If its too rough for Grand Cayman what then?

[we3k9]

We are on the 5 night Century cruise end of March, I have read sometimes its too rough to tender into Grand Cayman. If we are already stopping at Key West, what will they substitute for Grand Caymen? I was hoping for Cozumel or Jaimaca, what has been the norm?

[Wine-O]

We are on the 5 night Century cruise end of March, I have read sometimes its too rough to tender into Grand Cayman. If we are already stopping at Key West, what will they substitute for Grand Caymen? I was hoping for Cozumel or Jaimaca, what has been the norm?

 

In 2006 we just spent the extra day at sea.

[ellbon]

we went to Spot Bay- $ 7 cab ride one way.. the same day it was calm enough to be in toiwn as RCI was there. So i really would not worry

[FinelyCruising]

Probably a sea day.

[ORCRUISER]

On RCI it was a sea day but they did have some Spa specials to kind of make up for it.

[we3k9]

I really would hate another sea day especially if the waters are rough, I'm not a good sailor, always have to load up on meds. Plus what would they do, refund your port charges? Every time I have done this itinerery we were lucky enough to get into port. Hoping my luck holds. I guess this is one reason not to pre pay for shore excursions thru private vendors.

[ORCRUISER]

On RCI they didn't refund anything except the shore excursions that we had booked through RCI.

[MMastell]

Unless they know about a major storm the day before Grand Cayman, and can reroute, you will get another sea day.

 

Take care,

Mike

[kampinguru]

We were on a 5 Day Jamaica/Crand Cayman cruise last week. We could not get to GC so we went to Key West instead. Sometimes they try Bahamas as well. We just stayed on board at Key West as we were going there on the second leg of the B2B.

[martodd]

Water was too rough to get in on a Disney cruise a few years ago so it became another sea day. That wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't too rough to get through the cut to Castaway Cay, also. Our weeklong cruise suddenly only had 2 port stops. No refund, just free rum runners for a 2 hr. span at the pool. We had a good laugh over that, was that the best thing to do, give free flowing rum to a crowd of very angry cruisers????

[ORCRUISER]

I would really like Key West or the Bahamas. Never been to either. Also haven't been to Grand Cayman because of weather on a cruise a few years ago. Our cruise has several sea days so I wouldn't really like an extra one either.

[Freedom55]

When we missed it we got another sea day. Just because its too rought to get in to Grand Cayman does not mean that the sea day was rough! In fact we had a nice calm day. Sometimes the prevailing winds and swell make it unsafe to debark onto tenders. Its just the luck of the draw. If you want to ensure port stops you will have to pick a route that has docks!

[siebelqueen]

It happened to us on a RCCL cruise in 2004. We ended up getting another sea day. As other posters mentioned, it was not rough at all. But people were really anxious to get off the ship the next morning when we finally got to a port.

[encoresue2]

You won't like my answer.....we have "seen" GC five times....but only been able to tender and get in twice. BUT, the three cruises when we didn't get in were all in the Fall....the spring 2 made it. We never went to another port.....just had another sea day, which is fine with me as I love them. It is really weird to pull into the harbor...see the shore (and the huge waves hitting the rocks) only to turn around and wave goodbye.

[woodofpine]

Nope! You'll get another day at sea...

 

Usually, they won't know about the sea conditions for tendering until you get there and if they do; look out, its really rough everywhere! Georgetown doesn't have a natural harbor or a major pier; ships just pull up and tender is things are calm enough.

 

I've been fortunate in going to GC 3-4 times and always getting in... albeit once into Spotts Bay and we jumped the line due to a Medevac (one cruiser's misfortune is another's good luck). Spotts can only moor like 3 ships, so many were pulling away for a 'sea day'. The seas were crashing onto Front Street in Georgetown but it was flat as a mill pond on the lee side of the island. That trip, we also tendered Coz whose heavy local tenders were pitching 5 feet along the ship; you had to time and run the gangway. I was a bit surprised the line authorized it.

 

GC is a flat featureless little island the interior of which is a scrub marsh. Although it sounds unappealing, the beaches are geat, the diving superb, the locals sophisticated, and the standard of living at the tops in the Caribbean (off shore money does that...) Unfortunately, Georgetown gets overrun when lots of ships arrive and the local authorities count coin as people crowd elbow to elbow... Critically speaking, its a little place that the cruise lines have sort of ruined - loved it to death... But if you're lucky you'll get in and it will be a rare off day when only a couple ships are in.

[Bet & Peg]

We were on the February 14th RCL cruise and were due to tender at Grand Caymans. Captain announced the seas too rought to tender at Georgetown so we were heading to Spotts Bay. We tendered there and it was $7 per person for a van ride into town. Plenty of taxis and vans since there were three ships tendering - what a fabulous site!

 

The next day we were due to dock at Montego Bay - but we never made it due to rough seas. We DID get the port charges back on our SeaPass. Along with excursions for both days. Seas were rough for awhile but soon everything was calm - captain must have found a quick route into smoother sailing!

 

I thought the staff handled the extra sea day very well - they scrambled and announced new activities and I think even printed up a new list. We were fine with just lounging by the pool!

 

We were due to dock in Galveston at 7am Sunday morning but got fogged out until about 1:30pm!!

 

But with everything - we had a GREAT cruise!! The ship was so fabulous and the people so womderful our missed port was really missed by us!

 

Your trip will be what you make of it!! No one can predict the weather - land or sea!

[flvol77]

I really would hate another sea day especially if the waters are rough, I'm not a good sailor, always have to load up on meds. Plus what would they do, refund your port charges? Every time I have done this itinerery we were lucky enough to get into port. Hoping my luck holds. I guess this is one reason not to pre pay for shore excursions thru private vendors.

 

believe me you would MUCH rather have a sea day then try to tender in or back in 6 + ft seas (which on a ship is NOTHING)

 

We went to cayman this last time and I told my wife lets get cayman done early, living right on the water in Palm Beach, and being a big weather buff I could tell the west winds were going to build the seas and afternoon tender back would be rough.

 

The morning tender wasn't too bad (we are boaters and we are in the ocean a lot so it wasn't a big deal) the afternoon the seas built to around 4 ft, and by 2:30 they were 4 to 6....someone fell trying to get back on the ship and their leg (this is my understanding) got caught between the tender and the ship, one of the quick thinking guys on the tender pulled her quickly before her leg was crushed, but she hurt her hip and we were were late leaving Cayman because the medical staff on the ship felt it would be best if she went back to the states and they sent her and her family to cayman.

 

So....missing cayman isn't always a bad thing, we have had it happen to us twice, the weather there, especially in the winter it seems can change on a dime.

[SwingChickie]

for grand cayman, you'll probably get another day at sea. when this happened to us in jamaica, the captain tried to get us in at another port... when it was too windy there as well, we had a sea day and had a blast. everyone was drinking pina coladas at the pool by 10:30am. :)