Some Grand Cayman Pictures - Page 2 - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

canarymoon · 01-23-2007, 09:43 AM

Done Grand Cayman three times now, and did the Stingray excursion every time. After seeing Zy's photos - I think I'm heading for Eden Rock next time!

TerilynnS · 02-02-2007, 11:05 AM

Zy - These pix are great. And the maps are incredibly useful! Thanks so much.

Now - I have a question for you experienced Cayman travelers!

AllieMan and I are going to stop here on our March 12 cruise on Celebrity. I understand from "the other boards" that there will be 8 SHIPS in Cayman that day. 8! That just seems insane to me.

In any event - we have tentatively decided NOT to do a ship's tour. Since the DH works for Hyatt, we intend on grabbing a cab to the Hyatt Regency, hooking up with his counterparts at that hotel and using THEIR beach to relax and play (and maybe get spa treatments without the sales pitch!)

Since there are so many ships in port that day, I need to know - do they have use the same dock for tenders? Since our ship is set to depart at 4:00 pm - do we need to be back for tenders at 2, 3? How much time would you leave yourself?

Any advice on this island and how it deals with so many ships in one day would be very helpful! Thanks!

zydecocruiser · 02-02-2007, 03:20 PM

There are 3 tender docks but are all in the same area and 2 are adjacent to each other.

8 ships is not a record, but the dock area will be busy as will many of the other normal tourist areas. Hyatt sounds like a good plan if you just want to relax.

One way the crowd is dealt with is not all the ships arrive and depart at the same time so there is some load balancing.

Your ship will tell you what time the last tender is (it never is the "last" tender) and as long as you are back at the port and in line by then, they will keep running tenders. There can be a traffic jam headed back into Georgetown from the area where you will be so perhaps ask at the hotel what time you should head back to be at the dock in time. It will take longer to get back than it will to get to the Hyatt.

Of course, since you have "connections" perhaps someone at the Hyatt will shuttle you back which would be nice.

If the line for the ship is outrageous, there are bars across the street where you can relax and wait for the line to decrease.

There are large tenders available at Grand Cayman - if your ship uses them they can hold up to 250 people or more - and the actually tender time is only a few minutes, so the lines can move fast.

What else - ship time and Cayman time isn't necessarily the same so stay on ship time so you know when you need to be back.

TerilynnS · 02-04-2007, 01:55 AM

ZYdeco! What great advice - thanks sooooo very much!