7 Mile beach for a group of 12

[kgn]

We are a group of 12 coming into GC on december 27th 6 kids ages 10 - 18 + 6 adults.

 

Question 1 - How do you know how many other ships are coming into that port that day?

 

Question 2 - What is the best beach to go to? We want chairs and some water sports would be good as well as some food.

 

Question 3 - IS The reef Grill a good place to go for the day? It seems resonably priced

 

Question 4 - What is the best time to get to the beach to beat the crowd (get a chair) and not be there at 7am?

 

Question 5 - I want to make sure we get to a good beach but not pay through the nose which is what seems to be the case with some of the resorts like the Hyatt as well as the shore excursion. Suggestions?

[twinkletoes4445]

1. It looks like there will be four ships in port the day you'll be there (Oceana, Freedom of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas & Carnival Conquest). Even though 3 of the ships are pretty big, you should find the day in Cayman to be pretty enjoyable (we've seen 10 ships in port). Here's the GC port authority page.

 

http://www.caymanport.com/schedule.htm

 

2. Sea Grape and Royal Palms are both places that a lot of the cruisers head to...and both are along the 7MB stretch. Royal Palms is closer to the port area than Sea Grape (it's across from the Courtyard Marriott), but both offer more or less the same thing...water toy rentals, food, restroom, chairs...etc. I'd grab a cab (they're maybe $4 or $5 per person, each way) in the port area, and have them drop you off where you want. The cabs in Cayman are the bus-type cabs...and the ones I've noticed seat a dozen or more people. But we've never taken a cab, we always rent a car while we're there for the week.

 

The only other beach where there are these services is Rum Point. It's a 45 minute drive, each way, from the port.

 

3. We've not been to the Reef Grill, but I've read good reviews about the place. Remember when you're looking at the prices on their website, the prices are listed in Cayman. So if something is $10.00, that's going to be $12.00 or so in US. Plus, most of the places will automatically add on the tip, so make sure and ask, if you don't see it on the bill. You can also ask your server to tell you what the costs are in USD and they'll gladly write this on the ticket for you.

 

4. Everything is VERY expensive in GC. We find that we share things, or only order what we think we'll eat. Personally, if I were to visit GC on a ship, I'd rent a car (but with 12 of you that's not probably going to work), or I'd grab a cab and head to 7MB at either Sea Grape or Royal Palms. We have found in the past that traffic seems to get clogged up around the Ritz (Sea Grape is just beyond the Ritz), so if you decide to go there, make sure an allow a little extra time to get back to the port.

 

We've not been to either of these places, but we've noticed lots of cabs lined up at Sea Grape waiting to return the passengers to the port area. From what I've read, Royal Palms is the same.

 

As far as shore excursions, we book everything on the island ourselves. Our first visit was on a cruise ship, and we booked with Captain Marvin's for our snorkeling. We've gone back to them each time we're there.

 

Red Sail operates out of many of the hotels (one is near Sea Grape). I don't know if Red Sail operates out of or near Royal Palms, but RP does offer this sort of thing.

 

http://www.redsailcayman.com/gc_index.html

 

 

We love Grand Cayman. It's a wonderfuly safe and clean island, which is why we keep going back. We love the idea of being able to rent a car and drive all over the island and feel safe doing so. We have had no problems using our credit cards in GC. We try and use our AMEX or Visa and have had no funny "extras" on our billing statements. USD is also widely accepted, but if you do use USD, most likely you'll get CD in change. We usually ask if they have change in USD and many times they do.

 

There was a thread, I'll look for it, where someone came back and reported what their day was like at Royal Palms. If I can find it, I'll post it for you.

 

Have a great time!:)

 

Edited to add...

 

Here's the thread that I was talking about.

 

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