Photos & excursion report from 11/21 rough waters

[iamlisad]

We were in GC on 11/21 when only 3 of 6 scheduled ships were able to tender in due to rough weather. I've set up an album with a few photos of Stingray City and the downtown dock. Photos can be found at http://family.webshots.com/album/556111496kFleOn?vhost=family

 

Here is the GC portion of my trip report:

 

Our second port was Georgetown, Grand Cayman. As rough as the water was I was surprised to learn we were still going ashore. We were in the first tender off (and the crew did a great job of completely lifting my Aunt in her wheelchair in and out of the bouncing tender) but we went into a remote location, not the usual one downtown. My link to the photos include some shots of what the downtown pier looked like that day. I had reserved the Reefs, Rays & Rum tour with Nativeway. They met us promprtly, loaded us on our own bus, and took us to the marina where we boarded our own boat. (there were 27 of us with our family group ranging from age 3 - 81 including the one in a wheelchair.) I understand that all of the ship’s water based excursions were cancelled on 11/21 but we had a great day and at no time did I feel unsafe, although it was rough. I’m lousy with names but we had two young men who were the crew with Nativeway and we were also offered the services of Ziggy the videographer. Since we were a private group the price for him to go along was $300 and would include 5 DVD’s. We decided to go for it and split it up. I’m so glad we did. We haven’t seen the video yet but he was such a big help with the kids and helped us all to feel safe. Because of the rough waters when we stopped at the reef the crew suggested everyone wear flotation devices to snorkel. They threw a life preserver on a rope tied to the boat out a little ways and encouraged all of the kids and weaker swimmers to hold onto the rope and slide their way along to look at the reef. This worked really well, even in choppy water. If one of the kids let go, Ziggy or one of the crew was right there to get them back on the rope. We didn’t know at the time of all of the cancellations, and knowing now what we didn’t know then I’m not sure we would have gone ahead with the excursion… but as I said, Nativeway took very good care of us, including lifting the wheelchair passenger in and out of a bouncing boat. At stingray city they made a large circle with rope and again told the kids to stay in the circle. It was calmer there, but still choppy. There were only about 3 other boats there visiting so we had lots of rays to visit with. The kids really enjoyed it, despite some Steve Irwin anxiety on the part of some.

 

From there the crew radioed ahead to rum point to make sure we could land. They got the green light and they radioed in our lunch order. Docking was an adventure with lots of bouncing and bumping. I actually suspect some damage was done to the boat during one very hard bounce. Eventually we were lined up and able to get off the boat. I know that they made extra effort to dock carefully in rough water to make the wheelchair transfer possible.

 

The food at Rum Point was great and the water at the beach relatively calm despite the weather. The kids really enjoyed the beach break here and the teens got to play some volleyball. The original plan was for them to take us back to the marina on the boat, but given the rough conditions they offered to bring a bus for us and we took them up on the offer rather than reloading the wheelchair into the boat. They took most of the group back to the tender point and dropped a few of us downtown for an hour of shopping at which point I took the photos of the downtown dock area in the folder. Unbelievable considering what it had looked like on our last cruise stopping in GC. We rode back to the tender point in a taxi with the shopping guide from our ship and she told us that we were one of 3 ships allowed to tender in that day out of 6 that were scheduled. She claimed that this is simply based on which 3 ships arrived first. I'm not sure if it's really that simple of a selection process! All things considered we had a great day despite the weather that the whole family will remember forever.

 

Lisa D

Pittsburgh, PA

[familycruzer]

How old were the kids? Mine will be 12 and 16 but not the best swimmers. Even with rough waters, did you think I was easy enough for them to enjoy the stingray stop? The life preservers at the reef sounds like a good idea.

[iamlisad]

Yes - I think that if they're comfortable being in the water and not too squeamish about the stingrays you'll be fine. Stingray city is much calmer than the reef stop - at least it has been both times we've been there. By booking one of the private companies posted here on cruisecritic I think you're more likely to get the personal attention that your kids might need to make the experience really comfortable for them. I'm not a strong swimmer and I felt comfortable. Kids in our group ranged from 3 - 16. Two were afraid to get in the water because of the Steve Irwin stuff, but the rest did just fine. It's really a unique opportunity to give your kids!

[familycruzer]

If we book, we will use Nativeways. I will not pay ship prices.

[Russ_MT]

How old were the kids? Mine will be 12 and 16 but not the best swimmers. Even with rough waters, did you think I was easy enough for them to enjoy the stingray stop? The life preservers at the reef sounds like a good idea.

 

Our son is 7 and not a great swimmer. We went with Native ways (great decision) and he had a life vest for the reef and he could stand on the sand bar. When snorkeling you aren't really swimming (to keep your head above water) so even poor swimmers can just float without moving a muscle. They gave us a rope to hold on to if we wanted to be tethered. He used a life vest (for security).

 

We all had an excellent time 2 weeks ago. It's a great excursion. The best!

[wa.mama]

Our youngest is seven also, and there were several younger kids on the excursion that went piggyback on dad's back into the water. The sandbar is shallow, but if the surf's up do put a vest on your child and maintain contact.