:15 to 4:15. We really enjoyed ourselves and would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[mog]

Thanks for that great information! I look forward to hearing from AnnMorin, too, after your tour. I thought it seemed a little unlikely that it really only lasted 2 hours. I'm thinking of doing this with my parents and my mom is not too crazy about boats ( I'm lucky I'm even getting her on the ship!). But she does like to snorkel - so I thought maybe if it was fairly short and sweet and didn't go anywhere too awfully far away, she might go for it!

 

[mmouse37]

We also did the Capt Marvin 2 hour tour on our August trip....11:15 - 1:15. Figure an extra 20 minutes on either end for shuttle travel. Very courteous and knowledeable. We had a great time and would go again.

We found it to be great...not too long, not too short. The snorkeling was fun, but the we LOVED stingray city. Here is a link to photos from the Capt Marvin trip. Once you get into a photo, just click the arrow and view the rest. There are also pics of Mr. Sanchos om Cozumel, interior/exteriors of the ship, Palo, etc. Feel free to check them out. If you want to see all the photos, click VIEW SLIDESHOW at the beginning of each album.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/47984596/48723474JDNsSI

http://community.webshots.com/photo/48196942/48731914ZhBAek

MJ

 

[mog]

Thanks for sharing those pictures! They were great!
Okay, at the risk of sounding like a big weenie (which I am) - aren't stingrays called "sting" rays for a reason?? Don't they have stingers on their tails and with all those people and stingrays together in the water, doesn't anyone ever get stung??

 

[mmouse37]

Surprisingly, no...some people report that they have been "bitten" by an over anxious ray...but for the most part they are pretty gentle.

We were told that fisherman for many, many years, have cleaned their nets on that reef and that is why the rays are so tame. they are very used to humans being around!!

MJ

 

[beautyandbeast]

Is "Captain Marvins" a dcl excursion? If not, how do make a reservation? Also how does the price compare to what dcl offers? Thanks for any info.

Lynda

 

[mmouse37]

It is not with DCL...we booked on our own at www.captainmarvins.com

The price was about $5.00 less per person but gave many more time options that the stingray city excursions thru DCL. Click under SNORKEL TRIPS on the left side of the screen. We did the 2 hours tour 11:15 - 1:15.

Hope that helps!!

MJ

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Captain Marvin's is a non-Disney excursion. Folks book it because they have a fine reputation for service. They can usually save a few dollars and hopefully avoid some of the herd mentality that's inherent in a Disney-sponsored excursion.

More information can be obtained from their web site...

www.captainmarvins.com

 

[mog]

Does anyone know what their cancellation policy is? I am thinking of booking it for us and my parents for our February cruise and "giving" it to them as a Christmas surprise. My mom is a little bit nervous on boats, though, and I'm just wondering what would happen if I book it and then she says "no way, I'm not doing that!". Would they let me cancel the ressie?

 

[atigeg]

As to the stinging, there is a very tiny chance that it could happen, but only if you accidentally step on one of the rays and I think that is an extremely rare occurence. They are not hiding in the sand...they are swimming around looking for handouts! They do bump you a lot, but we were told that's because they cannot actually see the food in your hand. Instead, they are guided by smell so they are rather clumsy. I don't think they have teeth, so when they "bite" it does not hurt at all. They are so used to people that the captain on our excursion lifted many of them out of the water to hold on our heads for photos. They don't seem to mind being handled at all. They remind me of puppies...in the ray pool at Discovery Cove, many of them seemed to be purposely brushing against us, even though it was not feeding time.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[mog]

Just bumping up hoping someone knows their cancellation policy. Also - for those of you who have done this...How big are the boats/how many people on each boat? Is it crowded?
thanks

 

[beautyandbeast]

For those of you who have done Capt. Marv's, how do you get to the pick up spot? Are there taxi's waiting by the port? It's always nice to know how other people do things in a strange land!
Lynda

 

[sitchu2]

mog,

we just booked it for our feb1, cruise. They do not charge you if for some reason your ship cannot visit, but Im not so sure how they handle cancellations.

Which feb cruise are you on???

51 Days 19 Hrs 38 Mins 49 Secs Felicia

 

[twinscandc]

We walked to their office building...not far at all. It took us about 10 minutes and that was with twin 5 year old in tow!!
If I remember correctly, once you disembark from the tender you turn left on the main road and walk for about 5 or 6 blocks. The office is in a small "strip" mall.
Excellent excursion for the money!!

 

[mog]

Sitchu2, we are also on the Feb.1st cruise. I can't believe it is coming up so fast! I just emailed Capt. Marvins and the person that answered said all we have to do is notify them as soon as possible if we need to cancel.

Twinscandc - so you did the 2 hour thing with 2 five year olds?? How was that? My daughter will be almost 5 and I wondered if she would even get in the water!

 

[twinscandc]

My daughters loved it!! We did a lot of practice before our cruise with the snorkel gear. At first they were not too thrilled about the stingrays, but after they saw me and my DH feeding them, they relaxed and joined in. In fact, they didn't want to leave. On our way back to the dock the friendly driver allowed my girls to steer the boat....great fun!!

My advice is to get snorkeling gear before you go and swim a few times with it to get her used to the idea. We purchased our gear from Ebay for about $5 per set.

 

[beautyandbeast]

Thank you for the information! Our kids are older 14 and 15 and they are a little nervous about the rays. I'll have to tell them that your 5 year olds loved it!

Lynda

 

[sitchu2]

My daughter is 6 and she is comming. She will turn 7 just before the trip and I was hoping she would not be too scared.

We cannot practice, but I think im going to inservice her on the process so she wont be surprised.