Not able to go to Grand Cayman?

[sledman]

Janis,

 

From the pics I have seen and from what I have read I did not even think that there would be a port for the tender boats buy that time. Not to mention the condition of the boats. Along with the boats from the tour providers. I am sure Carnival is just in a holding pattern to see what condition GC will be in two weeks from now. But it sure seems like a tall order to even get the basics, (power, water, ect.) done. My DW thought it would be nice to still go to GC and help out. Imagine what 2000 people from the ship could do in a few hours. I was very disappointed when I assumed we were not going, from what I have heard the sting rays is one of the best excursions. If this is true and we do go I'm sure those rays will be very hungry for some squid. :)

[estebofarr]

Shane,

 

A lot of people here have speculated on why the cruise lines stick to the party lines. Twice before our Grand Cayman stop was skipped because the waves were too high to safely tender ashore. I'm sorry if you don't get to see it this time, but from the reports they need the basic necessities of life and I don't think entertaining us is high on their lists. Your wife sounds like a very good person to want to help. Having seen firsthand what Charley and Frances have done to Florida what I want to do is to stay out of the way of any cleanup going on. I'm sure Grand Cayman will be available for cruise ships in the near future but I doubt if it will be ready by our cruise. Who knows? We may be surprised and what a nice surprise that would be. I know you will enjoy your first cruise and always remember it as we all do ours.

 

Janis

[mo'vakayplz]

Such a beautiful Island, probably my all time favorite next to Mosquito Island in Gorda Sound; I pray for the people of Grand Caymen...

[kodiac]

Our Honeymoon starts on October 23rd. I have been to GC before; however, my wife to be has not. She would be very upset if this port gets canceled. (How long will I have to hear about this?!?!?)

 

Let me know if you have any updates or pictures of GC. I feel for the residents.

 

Kodiac

[nrdsb4]

Our Honeymoon starts on October 23rd. I have been to GC before; however, my wife to be has not. She would be very upset if this port gets canceled. (How long will I have to hear about this?!?!?)

 

Let me know if you have any updates or pictures of GC. I feel for the residents.

 

Kodiac

 

Unless your wife is very unreasonable, I doubt she will hold you or anyone else responsible for what is simply a terrible act of nature. From what I have been able to glean from various websites, Cayman has experienced devastation on a grande scale. If these reports are true, there is no way it will be back to "normal" by your honeymoon. They are scrambling to restore even a semblance of basic services (power, running potable water and functional sewage systems). Flights to GC are restricted to those who are needed in the relief effort. I read one message board that stated that RESIDENTS who fled the island before the hurricane are still waiting to be allowed back in. Businesses and homes have been damaged beyond belief. I'm sure under the circumstances, your wife would prefer to visit an island that is not in shambles. GC will repair eventually; it won't happen overnight, however.

 

A couple of websites:

 

http://cayman-damage.andy.net/gcm.php

http://www.stormcarib.com

http://www.caymannetnews.com

 

www.gotocayman.com's message board has some good links for photos of the damage. If these photos are accurate representations of the damage, it's heartbreaking.

 

One more thought: Even if GC begins accepting cruise ships again by your honeymoon, please be aware that even under normal circumstances, GC sometimes has to turn cruise ships away due to high winds/rough waters. It is a tender port, so occasionally the cruise ships can't get the passengers over there. There were two days during my land vacation there earlier this year when no cruise ships could tender in. I hope your honeymoon is wonderful in spite of the possible disappointments in missing Grand Cayman or at least seeing the Grand Cayman that was.

[tbrown]

We just got off the cruise ship Holiday and let me tell you that it was not a Holiday. I don't believe and neither did many of the other cruisers on the ship think that the worse of the worse in the united states compares to what was seen in Progresso. I can't even believe that Carnival would port someone there and to think that they would have fun. O.K. you may be able to make it a good time if you were drunk. Watching the video we purchased on the boat because hopefully it would find the fine points of our trip because of right now the only fine point is that we came back alive and I was wonderting there a few times.

 

They pretty much pull in tell you that we don't normally come here but good luck and don't pay what is on the tag because it is paso's and they will come down in price. oh and be careful. Made me want to visit so I stayed on of course sick. From the ones that did get off the ship the beaches are NASTY and most said they wouldn't let their dogs there so why whould carnival think we wanted to pay good money to see this filthy place:eek:

[NinaCO]

I'm hoping Conquest is going somewhere other than Progresso by the time we sail! :( If not, I'll make the best of it. May take advantage of the fact that Progresso is relatively close to Chichen Itza. The excursion takes about 12 hours from Cozumel, but takes about 7 hours from Progresso.

 

From what I've read about Progresso above and other places, an extra day at sea would be much better than a stop there.

[sledman]

Just got off the phone with Carnival. They are still saying we are going to Grand Cayman. She could tell from my voice I was shocked and said, "Oh, they did not get hit by Jeanne, just Ivan. They are used to hurricanes and clean up is going very well." I had to laugh when she said "JUST Ivan". She said to check again later in the week. Sounds like this is what they have been told what to say, "no changes". Last week Sensation went to Costa Maya in place of GC, hope we get this rather than a "sea day". :mad: Just wish they would come clean and admit we are not going to GC and tell us where and if we are going to get another port so we can make plans. Carnival is just to worried people will "jump ship" and cancel if they tell us before we are on board.

[QTPieRye]

FYI.... up until two days prior to our sail date... which was I believe 1 week after Ivan hit the Caymans, Carnival said that the Conquest was still going to Grand Cayman as scheduled.... When we arrived at the port of NO, we received a letter saying we got a $25.00 credit. whoop-di-doo... We heard from the crew that it would be quite some time before they would dock in Cayman Islands.... Not sure of the accuracy, but I figure they probably have a good idea of what's going on!

[CruiseCATnMACK]

It is my understanding from reading the StormCarib boards and the Cayman Chamber that it will be the first of the year before GC is open for business as usual. With that said those of us with upcoming cruises might be some of the first tourist to the island as we will travel in transit through GC and not actually stay overnight.

 

 

One of the best things we can do to help the island is NOT stay away. The income from the cruise ships can really go a long way. Our needs as tourist are minimal so the sooner they can get us in the better. Many of beaches are bigger than ever and many dive sites have been cleansed by Mother Nature. It appears that those on the island are positive and I believe we should be also. We should not let the horrific sights of an island ravished keep us away. GC will once again be beautiful, let's do our part by going and spending as much as we can.

 

 

Here are a few links to information regarding the clean up/rebuilding efforts on GC.

 

 

http://www.caymanchamber.ky/_ivan/tourism.html

 

http://www.stormcarib.com/reports/2004/cayman.shtml

 

http://help.stormcarib.com/list.php?f=14www.oceanfrontiers.com (Reef damage report)

[sledman]

I would love to go to GC. However, It's not up to me. ( I don't think the captain will let me drive the ship) :eek: My point is not if I would like to visit or not, but why won't Canival just be upfront and tell us that we are not going to GC but we are going to (insert place here) port.

[sledman]

QTPIE,

 

Sure they know whats going on. They know we will not be going to GC. It's to late to get a refund. So why is Carnival so afraid to tell us the truth. If I don't get to go to GC that is OK, no reason to be upset over mother nature. It's just the fact the Canival is scared to tell us what there plans are. ie: different port, sea day, ect. They did not get to be the biggest cruise line be being dumb. They know what we will be doing, but hope that if they can first make us captives before they tell us the truth then it will blow over. I don't want a refund nor would I cancel even if we don't get a different port. Just want to know what our plans are. Let's treat the customers with a little respect.

OK I'm done. :rolleyes: