GC in two weeks, not sure what to do...help

[flagger]

I have a dilemma. Twice we have been on cruises that have missed Georgetown due to winds. We are going on a cruise that will be there when there are five ships in port. There will be 14K people on the islands. We are trying to figure out what to do.

 

We were thinking Nativeway or Captain Marvin's, but I read a review that Stingray City is not worth it when there are that many boats in port. I have also read that GC is overrated and overpriced.

 

We are already staying on the ship for Labadee and Jamaica, so we will want to be on land for at least a little bit. This is a working vacation with 50 hours of classroom scheduled for our Sea Days and part of the port days. It just so happens that GC is a free day and we will be in port from 0800-1600.

 

Any suggestions. I know this is last minute!

 

Thanks

[tomko2]

Sure do hope you are able to go ashore in Grand Cayman. 7 Mile Beach is our favourite beach and it is just a quick taxi ride away from the pier. While on the Island try and find some CDs from the Barefoot Band -- wonderful Caribbean music.

Photos in the link below.

Have a great cruise.

Kathy:)

[flagger]

Thanks. Our port time is short and it is a tender port, but it is our only completely on our free day. I really would like to see it. I would like to go snorkeling and see Stingray City, I am just not sure of the wisdom of this with so many ships in port.

[flagger]

Anyone else?

[PYB2008]

We were there off the Conquest on Thanksgiving day.

 

Stingray City was AMAZING. We went on an excursion with Fat Fish (http://www.fatfishadventures.com/). It's a small business with attention to detail.

 

The owner Peter picked the 4 of us up in front of the Hard Rock and drove us to a boat launch. We each rode a Sea Doo out to Stingray City. It had been closed for 8 days prior because of rough water but we were able to go out there. IT WAS AMAZING!!! I can't say enough great things about Peter and Fat Fish Adventures.

 

Now the day we were out there it was a little rough, like I said it had been closed for 8 days prior. We are all strong swimmers and comfortable in the ocean. Pete said most days it's as smooth as a swimming pool.

 

*additionally we were supposed to also go snorkeling but it was too rough so we just had more time to ride the seadoos.

 

There was something magical about feeding these animals and then just floating with a mask on and watching them swim all around you. One ray, with a "split lip" who they see often took a liking to me. When she would swim under me she actually looked me in the eye. It was amazing.

 

(and no I had not enjoyed any rum punch before the encounter, I really think she was looking at me)

 

I would do this again in a heart beat!!

 

After riding back in the seadoos we stopped off around the other side of rum point at a "less" touristey place for more fuel and some drinks.

 

It was a great adventure!

 

Call Peter, tell him we recommended him.

[mrsfuzzmo]

Grand Cayman is one of my favorite ports and I've been to almost all of them in the Caribbean. That being said, I LOVE to snorkel and it's got the best I've ever seen. Stingray city is AWESOME and I'm going back for my third time this January! I just never tire of it. The key is to find a tour that gets you out there before the ships tours. If you get out there early there aren't that many people and it's MUCH more enjoyable with a smaller group.

 

Grand Cayman is not overrated in watersports, clear water, gorgeous beaches, friendly people, low crime, cleanliness and activities.

 

The areas some may think it's overrated is the shopping (which is VERY expensive compared to other Caribbean stops). The food and the cost of the food and drink is expensive and nothing really special, though the Conch (anything) is great. So if you are going to the island to eat and shop, you may be dissapointed. If you are going to beach, sun, see aquatic animals, do some awesome snorkeling or other water adventures, it's terrific.

 

Key to doing something while there are 14, 000 people in port, is to GET OUT OF PORT!!! Rent a car and see the gorgeous other side of the island, take a tour, or book a tour to SC. Many people just get off the ships with no plans, wander around town, in a daze with 14, 000 other people and don't really see the beautiful island that it is. I would NOT miss it.

[flagger]

I wonder if I can find something last minute like this. Looking at our arrival time and being a tender port, I wonder when we would actually get off the ship.

[mrsfuzzmo]

From past experience, you should be off the ship by about an hour after your "dock" time. So if the ship states you will be in port at 7 am, you should book an excursion for 8 am. Check with your time zones as well. If you sail out of Miami or somewhere with an East Coast time zone, I believe Cayman is in Central, so if you are there at 8 am (according to your watch and the ship) it will only be 7 am on land. I have usually used the rule of thumb to book my excursions 1 hour after scheduled arrival and then go down and get on an early tender even if that means standing in a line for a few minutes.

[PYB2008]

On the Conquest, We were told to go to the desk across from the coffee shop (level 5) the morning we were arriving in GC to get a sticker that allowed us to be the first group to tender off the boat.

 

I think if you book an excursion with Carnival they automatically put you in this group but if you have something outside you just walk over to that desk and get the sticker. It was no biggie.

 

I THINK we arrived there at 7 and Peter was picking us up at 8:30 and we had more than enough time, in fact we window shopped, put on sunscreen, people watched for about 30 minutes outside the Hard Rock (where he was picking us up).

 

I also think that most people we worked with (not Carnival excursions) honored the refunds if you don't dock at the port for some reason. Always check to be sure though.

[wilee]

We rented a car while there last October. The car thing was ok. Seemed like we spent most of the day driving around. Ended up going to Hell and the Rum cake place and then drove all the was to Paradise Beach where we had lunch and hung out on the beach.

[Norske]

90% of the passengers go to 10% of the island. Rent a car! Go north.

[pinemountaingirl]

We are going to Grand Cayman in Feb. on a Carnival Cruise. Who did you rent a car from and how was it. I dent and got information on the island and a map. How was it driving on the left sided of the road. Thanks

[wilee]

Hey there,

 

We rented the car from Cayman Auto Rentals (search that and it comes right up). They appear to be really small and we had no problems. I chose this place due to the location from where the cruise tenders let you off and they were the only one out of the 3 companys that sent me an email right back.

 

Its an easy walk, well except for some places you are walking really close to the traffic. They also have shuttle van that will take you back but we ended up walking back and checking out a few stores.

 

Rented the Mitsubishi Outlander in which the stearing wheel was on the left side. Had 1 issue driving on the "other side" when I turned right at a light and ended up in the wrong lane. Fortunatly there was a gas station that I was able to pull into and play if off like I meant to do that. Driving on the other side did take some thought and was odd for a while. But turned out to be no big deal after awhile.

[Caribbean Sunsets]

I was there the day before Thanksgiving and there were 6 ships in port. We went with Nativeway and did the Rum Point, Ray and Reef tour. While there were a lot of people at the stingray bar, I didn't fell crowded at all. All the visitors stay right in the immediate area of their tour boat. They don't wander off. We had about 20-25 people on our boat. I had a wonderful time and would recommend Nativeway.

 

We got back to the pier about 3:15 and the lines to board all the ships were so long but moved quickly. Nativeway knows when you need to be back plus the other boat that Nativeway runs was full of people who had booked on the ship and paid more for the same tour. We were all on the same two buses going back so no one was going to miss the ship.

 

Enjoy your cruise and don't work too hard!