cruisinqt Posted November 9, 2004 #1 Share Posted November 9, 2004 We were in Grand Cayman last Thursday and had a blast!:D I had mixed emotions about the place when we first got there. I was sad that Ivan had wrought so much devastation on the island and it's inhabitants and some of it's beauty was gone. Not all of the trees were leafless, some of them made it through, they were a little frayed but okay. We also saw plenty of shrubs and other greenery so the island still looked beautiful in some places. I was ecstatic that we were going to get to swim with the stingrays because we've been looking forward to that for quite some time. Our last cruise skipped GC due to rough seas.:( The island was a mishmash of beauty and devastation. One area would look beautiful and untouched. Then a block or two down the road it would look like a tornado had just touched down there. The people were cheerful, positive and happy to see us. And there were plenty of places open and ready for business. There's tons of places to shop, many restaurants are open, and there are a number of excursions up and running. Overall, there is plenty to do on the island and most of the tourist areas are up and running. But the devastation from Ivan is quite evident. As for our stingray excursion, one word sums it up - fantastic!:) If you've never done it you have to. The stingrays may be large but they are very soft and as friendly as a kitten. And for those parents out there, yes your children will love it. Our 5 and 7 year old girls had a blast. They gave the stingrays a kiss and got a good rub down from them too. They cried when we had to leave and didn't want to leave their new found friends. All of the stingrays are back and so are all of the tour operators. There were lots of boats out at the stingray sandbar as usual. Our only problem was explaining to our girls why they couldn't take the little "baby stingray" home as a pet.:eek: One thing that surprised me was that the stingray sandbar wasn't a sandbar jutting out off of a piece of land. It was a sandbar out in the middle of the ocean!:eek: The reefs protects the area from waves and the sandbar is a pretty calm area. It was waist deep on me and I could easily hold my children if they wanted me to. I did the Soto's tour and it was great! First we snorkeled at Coral Gardens and saw some beautiful black coral in crystal clear blue waters. Then we went to the reefs where our guide showed us his buddies he feeds daily - a moray eel and a squid. We got some fantastic pictures of those creatures. Then we went to stingray sandbar and swam with the stingrays. The tour cost $24 and we met at 8:30 am and ended up back near the pier at 12:00 pm. The boats do have a small bathroom to change in if needed. Their website is at www.sotoscruises.com. The tendering on the Conquest was simple. Just go down to the Toulouse Latrec lounge at 7:15 am when it opens and get a tendering ticket. Try to be on tender 1 or tender 2. It isn't crowded that early and we had no problem. There are several tenders, the smallest one held 90 and the other two held twice that many people. I can't think of anything else right now. I'll check back later and see if there's any questions you need answered. I plan on doing a detailed review soon on the Carnival boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Charlie Posted November 9, 2004 #2 Share Posted November 9, 2004 Cruisinqt: Thanks for the post. Your memories of Grand Cayman on this cruise will surely last you your lifetime. Happy to hear you did Stingray City. That has been the best excursion DH and I have ever taken. I'm terrified of being in water so it surprised both of us that I enjoyed it so thoroughly. Looks like our NCL Majesty cruise will be replacing the Cayman stop and replacing it with Cancun later this month. We're scheduled on Celebrity Horizon in March which also has Cayman as a port so hopefully we will see it then. Dianne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinqt Posted November 9, 2004 Author #3 Share Posted November 9, 2004 98Charlie, hopefully Grand Cayman will be rid of most of it's hurricane damage by the time you go on your cruise in March. There were construction cranes in many places trying to repair the docks and several high rise apartment buildings. They are in the process of rebuilding and doing a remarkably fast job of it. I think much of Grand Cayman's beauty will be restored by the time you visit. I'm not saying it wasn't beautiful when we visited, some areas were quite breathtaking. It's just that the beauty was marred by the constuction and the damaged buildings. I'm just glad they are back on their feet and on the mend. And it is a true miracle that there were not a lot of lives lost. I am so glad to see them making such a quick come back, I was very worried about them. Good luck on your visit, and you are right about our memories lasting a lifetime. It's all we can talk about right now. Being in the water with those large but gentle creatures was truly amazing!:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiffofirechick Posted November 9, 2004 #4 Share Posted November 9, 2004 Even with all the people at Stingray City at anytime, it was awesome! There are plenty of those beautiful things to go around!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Charlie Posted November 9, 2004 #5 Share Posted November 9, 2004 It's great to hear Grand Cayman is rebuilding so quickly and I've been very gratified to hear of all the donations made to the recovery effort by cruise ship lines. However, all the chatter on these boards seems to be about Grand Cayman and the stingrays. Does anyone know how the recovery effort is going in Grenada. DH and I love that island and its people as well. Grenada saw so much devastation internaly during its internal strife days and was back to a good level, now this happens to it. We were sailing on an RCCI ship on Mex. Riviera when Ivan hit Grenada. One of the ship's officers was from that country. Ship's captain kept asking us to all keep the Grenada people in our thoughts and prayers as there was no communication with the island at that time - even the Captain could get no information about the officer's family or devastation that had occurred