Grand Cayman Advice

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sjl21

Registered
Messages
8
Reaction score
2
Location
Chicago Il
# of dives
50 - 99
Hello everyone, I will be going on a vacation to Grand Cayman for a week the beginning of May. This is not a "dive trip" but a trip with the wife (who does not dive). However, I plan on diving at least 2 maybe 3 days, morning dives. We will be staying at the Marriott on the seven mile beach that i believe is the west end of the island. I am open water certified but plan on being advanced before this trip. I am also nitrox certified. I will be bringing my own gear.

If anyone can recommend a good dive shop id appreciate it! Id like to plan/book my dives beforehand. Id also like to pick a shop that is close to where i am staying. Thanks
 
There's not much beach at the Marriott, it was never wide and has recently eroded even further. Maybe it will come back by May but recently there were rows of beach chairs in the water.

If you want a hotel then look at the Westin. I think that they are part of the same group if you are using points. But I suggest a beachfront condo on 7MB, probably cheaper and quieter than a hotel and you can prepare some simple meals and then go out for a nice dinner. Eating out can get expensive in Cayman.

There are lots of dive ops that service the 7MB area, and you can use any of them but I believe that Red Sail is the established op at the Marriott.

This review of the Marriott is from 6 days ago and includes pictures of the beach area:
Phenomenal service and great location but no beach - Review of Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort, Seven Mile Beach, Cayman Islands - TripAdvisor

Take a look at the recent thread at the link below posted by @cruisekingkris who is also traveling to GC in May with non-diving family:
https://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/christopher-columbus-condos-you-been.590193/
 
I was there in December and did just the same. A few days of diving and a few days of exploration with the non-diving S.O. The Marriott is a nice hotel and the beach is quite limited as is often mentioned. The Lobster Fete (on Wednesdays?) was particularly tasty.

Red sail is onsite at the Marriott. I had a car rental so I drove there but @Divetech Cayman ran their van to the Marriott to pick up some other people. I found them to be quite good. I’d recommend them even given the slight distance. Jo and Tony are both delightful as well as the many DMs.
 
I would look into any of the ops There are only a couple that fall below the high standards Cayman has to offer. Almost all do pick up and drop off along the SMB corridor. Some even right on your beach so that is a none issue. Some offer full valet service so it’s nice not to have gear in your room. The Marriott beach is better some weeks than others. It just depends on tide, current and wind direction. Hopefully Mother Nature will play nice when you are here. She is definitely in a snit this week. Highly recommend coconut Joes across the street for breakfast. Great restaurants all around you to choose from. Everyone should be able to provide Nitrox. If they say no DO Not dive with them. They are below standard probably in more ways than that. Had a sad situation with an older diver in the chamber that perhaps could have forgone that experience if he had the Nitrox he requested.
 
Thanks for all the advise...keep em coming...lol Its kinda funny, my wife did read about the beach at Marriott before anyone here said anything. Its already booked so I think we are going to take a chance. I at least got her an ocean front room so maybe that will make up for lack of beach,,, She is looking at restaurants to go to now. Do you think we will need to make reservations ahead of time at that time of year? Any recommendations on nice restaurants for dinner ?

As far as diving goes, it looks like Red Sail Sports is right there at the Marriott. Anyone have experience with them? I wanted to pick a dive op thats close so getting to and from is quick so im not wasting a lot of time. My wife also wants to do the stingray city snorkel trip one day to and i think she was looking at Red Sail Sports for that to.
 
There's another option, not as nice as staying in a hotel on 7MB but it is significantly cheaper and also in the heart of Seven Mile Beach. The Sunshine Suites is across the street from the Westin and it is part of the Westin Hotel Complex.

There is a $35 per day (per room) resort fee that gives you full access to all the amenities of the Westin and they provide a free shuttle so you don't have to drag your beach gear across the road to get to the beach.

The accommodations all have basic kitchen facilities, you get complimentary breakfast and there is a popular restaurant onsite. They also have facilities for divers onsite including dive storage lockers and rinse tanks. Red Sail is the onsite dive op but you can dive with the op of your choosing.

