Would we have time.......

[stormyrpr]

.............to grab a quick bite and enjoy the beach a bit following Capt. Marvin's stingray and snorkel excursion, the one that's from 10:00 till 1:00? Has anyone done this before? I'm thinking we would have some time left before having to head back to the ship, but maybe that's too ambitious. :confused: Isn't the last tender back to the ship at 3:30?

 

Also, if anyone has done that following a half-day excursion, any great spots on Seven Mile Beach you'd recommend? It's my understanding it's a public access beach, too, so maybe we could just pick a spot. I'm clueless, that's for sure.

 

Thanks in advance!

[stormyrpr]

Sure was hoping someone could help me :D

[twinkletoes4445]

Our first time in GC was on a ship. We did the 11:15-1:30 snorkel with Captain Marvin's. We were in port from 7:30-4:30, with the last tender being at 3:45.

 

One thing you'll have to find out before making a lot of plans is if the ship and island time will be the same (Joan or Ruth at CM's will know this). We were there during January, so ship time and island time were the same (we sailed out of Miami). GC doesn't participate in Daylight Savings, so a lot will depend on what the times issues are for you.

 

Anyway...

 

So we got off the ship and did an island tour...8:30 to 10:30, then we hoofed it down the CM's. It's a very short walk from the tender area...maybe 5 minutes max.

 

After our snorkel tour with CM's we had the driver drop us at Rackham's so we could have lunch. We barely had time to eat and walk back to the ship (but we were there on a holiday). We enjoyed Rackham's...it's on the water, but they don't have a beach. It's just a tad bit down from CM's office, so it was another minute or so added to our time to get back to the tender area. But I think we did get back around 3:15 or so (and the tender line was LONG). But as long as you're in the line, you'll be fine.

 

Here's what I'd do...

 

CM's boat dock is way at the opposite end of the 7MB beach area (you will turn on the road next to the Courtyard Marriott). Sea Grape is right across the street from this, and you could have them drop you there...after the snorkel. But we have found that traffic is iffy sometimes down that far. A lot of times traffic comes to a standstill for no apparent reason.

 

For that reason, I'd ask them if they'll drop you at Royal Palms. Royal Palms is not too far from the tender area. You can have lunch, rent a chair, rent some water toys...and then when you are done, grab a cab and head back to the tender area. You should have at least a couple of hours to enjoy the beach and eat lunch. Just remember...the cabs there aren't the regular type cabs that hold 4 or so people. The ones we've seen are bus-like (small) and hold more people, so sometimes they wait to get a full load before going back to the tender area. Once at RP, or whever you end up, you might check this out with a cab driver. There should be plenty of cabs around to get you back to the tender area.

 

The time we were in GC on our cruise, we were there on New Year's Day, and a lot of things were closed. We ate at Rackham's and part of the reason we didn't have much time to eat is because they were very short-staffed. I think it was because it was a holiday, and they really only opened up for the ships that were there for the day. It took a long time to get our food...but we've been there other times since then, and we had no problems along this line.

 

You can ask your server to give you your ticket in USD, so you'll know exactly what you are spending. Actually, most of the time, both CM and USD were on all our tickets. They also almost always add on a tip...so watch for this our you'll double-tip. We also use pretty much only our credit cards while we're in GC. We have never had a problem and never had any stange fees on our CC. I think AMEX and Visa were the ones they took the most. I don't recall mastercard being a card accepted widely on the island, but I could be wrong. We always start with the AMEX, and then use our Visa of they don't take AMEX.

 

I'd email Joan or Ruth at CM's and make sure they'll drop you off at RP's after the snorkel. They are really good about doing things like this. We've used them many times, and many times we've stopped along the way and picked people up at different locations.

 

Here's Royal Palms website...

 

http://www.reefgrill.com/pages/cruiseinformation.html

 

Here's a thread where the discussion is about RP's. There's a lot of info here.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=584379

 

Have a great time! We love Grand Cayman... :)

[stormyrpr]

Our first time in GC was on a ship. We did the 11:15-1:30 snorkel with Captain Marvin's. We were in port from 7:30-4:30, with the last tender being at 3:45.

 

One thing you'll have to find out before making a lot of plans is if the ship and island time will be the same (Joan or Ruth at CM's will know this). We were there during January, so ship time and island time were the same (we sailed out of Miami). GC doesn't participate in Daylight Savings, so a lot will depend on what the times issues are for you.

 

Anyway...

 

So we got off the ship and did an island tour...8:30 to 10:30, then we hoofed it down the CM's. It's a very short walk from the tender area...maybe 5 minutes max.

 

After our snorkel tour with CM's we had the driver drop us at Rackham's so we could have lunch. We barely had time to eat and walk back to the ship (but we were there on a holiday). We enjoyed Rackham's...it's on the water, but they don't have a beach. It's just a tad bit down from CM's office, so it was another minute or so added to our time to get back to the tender area. But I think we did get back around 3:15 or so (and the tender line was LONG). But as long as you're in the line, you'll be fine.

