Little Cayman - Island Air, LC Beach Resort ?s

[muldoonthief]

Three of us are headed to Little Cayman Beach Resort in 9 days. I've got some questions about Island Air Cayman and the Resort.

Has anyone here had luggage get bumped from an Island Air flight due to being overweight (the luggage, not you)? How much over the 55lb limit were you? One of us (not me) is a notorious pack rat, and I'll be very surprised if he isn't at least 10 lb over. I expect they'll make him pay for that, but will his luggage get delayed as well?

Does LCBR have any sort of "no outside beverage/alcohol" policy? Should we tank our plans to bring a bottle of scotch for post-diving refreshment?

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

If the Island Air flight is not full they don't seem to pay to much attention to the weight thing. If it is a full flight then they get picky. I was lucky to have a half full flight. They fly two or three times a day so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I would definitely make sure that your bag containing your dive gear weighs less than 55 lbs.
As to LCBR we stayed down the road at Conch Club Condos and dove, ate and drank with LCBR. I can't imagine they would have a problem with you bringing your own booze as long as they didn't see you toting it around. We always bring our own.

 

[sdwho]

My wife and I just got back from 11 days in Cayman - 6 at LCBR and 5 at Cobalt Coast in GC. We broke the scales: 207 pounds of stuff (not counting my wife's backpack or my video camera, which they didn't bother to weigh)! Got it all on the flight from GC to LC however. Part of the issue will be what planes are flying. We went over on the "big" plane, but after we got there we heard that they had a problem with the plane and grounded it. So our return was on one of the two "little" planes -- 8 seaters I think.

Anyway, because they were using the small plane, we were contacted the day before our departure and asked if we could pack up a bag and have it sent over early. Since we were done diving, we did so. They do it all the time and it was right there in GC waiting for us when we got there, even though we were delayed an extra day on LC because of a storm.

Bottom line: its only 45 minutes from GC to LC, so even if they don't get all your gear over to LC on your flight, it shouldn't be too long before it gets there...and since LC is tiny, once its there, you'll have it pretty quickly.

Have a terrific time!!

Seth

 

[sdwho]

Forgot to answer your second question. The stated rule at LCBR is that you can't drink "outside" booze anywhere except in your room. As long as you're discrete, you probably could get away with a drink out by the pool in a paper cup.

Seth

 

[muldoonthief]

Thanks for the info, Tim & Seth. I wouldn't expect them to be happy with outside liquor at an area served by their own bar - I just wanted to make sure they wouldn't try to ban it in rooms (like they do here in Massachusetts).

Seth, could you expound a bit on being delayed on LC due to a storm? Did the resort make problems about staying an extra day? How big a storm was it to ground the Island Air flights? Thanks.

 

[sapphire]

sdwho once bubbled...
Forgot to answer your second question. The stated rule at LCBR is that you can't drink "outside" booze anywhere except in your room. As long as you're discrete, you probably could get away with a drink out by the pool in a paper cup.

Seth

I didn't see them saying anything to the guy with the cooler full of beer at the pool when I was there in July! But they did have the rule posted in the room...

Hey, part of the fun is guessing what your bar tab is going to be when you check out

sapphire

 

[sdwho]

We had a tropical wave come through and dump a couple of inches of rain on us along with some gusty winds. It was enough to actually scrub the morning dive trip. But it cleared enough in the afternoon for diving to recommence. However, after being told repeatedly that Island Air's flights were "delayed" they finally just gave up and called off the whole day. Some of the locals said that Island Air is pretty quick to delay flights because of weather, but fortunately, most days, the weather changes every hour or so, and cancelling an entire day of flights is unusual. I suspect that the fact the "big" plane was grounded by mechanical problems contributed to the situation.

LCBR was totally great -- they comped us on the room, although we did have to pay for our dinner that night (which turned out to be pretty expensive, actually!). Keep in mind that August/September is "slow" season and there were plenty of empty rooms.

And Sapphire has it right about trying to guess your bar tab. The drinks are not cheap!

Seth

 

[JeffMandell]

First, the "airport" is about a half mile from the resort, if that, so going back for a piece of luggage is nothing.
We were a bit overweight, so we put all the dive equipment and an extra day's worth of clothing in the dive bag and designated it as the bag that had to go. Sure enough, the other bag wasn't on board, but it was there about three hours later and the resort went and got if for me. Piece of cake. Worry about something else (and there's not much to worry about on LC).

 

[-hh]

sdwho once bubbled...
My wife and I just got back from 11 days in Cayman - 6 at LCBR and 5 at Cobalt Coast in GC. We broke the scales: 207 pounds of stuff (not counting my wife's backpack or my video camera, which they didn't bother to weigh)!

Enforcement of the 55lb baggage weight limit does vary - - on some years, I've had my carry-on bags tagged on the weigh-in, which put me well over...I think I was helping to pay for the "big" Twin Otter

Anyway, because they were using the small plane, we were contacted the day before our departure and asked if we could pack up a bag and have it sent over early.

A good idea. I've usually been on a same-day transfer through GCM to go out to LYB, so this wasn't really an option. In these cases, they ask you which is your "More Important" and which is your "Less Important" checked bags and tag them appropriately. You just need to decide if its going to be your dive gear or clothing that gets held back a day. In any event, most of the time all of your make the flight anyway....just not always.


-hh

 

[Aeolus]

I am leaving for Cayman Brac on Saturday 9/13 and will be transferring to Cayamn Airways on Grand Cayman. Their baggage limits are the same as other US carriers (70# each for two checked bags). The also allow only one carry one, including a purse, computer, camera gear, etc.

We should pass each other going in opposite directions in Grand Cayman. At least the storm should be out of the area by the time you get there. Have a great trip. =-)