I booked the "Outrage Eco Tour" through Island Marketing on Grand Cayman for our May 3 Western Cruise. There is both a 3 hour and a 5 hour tour offered and we booked the 5 hour. Captain John Michael Stafford, owns the boat and uses Island Marketing to handle the bookings as he is usually out on the boat. He only takes out one party each time and has a maximum of 6. Although we were all adults he is "kid friendly" and kids 4 and up are welcome aboard.
He met us at the Blue Iguana...a 2 minute walk from the pier. We were early, having caught the first tender. He was earlier. We hopped on board his mini van and headed out to his private dock. He had soft drinks and water and asked if there was anything else we needed or wanted before we got to the pier.
Once at the pier we boarded his 27 ft. Boston Whaler and headed right out to Stingray City. We were the second boat there, having been preceded only by another smaller charter boat. He taught us how to interact with the rays and in the water we went. He was able to teach us all about these beautiful creatures and how to feed them. There were dozens of rays all around us and he helped us hold, feed and pet them all before any other boat arrived. We were there for almost 40 minutes before he ran out of bait and another boat arrived. It was so quiet and the water was crystal clear.
When we were done, and we were the ones who decided that, not him....he took us out into some deeper water to see flying fish. They were quick and hard to spot, but incredible. Following that he took us to his favorite reef to snorkel, again for as long as we wanted. There was no one else around for the entire time we were in the water. He taught all of us what to do and put a tube out on a tether in case we needed it if we were tired. He showed us the best places to look for fish. He got into the water with us to insure that we were okay. He also dove down to the bottom several times and brought up conch for us to see. Once again we spent about 45 minutes in the water.
Following that we did a tour of some of the lesser seen areas of the island which was beautiful. He took us to a beautiful beach with a pure white sand bar that was ankle deep. In the slightly deeper water he pointed out several enormous starfish. Rum Point was just a bit farther down and he asked us if we wanted to have lunch there, which we did. He stayed with the boat while we had a wonderful lunch. When we got back he had gathered 4 starfish that were as big as a dinner plate.
After lunch he brought out the tube again and I had an opportunity to do some tubing off the back of the boat. After that he took us through the mangrove preserve. These beautiful plants live in the water and are a truly beautiful eco-system. We cruised for quite awhile up the natural canal. John Michael was very knowledgeable about the system. The most fascinating part was seeing beautiful starfish that looked liked snowflakes resting on the bottom. After spending about 30 minutes in this part of the island we headed back to the dock.
The most wonderful part of this tour is that what we did was entirely up to us. He gave us suggestions, but WE called the shots. He talked to us about what we were experiencing all throughout the tour. The service was impeccable and so personalized. I would recommend this tour to anyone and would not hesitate to do it again.
Linda
He met us at the Blue Iguana...a 2 minute walk from the pier. We were early, having caught the first tender. He was earlier. We hopped on board his mini van and headed out to his private dock. He had soft drinks and water and asked if there was anything else we needed or wanted before we got to the pier.
Once at the pier we boarded his 27 ft. Boston Whaler and headed right out to Stingray City. We were the second boat there, having been preceded only by another smaller charter boat. He taught us how to interact with the rays and in the water we went. He was able to teach us all about these beautiful creatures and how to feed them. There were dozens of rays all around us and he helped us hold, feed and pet them all before any other boat arrived. We were there for almost 40 minutes before he ran out of bait and another boat arrived. It was so quiet and the water was crystal clear.
When we were done, and we were the ones who decided that, not him....he took us out into some deeper water to see flying fish. They were quick and hard to spot, but incredible. Following that he took us to his favorite reef to snorkel, again for as long as we wanted. There was no one else around for the entire time we were in the water. He taught all of us what to do and put a tube out on a tether in case we needed it if we were tired. He showed us the best places to look for fish. He got into the water with us to insure that we were okay. He also dove down to the bottom several times and brought up conch for us to see. Once again we spent about 45 minutes in the water.
Following that we did a tour of some of the lesser seen areas of the island which was beautiful. He took us to a beautiful beach with a pure white sand bar that was ankle deep. In the slightly deeper water he pointed out several enormous starfish. Rum Point was just a bit farther down and he asked us if we wanted to have lunch there, which we did. He stayed with the boat while we had a wonderful lunch. When we got back he had gathered 4 starfish that were as big as a dinner plate.
After lunch he brought out the tube again and I had an opportunity to do some tubing off the back of the boat. After that he took us through the mangrove preserve. These beautiful plants live in the water and are a truly beautiful eco-system. We cruised for quite awhile up the natural canal. John Michael was very knowledgeable about the system. The most fascinating part was seeing beautiful starfish that looked liked snowflakes resting on the bottom. After spending about 30 minutes in this part of the island we headed back to the dock.
The most wonderful part of this tour is that what we did was entirely up to us. He gave us suggestions, but WE called the shots. He talked to us about what we were experiencing all throughout the tour. The service was impeccable and so personalized. I would recommend this tour to anyone and would not hesitate to do it again.
Linda
