How far is the walking distance from the port to Royal Palms?

[browneyedwoman]

We are looking at going to the Royal Palms for our day at Grand Cayman. My DH and I are in our mid forties and we prefer beautiful beaches that have loungers, some shade, very good drink service, some Caribbean music - not techno or rap and not many kids. I've done some research and I think Royal Palms might be the lucky winner. I read that some cabs don't want to stop there because it's so close to the ship and they won't make as much of a fare as to other places. Can we walk the beach from where the tender drops us off down to Royal Palms? Are there bars to stop at along the way on the beach to buy some hydration? :)

[fitzjount]

I had the same question since I will be heading there next week. I found this post: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1805989 as well as this site: http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-article---a-walk-to-seven-mile-beach.html

 

It has some good information, but may not fully answer your question.

[TurtleTagger]

Cab fare from port to Royal Palms vs a beach clubs a bit farther down the road is about $1 difference per person. If you are hiring a cab, you can insist to be dropped off at RP. If you run into difficulty just ask the driver for his name and license # and hand the them the number for the Cayman Islands Taxi Tour Operators Association: 345-926-7480

[drew sailbum]

Royal Palms is at 537 West Bay Rd.

 

The Royal Watler Terminal is located at 7 North Church St. North Church St has addresses that go as high as 348, in theory.

 

There are 500 address units per mile in Cayman's addressing system. You have to walk to the far end of North Church St and then the road name changes to West Bay Rd.

 

Therefore Royal Palms is [537 + (348-7)]/500 = 1.756 miles north of the northernmost cruise terminal.

 

There are a few bars along the way, particularly those close to the tender pier. Catch too much refreshment to start and you might never make it as far as the beach.

[Colorado Kat]

I would not walk along the road to Royal Palms - not really safe. I haven't walked the beach there.

 

There are buses that you can take as well. $2.50? per person?

[drew sailbum]

I would not walk along the road to Royal Palms - not really safe. I haven't walked the beach there.

 

There are buses that you can take as well. $2.50? per person?

 

IMHO, the safety issue is due to a lack of sidewalks for part of the walk. That means you are walking partly in a very busy road.

 

And on some days at least the tropical sun will really take its toll if you are not accustomed to such conditions.

 

You can catch the US$2.50 public bus next to the library on Edward Street. Well worth the price.

[bookbabe]

I would not walk along the road to Royal Palms - not really safe. I haven't walked the beach there.

 

I'll second Drew's comments. The above is a bit misleading. It's perfectly safe to walk in that area from a security standpoint. I walk around George Town on my own all the time. Traffic is just bad sometimes, and there's no sidewalks to walk on for about half the distance to Royal Palms. And you're going to be tired, hot and sweaty by the end of the walk. Spend the $5pp round-trip and take the bus, or splurge and spend the $8pp round-trip and take a taxi...it's well worth the money. :D

[funfamilyof6]

IMHO, the safety issue is due to a lack of sidewalks for part of the walk. That means you are walking partly in a very busy road.

 

And on some days at least the tropical sun will really take its toll if you are not accustomed to such conditions.

 

You can catch the US$2.50 public bus next to the library on Edward Street. Well worth the price.

 

I'll second Drew's comments. The above is a bit misleading. It's perfectly safe to walk in that area from a security standpoint. I walk around George Town on my own all the time. Traffic is just bad sometimes, and there's no sidewalks to walk on for about half the distance to Royal Palms. And you're going to be tired, hot and sweaty by the end of the walk. Spend the $5pp round-trip and take the bus, or splurge and spend the $8pp round-trip and take a taxi...it's well worth the money. :D

 

Good info!!!!

[browneyedwoman]

Thanks for the info. We'll just take a cab.

[cb at sea]

We tried to find some place with music, too....but no luck! All of the beaches are public, and there are chair/umbrellas rentals everywhere. Restrooms, and restaurant/bar are up and down the beach, also. A bus is easy and cheaper than a cab!

[axid]

We tried to find some place with music, too....but no luck! All of the beaches are public, and there are chair/umbrellas rentals everywhere. Restrooms, and restaurant/bar are up and down the beach, also. A bus is easy and cheaper than a cab!

 

Yes, bus could definitely work especially on your way back to port. We were at Royal Palms last week and when we wanted to leave, the taxi driver at Royal Palms wouldn't depart until the ENTIRE taxi/bus was full. It would have been a long wait as we were the only once there who wanted to leave at the time. We even tried to pay him extra, and he still wouldn't leave. So we ended up starting to walk and caught the public bus just a few blocks away at a bus stop. It was actually a fun and new experience - we felt very safe and even had our 7 and 9-year old boys with us. Long story short, the bus worked for us!!!

[Momma1980]

Can anyone tell me if Carnival ships ALWAYS dock at the Royal Watler location? Thanks!

[TurtleTagger]

Can anyone tell me if Carnival ships ALWAYS dock at the Royal Watler location? Thanks!

 

No. Since GC is a tender port, no large cruise ships will dock at the terminal. Unless there are rough seas, all cruise ships will anchor in the harbour and passengers will ride the tender boats to the terminal. If cases of rough seas, there is a secondary tender dock at Spotts Beach a few miles east of George Town which is used.

[Momma1980]

No. Since GC is a tender port, no large cruise ships will dock at the terminal. Unless there are rough seas, all cruise ships will anchor in the harbour and passengers will ride the tender boats to the terminal. If cases of rough seas, there is a secondary tender dock at Spotts Beach a few miles east of George Town which is used.

 

Thank you for your answer. Silly me; I forgot this was a tender port:/

[poptart]

I had the same question since I will be heading there next week. I found this post: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1805989 as well as this site: http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-article---a-walk-to-seven-mile-beach.html

 

It has some good information, but may not fully answer your question.

 

Glad I found this thread, good info. We plan on spending the day Royal Palms also.

 

Love to watch their web cam. No kids in the pool is a plus for us. :D

[reney313]

We LOVED our day at Royal Palms. For our family, I booked a beach cabana (and a pool cabana, but it went unused). I would recommend looking into one of these if you have a group of 4-6 people. It's not much more than renting the loungers and umbrella, and it comes with loungers already.

 

We did take a taxi there and a bus back. When I mentioned RP, he did try and "sell" me on a place further down. That being said, it was a very simple "no thank you, I already have a cabana reserved at RP". There were others in the van with us and they then asked about RP--I told them $2 a person to get in and there was a bar, restaurant, and loungers available for rent. The whole bus got off. LOL :)

[justbreezing]

Was paying for the cabana at Royal Palm worth it. I will have my children and six grandchildren. All 5 adults like a good cocktail and good food. The kids all like the ocean and digging on the beach so I thought renting a cabana on the beach for the day would be nice instead of an excursion. We plan to do excursions in Montego Bay and a waterpark thing in Cozumel. Any info you can give me on the cabana experience will be helpful. Also how much was the cab to Royal Palm and how many people did it accommodate.