 

Here's what I'd do...

 

CM's boat dock is way at the opposite end of the 7MB beach area (you will turn on the road next to the Courtyard Marriott). Sea Grape is right across the street from this, and you could have them drop you there...after the snorkel. But we have found that traffic is iffy sometimes down that far. A lot of times traffic comes to a standstill for no apparent reason.

 

For that reason, I'd ask them if they'll drop you at Royal Palms. Royal Palms is not too far from the tender area. You can have lunch, rent a chair, rent some water toys...and then when you are done, grab a cab and head back to the tender area. You should have at least a couple of hours to enjoy the beach and eat lunch. Just remember...the cabs there aren't the regular type cabs that hold 4 or so people. The ones we've seen are bus-like (small) and hold more people, so sometimes they wait to get a full load before going back to the tender area. Once at RP, or whever you end up, you might check this out with a cab driver. There should be plenty of cabs around to get you back to the tender area.

 

The time we were in GC on our cruise, we were there on New Year's Day, and a lot of things were closed. We ate at Rackham's and part of the reason we didn't have much time to eat is because they were very short-staffed. I think it was because it was a holiday, and they really only opened up for the ships that were there for the day. It took a long time to get our food...but we've been there other times since then, and we had no problems along this line.

 

You can ask your server to give you your ticket in USD, so you'll know exactly what you are spending. Actually, most of the time, both CM and USD were on all our tickets. They also almost always add on a tip...so watch for this our you'll double-tip. We also use pretty much only our credit cards while we're in GC. We have never had a problem and never had any stange fees on our CC. I think AMEX and Visa were the ones they took the most. I don't recall mastercard being a card accepted widely on the island, but I could be wrong. We always start with the AMEX, and then use our Visa of they don't take AMEX.

 

I'd email Joan or Ruth at CM's and make sure they'll drop you off at RP's after the snorkel. They are really good about doing things like this. We've used them many times, and many times we've stopped along the way and picked people up at different locations.

 

Here's Royal Palms website...

 

http://www.reefgrill.com/pages/cruiseinformation.html

 

Here's a thread where the discussion is about RP's. There's a lot of info here.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=584379

 

Have a great time! We love Grand Cayman... :)

 

Thanks bunches for all the great info! I knew someone would come through eventually. I was just being impatient ;) That was my biggest concern, that I had read traffic can be bad at times there. I also had read up on Royal Palms as an option for us following the snorkel with CM's. You've convinced me that that is probably a good bet for us, esp since it's so close to the tender area.

 

Our ship time (Conquest) will be on the same time as Cayman time fortunately, so that will make it easier to guage our time limit while there.

 

Thanks again! We've never been to GC and are really looking forward to it!!

[twinkletoes4445]

Thanks bunches for all the great info! I knew someone would come through eventually. I was just being impatient ;) That was my biggest concern, that I had read traffic can be bad at times there. I also had read up on Royal Palms as an option for us following the snorkel with CM's. You've convinced me that that is probably a good bet for us, esp since it's so close to the tender area.

 

Our ship time (Conquest) will be on the same time as Cayman time fortunately, so that will make it easier to guage our time limit while there.

 

Thanks again! We've never been to GC and are really looking forward to it!!

 

I saw your post, but I wanted to dig out my cruise info (the daily cruise info sheet) before I posted. It's been a few years since we visited there on the cruise, so I couldn't remember all the details. But I know how you feel...I had so many questions prior to us going there the first time...but eventually someone came along with the answers.

 

It's always a good thing, I think, when ship time and island time are the same. Less room for error.

 

The traffic along the 7MB area is bad in the early morning, noon, and end of the work day. One time when we were there, they were having the grand opening of the Ritz. It was a zoo around the Ritz...anytime of the day, it didn't seem to matter. And Sea Grape is just beyond the Ritz.

 

With Royal Palms, you're pretty close to the port area, which is nice. More beach time is always a good thing. :)

 

I hope you're there when there aren't a lot of ships. There are days that there are 10 or so ships...and it is a ZOO. I wish they'd start limiting the number of ships to 4-5 max. That's doable.

 

Have a great time with Captain Marvin's. They are just the nicest people. If you have anymore questions, just post them here and I'll check back every now and then.

 

Grand Cayman is our favorite island. It's has very little crime and the people that live there are very friendly, and no one will ask you to buy a thing. It's nothing like Mexico or Jamaica. Not that there's anything wrong with those places, but you just won't be hounded by anyone. GC reminds me of the Beverly Hills of the Caribbean. It's expensive...but it's worth every penny, IMO.

 

When we were looking for an island to visit (for a land vacation), we wanted to visit a place that we could rent a car and explore the island. You can do that on GC. I think we've been on every road on the island. We really love the East End. It's so different over there...much more "tropical" and quiet. But as always, use precautions while there, just like you would at home. In our experiences, there aren't many islands like this...which is why we keep returning for visits.

 

Have a fun cruise! :)