Which beach to spend day at?

[flygirl2]

We want to spend a relaxing day at 7-mile beach in Grand Cayman. We just need to know where to go to use a beach chair and drinks? Would we need a cab? We'll be cruising in 2 weeks and just wanted to relax on the beach, maybe snorkel, but not a necessity. I've heard of the Holiday Inn beach, but I don't know what has recovered from the hurricane. Also, how much can we expect to pay to use the beach chair?

[ilv2trvl]

flygirl2

The beaches are slowly getting back up to speed in Grand Cayman. Holiday Inn is OK but right next door is Sea Grape Beach. They were the first ones to be 100% after the storm and have one of the nicest, cleanest facility I've seen.

Entrance to the beach is free...They have beach chairs ($10.00), umbrellas ($5.00 if you rent them with a chair), towels ($5.00) and lockers ($2.00 per day) for rent. They also have a bar & grill (Calico Jack's) and water sport rentals onsight.

The taxi ride from the pier is $4.00 each way per person. There is always a taxi or two there to give you a ride back to the ship when you're ready to go back.

I think you'll like Sea Grape Beach!

[zydecocruiser]

The Holiday Inn became the Courtyard Grand Cayman - I think the beginninig of 2004.

http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/GCMCY

[cruislovin]

flygirl2

The beaches are slowly getting back up to speed in Grand Cayman. Holiday Inn is OK but right next door is Sea Grape Beach. They were the first ones to be 100% after the storm and have one of the nicest, cleanest facility I've seen.

Entrance to the beach is free...They have beach chairs ($10.00), umbrellas ($5.00 if you rent them with a chair), towels ($5.00) and lockers ($2.00 per day) for rent. They also have a bar & grill (Calico Jack's) and water sport rentals onsight.

The taxi ride from the pier is $4.00 each way per person. There is always a taxi or two there to give you a ride back to the ship when you're ready to go back.

I think you'll like Sea Grape Beach!

 

Sea Grape Beach sounds just like what we are looking for.

 

Please answer a couple questions:

Was it crowded?

How are the prices at the bar & grill?

What kinds of water sport rentals are available?

Do they have a website?

 

When were you there at Sea Grape?

 

Thanks much!

[NYCchic]

I forget her cruise critic username but I know her name is Kim - I want to give her photos credit - here is her Webshots Photo Album from her recent cruise...

http://community.webshots.com/album/226844924hFqGDN/2

 

There are some pictures of Sea Grape Beach in here. She told me Sea Grape was nice but yes the food & drinks are very expensive. She went back to the ship for lunch b/c a hot dog and fries were $10. Personally I don't mind paying that for lunch - by the time you pay a cab ride for 2 back to the ship...there's your cost of lunch. Sounds like a hassle to go all the way back to the cruise ship for lunch. She also recommended a drink called Cayman Mama...$8 but she said it's very worth it!

 

I think it costs $10 to rent a chair - another $5 if you want to rent an umbrella with it. She didn't mention anything about the crowds but I've read if there are a lot of ships in port that day Sea Grape will get very crowded. Your best bet is to get there early!

[cruislovin]

Is there any good snorkeling locations near Sea Grape beach?

[TheWog]

Kim is Babysam99, those are her photos and she had a great time. Our cabbie dropped us at the Courtyard which is right next to Sea Grape. We were told the Courtyard had better snorkeling, but did not partake in that. We rented jet skis from the vendors at Sea Grape as ours were not renting because the swells were larger than normal. So we just walked down to Sea Grape... not that far. They have Jet Skis for $65.00 per 1/2 hour. They have parasailing, we saw people scuba diving off the shore. They had kayaks, banana boats, you name it. The Courtyard chairs ($10 each) included a free beverage (water or soda). The beach was beautiful, but you could see a lot of the hurricane damage. It was also a bit windy when we were there last Tuesday (January 25). The beach was large enough not to feel crowded, but there were a lot of people there. You just spread out and no problems.

 

These were the guys renting where we were, but did not allow the jet skis to go out because of the surf. http://www.redsailcayman.com/gc_index.html

 

We just went down the beach and there were a couple other operators renting, so no big deal.

[NYCchic]

Wog - how was your trip? I'm on Enchantment on March 5th to 10th...Ochos Rios and Grand Cayman. Did you have a good time? Will you have any pictures to share soon?

