In Grand Cayman, will cell phones work?

[sallas76]

We are considering a vacation to Grand Cayman in June, possibly staying at Grand Cayman Beach Suites or the Marriott. They both team with Red Sail Sports, are these good choices or are there better options?

Also will our cell phones work, Viaero or Alltel are the US carriers? And if not, what if any, are options for regular communication back to the US?

Thanks!

 

[Hallmac]

My cingular/ATT worked just fine, no prior notification was needed.

 

[divesergeant]

My Motorola Razor with Verizon service worked perfectly, and only .39/minute, if I remember correctly.

For Seven Mile Beach dive ops, I recommend;

Neptune's Divers or
DiveTech

If you'd entertain an East End visit, try diving with Ocean Frontiers.

DS

 

[ianr33]

I used skype from my laptop at Cobalt Coast. Only $0.02/minute

 

[Damselfish]

If you are planning to do a lot of diving there are some places on Grand Cayman that I think are better suited for divers than the big hotels you mention. Cobalt Coast, Sunset House, or any of the places on the East End like The Reef, Morritt's, Compass Point come to mind. (Given the places you are looking at you may not like Sunset House though, which is definitely not fancy.) On the other hand if you are doing a beach vacation with some diving, or maybe going with a non-diver that wants a big resort, they're both nice places though in a fairly congested and busy area. (As divers we hear "Cayman" and think just about diving, but actually a large majority of visitors to Grand Cayman aren't divers, I've read it is only on the order of 15%.)

From what I know, If you're a new diver you may be happy with Red Sail, but most people consider it a cattle op. There are tons of threads on this board that talk about the many good ops on Grand Cayman.

 

[Northerndiver1985]

Yeah phones work out here, your phone will roam and find either Digicel or Cable and Wireless. The service here is pretty decent with no real coverage issues.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

You may need to notify your cell phone company that you want international roaming to be available. It depends upon your plan, but some phones will not work for that reason.

The most reasonable way to call the States is using Skype or other VOIP service. You could also get a local SIM card if your cell phone is unlocked. That would provide service from a Cayman company at lower rates than international roaming. You could then just pre-pay as needed to buy some air time.