Cayman Islands excursions

[CarolnLarry]

We cannot bring up any excursions for Grand Cayman or George Town on our available excursions for our cruise. The excursion block comes up gray and unable to even see the excursions.  No problems with the rest of our cruise ports.  Anyone know why this is happening?

[Itchy&Scratchy]

happened to our sailing as well. I think it's a glitch.

Tell you what - several people got hurt on our MSC stingray city excursion, including me and my dad. MSC documented our complaints, but did nothing else about it.

[d9704011]

2 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

happened to our sailing as well. I think it's a glitch.

Tell you what - several people got hurt on our MSC stingray city excursion, including me and my dad. MSC documented our complaints, but did nothing else about it.

Maybe they sent a sternly worded letter to the rays...

[Itchy&Scratchy]

10 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Maybe they sent a sternly worded letter to the rays...

the rays weren't the problem. They were very nice and cooperative, and actually the highlight of this rather painful excursion. Too bad we only had 20 minutes on the location.

Edited November 29, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy

[mvh]

Having the same issue with Grand Cayman. I have also heard it has taken over 3 hours to get everyone tendered as well. 

[CarolnLarry]

Thany you everyone for your responses.

[RolandofGilead]

yeah, we did hear that someone got a prop bite last week when an inexperienced captain left the motor engaged. It made me check the language on the ticket which has the typical lawyering of excursions purchase through MSC are not provided by MSC (or something along those lines). we had a large groups which made a private charter an option but i dont think you could do that if not in the yacht club because of long tender waits. All of the boats looked overcrowded. when we got to stingray city it was crazy busy.

[mvh]

Can anyone who has recently tendered to Grand Cayman on the escape give me an update on how long it took without being in the Yacht club or a MSC booked excursion? We anchor at 8:00 and we have a 10:00am excursion booked. Will I make it? Also, has anyone recently been able to book an excursion to GC? I am now less than 50 days out and it still shows nothing. Thx

[Itchy&Scratchy]

6 hours ago, RolandofGilead said:

It made me check the language on the ticket which has the typical lawyering of excursions purchase through MSC are not provided by MSC (or something along those lines).

the boat captain made us sign another waiver.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

4 hours ago, mvh said:

We anchor at 8:00 and we have a 10:00am excursion booked. Will I make it?

we were late last week. Everyone blamed it on the harbor master.

 

We had an MSC excursion which was supposed to start at 9:30, but it didn't start until an hour later. Many people on other MSC excursions were delayed by 2 hours. I booked an MSC excursion because I've read on here about people not being let off the boat until much later.

[mvh]

49 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we were late last week. Everyone blamed it on the harbor master.

 

We had an MSC excursion which was supposed to start at 9:30, but it didn't start until an hour later. Many people on other MSC excursions were delayed by 2 hours. I booked an MSC excursion because I've read on here about people not being let off the boat until much later.

That's what I would like to do, but for some reason there are no excursions list for Grand Cayman on the website. It says they are working on it and coming soon? Been like that for over a month, we'll see.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

2 hours ago, mvh said:

That's what I would like to do, but for some reason there are no excursions list for Grand Cayman on the website. It says they are working on it and coming soon? Been like that for over a month, we'll see.

they've been down for several weeks. For our last week's cruise as well...

[joeyancho]

3 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

the boat captain made us sign another waiver.

I don't think the excursion provider can hide behind the waiver if the captain left the prop running while people are in the water.  That is gross negligence.   If you were injured seek the advice of an attorney.   

[Pookie2u]

My May cruise also does not have the Grand Cayman excursions but I did find some listed on one of MSC's pages, https://www.msccruisesusa.com/cruise/destinations/caribbean/cayman-islands/george-town . I'm hoping they will become available before I sail.  Happy cruising!

[mvh]

11 hours ago, Pookie2u said:

My May cruise also does not have the Grand Cayman excursions but I did find some listed on one of MSC's pages, https://www.msccruisesusa.com/cruise/destinations/caribbean/cayman-islands/george-town . I'm hoping they will become available before I sail.  Happy cruising!

I found this too. I called MSC to book one and they said everything was sold out. Funny that nothing else is sold out for any other port. Oh well, honestly I would rather stay on board than do the whole tender thing, but we have newbies that want to go ashore.

[Pookie2u]

10 hours ago, mvh said:

I found this too. I called MSC to book one and they said everything was sold out. Funny that nothing else is sold out for any other port. Oh well, honestly I would rather stay on board than do the whole tender thing, but we have newbies that want to go ashore.

Well that doesn't sound promising.  It's my guess that it's a glitch and the customer service rep didn't know other than the screen had nothing. 

I'm with you about the tenders.  My last experience left quite the impression and I don't care to repeat it.  But I've not been to Grand Cayman and was kind of looking forward to seeing a new port.

[mvh]

12 minutes ago, Pookie2u said:

Well that doesn't sound promising.  It's my guess that it's a glitch and the customer service rep didn't know other than the screen had nothing. 

I'm with you about the tenders.  My last experience left quite the impression and I don't care to repeat it.  But I've not been to Grand Cayman and was kind of looking forward to seeing a new port.

