Grand Caymen Yeah or nah????

[Gaston77]

Where going on our first Disney cruise in august so far have signed our kids for the western Caribbean cruise Cozumel Mexico for the dolphin discovery we were going to do the caves but just read to long for the journey half the trip to get there we were thinking of staying on the boat for gran Cayman is this a mistake or no we were going to do the shops at Jamaica Falmouth and then do the beach at castaway cay any input would be appreciated thanks I know this has been discussed for Shure just looking for fresh input

 

[bumbershoot]

All we did was Margaritavikkr and a non-cruise line-linked duck tour, and we didn't regret Grand Cayman.

If I went again we would take a quick taxi ride to one of the named beaches and spend the day. I think Tiki Beach was our plan that day, but we woke up too late to do our planned day.

 

[lizabu]

I wish I would've went to the beach in grand cayman because when we went to castaway cay it was cold. We did a tour and it was good but not great.

 

[keishashadow]

It's beautiful there, not to be missed. We typically do a stingray tour with smaller provider (they are not all equal) but easy enough to grab a taxi to 7 mile beach.

 

[jenny_nichole]

We loved Grand Cayman. Based on recommendations here on disboards, we booked a 3 stop snorkel boat tour with Captain Marvin's. Very easy walk(I think it was just across the street from cruise pier) to their office & they drove us ~15min to their dock. Stopped at Stingray City sandbar and got to feed/pet/hold the stingrays. Our family loved it. Check out the pics on their website or tripadvisor. Felt the prices were very reasonable too($45A/$30C & includes transportation to/from the boat dock).

https://www.captainmarvins.com/three-stop-stingray-snorkel-tours

 

[bbel]

You dont have to do anything.
Grand Cayman is quite chilled and can be quite nice just to catch a tender to the port area for an hour or so, there's some shops, snacks, ice cream or a wander over to margaritaville or over the road to some of the cafes.
There's not really anything 'touristy' that you can do within walking distance (good beaches, turtles, dolphins, sting rays), but the island is small, taxis are easy and it's relatively quick to get anywhere.

 

[OSUZorba]

If I were to skip a port it would hands down be Falmouth, there is a reason Disney skips Falmouth for the Star Wars Day at Sea as opposed to Grand Cayman. The shopping at the Falmouth port is exactly the same shops that will be in the port at Cozumel and will be repeated again in Georgetown and downtown Cozumel.

If you like to snorkel there is a lot of good snorkeling from the shore. You can rent gear from Eden Dive Shop, which has good snorkeling right out their door. If you like the Beach, they have miles of awesome beaches and resorts. The downtown shopping is also nice and probably the most pleasant in the Caribbean as far as pushiness goes.

I know a lot of people that have done Stingway City and they've all loved it. I've also heard good things about the Turtle farm.

The island is also very safe, so there is no issue at all with going out on your own. I've ridden the local buses ($2pp, make sure you have small bills they don't have US change), gone off to a secluded part of 7-mile beach, walked all over Georgetown and never felt unsafe at all (meanwhile, I will not leave the port in Falmouth unless I am with a tour operator).

Tendering can be a little bit a hassle, but I also think it is fun and not that big of a deal.

Edit: Eden Dive Shop is less than 1/2 mile walk from where the tenders drop you off. There are some other good snorkel spots a 1/2 to 1 mile walk the other direction from the tenders. So it is easy do some decent snorkeling without paying to go anywhere.

 

[cadien]

Our upcoming cruise includes Grand Cayman. Son will have just turned 7. I'm down to deciding between the Turtle Farm and the pirate ship. Unless it turns out we can fit in both. Stingray City would be more appealing if they didn't also have rays at Castaway Cay.

 

[GeneralTso]

We are going to "wing it" on Grand Cayman. We will see if there's anything that interests us when we port. I feel comfortable checking things out on our own.
We signed up for the plantation tour in Jamaica. I would not wander off on my own there.

 

[Bsmitty]

I'd rather do cayman than Jamaica. Unless you're doing Dunn's River Falls. I've been to both 3 times & I'd rather stay on the boat in Jamaica.

 

[oakleycat]

We loved Grand Cayman. We had scheduled the Stingray City excursion (through Disney) but it was cancelled so we just grabbed a taxi and spent the day on the beach. Beautiful and so relaxing!

 

[tnshsms]

Our upcoming cruise includes Grand Cayman. Son will have just turned 7. I'm down to deciding between the Turtle Farm and the pirate ship. Unless it turns out we can fit in both. Stingray City would be more appealing if they didn't also have rays at Castaway Cay.

Grand Cayman's Stingray city is better than CC's Stingray. You are actually in the middle of the ocean in the caymans instead of in a controlled environment on CC. Now being in the open ocean might scare you away more but the experience is more real for the stingrays than it is on CC. The CC excursion is good, but they don't compare in the experience really.

 

[bbn1122]

I honeymooned in GC and was back in 2011 on a Disney Cruise. I have never been to Jamaica but you are talking Caviar to Tuna, and Grand Cayman is the Caviar. GC is known for some of the best snorkeling and sports fishing in the Caribbean. It's the like Switzerland in regards to banking. It's expensive to live there and you will never find andy one begging. It's a British island it reminds of Bermuda.

Grand Cayman is a beautiful small island. It is flat due to its a big coral reef, no mountains. It should be a must when cruising to the westerns caribbean.

The beaches are nice, but the water is gorgeous. Probably, then cleanest water you will ever see.

We did the Reef and Wreck snorkeling back in 2011. So, beautiful and fun, went to Margaretteville for lunch and then shopping.

Don't skip Grand Cayman!

 

[SteveMP]

Grand Cayman has great snorkeling, and the Margaritaville is really nice. I enjoy the CayBrew.

 

[lcvb]

We love Grand Cayman as well. Our favourite port ... so far! The first time we went to the Turtle Farm on an excursion through DCL and the kids loved it. They were 9 and 7 at the time. The second time we just took a taxi and went to the beach. We felt very safe and were fine going out on our own. Kids were 11 and 9. It was actually DD's birthday and she was so excited to get to spend in there.

 

[jrabbit]

Snorkeled 3 times in different places in Grand Cayman: the Shipwreck and a reef in the harbor area, the Stingray City area (not the one where you stand on the sand bar) and Kittiwake. Enjoyed them all very much. Each was a unique experience. And the water there is pretty awesome. However we found water in Barbados to be the clearest we've ever been in.

Jamaica - stick with a tour. I don't think that I would go out of the port area (gated) on my own. We visited Mystic Mountain where we Walked up the Falls and then did the Jamaica bobsleds.

 

[soniam]

Cayman is our favorite stop in the Western Caribbean. The snorkeling is amazing. I love the shopping near the port. Good rum cake. People are friendly. I would stay on the boat at Cozumel or Jamaica, if we had done the the Secret River tour and DS had done Dunn's River Falls before.

 

[jdb in AZ]

There's a lot of poverty in the Caribbean ports, especially Jamaica, but Grand Cayman is more upscale, similar to the Hawaiian ports. The turtle farm is fun.

 

[runwad]

Yes get off the ship! As previous poster said the water is beautiful and so clear you can see your feet walking on the sand.