Grand Cayman in December

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Chanly83

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Messages
316
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Location
Midwest
# of dives
100 - 199
I’m staying at the Morritts for a week in December. Like to dive 4 maybe 5 days. Any suggestions on must see places? Is Red Sail/ Tortuga divers recommended? They are convenient being right at the end of the dock. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 
Be prepared for the possibility of windy relatively cold weather with northers in December. Pack a windshell and warm hat for the boat.
 
I think that Ocean Frontiers may be the most popular dive op with dedicated East End divers - and they're great - but I have dived with Tortuga and I have no complaints. It was a very good dive op IMO - and it is always very convenient to dive with the onsite operation.

Everybody has their favorites, but honestly I haven't had bad experiences with any Cayman dive ops over the years. I think that it's a very competitive market and my guess is that a bad op wouldn't last very long.

One comment, we tend to travel to Cayman in the slower season and we haven't experienced any issues with crowded dive boats with any op (not for a long time) but the situation may be different during the high season. Hopefully others will be able to advise you.
 
If you are staying at Morritts go with Tortuga. No brainer. Years ago their reputation was not as good in the industry and OF was stellar. This was based on boats, crew, service etc. Now they are basically considered even. They do the same dive sites, both have great experienced captains. No reason to waste time traveling back and forth. If you were where OF is located my recommendation would be to use them. They are both excellent ops and at this stage are neck and neck pretty much across the boards. A small advantage to Tortuga might be that if they cannot get you out (if one doesn’t go neither will), they may be able to set you up on a Red Sail boat so you don’t miss too much diving. Not sure if OF has a partner North or West, but no one here has close to the number of options that RSS does.
 
That’s a stellar review and the words of encouragement I needed thanks
 
I'm staying at Morritt's near the end of April. Although I plan to dive with Ocean Frontiers which is about an 8 minute drive away (they owe me a free dive with nitrox), I may try Red Sail. I like the way OF runs their op, as they take care of everything, but I also like the convenience of onsite ops. I never checked RS out the last time I stayed at Morritt's. Think I will this time!

As already indicated, the time of year may determine diving on the East End. Water may be a little rough on the surface at times. If the conditions aren't good, going over to Seven Mile Beach where the water is generally calm might be a thought.

Any suggestions on must see places?

Not sure if you were talking must see dive places or must see places on GC's East End, but some of our favorite places are the Cayman Crystal Caves, Starfish Beach near Rum Point, and although not a favorite, the botanical garden. Also on the East End are some good places to eat: the Big Tree BBQ (it's different) is close to Morritt's and Kurt's Korner, located on the road that cuts North/South through the East End - we ate lunch there several times. If you go to the other side of GC, there are several places to see.
 
One more thing, Ocean Frontiers regularly offers 2-tank dives in both the morning and the afternoon, but Tortuga usually does 2-tanks in the morning and 1-tank in the afternoon like most Cayman dive ops. So if someone is there to "dive, dive, dive" that could be a deciding factor in favor of OF, but if that's not as important to you - then go with the more convenient option.

I wouldn't hesitate to dive with either of those EE choices.
 
A main advantage of diving in the east, is that the operators can go north or south, depending on the conditions, tremendous flexibility.

I have only dived with Ocean Frontiers, the best land based operator I have used. You can do 5 dives per day on Tuesday and Thursday, as they offer night dives on those days.

This thread has me thinking, I'm due for a return to Grand Cayman
 

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