That's what I thought, but I tried again and gave them an actual excursion number and the two I wanted they said were both sold out. They had a few other things that were not sold out. We did fine a Stingray tour that leaves at 11:15. I think we will be ok for that time even if we're not on the first tender. Still plan on getting a ticket early though.

[ellem84]

I googled this very same thing and this is where it lead me.

 

All I can say is, I am terrified that trying a different cruise line other than Royal Carribean has me so stressed out.  Ya'll!  Are we going to be completely disappointed because we spent thousands of dollars for vacation only to have a horrendous experience?

Hearing how people are rude on the ship (other passengers and crew), long wait times for everything, "sold out" shows, disembarkation being a nightmare and feeling like cattle being prodded out of the gates, to long tender times to get on shore!  Does anyone have any words of encouragement with MSC?

[Itchy&Scratchy]

2 hours ago, ellem84 said:

Does anyone have any words of encouragement with MSC?

yes. Please check out my review in signature. There were some things we greatly disliked about MSC, but in general we enjoyed our cruise. However, we didn't spend "thousands" on the cruise. We booked a Fantastica balcony for 3 for $2,300 plus grats, airfare and hotel. The latter three are a part of any of our cruises. So, $2,300, considering that we got a drink package included in it to drown our MSC caused sorrows, was a decent price for this cruise. Not a complete disappointment by any means.

 

We made reservations for theater shows through the app when we boarded, however, 5 minutes before the show they stop checking the reservations, and you actually get the premium seats at the top which are reserved for the elite, who don't show up in reserved amounts.

 

P.S. I will never book an MSC excursion in Grand Cayman. If we want to go ashore there, I will book a whole cruise with a different line. Same goes for Jamaica.

Edited December 5, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy

[morpheusofthesea]

On 12/1/2023 at 8:23 PM, mvh said:

think we will be ok for that time even if we're not on the first tender. Still plan on getting a ticket early though.

Be very interested if you are first in line for the door to the sports bar to open if you are able to get tender ticket #1 .

[Jorhammer]

Once you board you can book excursions to GC. In the Seascape we were given a booklet with all the available excursions to pick from. Probably another issue with the website. 

[psmarkle]

On 11/30/2023 at 8:54 AM, mvh said:

Can anyone who has recently tendered to Grand Cayman on the escape give me an update on how long it took without being in the Yacht club or a MSC booked excursion? We anchor at 8:00 and we have a 10:00am excursion booked. Will I make it? Also, has anyone recently been able to book an excursion to GC? I am now less than 50 days out and it still shows nothing. Thx

 

You should be fine with those times. We always book our own GC excursions, sometimes spur of the moment at the pier, and have never had a problem making it. I will say, stingray city on your own excursion vs through the ship is the way to go!

[psmarkle]

On 12/5/2023 at 10:52 AM, ellem84 said:

I googled this very same thing and this is where it lead me.

 

All I can say is, I am terrified that trying a different cruise line other than Royal Carribean has me so stressed out.  Ya'll!  Are we going to be completely disappointed because we spent thousands of dollars for vacation only to have a horrendous experience?

Hearing how people are rude on the ship (other passengers and crew), long wait times for everything, "sold out" shows, disembarkation being a nightmare and feeling like cattle being prodded out of the gates, to long tender times to get on shore!  Does anyone have any words of encouragement with MSC?

 

We have been on 50+ cruises, so what you've described can be found on all the major lines. For me, personally, we are done with Carnival, but that's just our experience. We enjoy a good Royal experience, but the prices have gone crazy. NCL had been our go-to line for a very long time until we found MSC, now we're hooked!  You don't see a whole lot of cruise passenger fight videos on youtube occurring on MSC ships, but you do find them on other ships. Go ahead a do a search, they're out there!

 

Your cruise is going to be what you make of it. If you're expecting high-end gourmet on a main-line cruise ship, you might be disappointed. For me, decent food at a casual restaurant level quality, where I'm not doing the cooking nor the dishes? Count me in! Midnight pizza delivery? Yessir!! Eggs benedict for breakfast...now I know I'm on vacation!

 

Chair hogs by the pool? No worries, I usually try to find chairs on the upper decks away from the crowds anyways (disclaimer: this is in reference to our earlier cruise days since we only sail YC on MSC where there are no chair hogs in the YC pool deck as there are more chairs than YC passengers).

 

Lines at the buffet? Usually not if you go to the one at the back which most people forget about! Sold out shows? Did you not get your act together before the cruise and have your days planned out?! What kind of vacay planner r u? LOL!

 

MSC is in the same arena as the Royal and NCL. It's a main line cruise experience for a fair price. If you want higher end, go into the YC like we do (LUV IT!), go to a luxury cruise line, or temper your expectations that no matter what, it still beats being at work on a good day at the office!!

[mvh]

1 hour ago, psmarkle said:

 

You should be fine with those times. We always book our own GC excursions, sometimes spur of the moment at the pier, and have never had a problem making it. I will say, stingray city on your own excursion vs through the ship is the way to go!

Thanks for the confidence. I was able to find the same one at 11:00. So, I feel I will be fine. I agree that the ship offered excursions are jammed packed and not as good as booking yourself. Especially on ports I have been to several times.