Have you ever missed Grand Cayman

Hello!

I'm planning my June 2006 wedding and was considering getting married in the Grand Cayman. Has anyone missed the port due to rough waters before? I thought that hurricane season was June to August but someone representing Grand Cayman at a wedding convention I went to said their hurricane season is from November to January and the winds are quite strong up until March. Has anyone not been able to tender in Grand Cayman during the month of June?

I have never had a cruise that missed Grand Cayman (LOL) however, my friend who we are cruising with has missed this port the last two times they were scheduled to tender there. The problem is that you do not dock in Grand Cayman so that they must us tender boats an if there is any kind of winds, rain, earthquake ...that will cause the ship not to be able to get the passangers safely to the island..

Several years back (7?) we missed it. Got up early for the first tender, and ended up spending 1/2 the morning waiting in a room packed with frustrated cruisers. But... what are you going to do? That's the way into Grand Cayman. I'm sure the stingrays in Stingray Bay were disappointed that we didn't show up. I hear they'd already purchased excursion tickets for the chance to swim with us. ;)

We were on Princess over Christmas and when we got there we sat for an hour and then the ship had to leave. Said the sea was too rough and waveswere going over the pier. this was on the Dawn. I have read that lots more ships(Princess) have missed this port. Check out that board.

Nope, scheduled to Grand Cayman twice,been there twice.Both times in April tho. I love to cruise in April.I was married in April,almost 43 years ago.:D

Been to Grand Cayman 3 out of 4 times. This past Christmas we missed it because it was too rough.

Becky

2 weeks ago we missed Grand Cayman due to rough seas. We were on the 1/15/05 sailing of the Voyager of the seas. This was a major disappointment!!

Scheduled twice for Grand Cayman and made it there twice. :) And that was in January both times.

We were on the Mariner in October and missed it due to the damage caused by one of the hurricanes in '04:mad:

Missed it last April due to rough seas!!

The hurricane season is June to November, but unless there is a storm fairly close the water is the calmest of the year. In GC during the rest of the year it is not as calm and I would guess that at least 1/3 of the scheduled stops are cancelled due to the seas.

oops

1st time to Grand Cayman was March 2003 on the Grandeur- we missed it. Waves were too rough for tendering. There was a couple on board that was planning to be married on Grand Caymen and it didn't happen. I felt so sorry for them.

2nd time was April 2004 on the Rhapsody. We made it this time! Stingray City was awesome.

I don't think I'd recommend planning the wedding at Grand Cayman. Too much risk involved.

Just my 2 cents worth.

FLY IN.. or be prepared for a contingency plan. The odds are with you, but not unusual for GC to be cancelled due to rough waters, and you never know what could happen that would cause the ship..or the port authority to cancel.

In my experience, out of 5 stops to Cayman..one had to be cancelled.

Mitch

We've made it every time....but it's such a risky port due to being tendered not docked. MHO would be a huge risk to plan your wedding for this port, JMO on that.

Have fun planning your wedding and cruise :)

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We've missed it twice out of three scheduled stops. The first time was due to sea conditions from a tropical storm. The second time was post hurricane and they were accepting very few ships.

Out of 3 cruises scheduled for GC, we only stopped once.

I've been 2 for 2 so far.... :)

Even without hurricanes, I've missed it almost as many times as I've made it.

Made it there our first time, January 2003...beautiful island, great beaches, we really enjoyed our day there. It was a bit "rocky" on the tender in, but the tender back to the ship was fine.

Overall, it's hit or miss depending on the weather. Frankly, the issue now is reconstruction from the hurricanes last year...the local government is limiting the number of ships that can visit at any certain time.

Mike & Silke

Thanks everyone for your responses! I don't think I will plan for a wedding the Grand Caymans - a little too risky based on all your feedback. *sigh* Grand Cayman would have been my #1 pick but I better stick with some where safe where the ship can dock - Bahamas or St. Thomas would be my other choices. Thanks again!

Adrienne, I think planning a wedding on ANY island that you intend to visit by ship is risky. Any port can be cancelled at any time of year; bad weather is not necessarily restricted to just a few months. It would be an extreme disappointment to be all ready for the Big Day only to hear the captain announce that conditions make it impossible to dock that day.

I wish you the very best, I just hope that you take into consideration all the risks if your plans fall through for any reason. A wedding is one thing where nothing should be left to chance.

we were delayed last Tuesday as the Captain assessed whether or not to allow tenders. He finally did and we got to go ashore. It was a great time, but it was close for a while whether we would actually go or not.

We made it two of the three times we were scheduled to stop there and one of the times we made it, it was like a Disney thrill ride getting on and off the tenders. I think I would pick another island for a wedding that has a better "track record" so to speak. Good Luck!!

Missed it last March due to rough seas!