Frequency of High Surf Cancelling Port Call?

[Family-of-4]

How often does the high surf cause a ship to miss the port call in Grand Caymen?

[nbevins]

been there 4 times got in 2 times

[ftreloar]

we will be in cayman this wed. 12/3 & just saw that this report:

"Northeasterly 15 to 20 knots with higher gusts. Rough with wave heights of 6to 9 feet especially along the north and east coasts.A small advisory remains in effect. "

 

Will we dock?

[TxGal]

Will we dock?

 

GC is a tender port, no docking.

[232271]

we will be in cayman this wed. 12/3 & just saw that this report:

"Northeasterly 15 to 20 knots with higher gusts. Rough with wave heights of 6to 9 feet especially along the north and east coasts.A small advisory remains in effect. "

 

Will we dock?

 

and since you tender in that is why you miss it more often those tenders

get thrown around in rough waters..out of 3 scheduled stops, we missed one.

the tender was being slammed into our ship, so NO WAY we could get on it, they had tried several times and then announced it was closed for the day....

[Caribbean Sunsets]

We were concerned that we wouldn't be able to tender in GC the day before Thanksgiving especially since the day before that our Ocho Rios stop was aborted due to weather conditions.

 

We were able to tender without any problems and enjoyed our day in GC. We did a private stingray tour and our guide told us it had been almost a week since they last did a tour. We went over to Rum Point Beach after for lunch/beach stop. The water was very calm.

[coho ken]

Time of the year seems to play a roll...don't worry, you are on vacation and there is nothing anyone can do about Mother Nature! Nobody wants a port cancelled but passenger safety comes first.

[CP3o]

Are there certain times of the year the port is more likely to close? Thanks.

[LaShona]

We'll be sailing on Ruby Princess and are scheduled to visit Grand Cayman on January 27th, 2009. While I know that calm seas can probably never be guaranteed, I'm curious if cancellations for tendering in to port are "less likely" in January. We would be disappointed to miss such a beautiful island (from all that we hear and read) and are hoping for "a good tendering day" when we arrive on the 27th!

[nolaAlive]

How often does the high surf cause a ship to miss the port call in Grand Caymen?

 

Not as often as some people seem to think.

 

On Dec 3 all ships made it, although the water tours were canceled and two ships tendered in from Spotts.

 

I still did some snorkeling from Eden Rock:

 

Grand Cayman - Wed - Dec 3 - 7am-4pm

Page 1

Page 2 - Beware of Flying Monkeys

Page 3

 

 

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/free_08/index.htm

 

 

 

[luvtravel38]

I would also like to know which months have the least likely chance to miss this port of call.

[gracie65]

How many who have been to GC recently have had to tender from the other side of the island?

[drew sailbum]

The typical east-to-west trade wind patterns in the Caribbean provide for calm seas on the downwind (west) side of the island and make tendering into George Town no problem 90%+ of the time.

 

But occasionally the trailing edge of a cold front drops down out of the Gulf of Mexico and brings winds from the north and northwest. These Nor'westers provide rough seas on the west coast. It may be possible on such days for some ships to tender at the alternate site of Spotts on the south shore. These are perhpas 5% of the days.

 

Nor'westers are most common in the winter months from mid-November to early March. This is right in heart of peak season for Caribbean cruising. These are the months when ships are most likely to have to miss Grand Cayman due to rough weather.

[gracie65]

Drew: How long have they been tendering from Spotts? We were there in early sept. & had to go there. Everyone was saying it was a new place to use when the seas were too rough at the normal location. It was very un-organized and took a very long time to get back on the ship. Just wondering if the unorganization was due to the newness. I hate to miss my favorite restaurant Hemingway's but was thinking of staying on the ship if we ended up there again.

[drew sailbum]

Spotts has been in use as an alternate tendering site since at least 2002 and most likely before that.

 

Certain changes were mandated in the management of the flow of people following security updates that affected teh industry post-9/11. Thos took place a few years back.

[gracie65]

Spotts has been in use as an alternate tendering site since at least 2002 and most likely before that.

 

Certain changes were mandated in the management of the flow of people following security updates that affected teh industry post-9/11. Thos took place a few years back.

 

I don't know why everyone was saying it was new. That's why we thought the process to get back on was so long. We just figured security at the gate wasn't as smooth as the normal spot because of it being new. We were in line for over 2 hours. There were three ships there that day. Can't remember what time we were to sail but we got back at least 3 hours prior to that time. Our ship was almost 2 hours late in leaving.

[gazingm42]

We been there 3 times and have been lucky to make the port each time.

[gracie65]

We been there 3 times and have been lucky to make the port each time.

 

We're about to pay our 6th visit. It's a beautiful & clean island & we've enjoyed it each time. We have always been ablt to tender all though one time we were about 3 hours late in getting off due to rough seas. It was only our last visit that we have ever had to tender from Spotts.

gazingm42: when you say you've been there 3 times do you mean Grand Cayman or have you had to tender from Spotts 3 times? I'm just trying to figure out if we had a off day at re-tendering. Thanks

[tankerman]

Hey guys! Just saw this thread and wanted to say I've been to Grand Cayman 6 times and never missed the port or used the alternative anchorage that is mentioned here.

[MrsBtoBe]

ive been stalking the weather sites cuz our wedding is in port in grand cayman. how many mph would the wind have to be to cancel the tenders? if it says small craft advisory then no tenders? what about chest high waves?

[emz_nyc]

I have the same concern, I'm getting married in port at Grand Cayman as well. Looks like we're getting married the same week, what day is Grand Cayman on your itinerary. I'm on RCL Freedom of the Seas, scheduled for Feb 5.

[happy in fl]

I have been to GC 4 times now. One time was no problem, one time we got in but our excursion was cancelled, one time we could not go in at all, and the last time, we tendered into downtown area --- were told the day had to be cut short to noon due to bad weather. Then at noon we could not get back to ship -- they bussed us over to Spotts where we waited about two more hours with nothing to do and got back to the ship around 5 p.m. I have not had good luck you could say.

[Greymeowsr]

Drew: How long have they been tendering from Spotts? We were there in early sept. & had to go there. Everyone was saying it was a new place to use when the seas were too rough at the normal location. It was very un-organized and took a very long time to get back on the ship. Just wondering if the unorganization was due to the newness. I hate to miss my favorite restaurant Hemingway's but was thinking of staying on the ship if we ended up there again.

 

It's still like that. Spent 1 1/2 hours standing in line to get back on the ship during our most recent cruise. If I had known it would be like that at Spotts I would have stayed on the ship.

[mtan]

Hi everyone,

 

My fiancee and I are also planning a wedding at the Cayman Islands in 2010 and would like to know what the weather is like in Feb. I assume there are certain months that are higher chance of missing than others? Would anyone venture a guess as to the typical success rate overall? 50% - 80%?

 

Thanks

[Pug3636]

I saw you on the cruise as we were also there for our wedding in Ocho Rios. I'm so sorry GC was missed. My heart broke for you. What did you end up planning?

 

I have the same concern, I'm getting married in port at Grand Cayman as well. Looks like we're getting married the same week, what day is Grand Cayman on your itinerary. I'm on RCL Freedom of the Seas, scheduled for Feb 5.