FAQs

We’re very glad you’ve chosen us for your day on the water in Grand Cayman. You can reserve your charter directly on our website (click on any of the Book Now buttons), by email or by phone (1 (345) 925-8738).

For charters in the next 24 hours (or even 48 hours), please call us. While we do our best to check and respond to all emails and online bookings promptly, this is not always possible, so please be sure to call us if you are interested in a charter in the next day or so.

Of course we do! For cruise ship passengers, we recommend our half day charters.

Sunscreen, cameras and smiles. Those three are a must. Sunglasses and hats are a good idea too. For snorkeling and Stingray City charters, be sure to have your bathing suits and towels, and snorkel gear if you have your own (we also have gear on the boat), and waterproof cameras (note: we do not recommend putting your cell phone in a “waterproof” bag—there are far too many sad stories). 

For all our charters you are also welcome to bring any food or drinks that you want (we prefer no glass if possible).

Nope. Unless you want to leave a tip (which will be greatly appreciated).
 

We depart from the Cayman Islands Yacht Club which is located on Yacht Drive in the Seven Mile Beach area. You can meet the boat on the seawall near the fuel dock, in front of the Anchors store. For guests staying on the East or North sides of the island, we will depart from the Kaibo Yacht Club. This will save you at least a 45 minute drive, if not more. Please be sure you let us know where you are staying when you book so that we can schedule your departure from the correct location.

Our charters are private charters, you will not be sharing your charter with anyone else.

Yes, we welcome children of all ages on our charters.

Yes, feel free to bring food and drinks with you. We will also have bottled water for you.

Yes, we have snorkeling masks and fins at no extra charge. Please be sure to give us your fin sizes in advance of your charter.

Feel free to bring your own snorkel gear.

Yes, all our boats are equipped with a bathroom. Please remember that these are boat bathrooms so we ask that you use the trash receptacles provided for any items that might clog our toilets.

For deep sea fishing, most of the year you can expect to fish for tuna, wahoo, mahi-mahi and marlin. On a half day charter we typically target wahoo, mahi-mahi and marlin, depending on what’s running. On a full day charter, we can also target yellowfin tuna. The most active deep sea fishing months tend to be December through July. August, September and October are typically slower months because the water is warmer, but there are still fish to be found. During those months, we recommend our offshore light tackle charters.

 

For in-reef fishing, typical species are snapper, barracuda, bar jacks, bonefish, triggerfish and other reef fish.

Generally, you are entitled to 1/3 of the fish or an “edible amount”. At the end of the day, we will make sure you have enough fish to take for your group and we will fillet it for you at no extra cost. We never like to see fish go to waste so if you don’t think you’ll have time to cook up your catch or you staying at a hotel with no ability to cook, or if you just don’t want to cook on vacation, we can arrange for a local restaurant to cook it up for you after your charter if you’d like.

Unfortunately, we are not aware of any way to ship your fish back home with you. We are not US customs experts, but there may be a way to bring “a personal amount” of fish back with you on the plane. Obviously it would need to be properly packed and iced, etc. We do not know of any places on island that provide this service.


We are happy to fillet fish for you to have while you’re on island, or we can arrange to have it cooked for you at a local restaurant after your charter.

Definitely! The beauty of a private charter is the ability to customize. Just drop us an email or give us a call and we would be happy to help.
 

For fishing charters, a half day charters are 4 hours and full day charters are 7 hours. You can add time to either those for $100 per hour. A typical Stingray City & Snorkel charter is 2 ½-3 hours but can be as much as 4 hours depending on how many people you have and how much time you choose to stay at each stop.  
 

Additional time can be scheduled at $100 per hour. We do our best to accommodate requests for additional time. Occasionally we will have another charter booked after yours though and are not able to extend your trip as a result. It’s always advisable to schedule additional hours in advance if at all possible
 

We accept cash and credit cards (Visa, MasterCard and American Express). A 25% deposit is required at the time of booking to reserve your date and time slot; this can be done online or by phone. The balance can be paid on the day of your charter either via credit card or cash. If you prefer to pay the full cost of the charter at the time of booking, let us know and we can provide a payment link for you to do so or you can do it over the phone.
 

Tipping is very much appreciated, but it not required and we do not automatically add gratuity to the cost of the charter. We strive to make sure that you want to tip us at the end of your charter.

We are extremely grateful for your positive TripAdvisor reviews. As you know, it is a powerful tool in today’s world, so we want to make leaving a review as easy as possible. There is a place at the bottom of every page on our website where you can leave a TripAdvisor review. It is also possible to leave a review from our Facebook page. In addition, after your charter you will receive an email reminder with a TripAdvisor link.

Safety is our first priority. If the seas are too rough to go out, we will cancel the charter at no charge, and we will do everything we can to try to reschedule you for a different day. If you are coming in on a cruise and your ship is unable to come to port due to weather, your charter will be cancelled with no charge. See our cancellation policy below.

We know that things come up and that cancellations are sometimes necessary. Please note that all our charters are private charters and as such we are always grateful for as much advanced notice as possible of any cancellations so that we can open that spot up for another group. We understand that plans often change unexpectedly, so we ask that our guests provide us with at least 24 hours notice of any cancellations. All cancellations should be made by phone to (345) 925-8738 or by email to bluewaterexcursions@hotmail.com. If you need to change the date or time of your charter, we will make every effort to accommodate that request.

 

For charters cancelled 24 hours or more before the charter, your deposit will be refunded in full.

 

For charters cancelled 12-24 hours before the charter, you will be charged 50% of charter cost (deposit will be forfeited and payment will be required for the additional 25%).

 

Charters cancelled less than 12 hours before the charter or “no show”, you will be charged 100% of charter cost (deposit will be forfeited and payment will be required for the remaining 75%).

 

Note: there is no charge to cruise ship passengers if their cruise ship fails to call in Grand Cayman on the charter date due to weather.

 

We want your day on the water to be a safe and enjoyable one and therefore the Captain will sometimes require a charter to be rescheduled or cancelled in the event of rough sea conditions or adverse weather. We will work with you to try to find a new day and time for your charter. In the event that this is not possible, a full refund of your deposit will be given.

Absolutely, just enter your email address in the “Subscribe to our Mailing List” box at the bottom of our website, or send us an email or a message on Facebook and ask us to add you to our mailing list. If you’ve booked a charter with us, you will automatically be added. If you are booking by phone, please make sure we have your email address (we need it to communicate with you about your charter in any event).