Grand Cayman Port - Opinions!

[USCcruisecrazy]

We are traveling on the Western Caribbean Itinerary on the Sky Princess from 7-14 December.  We plan to snorkel in Roatan and we have a day at Maya Chan Beach Resort in Costa Maya.  So, we don't plan to do an excursion in Grand Cayman.

 

Question:  since it is a Tender Port, and since we are not doing an excursion, is it worth getting off and seeing the port?  Or should we try a "First time ever" day on the ship when in port?  Do they have shopping and restaurants where the tenders dock?  Or is it mostly just beach.  Never been to Grand Cayman.  Thanks for the words!!!

[1025cruise]

The "usual" shops are near the pier. I don't remember restaurants, but I'm sure there are a couple.

But, if you've never been to GC, you should go to Hell, and send yourself a postcard.

[USCcruisecrazy]

5 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

The "usual" shops are near the pier. I don't remember restaurants, but I'm sure there are a couple.

But, if you've never been to GC, you should go to Hell, and send yourself a postcard.

That made me laugh out loud!!!  Appreciate that.  I assume Hell is a community on the island.  Is it a short taxi or bus ride?  Or within walking distance?  Thanks!

[john_galt]

There is a post office in Hell. I sent "Christmas Cards From Hell" one year. Had them all ready. Probably sent two dozen. Red cards in red envelopes. 

 

[neverbeenhere]

You used to be able to take a city bus to hell for a buck. You may still be able to take the bus. By taxi, I’m sure it is $40 plus on grand Cayman. 
 

It really is not worth a $80 trip. If you on the turtle farm tour or sting ray already, it’s worth the stop. 

[john_galt]

Post Office in Hell circa 1988. 

 

 

[grouchomarx]

Grand Cayman is nice but there's nothing terribly interesting in the port. Shops, places to eat but nothing ever stuck out that much to me.  We are stopping there on our upcoming cruise and were going to just walk around but decided a  simple little tour around for an hour might be a better use of our time so we booked it. I'd say you could just enjoy a quiet ship that day if you're not going to do an excursion.  The first time we went we did the stingray city and that was awesome.  But I only need to do that once in my lifetime.  

[USCcruisecrazy]

Appreciate the words!  Yeah, don't think $80 to see that Post Office, even though it's in Hell, is worth the price.

 

We may just do a quiet ship day since the other 3 stops will all be busy days!

[Steelers36]

Did you try the port/island board for ideas?

 

[voljeep]

if you go... take you big wallet ... nothing, ab-so-lute-ly nothing ... say it again ... is inexpensive in GC...

[MissP22]

50 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

The "usual" shops are near the pier. I don't remember restaurants, but I'm sure there are a couple.

But, if you've never been to GC, you should go to Hell, and send yourself a postcard.

That's a total waste of time. It's not worth the time to even get off the shuttle.

The prices of everything on G Cayman are out of sight, even the T shirts.

 

About the only thing worth while is booking a trip (not Princess) to swim with the sting rays and buying some big black dick rum. 

[neverbeenhere]

What you see at Hell.

[john_galt]

Turtle Farm is nice. Professional photography was horrifically expensive. 

 

 

[ontheweb]

1 minute ago, john_galt said:

Turtle Farm is nice. Professional photography was horrifically expensive. 

 

 

Yes, the Turtle Farm is fascinating.

 

Hell was a real waste of time.

[john_galt]

They even had a baby ray off in a side tank. Highlight of the entire cruise.

 

 

[mjmalino]

1 hour ago, 1025cruise said:

The "usual" shops are near the pier. I don't remember restaurants, but I'm sure there are a couple.

But, if you've never been to GC, you should go to Hell, and send yourself a postcard.

And take your passport to get stamped there, this way you can prove that you have been to Hell and back, and they do indeed, stamp passports. 

