Day 3
DW and i are somewhat familiar w/ Grand Cayman having done our dive certification there 15 years ago (pre kids and other things). This island uses tenders (medium sized boats) to transport you to the shore and back. We were doing a non-Disney excursion (SCANDOLOUS
) with Captain Bryan, who was recommended in another post. As a result, I was very anxious about getting to shore on time.
No Worries
The tender process is painless. When your party is ready (
HINT: Yes... believe Disney.. wait till you are all ready) you meet at the Buena Vista Theater. Your wait will probably be no more than 10 minutes and you will be escorted onto a tender. The ride is no more than 10 enjoyable minutes.
HINT: You may not bring fruits or other food to shore... although no one checked our bag I encourage you to follow the rules. You won't need the stuff anyway.
HINT: This is one island where water may be cheaper on shore. Disney sells small water bottles for $1.75. We purchased a large 1/2 liter for $2.00 on shore near our excursion (a few blocks out of town -- so not at a tourist trap).
STINGRAYS AND MORE
Captain Bryan was recommended on this site by another guest. He was great. I was interested in avoiding the Disney crowds (and 'rules'). The Captain's team was great. We went first to the Stingray city. What an exciting time for the kids. My wife and I did this 15 years ago at about 40 feet under. This trip was off a sand bar in the middle of the Cayman bay. The stingrays come right up to you.
Since DW and I were here the tour guides have become more environmentally friendly. In the old days each person was provided a bag of squid to feed the rays. Now adays the resonsible guides only bring 1 bag simply to lure the rays. It works great..... You will be bumped and possible tasted by these harmless creatures.
HINT: If you want to attract them and 'keep in the rules on feeding" simply wet your hand in the squid container (yum... smelly squid) and the rays will all come to you.... no need to feed.
Bryan's team came with a photographer (i'm sure most excursions do). This guy took some EXCELLENT pictures. Even better, when you order he doesn't send you prints. Rather, he sends you the disk with the originals so you can make as many copies as you want. We had more than 10 pictures of the family petting (and kissing the rays for 7 years of good luck). I bought the package for about $80. Pricey but really a good deal.
Next we motored a few hundred hards away to the barrier reef. Our trip was supposed to have 3 stops but the crew recommended staying here longer. The recent rain made the other stops 'green' and less clear. Their point was we would see more and better here. We trusted their view and I don't regret it.
I buddied w/ DS again and we were off.
HINT: Check your gear before leaving. DS had a snorkel where the mouth bite was bitten off. This makes it much harder to maintain a good seal and keep the salt water out. DS and I switched and he was much better off.
HINT: DON'T TOUCH THE CORAL!!!! Your guides will tell you this... Believe them. Touching the coral kills it... and with the polution today the coral is already having enough trouble.
DS and I saw many variety of animals. Parot fish, beautiful blue and orange ones, I saw a flounder on the bottom (two eyes on top of head --- very alien -- nothing like the guy in Ariel's movie)... and the best was two BEAUTIFUL squid swimming as a pair. They had HUGE eyes and i got within 5 feet of them.
The coral here is MUCH more beautiful and varied than that at Key West. Lots of Brain coral and fan coral. The water is also crystal clear.
HINT: If you are a diver YOU MUST BRING YOUR PADI CERTIFICATION CARD WITH YOU!!! Disney will not allow you to dive without your card. Plus you must have dived within the past 2 years.
HINT: If you are a diver -- this is the place. The diving is phenomenal. 15 years ago DW and I did our deep dive, night dive, marine life dive, and wreck dive here. REALLY GREAT.
After the snorkeling we were brought back to the town. It's a great and safe place to shop. Cayman has 700+ banks and is very modern. If you want you can rent a car (or scooter) and tour the island yourself. We had planned to take a taxi to the turtle farm (
HINT: The turtle farm is great for little kids.... lots of turtles in all sizes -- just don't tell the kids they are being raised for consumption) but were generally tired and went back to the boat (DW stayed to shop a little....
HINT: don't buy t-shirts at the stores just off the dock. There are many cheaper places a few blocks down the way (we are talking like from $30 at dock to $15 2 blocks away) -- Disney provides a map).
BACK ON BOARD
Tonight was Master Chef night. This is when the main dining themes change from the Wonder's 3 or 4 day trips. You are back in your original dinning room (Parot Cay for us) and all rooms have the same menu. Tonight was cruise casual. Again.. food was fine (still swear that Dora, our head server, is fattening us up for some ritualistic slaughter later in the cruise).
Entertainment tonight was "Twice Charmed" -- Disney's newest cruise show... a twist on the original. I won't spoil the show for those that haven't seen it but it was very cute. Given my family's age we tend to do these activities but there are many, many other options aboard.
HINT: A REALLY great place to hang out as an adult in a non-bar environment is Cafe Cove on deck 9 --- this is a Starbucks look alike. You will see many of the crew (off duty) visiting too.... and there are board games to play --- this is adult only. Other bars are forward on Deck 3 and all look great.
More to come later as we went to TULUM the next day.
Thanks lbgraves and dixieslandings for the info!!
, took pictures of the famous wild cats and roosters, and purchased a few shells. Malory Square (spelling?) is 5 minutes from the boat. We declined many other options including the tour of the museum (looks cute) and renting an electric car to tour (more like an oversized golf cart) -- need things for next time (hopefully).
