May 6: Grand Cayman I knew we were able to get off the ship at 7, so I woke up pretty early this morning. I went up to the Lido deck for some breakfast and got some pics of the first light over Grand Cayman. The waters around GC are rather shallow. This means two things: that we drop anchor offshore and tender in (ferry boats) and that the weather has to be right for us to even stop. Someone said basically like one out of three ships has to pass by Cayman because if the water is rough, the ship can bottom out easily. This happened to my same cruise like two weeks before mine, they lost out on Cayman. Luckily, we were able to stop, so we were on the island by 7:30, or 6:30 local time. We did not book a shore excursion through the ship, but made up our own. We walked around the shopping areas for a little bit to get a feel of the area. As stores weren't yet open, we caught a taxi to Seven Mile Beach. Gorgeous beach area. Crystal clear waters, soft sand... no shells to be found, but there were plenty of little coral pieces. We pretty much had the beach to ourselves at this early hour, and it was amazing! The water was a little cool, but was okay once I got into it. We took pics and caught a cab back to the shopping area. Gas prices were like $4.83 in Cayman dollars, which meant like $6.00 USD. Lunch was at Margaritaville. And of course I had a margarita. Lots of shopping to come! I bought a seahorse pendant that was carved out of stone referred to as Caymanite, because it is only found on Cayman. Last tender was at 3, so back to the ship. There was a Disney cruise ship also at Cayman this day, so we took pics of that ship and ours as well as of the island, and of the sunset before dinner. At dinner this evening, our tablemates told us they met a couple also on their honeymoon they thought was from our area. They told this couple our table number, and they stopped by and met us. Sure enough, they are from our area and we chatted with them for a little while. There is a place called Hell on GC, and this new couple said they sent a postcard home from there saying 'Wish you were here.' I saw people wearing various funny shirts and hats from there as well. I was ridden with anxiety on this night because I knew that the next day would be Cozumel! Woooooo! I couldn't sleep, so I went into the bright lights of the bathroom to check out the colors of my new necklace.... which came off the chain and promptly broke on the granite floors of the bathoom! I cried for hours. I was so confused on how to feel: excitement for Cozumel or sadness for this one of a kind, now shattered, piece. Honey said not to worry, there is a guarantee on items purchased from stores recommended by Carnival, and we would get it taken care of. I finally went to sleep.
I hold a great curiousity for Grand Cayman. Besides shopping and enjoying Seven Mile Beach, what kind of excursions/activities could be had there?
Stingray City is a big attraction. Some years back, fishermen were cleaning their fish. Suddenly stingrays came to them to eat, so over the years, more and more stingrays have joined in the mix, and now supposedly they are very tame; they will eat out of your hand! Rum Point is another. I think it's a beach area on the opposite side of the island fron 7MB, close to the stingrays... they usually link the two together. There's also a turtle farm there. Yes, a farm. There's a percentage of the turtles that are released into the wild, and a percentage for consumption. I guess there's a restaurant that serves turtle in various ways. And you can go to Hell. Hahaha that doesn't sound good, but there is a city on Cayman called Hell. I saw plenty of hats and shirts from there over the next days onboard the ship. My 'neighbors' said they got postcards from there: one for his work they wrote I'd rather be here in Hell than there at work (or something like that) and one for her mom they wrote wish you were here! haha! Here's a link to Carnival Cruise Line's website page of Cayman excursions offered through them: http://carnival.com/ShoreExcursions...ode=CAY&portname=Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands Each of the cruise lines have their own excursions, I'm sure. I linked Carnival's because that's the line I was on, therefore most familiar with their site. There are also private excusion companies as well... the most recommended by the cruise message board I post on is: http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/ Let me tell you that Cayman is expensive. I told you their gas price (since then our gas has gone up 40 cents... only two weeks!) Our lunch at Margaritaville was $60. A burger, a fish sandwich (both included fries of course), a diet pepsi, and a margarita in a souvenier glass. Oh and tip is factored in there as well. $60! Not complaining (I was in paradise, afterall) just giving you an idea of prices there. Definately a gorgeous place though...