[TheWog]

Our trip was great. We had such a good time and you will love the ship. Parker, the new cruise director did a great job. Ocho Rios was excellent. We booked with Peat and he treated us so well. Even though the ship left over two hours late and we arrived in OR over an hour late they were there waiting for us when we got off. GC was still recovering and was a beautiful place, but I would have loved to have seen it prior to the hurricanes. We got a lot of sun that day and headed back to the ship for a late snack and skipped eating on the island. I will hopefully post a great review (or at least what I think is great) very soon...... before the end of the week. If you have any particular questions, ask away.

[NYCchic]

Cool - glad you had a good time. What is there to do/see in Ochos Rios besides Dunns River Falls? Anything else really worth seeing or I'm thinking of just hitting a beach somewhere. I have a tour booked with Orville Taylor.

 

Is Enchantment showing her age like a lot of people have been saying?

What deck were you on? I booked real late...I'm only on deck 2...oceanview.

How is the food? Did you do breakfast in the Windjammer?

 

Thanks!

[TheWog]

In Ocho Rios there is plenty to do. In addition to DRF we did the White River Tubing. It took about an hour or so and cost $20.00 additional. Any tour operator will make this part of your tour. You float in a tube (with a bottom on it) down a lazy river. There are some mild rapids that just help you continue to float on down. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed ourselves. You go with a guide who helps keep you on your course and gives you information about the local area and river. You stop about 1/2 way down or so and you can use a rope swing. We stopped, but didn't get out of our tubes. You then go down to another stopping area where you get out and walk around. You have the opportunity to buy some food, drinks, souveniers, etc. It seemed mostly just a holding area. We asked to get going and the guide said you wait here or you wait at the end for your driver to arrive. We just hung out on some benches and enjoyed the scenery. It was a lot of fun.

 

There is Mahagony Beach. There is the Ian Fleming House (Bond, James Bond) and many other destinations if you are interested. We used Peat Taylor as our guide and he was great, but I am sure Orville will make the tour whatever you like as well. They all just want to make you happy. No Problem Mon'. You can go horseback riding, to a pottery factory, local restaurants. He can make it happen. We went to a resort we stayed at a few years ago, Couples Ocho Rios and just walked around and did some shopping.

 

As for the Enchantment. We stayed on Deck 7 balcony room. We were very forward, 7016. This was not my first choice of locations, but all the midships had been booked by groups. So we got our balcony way up front, but we did not feel the motion as much as I expected. We felt it as much as anywhere else on the ship when there was rockin' and rollin'. But honestly that wasn't very often. The last sea day the sea was like glass which was unusual.

 

Is she showing wear? Depends on what you are looking for. Some will say yes and they will pick out the rip in the carpet at the bottom corner of the closet. They will see a small stain on a carpet in a main corridor or something. We did notice a speaker buzzing when we were walking around on Deck 9 and I joked that I wanted my money back as my cruise was ruined. So yes, there are minor things like that if you really look for you could probably notice. The only reason I noticed the carpet was because my wife dropped an earring and I was down there. Otherwise it may not have come to my attention. The main areas are beautiful and clean. They are elegant and kept up. I bet they will really polish her up while in dry dock with the major renovations taking place. You will not be disappointed.

 

The food was excellent. I tried items I never would have tried at home. My steak was cooked to my request. Lobster tails flowed endlessly (our server told us that they served 5,200 tails on Lobster night). Desserts were pretty good, but after being so stuffed it was hard to accurately say. I ate breakfast in the Windjammer and found it to be perfectly fine. The food was hot enough and the omelettes are made to order. The fruit was really fresh, which I don't remember being that way on Disney. We only got a table next to the windows once, but never had a problem finding a place to sit in the actual Windjammer. The afternoon snack bar was ok. Nacho stuff and ice cream. But no chocolate sauce for the sundaes. :eek: Midnight Gala buffet, was beautiful and tasty. The Quest was a riot, don't miss it.

 

Overall it was great. I will be trying to get a review out before the end of the week. So I will have more details then. Any other questions, please feel free to ask me.

[NYCchic]

Thanks so much for all the detailed info...I really appreciate it.

 

Sounds like you had a great trip....I'm even more excited now and...I just got my cruise docs in the mail last night!

 

I doubt I will notice the ship showing her age. I'm just looking to relax and enjoy a nice vacation - I am not that picky and won't be looking for such little things (rips in carpets, etc...).

 

Thanks again! Looking forward to all that great food you were describing!:)

[TheWog]

You're welcome. I am shooting to have my review up shortly. I hope you will enjoy it.

[TheWog]

Here's the beginning of my review.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=131687