Public beach or Governor's vs Calico Jack or RP?

I see lots of posts here regarding Calico Jacks and Royal Palms. I understand they have all the amenities and are close to the port area. I'll be in Grand Cayman on a 17,000 port load day (why the heck didn't I look at this before I booked??). I don't see much mention of public beach or Governors. They are both a bit North of CJ & RP I gather. Does that mean since it's further from the port area that either might be less crowded? Public beach has amenities but no restaurant, is that correct? What about Governors? If one goes to Governors how far is it to walk to a beach restaurant? Thanks for ANY advice you have.

Public Beach is essentially the same section as Calico Jacks...they're right next door to each other, so no difference in crowds.

Governors Beach is about 2/3 of the way (~1.5 miles) from Royal Palms to Calico Jacks. There's no facilities, so it will generally be less crowded. There's lots of restaurants along that stretch of road, but the only beach ones will be in the nearby hotels.

Search the locations in google maps and you can see the distances involved and what else is nearby.

If you're looking for an uncrowded beach, take the bus up to Cemetery Beach... No facilities or anything, but if you walk north, you will come to Heritage Kitchen, one of the best restaurants in GC. Also, West Bay Diner, another hidden gem.

Don't freak out about "crowds"...not everyone will be having a beach day! Not everyone will even leave the ship! Ports only accept what they can handle. It will be fine!

Cemetery Beach is nice, if you don't care about facilities. Pretty good snorkeling there.

Thank you for your suggestions. I think we can do without chairs but we will need to be able to get out of the sun. Either tree shade or umbrella. My hubby and I have both had skin cancer.

We would like to be able to get food but don't mind walking when we get ready for lunch.

I'll check out these suggestions. Thank you.

We've been there on 19,000 guests days, it's not as crowded as you'd think. 7 Mile Beach is 6 miles long and not everyone is on the beach at the same time.

We had a nice day at Calico Jacks, 2 loungers & umbrella for $20, bucket of beer for another $20. This was in November.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

If you're looking for an uncrowded beach, take the bus up to Cemetery Beach... No facilities or anything, but if you walk north, you will come to Heritage Kitchen, one of the best restaurants in GC. Also, West Bay Diner, another hidden gem.

Great advice. I read tons of threads. Matured the idea of quiet day at nice beach where I can snorkel and others in my party of 4 can relax at the beach or walk. This recommendation with the two restaurants up north just were decisive.

How much of a walk to any of those or you recommend a taxi, perhaps?

Thanks. Love cruisecritic!

Andy

Liberty on 7/11/2018

Cemetery and Governor's both have ample amounts of tree shade, just no facilities. Just be careful not to hang any clothing in the branches of the trees - there are lots of ants and they love a nice t-shirt or sarong hung there for an hour or two. I speak from personal experience. :-)

I would read reviews about the newish West Bay Diner before heading there - https://cnsbusiness.com/2016/06/golden-spoons-review-west-bay-diner/

I also recommend a combination of Google Maps and http://www.caymangoodtaste.com/ to find places that look good that are close to where you want to have your beach time.