We docked in Grand Cayman where we walked across from the port and grabbed a taxi. (This sounds like a quick process, but we wound up waiting inside the taxi for about ten minutes before the driver finally got in to take us. The taxi was a minivan so I have a feeling he was trying to grab other passengers first.) We told the driver that we wanted to go to the Marriott on seven-mile beach. Our server, Ivo, had recommended this to us. He said that the loungers were free and anyone could use them as long as you ordered a drink from them. So, our driver dutifully took us to the Marriott. I dont remember the price off-hand, but it was pretty much exactly what I expected after reading the boards here.
The Marriott was lovely. We walked through the lobby and then through an area that we thought was the pool but was instead a pond area with turtles, iguanas, ducks and other wildlife. My DDs really enjoyed looking at the animals. We walked from here straight out to the beach. Next door to the Marriott they were doing construction, and while the beach here was nice, I didnt want to hear the construction vehicles/machines the whole time we were relaxing on the beach, so we decided to walk down the beach to find a different place.
Turtle and iguana at the Marriott
Walking toward the Royal Palms
We wound up finding an area that had lounge rentals and was available to the public. This was Royal Palms. (You will see a lot of taxi drivers holding signs to take you to this place. We thought it ironic that we wound up here anyway.) We rented two lounge chairs for a total of $10 US. It was a very nice day. There were clouds, but there was plenty of sun.
DH and the DDs went to play in the water. My idea of relaxation was lounging on the chair, sipping a beverage and reading my book. From the first waiter that came by, I ordered a frozen strawberry margarita. When he returned, he came back with a regular margarita. I nicely asked him if they had strawberry margaritas (maybe they didnt and he just didnt think to tell me); he said yes and went back to trade. When he finally came back with my strawberry margarita, the bill was $9.25 US! Wow!!!! Was he punishing me or charging me for BOTH drinks? There were a lot of people here from the Carnival ship, and after striking up a conversation with one couple I asked about the price of their drinks. No, I was not alone in this beverage price-gouging. Buyer beware at the Royal Palms!
DD1's "foot-shot"
Me lounging at the Royal Palms
The water was beautiful here and we could see the Magic from where we were. Ahh
.vacation!
DD1 was having so much fun with her friends in Ocean Quest that she whined about going back most of the time we were at this beach. It was frustrating. I think she wanted to come to the beach
Lord knows if she had asked to stay at Quest instead of coming with us, I probably would have let her. That option certainly would have been better than listening to her whine. She went in the water a few times, but spent the rest of the time on the other lounger with me.
At 2 pm we packed up, rinsed off and grabbed a taxi to the pier. At this time the skies had started to darken and it looked like rain. Before we got on the ship, we did a little souvenir shopping in the shopping area at the pier. DD2 got a stingray that said Grand Cayman, and DD1 got a large lollipop with a small stuffed stingray attached. Neither DH nor I purchased anything here. The price on DD2s stingray was reasonable, I thought, but DD1 paid $10 US for her tiny stuffed stingray and lollipop combo. There was no price on the item
that would be our fault for not asking in advance.
We got on the tender and headed back to the ship. Just as we were about to debark the tender, the rain started coming down. We saw it coming across the water and were hoping to get off the tender before it reached us, but it arrived just before. Thats okay, we didnt get too wet. But, hey! What timing! We had a great day on Grand Cayman.
Coming up: Snails, Serbs, and Spa Time
Now we also cruised oct 06 and it really was perfect!! Not a single cloud the whole time. Enjoy your cruise and I wish i was going with you and all the lovely jubbly friends I met on our cruise.