[mjmalino]

When we were there a few years ago, we took a ship sponsored excursions (one of the few we have ever done) that was a bicycle tour of the island (the island is flat, so it was an easy ride, and only about 8 miles) that stopped at Hell, the turtle Farm and the Rum Factory. After returning our bikes, the shuttle took us to a beach where they gave us snorkeling equipment and a coupon for a free drink and we were able to get a shuttle back to the boat at our leisure.

[nukesubsailor]

1 hour ago, USCcruisecrazy said:

We are traveling on the Western Caribbean Itinerary on the Sky Princess from 7-14 December.  We plan to snorkel in Roatan and we have a day at Maya Chan Beach Resort in Costa Maya.  So, we don't plan to do an excursion in Grand Cayman.

 

Question:  since it is a Tender Port, and since we are not doing an excursion, is it worth getting off and seeing the port?  Or should we try a "First time ever" day on the ship when in port?  Do they have shopping and restaurants where the tenders dock?  Or is it mostly just beach.  Never been to Grand Cayman.  Thanks for the words!!!

The only reason we have found for going ashore is to eat lunch.  We walk from the tender dock to Margaritaville, eat a cheeseburger from paradise, drink a grand margarita, and stagger back to the tender dock.

[skynight]

Grand Cayman has a fleet of shore side tenders. Pretty easy to get ashore once the initial crunch is over. There is a street that runs along the waterfront where most of the stores and restaurants are located. Takes about an hour to walk up & down. I think it is worth the trip.

[WisCruiser2]

If you enjoy snorkeling, look into Captain Marvin's Stingray City tour, even though Captain Marvin himself is no longer here. 

The last time we were in GC, we walked to Sunset House, a small resort (15 - 20 minutes, tops) and snorkeled there off their breakwater (it's on the rocky side).

[CineGraphic]

May I suggest the Cayman Spirits Company's tour and rum tasting.

It's a bargain at $15 per adult, and it's just a short cab ride to the distillery.

https://caymanspirits.com/tours/

[bookbabe]

The public bus to Hell or the beach is $2.50 pp and you catch it a couple of short blocks from the tender port.
 

Stingray City is THE thing to do in Cayman.  Swimming with the stingrays there is an unforgettable experience.  If you’ve never been, booking an excursion there would be my number one recommendation.

 

There is also pretty good snorkelling at Eden Rock, within walking distance of the tender port.

 

At the very least, get off the ship and walk around the downtown area.  There’s a nice little museum there as well as all the shops and restaurants.

 

Cayman is the best port in the Caribbean.  It’s safe, people are friendly, it has gorgeous views and weather, and you can drink the water and eat the food without worries.  We made our first visit to Cayman via cruise ship for our honeymoon in 1996.  And after a number of land vacations there, we built a vacation home (just after Ivan in 2004) at Rum Point and we’ve been spending most of our vacations there ever since.  It’s definitely not a ‘stay on the ship’ port.

 

 

Edited November 1, 2019 by bookbabe

[MissP22]

26 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

Stingray City is THE thing to do in Cayman.  Swimming with the stingrays there is an unforgettable experience.  If you’ve never been, booking an excursion there would be my number one recommendation.

I agree.

If you've never been there before it's the one thing people should try.

It's best to do it with a small group from one of the local tours & not from a ships excursion. Just get off the tender & there are loads of tours being formed in the plaza. Besides being 1/2 the price you'll have a much better experience with a small group of 8 or 10 people rather than dozens on a larger boat from the ship. 

They all go to the same sand bar. 

[shipgeeks]

If you happen to be there on a Sunday, many of the businesses (shops) will be closed.

We have done both Stingray City and Turtle Farm excursions.  We enjoyed them both, and we are not excursion (or even port) people.

[kayehall]

Grand Cayman is a beautiful island.  Some of the shops are the same but they have 1 that you will not find anywhere else....Guy Harvey.  I am doing the stingrays for the first time in Feb 2020.  They also have some very good snorkeling in Grand Cayman.  It is a bit more high end but not extreme.  Even if you just walk around town it is worth the visit.  This is just my opinion but I would stay on the ship in Costa Maya and def go visit GC.