Rum Point-Don't Miss it!

[RanDe]

I dont want to take anything away from BoatBunny, but If you are interested in some pictures of Rum point you may go to my webshots album and look under Valor cruise, Grand Cayman/Rum point.

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/mkampy

 

Wonderful photos! Sorry to hear about the high waves though.:(

 

When were you there and what time of day?

 

De

[boatbunny]

I dont want to take anything away from BoatBunny, but If you are interested in some pictures of Rum point you may go to my webshots album and look under Valor cruise, Grand Cayman/Rum point.

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/mkampy

 

Hey FF, don't worry, not taking anything away here! The pictures are really good. I have a few more shots taking in more of the beach area, but between the two, you get a really good idea of what Rum Point is about.

Thanks for sharing the info with everyone!

Michelle

[boatbunny]

PS... boatbunny would love to see some of those pictures you took on your vacation, thanks!

 

Email me at my personal email: smdbelskis@prodigy.net

 

I'll be happy to send them along. Please indicate Rum Point in the topic line as I don't open mail from people I don't recognize.

 

Between my pics and the ones posted on Webshots from the Valor cruise, you'll get a really good idea of how beautiful Rum Point is.

 

BTW. check carefully on the Nativeways tour, I have heard really great things about it, and it really gives you a nice overview of the island if you haven't been there. Of course, a full day at Rum Point is a great way to spend the day too!!

Michelle

[boatbunny]

Hi Suesan, did you make your rental reservations through their website that Boatbunny posted on the first page? I went there to reserve a car for 2006 and they only had 2005 and 2004 dates. I guess I can just call them, but wanted to check out what they had first. Thanks for any info.

 

De

 

RanDe, Suesan did book directly through Cico Avis (page 1 web address), she emailed me at my personal email to let me know. They may not be booking that far in advance, but you could also send them an email asking if you could reserve, or give them a call. They are pretty accomodating so I'm sure they'd help you out.

[mattski]

Email me at my personal email: smdbelskis@prodigy.net

 

I'll be happy to send them along. Please indicate Rum Point in the topic line as I don't open mail from people I don't recognize.

 

Between my pics and the ones posted on Webshots from the Valor cruise, you'll get a really good idea of how beautiful Rum Point is.

 

BTW. check carefully on the Nativeways tour, I have heard really great things about it, and it really gives you a nice overview of the island if you haven't been there. Of course, a full day at Rum Point is a great way to spend the day too!!

Michelle

 

BoatBunny, i already sent you an email and you respdonded saying it didnt go through and asked for a differnet email address i gave it to you but never recieved anything back, figured maybe you forgot. Well when you get a chance try mattski102@yahoo.com thanks!!

[Suesan Jean]

Yes, I did reserve through CICO Avis directly on their web site, and they had 2006 dates. I just typed in "CICO Avis Car Rental, Grand Cayman" and VOILA!! There it was!!! Click on the "Cruise Ship" packages, the rates are quite good!!:)

 

FFKampy, GREAT PICTURES!!!:D Thank you!!

 

Are any of you going to be on the Norwegian Dawn??

 

Suesan:) :) :)

[RanDe]

Yes, I did reserve through CICO Avis directly on their web site, and they had 2006 dates. I just typed in "CICO Avis Car Rental, Grand Cayman" and VOILA!! There it was!!! Click on the "Cruise Ship" packages, the rates are quite good!!:)

 

Thanks for your reply.:) I did finally find it after looking around some more. I really do like the rates. Do you all purchase the inclusive package with the insurance? I'm thinking it's probably better to pay a little extra for the insurance.

 

De

[TamaLee]

I'm sorry if this was already addressed in this thread...I didn't read the whole thing.

 

We went with NativeWay on the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour in Sept. We spent a few hours at Rum Point and I would love to go back and spend the day there, but I thought the drinks were too expensive. We had a beer and a pina colada and it was $22.:eek:

 

Can anyone tell me what the secret is to having a reasonably priced day at Rum Point? Any one like to share what their bar tab was? I'd like to have more than one drink while I'm there!

[boatbunny]

BoatBunny, i already sent you an email and you respdonded saying it didnt go through and asked for a differnet email address i gave it to you but never recieved anything back, figured maybe you forgot. Well when you get a chance try mattski102@yahoo.com thanks!!

