Grand Cayman - Yay or Nay?

[Anonymous]

We have never been - two parents and two teens. I currently have the hotel booked on points for Spring Break: 4 nights at Hotel Indigo (Seafire was already booked) and 3 nights at the new Grand Hyatt. I don’t have airfare yet. Planning to pay through the nose when SW releases (and have to fly through MCO - no directs) but we at least have companion passes for the kids.

Will this be a good trip? My oldest is a HS Senior so it is our last spring break at the same time for a while. It will be tight space wise - the 4 of us sharing a 2Q hotel room and 1 bathroom for a week but it’s the only way the trip is affordable to us. I hear that food on the island is outlandishly expensive but I figure that can be offset by the free lodging. We plan to book one of the private 1/2 boat tours to hit the highlights around the island and otherwise just mostly relax in the 7 Mile Beach area.

If I cancel everything, I’m not entirely sure what we would do instead. Maybe just rent something on Anna Maria and have a more laid back, “easy” trip.

WWYD? Thoughts? Will we enjoy it?

[Anonymous]

How would we know if you would enjoy it? We don’t know you or what you like to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How would we know if you would enjoy it? We don’t know you or what you like to do.

OP is obviously looking for feedback about their experiences from people who have been there.

[Anonymous]

Nay

[Anonymous]

I wpuldn't enjoy any trip with 3 adults, 1 other kid all in one hotel room with one bathroom.

[Anonymous]

We like Grand Cayman. Food is the same as most resorts and the DC area for similar restaurants. It's not a cheap island but clean, safe.
The one room is the downer. Would you get 2 on Anna Maria? Figure out costs for each. You will be renting a car in Florida. You can use taxi in GC.
How much more is an extra rom or suite? Can you use points and cash?
Snorkeling at Stingray City, Cemetery (taxi and got card to call for pickup after) is fun.
Snorkeling at AM is meh to neh.

[Anonymous]

You’ll have a blast! The water is gorgeous. It’s a million times better than Anna Maria or anywhere in FL.

Fwiw, we’ve crammed 5 into hotel rooms (and even 6). It’s a great way to bond in close quarters. Plus, you should really only be in the room to sleep.

[Anonymous]

Yay. Stay at a smaller hotel unless you want to fight crowds at the beach and pool. I recommend the Caribbean Club---condo space, hotel services, excellent on-site restaurant.

[Anonymous]

We like the Ritz.

[Anonymous]

We went in May -- with one college-age DD and one HS senior DS. We stayed at Discovery Point Club -- direct beach front condo, 2bed/2bath, full kitchen. We liked being ground level so we could walk directly in and out to the beach/pool.

I like having a kitchen so that we can eat breakfast and one other meal in the condo, and eat out for one meal per day. 90% of the food in GCM is imported -- which means it really adds up. We went to the local grocery store (has everything you would need - comparable to a US grocery store). Remember that $10 Cayman Island dollars = $12.50 US Dollars.

The water was SOOOO clear, and pleasantly warm/not cold. We snorkeled off the condo everyday, but for really good snorkeling, you should do the boats that take you to the stingrays and several snorkeling spots. We did two of these trips not for the stingrays, but for the amazing snorkelling. The best snorkelling was with Stingray Sailing. While they didn't have the newest boat, they did not man-handle and force the stingrays to be held for photos. Another company that we went with later in the week did that I it felt wrong for the stingray to be pulled out of the water and put up on people for 30+ minutes. Stingray Sailing taught us to touch them safely and took pictures with our own phones, but didn't "contain" the stingrays in non-natural ways. SS also does not profit from selling you photos that they have posed you to take.

Also recommend going to a restaurant (open air) called Macabuca where you can snorkel right off the restaurant, then come to a table and order lunch (or dinner) in a casual setting.

GCM is clean, safe, and great for being IN the water. If you are not into snorkelling, you are wasting your time going to GCM, imo. We all enjoyed it.

Another tip: local restaurant -- Heritage Kitchen. The little bread rolls they make are DE-licious! Check their hours, and don't show up at the last minute b/c they might be out of food. Cute place.

[Anonymous]

Fosters is the grocery store.

Also, DO NOT go to the Turtle sanctuary -- not at all worth the money. Just a bunch of shallow concrete pools for turtles. Very little effort in educating customers about turtles.