The building is 3 stories and they currently do not have elevators but I've read that they are installing elevators in 2020.

Sunshine Suites Resort
 
Thanks for all the advise...keep em coming...lol Its kinda funny, my wife did read about the beach at Marriott before anyone here said anything. Its already booked so I think we are going to take a chance. I at least got her an ocean front room so maybe that will make up for lack of beach,,, She is looking at restaurants to go to now. Do you think we will need to make reservations ahead of time at that time of year? Any recommendations on nice restaurants for dinner ?

As far as diving goes, it looks like Red Sail Sports is right there at the Marriott. Anyone have experience with them? I wanted to pick a dive op thats close so getting to and from is quick so im not wasting a lot of time. My wife also wants to do the stingray city snorkel trip one day to and i think she was looking at Red Sail Sports for that to.

I have dived with Red Sail but not recently but it was a good experience. It is a big dive op but they have big boats so that was fine. They do service the Disney Cruise Ship divers but they are on a different boat and a different schedule so that is not a problem. In a way that is also an endorsement, because Disney always looks for quality in their vendors.

When you visit Sting Ray City or Sandbar avoid the peak periods when cruise ship passengers are in port - that's really important! The Breakfast with the Rays excursion offered by Red Sail is very popular and early, before the cruise passengers arrive.

Red Sail used to offer a free Evening Sail when you booked a dive package with them. I don't know if they still do that but you could ask about it; especially since you may also be booking a Stingray City excursion - sort of a "value-added" perk.
 
As far as diving goes, it looks like Red Sail Sports is right there at the Marriott. Anyone have experience with them? I wanted to pick a dive op thats close so getting to and from is quick so im not wasting a lot of time.

I didn’t dive with Redsail. While they do have an office onsite, the boat is not onsite. Ther is no boat dock onsite either. Waiting around for various reasons is a way of life on any island and will take much more time than the van ride to any of the boat docks from the Marriott. Location isn’t super relevant.
 
If you don’t want to wait use an op that will pick you up on your beach. For full disclosure I have a connection to one that does. Many years of great happy diving with Red Sail and think of them highly. However as with any bigger boat that takes more guests you may be waiting for tardy guests. Sometimes it happens. Be sure to walk over to Camana Bay. Highly recommend Abacus and Agua over there. Tell your wife to look at the Cayman forums on Trip Advisor for ideas. Don’t bother with reviews. To many plants. If the beach directly in front of Marriott is off you can just go a little north along SMB to find a spot. If you are keen to stay on the beach do it. Your wife may not like crossing a busy road while you are off diving. Cracked Conch and little casual sister Macabuca are great. Grand Old House, Morgans, Bacaro and of course Blue (the jewel in the crown) are special places. Caymangoodtaste.com is a great resource.
 
but @Divetech Cayman ran their van to the Marriott to pick up some other people.

I would also recommend Divetech, but like others such as @caydiver , would tell you (based on the many SB reports), you probably can't go wrong with any ops in the area.

This review of the Marriott is from 6 days ago
But I suggest a beachfront condo on 7MB, probably cheaper and quieter than a hotel

Sorry, but I have to react to the TA report. OMG!!!! "First, I spent almost $10,000 for a week at the beach including airfare, meals and over $5,000 for the hotel stay. One of the primary reasons for this vacation was to sit on the beach"

$15,000 for a week!!!!!!! There's more I'd like to type about this (I'm fighting the urge) but to save on space - OMG!!!!

My first trip ever to GC (actually to anywhere outside the mainland U.S.) was in 1998 - spring break week trip and we were doing our checkout dives after taking the OW course at home, specifically because we were going to GC after all! Stayed at the Westin - it was great in '98 - and Divetech had a boat at the time that picked us up right on the beach. As I recall it was much less than the TA traveller paid for 1 week and much less than the 2 week trips we take to GC now. Oops, sorry I digressed. Will be in GC on the East End at the end of April - can't wait!
 
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