 

Hi Matt, your new email just arrived this morning. I will be emailing the pics to you in a little while. Sorry for the delay, I am on the verge of opening a new pastry shop and I am pretty busy these days. Trying to respond as quick as I can. Sorry!

[RanDe]

I'm sorry if this was already addressed in this thread...I didn't read the whole thing.

 

We went with NativeWay on the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour in Sept. We spent a few hours at Rum Point and I would love to go back and spend the day there, but I thought the drinks were too expensive. We had a beer and a pina colada and it was $22.:eek:

 

Can anyone tell me what the secret is to having a reasonably priced day at Rum Point? Any one like to share what their bar tab was? I'd like to have more than one drink while I'm there!

 

Very good question and I'd also like to ask if you can bring any of your own food or drinks with you?:confused:

 

De

[cyndyt]

There was a sign at the beach that stated no outside food or drinks allowed, but I don't know if they police this.

[FFKampy]

We were there the 22nd of Sept, it was a Thrusday.

 

This is while Rita was north of us in the gulf. and the choppy seas were only inthe morning. It delayed us just a bit getting to the island.

[cherub44]

When you reserved your car from Avis did they get your credit card info or did they make the reservation without it? I reserved a car and was sent an email with a confirmation number, but I've never heard of reserving a car without a credit card.

 

Also, you may have already answered this, but I don't want to reread this entire thread. When you got to Rum Point could you rent the water toys from Red Sail with a credit card or did you need cash?

 

Thanks so much for the great excursion idea and all of the help you've been.

 

Dawn

[SNOOPY ONE]

cherub44 - I did just booked w/avis w/o CC also. They emailed me w/confirmation #. You can rent from red sail there, however with this many ships in port you may want to consider emailing them w/special requests.

 

Snoopy needs a drink

[Ima_HockeyMom]

Hi everyone, we just got home (5 minutes ago) from our 7 day Western cruise and Cayman was definitely the BEST place for us. My fiancee and I originally rented a 4 person jeep but we met these other 2 great couples and ended up inviting them to come with us to Run Point. So...here's our story. :)

 

Our first mistake was getting off the ship too early. LOL I had no idea that most everything doesn't open until 8am. We were all on the first tender off and we were sitting in front of the Blue Iguana at about 7:15. Nothing was open but thankfully we did manage to find a small little coffee cafe that was open. They had yummy croissant breakfast sandwiches. They were located to the right of the B.I. maybe a block (if that). It's a cute little shopping center that has an upstairs/downstairs and the coffee cafe was located upstairs. It didn't look to be open but we gave it a shot anyways and were glad we did.

 

By the time the B.I. opened, there were some other folks there also waiting and so when the driver came to pick us up, he only wanted to take the drivers and then have the drivers come back for the rest of their party. Made sense but as we were leaving, I started to get VERY nervous. The traffic going into 'town' was CRAZY. We thought it would take us about an hour to return to get our party once we got the car. Getting the car was very easy and they were great about changing our jeep for something that would seat 6 people. We even saved a few $$$s.

 

Getting back wasn't as bad as we thought because they showed us an easier way. But here's one thing we would do differently next time. Don't wait for the B.I. to open. Get off as early as possible and then jump into a waiting taxi to the Avis counter at the airport. By doing this, we would have had an extra hour at Rum Point.

 

Once we got the car, we started driving to R.P. Although it was VERY scary at first, once you get out of 'town' you really just follow one road. We took the short cut which the Avis people showed us how to do. It's very easy.

 

Here's what we ALL thought about Rum Point.

 

 

WE ALL LOVED IT!!! When we got there, we were literally the first ones there. It was like we had our own private beach. The facilities are great. They have a bar/restaurant, bathrooms with showers, the Red Sail watersports shop, etc. I immediately rented snorkel equipment for $15 and headed out.

 

Here's the key to seeing lots of great fish. Snorkel right under the dock. When I first got in the water, I was swimming out there and was starting to think I wouldn't see anything. I was about to turn around when BAM!!! A pretty large baracudda swam right in front of me. It scared me a bit but I'm a diver so it took me off guard. At that point, I knew there must be some other fish. I headed to the dock. The dock is a like a letter 'L'. Under the bottom of the 'L' part, there are quite a lot of fish. I would suggest just floating around there for awhile. When I first got out there, I was a bit disappointed but after a few minutes, I swear the fish came in swarms. :)

 

I saw another baracudda, angel fish, butterfly fish, a parrot fish, lots of damsels (little bright blue ones), tons of wrasse, a huge school of trumpet fish (at least 100 of them), a large tuna looking fish, some grouper type fish..the ones that look like rocks, etc. The key is to just float under and around the dock and be patient. They will come. It was like swimming in a large aquarium. There where so many fish, most I have no idea what they are even called. You really just have to be patient and just float and watch them dart in and out of the coral and crevices. I looked for some eels, but didn't find any.

