Grand Cayman for unimpressed newbies?

[Johnoly]

You can put a taste of a $500 bottle of beautiful wine and someone will say 'not impressed'.
But give them a flaming shot of tequila and they'll smile & drink it in.
Don't try to figure out why.,,,,, just give them the tequila.

 

[jmcgilroy]

I enjoyed Grand Cayman...stayed at Sunset Divers. I'm 65 years old now and I'm past carrying gear back to the room. The resort must have gear lockers at the dock for me. Several of these on Bonaire or Belize, Curacao has Lions Dive. (Bonaire has the win for short walk, easy entry shore dives). I've recently spent 2 weeks on Roatan...good diving but a little "3rd world" for me.

 

[L13]

I've recently spent 2 weeks on Roatan...good diving but a little "3rd world" for me.

When the diving is good, I don't even notice things like "3rd world".

Actually, that's not quite true, usually it means more diving for my money.

 

[Cornellxc]

You guys have been to Grand Turk but it doesn't get any easier than there. 5 min boat rides and surface intervals on the beach. easy for a new diver to stay at the top of the wall and see a bunch of stuff.

 

[Doc Harry]

I'm curious why Belize isn't an option.

Ambergris is a bit harder to get to
Belize City is a real shithole
The diving in Belize is nothing spectacular

Belize Blue Hole is not worthwhile. It's a really long, long boat ride and there are too many divers stirring up all the silt on top. All that silt drops down into the Blue Hole and the visibility is crappy. Total waste of time.

The night diving in Ambergris is also not worthwhile.

Overall, Belize is highly over-rated.
Belize is not only "third world" but it's "really filthy third world."

 

[Doc Harry]

How about something off the beaten path? San Salvador Bahamas.

Diving in the Bahamas has always been a great disappointment - two trips to Andros and two to Nassau.
No interested in wasting anymore time or money diving in the Bahamas.
I will say that Bahamians are really wonderful people, and I enjoy their company.

 

[DiveProKoko]

Too difficult for older divers. My knee couldn't handle it.

If you're planning on boat diving anyway, and you haven't been to Curacao, I'd go there. The diving is fantastic and lots of top side stuff if they aren't "hardcore" divers. And, for what it's worth, the shore diving there is REALLY easy compared to Bonaire. Most sites have tanks/shops on site (no tank hauling) and sand entries.

As far as GC goes, I just got back from there not too long ago. The diving was fantastic, but very light on sea life compared to other places we've been recently. The show there is the coral and the topography. Top side is awesome as well, if that's important. Keep in mind it's really expensive too. Everything has the usual island markup, but the dollar is also really weak against the CID, so you're going in with a 20% markup on top of that from USD.

 

[Doctorfish]

I would second the recommendation for East End Grand Cayman, Ocean Frontiers. They offer full valet service.
Grand Cayman is easy to get to, clean, civilized, safe. You can drink the water and they spray for mosquitos so very little in the way of tropical diseases. It is a bit pricey but then again, you get what you pay for.
The diving is good at East End and you are away from the hustle/bustle of Seven Mile Beach. Dive sites like Babylon should impress anyone.

 

[Doc Harry]

My friends are leaning towards Curacao for the self-guided diving, but I am leaning towards GC.

What's this coral disease and are the protocols a PITA?

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

As we began preparing for our first dive trip together as a group, she confided to me: "I'm not impressed. I don't get this 'diving" thing." To be sure, their diving to date has been pathetic; first some quarry diving and then OW in Nassau. Pretty lame, and not very pretty.

Our friend is older (50s) and not athletic, so we need to be gentle with her.

Little Cayman would be magnificent, but I've been there three times and I HATE CAYMAN AIRWAYS.

I think that if your your friend has the mobility and experience issues you mentioned.... and you really want to make an impression that diving can be so much more than she's already experienced..... then you might consider mitigating the hate for Cayman Airways and take her to LCBR. You know she will love the diving there and so will you. When we go to LCBR we just bite the bullet and totally plan an overnight on GC for the inbound leg. Removes a lot of stress and the extra time can almost always cover any logistics glitches.....Plus hang'n out at a nice pool bar on GC ain't a bad way to spend a day.