Grand Cayman and Cozumel--conditions - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

dobie · 02-12-2006, 07:46 PM

We will be on the Coral on the April 13 cruise and will be in Grand Cayman for a day (Easter) from 11-6:30.....we will be in Cozumel the day before from 7-3:30. We have been in both ports many times before, have been to Chankanaab's, stingray city, palancar reef, snorkeled off the beach in Grand Cayman...has anyone been there since the hurricane? We have heard horror stories of the tenders....we are Elite on Princess so we can get off early, that won't be a problem.....but we are wondering about the condition of the beaches and the snorkel conditions....I looked at a link that Snorkelbill posted that he used in the past, and they no longer have lunch on the beach because there is not a beach.....please help me decide what to do...if we should stay on the ship, we will, but if anyone has had positive experiences that do not involve sitting in a bus or shopping we would love to hear them!!

sailyn · 02-12-2006, 07:49 PM

We were in both of those ports last week, Dobie and they were fine. We went to the beach in Grand Cayman and it was lovely. Lots of sand ... no visible damage.
Cozumel was the problem with tenders, but they did get us to the island and back. We took a tour. Friends of ours went to the beach and had a fantastic. We did see a lot of damage in Cozumel, but all of the tourist activities were running fine. I don't think you have to worry. Especially for April.

dobie · 02-12-2006, 08:09 PM

Mike, where did you go and what did you do? And your friends? Someone told me that a lot of Chankanaab (spelling?) was gone....do you have friends with recommendations? Thank you so much!!!

sailyn · 02-12-2006, 08:15 PM

dobie, I can't remember the name of the place we entered the beach at Cayman. I'll ask my friends, Factor and Mrs. Factor to look at this and maybe they will remember. It was very nice though. We had a drink right on the beach before we went at a nice new bar right near the place where the tenders let us off.
In Cozumel we just took that tour ... no beach time. Our friends did the beach though. I'll see if they are around.

dobie · 02-12-2006, 08:17 PM

Mike, I TOTALLY appreciate it!! We have done some good snorkeliing in Grand Cayman at the beach right under the governor's mansion...I am going to cook some dinner now, but thank you so much for your help!!!

sailyn · 02-12-2006, 08:28 PM

You are most welcome. I PMed Jackie and Brian ... they might be able to offer more info!

Enjoy your dinner!

Mrs Factor · 02-12-2006, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dobie

Mike, where did you go and what did you do? And your friends? Someone told me that a lot of Chankanaab (spelling?) was gone....do you have friends with recommendations? Thank you so much!!!

Hello! In Grand Cayman, we did the beach. Not sure of the name either. We went in a cab. It was a free beach. The cab driver told us the best one to go to if we didn't have a ticket. If you have a ticket through the ship, I believe the one they take you to is Colony Club. Good Luck and sorry I can't remember.

In Cozumel, this time we did Playa Mia beach. It was clean and looked like it had no damage. If you book through the ship,they offer free drinks(colada's, water and pop), free unbrella's for shade(have to give up sign & sail card which is safe), beach chairs(kinda body shaped). The have music, some games such as pinata and water balloon toss. They have a water trampoline and an ice berg to climb in the ocean. We have done this excursion through the ship 2 vacations in a row.

The 2 times before, we did swimming with the Dolphins. It is also a nice place to go for a nice beach. But it is still closed due to the hurricane.

I hope I helped answer some of your questions. If you have anymore, please feel free to ask.

~Jackie

dobie · 02-12-2006, 09:51 PM

Jackie, thank you!! We never book thru the ship....too much money for too little...we just wanted to head to a good beach and be able to snorkel, and we read a lot of reports that after the hurricane things were not there anymore!!

Jackie, is Chankanaab closed?

Thank you so much for your response....

Mrs Factor · 02-12-2006, 09:58 PM

Not sure if Chankannab is open. When we drove by, the big sign was on the ground. And that is the park the Dolphins are at. And I think the web site said it is closed and under construction. If you do end up at Playa Mia, go through the ship. It is cheaper. You have to pay to enter their park. We just do the one for like 29.00 pp and go at our leisure. It included drinks only. No food. They also have nice bathrooms with showers there. And a pool at the beach. Volleyball and so on.

Mrs Factor · 02-12-2006, 10:06 PM

Oh, the site for the Dolphins and Chankannab is http://www.dolphindiscovery.com/cozumel/.

I would give them a call a week before you leave to see if they will be open. They have a 1-800 number on the site.

Hope this helps!