How to fly to Little Cayman with baggage restrictions

[BDSC]

BDSC: The flight from Toronto arrives at 11:30am so no problem there I think getting my gear the same day. Maybe not in time for an afternoon shore dive but for sure in time for the morning boat dive.

Hey Betty,

It's not the flight getting into Grand Cayman that I'm speaking of. It's the 19 seat "puddle jumper" from Grand Cayman to Little Cayman that can cause problems. If the flight is full of people, and the afternoon flights usually are, then they may not be able to get all the luggage on the flight as well. But we have been several times and more times than not, all the luggage made it. But folks freak out when someones bag doesn't make the little plane and folks just need to know what might happen and be prepared.

And Little Cayman and the Little Cayman Beach Resort is truly worth it. We are going back in October.

 

[AggieDiver]

Quick answer first.

Yes, the fuss is worth it...twice as much fuss would still be worth it.

We had the same issue on Continental last year and were trying to bring photo gear as well as dive gear. We put all the photo gear into a pelican case along with some of the smaller dive gear. Then we put all the rest of the dive gear into one bag and our clothes and toiletries in another. The total weight of our 3 check bags was something like 115 lbs, but no single bag was over 50 lbs. So we would have had to pay a $2.50 overage on Cayman Air if they had wanted to charge us, but they didn't. The overweight charge on Continental for being over 50 lbs for one bag was something like $150. So it was worth carrying the extra bag to avoid that fee. As for carryons, we carry our regs, log books and C-cards, a swimsuit, and any meds we need in small carryons...everything else gets checked. That way we can dive if our bag doesnt make it.

As for the dress code...very very casual. I wore shorts, t-shirts, and flip flops pretty much all the time, and recycled the shirts several times during the week. About the only people you see dressing up at all are the locals coming in to eat at the restaurant from time to time. The guests at the resort are generally extremely casual.

 

[Qnape]

Is all this fuss worth it to stay at LCBR versus let's say Cobalt Coast or Sunset House on GC?

I can only iterate what others have said; YES, this place is worth it. We've stayed at LCBR twice and will certainly return. But what fuss?? It is far easier to pack for a trip here than to Cozumel or to all-inclusives; this is a truly casual place to stay. On our last trip I did not wear or bring jeans or long pants; shorts, t-shirts and 2 bathing suits do it for me - 3 pair of socks for 8 nights and one came home clean - wore sandals or flipflops all the time. With very little clothing the dive gear fit fine and within weight limits even with an u/w camera set-up (Oly PEN2 with macro and Zen dome ports). Every other trip we take we check and pay for an extra bag - no need here.

Saturday flights have the highest frequency of bags being delayed; unless you are on the last flight of the day a delayed bag will usually make it later the same day.

 

[carriemak]

Little Cayman is definitely worth any and all fuss you might encounter.

 

[daniel]

I can only iterate what others have said; YES, this place is worth it. We've stayed at LCBR twice and will certainly return. But what fuss?? It is far easier to pack for a trip here than to Cozumel or to all-inclusives; this is a truly casual place to stay. On our last trip I did not wear or bring jeans or long pants; shorts, t-shirts and 2 bathing suits do it for me - 3 pair of socks for 8 nights and one came home clean - wore sandals or flipflops all the time. With very little clothing the dive gear fit fine and within weight limits even with an u/w camera set-up (Oly PEN2 with macro and Zen dome ports). Every other trip we take we check and pay for an extra bag - no need here.

Saturday flights have the highest frequency of bags being delayed; unless you are on the last flight of the day a delayed bag will usually make it later the same day.

OK so on the saturday departure of one of the best dive trips of your life they deside to delay one of YOUR bags, beond your departure from Grand Cayman, now what happens???

 

[kixy1]

Hey Betty,

No worries! The connecting flight is easy. The little plane is kind of fun, a little mini adventure in your vacation lol. As for packing, my advice is pack, and then take out at least half of what you packed. Seriously. Shorts, sandals, tshirts and bathing suits. Done. Nothing fancy on LC, and the resort is very nice (YES! it's worth it), but diver casual. I pretty much lived in my bathing suit and coverup during the day, shorts at night.

Have fun, I'm jealous!

Debra

 

[AggieDiver]

Daniel,

It is actually fairly rare for bags to be delayed going back to GC from LC. They typically ask everybody to have at least one bag packed and ready to go on the night before. If they have a full flight, they will take some of the bags the night before and send them over to GC to make sure they have room.

 

[Damselfish]

All this is a minor nuisance at most and worth the trouble. Everyone traveling there with dive gear is in the same boat (no pun intended) and manages it all the time. Pack as light as you reasonably can, you really don't need a lot. Pay the difference for the rest, it's not much in the grand scheme of things and if you're lucky they won't charge you. If they ask for bags to be sent ahead the evening before for the return to GC, it's not a problem and I'm not sure but I think any bags you send that way won't get counted towards your allowance. (Just don't do what I did once - tossed a dive knife in one of those advance bags - it was dry and ready to go after all - which was not a good thing when that bag became carryon on the flight out of GC. More specifically my husbands carryon, which to this day he has not let me forget.)

 

[Deac in the Wake]

The only $.02 I'll add is that while I'm sure there are people who can cite examples to the contrary, I've been flying Cayman Air to the Sister Islands for more than a decade and can testify to their customer service when it comes to getting you your luggage. No, it does not always make the flight you do. Sometimes you'll have to go back the next day for your bag. But you can count on the customer service people and the CA people at the airport to do right by you. Too often they don't get the credit they deserve. Whether your bag makes the plan isn't up to the CA gate agent- the pilot has the only say as to weights and cargo on his plane. To that end, pack smartly. Pack a small carry-on with enough to get you over a day or so in the event your bag comes later. The pilot would rather get you there so you can at least start enjoying all that LC and CB have to offer.

 

[caymaniac]

The overage is only $.50 per pound. When you consider what you are paying for the flight and the vacation, $5 - $10 for a slight overage is cheap thrills.

So true!

This is the small twin otter that fly's you into LC, you can see why they can't hold a lot of luggage: