Best snorkeling during shorter Cayman stop??

[maestroteague]

My wife and I will be in Grand Cayman August 20 on the Inspiration. We are supposed to dock at 7:30 AM and leave at 2:00 PM. With tendering, that's not a lot of time, but there will only be one other ship (the Imagination) in port that day with us, so it should not be crowded.

 

I've read a great deal on the boards here, but I wanted to ask those of you who have been here for your advice. We're planning to do snorkeling with Edventures out of Calica the next day, so we'll already see some great snorkeling there. We own our own snorkeling equipment, so there is no expense at all there. Since we're paying for a big day with Edventures and with limited time, we're not going to pay for an excursion in GC. We'll wait on our next trip to GC to see the sting rays.

 

I have seen recommendations for Eden Rock, Cheeseburger reef, and the Cali and Gamma wrecks, especially since they are close to the pier. Our plan has been to take a bus or cab to Cemetary beach and snorkel/relax there for most of our time. Possibly go to Hell first to mail some postcards and take some pictures (would this be a waste of precious time?). I definitely don't want to be left, though, so we'd have to head back toward the tendering area early enough.

 

A question that I haven't seen addressed on any of the posts here is this: I know that Island time is an hour behind ship time, so that's 6:30 arrival. If we get an early tender and catch a cab up to Cemetary beach, will it be too cold early in the morning to go snorkeling? I realise that it is August, but I just had to ask.

 

Finally, is there anything we really should do instead of snorkeling? I know I'll be snorkeling the next day in a different location, but I hate to count on that and then have weather cancel our plans. We snorkeled on our first cruise and loved it. Second cruise (few years ago in Dec.) was too cold. Last time we delayed snorkeling in Key West planning to go in Nassau, and the ship ran aground attempting to dock busting one of the engines and causing us to be unable to dock at all (had to start home early, but got a good discount on this cruise as a result).

 

Well, enough rambling. Recommendations, please.....

Thanks.

Maestroteague

[Lsimon]

If I were you I'd just go to Eden Rock for your snorkeling, this assumes decent conditions (not too rough water) in that area - which you won't know until you get ashore.

 

To be honest, I've never been to Cemetery area - just Eden Rock and reefs on east side of island on trips that also stopped at Stingray City. When conditions are good we've found fantastic conditions at Eden Rock area - but with rough conditions it is more difficult to swim the hundred yards or so out to the best areas of the reef, and the water visibility goes down. I don't know if Cemetery area is similarly effected by the same conditions, but the area to/from Sting Ray City might not be as it is on the other side of the island.

 

We've never done the Cali, but saw that area after snorkeling Eden Rock when we took the short walk to the Cali area for lunch - we didn't even realize it was the Cali area until we were eating and asked the waitress what what off shore from the restaurant. Both Eden Rock and Cali have the benefit of being a 5 or 10 minute walk from the tender area - so you don't need to worry about traffic when scheduling your return to the ship.

[Penguins on fire]

:D Last time i was in Grand Cayman we just took a taxi to 7 mile beach. It was (I think) 5$ per person and they had some great snorkeling right off the beach. We were dropped off at the first stop (not sure of the name) and there were fresh water showers and bathrooms. Just up the beach (away from the ships) you can see a small reef that has quite a good # of fish including small stingrays. I was snorkeling for about 30 minutes and saw 2. Personally I would skip hell. The post office and the "welcome to hell" sign is about it for highlights on this stop. Its just some weird looking rocks. If your only going to be in cayman a few short hours do anything else.