Have you been to....?

Question

Have you been to the Cayman Islands? How was it? Please, tell me your story!

Answer 1

Visited Grand Cayman during Spring Break.

It is a British colony so the people are not as friendly as the people in the Mexican and other ports of call.

It was expensive and they don't bargain.

However, the island is beautiful and the visit to the sandbar to feed the stingrays was well worth it.

If you only have 1 day in port, skip the side trips to h**l and the Turtle Farm.  h**l is just a convenience store in front of a rock formation.  T-shirts are $36.00 a pop.  

If you are arriving via cruise ship, you have to tender (take the ferry) from the ship to the dock.  There were about 5 ships in port on the day we were there and it took over 2 hours of standing in line to get on the tender to get back to the ship.

Answer 2

I was there last September.  I did not really care for it.  It was clean, but the day we were there, we had the Inspiration that I was on, the Imagination, the Caribbean Princess, and the Freedom of the Seas there at one time.  It was entirely too crowded.  I took a tour of the island that lasted about two and a half hours that was interesting. We found some six or seven foot iquanas.   I did not see any real good shopping.  We had an early departure time, so I could not try any other excursions.

Answer 3

I just returned a week ago from a Carnival cruise (the Conquest) which stopped for the day in the Caymans.  We were the only ship there that day, and the tender took about two minutes ship to shore both ways.  I took the two-hour island tour, since I'm not into scuba diving or anything, and the weather was pretty good for the outing until it started to rain just as we finished.  Our tour ($39) stopped at a rum tasting joint, the turtle farm (which was pretty cool--you get to pet these huge sea turtles and hold the smaller ones), a small beach with a great view (so we could see the coral reefs), and finally h**l, which also was pretty cool (weird rocks that might be a meteorite, and you can send a postcard from h**l's Post Office).  Other than that, the island is still recovering from Hurricane Ivan (2004), and our driver showed us some of the devastation and recovery efforts.  We also got to see Bill Gates' condo and Tom Cruise's complex, but no celebrities.  And yes, it's an expensive place, but it's also a tax haven for the rich (something like 600 banks operate on the island).  On the other hand, now that I've seen the sites, I probably wouldn't go back there, but I feel the same way about Jamaica.

Answer 4

Any Caribbean Island basically the same, especially those tourist frequent one. You see one, you see them all.

Answer 5

I have been to the Cayman's but not via a cruise. They are beautiful but can get VERY crowded depending on how many ships are docked there at a given time.

Answer 6

We just went there in late March (Montego bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel)... it's a British colony, therefore they use the GBP (Great Britain Pounds), hence your dollar doesn't go as far as in Mexico or Jamaica or anywhere else for that matter.

But I actually loved Grand Cayman; the beaches, the clear water, the scenery; it was all clean, civilized and pleasant... and then around noon it got hotter than a mutha *******... no wonder they call it h**l, Grand Cayman... I would definitely recommend that you enjoy the beach, much better than your other destination and then take a walk down the port for a few drinks at Margaritaville and souveneers at the local shop... I don't think you should do any of the excursions on this island, as you can do them somewhere else...

If you would like pictures, email me and I'll be glad to send them to you... [e-mail] ... hope this helps...