 

The coral is mostly dead now although you can see some small spots of bright purple areas. I'm sure it's from people walking on it and kicking sand on it, etc. That's kind of sad but the fish are still in and around the dead coral. There are also some VERY large conch shells. I'm a firm believer of look but don't touch so although it was very tempting to bring them up to the surface to show my friends, I left them where they were.

 

I have to say that this was by far, the highlight of my trip. Maybe it was because we felt so isolated out there I have no idea.

 

By the time I finally got back into shore, there were some other people there but still not very many. Eventually, we made our way over to get something to eat and drink. Were the prices a bit steep? Yes, but in my opinion, WELL worth it. The food....the food was AWESOME. I had the jerk chicken and it was a LOT of food. Chicken, some corn on the cob, soleslaw and rice and beans. It was so yummy. My guy had the mahi wrap and said it was the best thing he ate the entire trip. He got a huge bunch of fries and I have to say, those were the best fries I have ever tasted. :) The drinks were great also.

 

Personally, I don't feel that the prices are too much because they are not charging you at all for the beach access. Plus it was so secluded it was just perfect. We were really sad to go...but we liked it so much we are now all looking at renting a condo right near Rum Point in the very near future.

 

I'm sure I left out a lot but honestly, I'm going off of about 4 hours sleep and we spent about 6 hours in the airports today. We are tired but out of everything we did, this was by far, the BEST part of our little vacation. Our new friends also feel the same way..Hi Jill, Dan, Vicki and Tony if you guys are reading this. We are so happy you all came with us...you made the day that much better!

 

I'm sure you all have questions, so go for it. I'll do my best to help you get your answers.

 

Thanks again BoatBunny!

[Ima_HockeyMom]

When you reserved your car from Avis did they get your credit card info or did they make the reservation without it? I reserved a car and was sent an email with a confirmation number, but I've never heard of reserving a car without a credit card.

 

Also, you may have already answered this, but I don't want to reread this entire thread. When you got to Rum Point could you rent the water toys from Red Sail with a credit card or did you need cash?

 

Thanks so much for the great excursion idea and all of the help you've been.

 

Dawn

 

With Red Sail, they want a credit card imprint only for the jet skis, the other items, they will accept a cash deposit (or a cc, either will work). I beleive it was $20 for the snorkel equipment deposit if you paid cash and $15 to rent it. I ended up just giving them my cc imprint for the snorkel stuff in case we also did the jet skis. We didn't and then I just left the snorkel cost ($15) on my cc. They are a 'real' company so I wouldn't hesitate at all to give them a cc imprint. :)

[Ima_HockeyMom]

Very good question and I'd also like to ask if you can bring any of your own food or drinks with you?:confused:

 

De

 

I wouldn't. The food and drinks there are GREAT. They don't charge for the beach access so even though the prices were a bit steep, just think of it as the cost of the beach also. :)

 

Trust me, it's worth every penny of it. I'm telling you, we thought the food was fantastic. I had a very yummy blue coconut drink that was really, really good.

[selectone]

Our group of 6 went to Rum Point as a last minute idea. You all have probably read several threads conerning Cico Avis. Some say they are a bit "flakey" about returning emails. The Cico lady said they have real problems with AOL.

I did not make a reservation. I made a real gamble, but as it turned out, Cico has 9 passenger Ford Suburbans for $119.00. She said they are not very popular and they rarely sell out this size. The folks there are extremely professional, courteous, and very personable.

Oh, yes. When the fellow picks you up at the Blue Iguana. Put on a blindfold and a seat belt. It you don't, carry plenty of toilet paper with you. He drives like a madman.

The drive to Rum Point was the best scenery imaginable. The RP beach area was great. Plenty of shady trees. Access to water was great. Sandy beach to sandy bottom. Shallow (2 to 3 feet) until you get to the end of the pier where the reef begins and all the fishies are. To the East, the rocks and corral are great havens for fish also.

We stopped at a supermarket on the way to RP and bought Cokes, water, cookies and ice. No one at RP said anything about bringing our own food. We did buy a little food, and it was unbelievably expensive.