at that time. Dianne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinqt Posted November 9, 2004 Author #6 Share Posted November 9, 2004 98Charlie, the reason there is so much talk on this board about Grand Cayman and the stingrays is because this is the Grand Cayman board. That's why it says "ports of call - Grand Cayman" at the top. This board is dedicated to talk about Grand Cayman, not Grenada. If you want to know more about Grenada, do a search on it and see what you can find. You probably won't ever get much Grenada talk on a board that's set up solely for Grand Cayman. When Grand Cayman got hit real bad, I started searching all over the internet for news. I came across www.caymannetnews.com which is an internet news organization for the Grand Cayman area. Maybe you can find something similar in your search for news of Grenada. I haven't kept up with the situation in Grenada, so I can't help you there, sorry.:( But the situation in Grand Cayman has been quite bad and many people are still struggling. The owners of Soto's is living in an apartment right now because their house is inhabitable. Most people in Grand Cayman are without a home or a car. Their situation is still pretty dire and the continuous talk about their plight is quite understandable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Charlie Posted November 9, 2004 #7 Share Posted November 9, 2004 I realize this board is a Grand Cayman board - just hoping someone checking into it might know something about Grenada. Never hurts to ask quetions and see if someone has an answer. Dianne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pringle Posted November 9, 2004 #8 Share Posted November 9, 2004 cruisinqt, thanks for posting your experience. It is very helpful. I hope we get to go on 12/11, not just from the hurricane-affected schedules but also sea conditions. The stingrays were the reason I picked our itinerary, and I'd be very disappointed if we don't go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinqt Posted November 10, 2004 Author #9 Share Posted November 10, 2004 Pringle, I hope you get to go, hurricane damage or not, Grand Cayman was awesome!:D Our last cruise skipped GC due to rough seas, so when Ivan hit GC I figured we'd miss it again. About a week before the cruise I found out here at cruise critic that we'd be going. Boy was I a happy camper!:) If you don't get to go this time, you have to try again. Swimming with the stingrays was such a moving experience. They are the softest, gentlest, most curious creatures I've ever had the pleasure to swim with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orleanstar Posted November 10, 2004 #10 Share Posted November 10, 2004 98Charlie: Check out the following links: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=94621 http://www.grenadaemergency.com/ http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147295-Carriacou_Press_release-k9866-i518-Grenada.html Hope this helps. Crusinqt: Thanks for the very thorough update on G.C. -- really appreciate the detail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeljohn Posted November 10, 2004 #11 Share Posted November 10, 2004 cruisinqt......Thanks for the info on GC. We will be there the first week in December. We're looking forward to snorkeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinqt Posted November 11, 2004 Author #12 Share Posted November 11, 2004 For those of you mentioning a cruise in December, I imagine the situation in Grand Cayman will be much better. Only one pier was up and running, the other one had cranes around it and the rebuilding effort seemed to be in full swing. I wouldn't be surprised if that other pier was open by the time December rolled around. Grand Cayman is making remarkable progress in their rebuilding efforts. Things will be much better in the upcoming months.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seajay829 Posted November 12, 2004 #13 Share Posted November 12, 2004 Cruisin QT, thank you for the report on Grand Cayman. I am traveling with my 7yo daughter in Feb and am thrilled to learn that your girls loved their visit with the stingrays. Were Soto's pretty good with kids? Thanks again for the information. Cindy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbaraSails Posted November 12, 2004 #14 Share Posted November 12, 2004 Excellent summary cruisinqt. Thanks for all the detail and info--much appreciated!! I'm pretty sure I'll book with Soto. Seems it less expensive than booking it through the cruise line, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnsawyer Posted November 12, 2004 #15 Share Posted November 12, 2004 I've never seen the stingray/snorkeling so reasonable!! I did check out the website. Great review too! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbisson Posted November 12, 2004 #16 Share Posted November 12, 2004 I ended up booking with Nativeway. Mainly because they tell me that when Norwegian cruise line is in they have an additional tour at 10AM (originally they said 9:30 but when they sent my confirmation they said it was changed to 10). That fit our schedule MUCH better. Also the $25 "summer" special has been extended to anyone booking by the end of Nov. -Monte Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinqt Posted November 16, 2004 Author #17 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Seajay, Soto's was very good with the kids. :) The guides went around and put the lifejackets on the kids themselves. The lifejackets looked much like the ones you use for the muster drill. Except these guides had a unique way of putting them on the kids. They didn't put them around their necks, they wrapped them around their waists making sure to tie them on tightly. This way the vests weren't floating up around their heads and blocking their view. The vests worked perfectly this way, keeping the kids head and arms above the water with the floatation part floating up to just beneath their armpits. My kids felt safe and enjoyed their time in the water. They didn't ignore our kids but were very interactive with them and seemed to watch them closely while in the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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