I hate to be negative, but we just spent three weeks in the Caymans and were very disappointed. We started on Cayman Brac and had to sit out some bad weather, but once that passed through, we got down to the fun stuff.
The diving on Brac was so-so, with only a few real highlights. The most memorable was seeing three free-swimming Green Morays on consecutive morning dives.
All three were about 7 feet long. Very impressive. Divi Tiara, once the flagship resort on the Brac, is aging and badly in need of maintainance. Very badly in need! The food on Brac is universally mediocre, and, although we do not go to dive sites for the cuisine, Brac was one of the lowest rated in our travels. The Captain's Table was okay - just okay. Divi Tiara was expensive and very mediocre. Stay very clear of Aunt Sha's if you have an aversion to food cooked in rancid oil! Esperanza is not worth the trip to remotest spot on the island.
The Divi dive shop was okay, but the dive masters tend toward the lazy side. We did not hear any raves about the other dive shops.
The weather was too poor to head toward Little Cayman and so I cannot comment.
On the positive side, I note that we had a medical "emergency" and the hospital provided very good service and medicine for a very resonable fee.
Grand Cayman had wonderful weather, but the diving was a little short of what we came to expect based on magazines and guide books. No one that we know had any recent experiences there. However, we were tremendously disappointed by Sunset House.
We chose to stay there because Cathy Church's place is there, because of its long history of diving Grand Cayman. It was also recommended by people who had been there (albeit, a long time ago).
The resort was:
Then there was the restaurant, The Sea Harvest. While nearly every other restaurant on that part of the island booms at lunch and dinner, the The Sea Harvest is deserted!
However, breakfast has a fair number of customers because it is included in packages. After two rounds of coffee that tasted like boiled cardboard and food that would make McD's look like an Alice Waters' restaurant, we bought cereal, milk and some good Earl Grey tea and enjoyed it in our room.
On the brighter side, the Grand Old House and the Wharf were excellent for dinner. Lunch was provided daily by "On the Rocks", a restaurant in George Town. An unprepossesing place, it had just wonderful lunch fare. The french fries, alone, would get me there! Warm breezes wafted through the ourdoor area where lunch can be eaten and we loved the food and the view.
The diving was mostly uninspiring. We went with Sunset Divers and were not impressed. However, a couple of their dive masters were notable: Bill "senior" from Toronto and Chris. First rate in every sense of the word.
The thing that Sunset does that I wish every place would do is draw a map of the site on a white board that pivots from the ceiling. They did this on every dive save the ones where almost no one could get lost. Much better than the vague had signals I am accustomed to getting. However, over all, I cannot recommmend Sunset divers.
If you insist on using them be sure to ask to be put on Sea Ray: it is the fastest, smallest boat they run. We did hear good things about River Sports Divers, but could not get on one of their trips. Bob Soto tends to have cattle boats. Cannot comment on other houses.
The diving was so, so: a few memorable ones - Cheeseburger Reef had a wonderful school of Tarpon that gleam and shimmer and come quite close. I have not gotten my film back from that dive, but expect some dramatic "front on" shots!
The night dive we did on the wreck of the Balboa was nearly a zero until I spotted a pair of adult Drums. That made the dive. But, unless you get your jollies watching sleeping parrotfish and lethargic blue tangs, it was not much of a dive.
Hope I have not offended anyone.
Joewr
The diving on Brac was so-so, with only a few real highlights. The most memorable was seeing three free-swimming Green Morays on consecutive morning dives.
All three were about 7 feet long. Very impressive. Divi Tiara, once the flagship resort on the Brac, is aging and badly in need of maintainance. Very badly in need! The food on Brac is universally mediocre, and, although we do not go to dive sites for the cuisine, Brac was one of the lowest rated in our travels. The Captain's Table was okay - just okay. Divi Tiara was expensive and very mediocre. Stay very clear of Aunt Sha's if you have an aversion to food cooked in rancid oil! Esperanza is not worth the trip to remotest spot on the island.
The Divi dive shop was okay, but the dive masters tend toward the lazy side. We did not hear any raves about the other dive shops.
The weather was too poor to head toward Little Cayman and so I cannot comment.
On the positive side, I note that we had a medical "emergency" and the hospital provided very good service and medicine for a very resonable fee.
Grand Cayman had wonderful weather, but the diving was a little short of what we came to expect based on magazines and guide books. No one that we know had any recent experiences there. However, we were tremendously disappointed by Sunset House.
We chose to stay there because Cathy Church's place is there, because of its long history of diving Grand Cayman. It was also recommended by people who had been there (albeit, a long time ago).
The resort was:
- Poorly maintained (ie., the drain in our shower had to be carefully avoided or one could be badly cut by the sharp tiles that were jutting out from a poorly done repair)
- Poorly cleaned (A Q-Tip remained on the same spot on the bathroom floor for 10 days!)
- Poorly equipped (All of our sheets and towels were threadbare - some were even torn!)
- Poorly managed (We arrived from the Brac at 10 pm only to discover that there was no one to help with the luggage - just the person at the desk who gave us vague directions to our room)
Then there was the restaurant, The Sea Harvest. While nearly every other restaurant on that part of the island booms at lunch and dinner, the The Sea Harvest is deserted!
However, breakfast has a fair number of customers because it is included in packages. After two rounds of coffee that tasted like boiled cardboard and food that would make McD's look like an Alice Waters' restaurant, we bought cereal, milk and some good Earl Grey tea and enjoyed it in our room.
On the brighter side, the Grand Old House and the Wharf were excellent for dinner. Lunch was provided daily by "On the Rocks", a restaurant in George Town. An unprepossesing place, it had just wonderful lunch fare. The french fries, alone, would get me there! Warm breezes wafted through the ourdoor area where lunch can be eaten and we loved the food and the view.
The diving was mostly uninspiring. We went with Sunset Divers and were not impressed. However, a couple of their dive masters were notable: Bill "senior" from Toronto and Chris. First rate in every sense of the word.
The thing that Sunset does that I wish every place would do is draw a map of the site on a white board that pivots from the ceiling. They did this on every dive save the ones where almost no one could get lost. Much better than the vague had signals I am accustomed to getting. However, over all, I cannot recommmend Sunset divers.
If you insist on using them be sure to ask to be put on Sea Ray: it is the fastest, smallest boat they run. We did hear good things about River Sports Divers, but could not get on one of their trips. Bob Soto tends to have cattle boats. Cannot comment on other houses.
The diving was so, so: a few memorable ones - Cheeseburger Reef had a wonderful school of Tarpon that gleam and shimmer and come quite close. I have not gotten my film back from that dive, but expect some dramatic "front on" shots!
The night dive we did on the wreck of the Balboa was nearly a zero until I spotted a pair of adult Drums. That made the dive. But, unless you get your jollies watching sleeping parrotfish and lethargic blue tangs, it was not much of a dive.
Hope I have not offended anyone.
Joewr