The Red Sail does have all the water toys you may want and they also do excursions from RP. However, you better reserve an excursion with them on line. They were sold out when we got there. This was a disappointment for our group, but the beach relaxing made up for it.

And, the starfish area is 1 mile to the west. Worth the extra drive over there.

I give Rum Point a good thumb's up with a 5 star rating. I will say, the water temperature was perfect. I didn't have a thermometer, but I would guess it was about 85 degrees.

[BiggerBob]

Boatbunny (Michelle)-Thanks so much for e-mailing your pictures so quickly. If I thought we were excited before, now we are really excited:D . It looks absolutely beautiful. I just hope we don't spoil the rest of our trip as Grand Caymen is out first stop. :rolleyes:

 

So happy to hear all the positive comments from recent cruisers.

 

Just a note about renting from Avis. I e-mailed last night to reserve a jeep and received my confirmation back already today! My husband can't wait to drive the jeep:cool: .

[Suesan Jean]

What a GREAT REVIEW of Rum Point!!!:) I throughly enjoyed it!!! I can't wait till we are there in February!!!! I wonder what the water temperature will be???

 

Where else did you go on your cruise? I would like to know what the rest of your trip was like, have you written a review, if so, which cruise lines??? Oh, I see, Carnival.

 

I am glad you had a great trip, it sounds like Rum Point was just the best!!!:) Thank YOU for taking the time to write down your experience and suggestions, like taking a cab to the airport instead of waiting for the shuttle, time IS of the essence.......!!!

 

Suesan:) :) :)

[smrtypnts]

I'm sure you all have questions, so go for it. I'll do my best to help you get your answers.

 

Can you not take a taxi out to Rum Point? If not, how much was it to rent the car/jeep?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Ima_HockeyMom]

You could probably take a cab I guess but it would pretty expensive back and forth.

 

We went to Cozumel first, stayed till midnight then onto Cayman then onto Ocho Rios. We didn't like O.R. but I think next time it will be better because I will be better prepared for what it's like. It's my own fault really, I thought we would just do it on our own...NOT. :)

 

This was the second time for us to Cayman. The first time, was 2 years ago and we did the stingray city and 2 snorkel stops. It was great. Our entire family of 13 went for about $350...it was a great day.

 

For us, time was really important in Cayman this time. They wanted us back in line for the tender at 3 pm. We would have had an extra hour in Rum Point if we didn't have to wait for the shop to open.

 

Another suggestion is try to find a tropical fish chart that you can take with you in the water. It will help you identify all the neat fish. I think you can get them with little rubber wrist bands.

 

You are going to have a great time. Enjoy.

[Ima_HockeyMom]

Can you not take a taxi out to Rum Point? If not, how much was it to rent the car/jeep?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

For the Taurus, it was $60 and that was all inclusive. I believe for the Jeep it was $79. That includes gas, insurance, drivers fees, etc.

 

I believe the Expedition was $109 or $120. They might even have cheaper vehicles there.

[smrtypnts]

Thank you.:)

[boatbunny]

Boatbunny (Michelle)-Thanks so much for e-mailing your pictures so quickly. If I thought we were excited before, now we are really excited:D . It looks absolutely beautiful. I just hope we don't spoil the rest of our trip as Grand Caymen is out first stop. :rolleyes:

 

So happy to hear all the positive comments from recent cruisers.

 

Just a note about renting from Avis. I e-mailed last night to reserve a jeep and received my confirmation back already today! My husband can't wait to drive the jeep:cool: .

 

You are very welcome! It is so great reading all of these posts and seeing that most have had just as great of an experience as we did.

 

Ima... sounds like you had a great trip, and a great time at Rum Point. I agree with you, it is not the cheapest place, but it is well worth the money that you do spend. I guess I am surprised when I read people find it incredibly expensive, I've been to far more expensive places that were not nearly as nice, and I've paid a lot more for excursions that I didn't enjoy as much. Guess it's all a frame of mind.

 

Anyway, if I don't respond right away to someone requesting pictures, I apologize. I am opening a new pastry shop on Friday and am out straight, I will send the pics though as soon as I get a chance, but I believe someone else has posted pics on this thread as well.

 

I can't wait til I can get back to Rum Point, but given my new business venture, it's gonna be a while. So, please keep posting your Rum Point experiences as I relive my time there through all of you!!

 

Michelle