Secondary dock at Grand Cayman now open

[CruiseMark]

Following well over a year of being out of use because of mandated upgrades being done to bring it up to international standards, Spotts Dock is finally back in use as a secondary cruise facility. The site is used when seas are too choppy for cruise ships in George Town (Note: This is still a "Tender in" type dock)

 

On Wednesday, the first ships to use the port as an upgraded facility, Star Princess, Imagination and Carnival Liberty were given refuge there for disembarkation of passengers while waves crashed into George Town harbour.

 

More details here

[judyzoo]

Where is Spotts Dock in relation to George Town?

[Coolmama_1]

Thanks for the update.

[bruce-r]

Where is Spotts Dock in relation to George Town?

If you think of Georgetown as being a the bottom of SMB, then Spots would be at the top.

[cruzinwieds]

I was on the Star was Wednesday and came into Spots Bay. $2 extra for the taxi to Sea Grape from there. They charge $5 to get to George Town and $7 to Sea Grape, would have been cheaper if you tender directly into George Town but waves were breaking into the street in town.

[sparky3229]

We came in to Spotts last week on the Victory. There were bathrooms there, and that was it. There was no food avaialble, and when we came back to get on our ship, we were very hungry. There was a 2 hr wait in line for our ship-not sure why. Very unorganized. It still was bette, I'm sure, thank if we had to go into Georgetown. Our excursion was at the dock at Spotts wiating, so they keep up with where their customers are.

[morgan1929]

We were there last week on the Conquest, There is nothing, repeat nothing there, except a chain link fence, a small concrete pier, and a small bathroom. The Victory, the Dawn and the Rhapsody were also anchored there. There is room at the pier for 2 local tenders and 2 ship's boats. And it is a madhouse. There is no organized meeting places for tours, and parking for buses and taxis is an open lot outside of the fence.

 

Most of the local tour operators sent representatives and buses to try and find their passengers booked on independent tours from the 4 ships. You look for someone with a sign, and are then directed to a waiting place on the vacant lot. When they have a busfull, they send you off with the driver, leaving the fenced area, and walking to where ever the bus is parked.

 

We were on Capt Marvins Stingray tour. Because of the various delays, we only had time for the tour, no shopping. Also, you may be on your own to get a taxi from Georgetown back to the tender dock. $5 per person. And then there is the line. 1-2 hours outside the fence to show your S&S card at the gate, and then you can enter the fenced area and get in the tender boat line.

And it was raining part of the time, no shelter. No ship left on time.

 

If you have a wheelchair or trouble walking, note this is an unimproved dirt lot, full of rocks.

 

The other interesting point, a second Royal Caribbean ship pulled up to anchor, and apparently the Captain changed his mind, and sailed away. We thought they were going to skip GC and have a day at sea. Instead, when we got to Georgetown, they were anchored there and tendering their passengers directly into town.

[jcs56]

This docking area is HORRIBLE....I repeat Horrible!!!!!!!! We docked there last week on the Victory. Getting off was slower because there is only room for 2 tenders at a time....when you get off like they said there is a small building with bathrooms .... thats it!!!! It was nothing but chaos and all the tours are later than expected. We had a 9am with Nativeway...it turned out to be a 10 am. The drive in the bus is 30 min. rather than 10. Coming back there were atleast 5000 people waiting to board their ships. There was no organization...its basically every man for himself. People were very angry. I watched kids playing with old pieces of wood with rusty nails. This place is nothing more than a pile of rubble...broken concrete, wood and nails. We waited for 2 1/2 hours to get on the tender. On the ship later alot of people that had never been there before said they hated GC....they have no idea how beautiful the regular port is. All they saw was this horrible place, and then a bus ride to their destinations......it is very unfortunate.