Grand Cayman airport update

[Redfoot]

Is the VIP 'Meet and Greet" worth it then? I will be there right after Christmas and I imagine it will be busy.....

 

[AggieDiver]

Part of the problem is that the airlines going to and from GCM have their own connections they need to meet back in the US. If they try to come too early in the day, then nobody can connect to those flights from elsewhere in the US, while if they come later (and leave later), then it cause problems with guests going home being able to connect to flights elsewhere in the US. They could solve a lot of that if they would bring more flights to GCM from airports that aren't on the east coast (i.e. Houston, Dallas, etc.), but for some reason, all the airlines want to fly to GCM from the east coast, which forces them into the midday window for arrivals and departures.

 

[caydiver]

Yep. The problem is that the flights come in a cluster. They want to leave US/Canada in am and get the round trip done in the day. The actual schedule works well except when there are weather delays just like anywhere else. At this time of year big thunder storms are part of the daily fabric in the southern US. It all tends to have the domino affect if the storms hang around. Unless US carriers want to spread their timing or stay overnight there is not much that can be done about it. The lounge situation is fluid. We had heard Cayman Airways wanted their own separate lounge as they had in the old airport. It was tiny and simple but we loved it. Knew us by name and were always so gracious. It would be nice if we got an AMEX or Priority Pass lounge but it might not work here. Like airports if it is loaded with upper class passengers, they don’t take in pay as you go etc. The only times that would really be necessary is when there are big delays. We have seen some people get downright nasty at the AirFrance lounge at JFK which is shared with JAL and Cayman who are not upper class but had their Priority Pass and that lounge is huge. Similarly the AMEX lounge in Miami is a joke. Way too small for the number of guests. It will be interesting to see what happens. They are also putting out feelers for automated border control. Would be nice if we could clear immigration going to States as we do from UK etc.
Christmas New Year week is big (biggest of year) Following week really drops off.

 

[KathyV]

Is the VIP 'Meet and Greet" worth it then? I will be there right after Christmas and I imagine it will be busy.....

I've never used it, but if I had a tight connection between landing at GCM and flying to the Sister Islands (on a weekend during the busy holiday season) then I would at least consider it and try to find out more about it. I really don't know whether it is worth it or not.

Another important factor is whether your flight to Brac is the last flight of the day. If you miss the last flight then you will definitely have to scramble to find a place to overnight on GC during the holidays. But if there are other later flights scheduled then you may be able to make one of them.

Flying to Brac in the winter is easier than Little Cayman, there are more flights and larger flights to CB and they can land/take off after dark which is not an option for LC. There is usually a large jet flight to Brac late in the afternoon that probably won't be full.

I believe that your local dive shop is organizing the trip, correct? That means that there will probably be other members of your group on the same flights. Talk to your trip organizer, he/she probably has a lot of experience arranging group travel - probably to Cayman and other areas of the Caribbean - and will be better able to advise you.

 

[Doctorfish]

I used the meet and greet once and it cut the time from landing to getting through security for next flight down to just under an hour. On a busy Saturday with a tight connection, that allowed us to make our Cayman Express flight. I would use again if I had no alternative re a later flight to LC. I know that the same timeline might be possible without meet and greet if you are lucky, but it took all the anxiety out of the process.

 

[AdivingBel]

It has improved, particularly arrivals, check and ticketing. Not so much in the gate area for departures, at least from a crowding standpoint.

LOL...I thought the gate area was the biggest improvement. Go figure. If you "walk on around the corner" in the gate area it is much expanded. The addition of the Subway and Wendy's was kind of nice, too. All IMHO, YMMV.

 

[Manatee Diver]

I think the challenge for GCM is that all the flights tend to arrive and depart in a couple of defined clusters.

That is pretty normal, it is called banking. The aircraft arrive and depart the hubs at about the same time to minimize connecting time for passengers. So if all the flight from MIA depart during the same bank, they will all arrive at GCM at about the same time too.

 

[mi000ke]

Is the VIP 'Meet and Greet" worth it then? I will be there right after Christmas and I imagine it will be busy.....

We travel down to GC 3-4 times/year and usually use the meet and greet - mostly because we travel with a dog, and he goes nuts waiting in line while inside his carrier. You are met as you get off the plane, and are escorted through the Cayman residents' immigration line. The longest the line has ever been for us is 3 people ahead, and usually empty. Then they wait with you for your bags to come off, escort you through customs (which is really nothing if you have nothing to declare - we need to go through the agriculture dept dog inspection routine) and then you are out. If not traveling with a dog or other exotic animal, you can get through from flight to street in less than 15 minutes, depending on how long it takes to get your bags (I usually just have carry on). Another small benefit is that if you are getting a cab the greeter will move you to the front of the taxi line, and if you are renting a car on site, the greeter will help move your bags to the rental area - a moderate walk from the terminal. All this said, our guests are usually through the entire process in less than an hour without meet and greet, so on a normal day it may not be worth the $61 + tip per person. At holiday time, though, I'm sure it will be much slower to go through the vistors line.

 

[KathyV]

We travel down to GC 3-4 times/year and usually use the meet and greet - mostly because we travel with a dog, and he goes nuts waiting in line while inside his carrier. You are met as you get off the plane, and are escorted through the Cayman residents' immigration line. The longest the line has ever been for us is 3 people ahead, and usually empty. Then they wait with you for your bags to come off, escort you through customs (which is really nothing if you have nothing to declare - we need to go through the agriculture dept dog inspection routine) and then you are out. If not traveling with a dog or other exotic animal, you can get through from flight to street in less than 15 minutes, depending on how long it takes to get your bags (I usually just have carry on). Another small benefit is that if you are getting a cab the greeter will move you to the front of the taxi line, and if you are renting a car on site, the greeter will help move your bags to the rental area - a moderate walk from the terminal. All this said, our guests are usually through the entire process in less than an hour without meet and greet, so on a normal day it may not be worth the $61 + tip per person. At holiday time, though, I'm sure it will be much slower to go through the vistors line.

Thanks for sharing that information @mi000ke it's very helpful. @Redfoot will have to go through Immigrations and Customs, check in for the Brac flight, recheck his bags, and go through Security to access the departure lounge. And I believe that he will be traveling on the weekend during the holidays so if the connections are tight it might be worthwhile.

I know that the airport has made things a little better for folks that are in-transit, at least you don't have to exit and re-enter the airport now, but I wish that they had made it easier for individuals that are not staying on GC as their final destination.

 

[uncfnp]

Another thing to keep in mind with connections from LC/CB is the arrival 1 hour prior to departure rule for flights to the US. It nearly caught us. I had thought the time would be from check in at LC but apparently, according to Delta, the clock starts with them.

So when planning departures from the sister islands to GC, include the 1 hour deadline for check in at GC. On paper we had 90 minutes but arrived at the Delta counter with only 8 minutes to spare. Too close for my comfort level next trip.