Little Cayman - Island Air, LC Beach Resort ?s

[Damselfish]

I suppose this could go as well on one of the "stupid dive tricks" threads.

Some years ago on Little Cayman we were asked to send what we could the night before. We stuffed one large bag and one carry-on with whatever was unneeded and dry. In my hurried packing of stuff, I threw my dive knife in what would later be my husbands carryon. Hey, it was dry and the bag was "checked" luggage at the time I did it, right?!

So my husband picked up this bag on Grand Cayman and went through airport security, which was less than thrilled. Same for my husband, who had clearly flunked the bit about packing his own bags, and was surprised to find he was carrying a weapon. But after they made him fish the suspicious looking item out of his bag - which was difficult for him since he had no idea what he was looking for - they decided he could carry it on!

Needless to say, I didn't hear the end of that one for awhile.
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On the original question, we're always over no matter how light we try to pack - camera gear doesn't help. Never had our luggage bumped, but came very close once. We had time and shifted things from one bag to another at their suggestion so we'd have all the stuff we needed, but then it all squeaked on the flight anyway. Usually they haven't bothered to charge us for the overweight, 1 or 2 legs out of 4 round trips. So the bumping thing isn't a problem. On the way there it's no big deal, and on the way back they do the "send ahead" thing to avoid it.

 

[muldoonthief]

Hi Aeolus,

Actually, we're going to LC this Sunday (my original post that said "9 days from now" was on the 5th), so we'll be down there while Isabel does it's thing as well. None of the current models show it going anywhere near the Caymans though (knock on wood).

And unfortunately, Cayman Air doesn't fly to LC...

 

[scubachris]

Be prepared to do nothing but eat, sleep, drink (socialize) and dive. My wife and I spent 10 days there a couple of years ago. The atmosphere is great, the boats are a dream to dive off of and the staff is top notch. You'll love the dive sites, be sure to get to the boat a bit early if you are diving Nitrox to beat the tank testing rush.

We had no problem with all of gear, just smiled are were really nice to the counter folk.

Yes the bar prices are high but hanging out the the people you just dove with, swapping stories and hearing of other great places to dive makes it worth while.

As a reminder don't forget to tip. I know you'll be spending alot by the time your holiday is done but the staff really relies on tips. Believe me the pay isn't great. They will work hard for you and it's especially nice if you can show your appreciation. Remember you'd probably tip 10-20% at a good restaurant so show the dive staff the same consideration.

enjoy,

Chris

Say hello to Ryan if he's still there

 

[muldoonthief]

Got back from LCBR last night, and thought I'd post a quick report. The resort and diving were outstanding. Got in 15 dives in 5 days, all of which were very good, a few superb. Dive staff was great. Weather was ideal - flat calm sea 2 days, 1 ft seas other days. The resort was only 25% full or so, so the boats were uncrowded. Food was very good and plentiful. Bar drinks were ludicrously expensive, but beer prices weren't too bad. I didn't find the resort "touristy" or "loud" as some other posters on this board have. I don't know if that's because it's the off season, or because I use different criteria.

On the specific issue of Island Air, my friend was 30 lb overweight, and they did charge him for it. They also bumped one of his bags to a later flight. However, my other friend was under-weight, and they bumped his bag to a later flight as well. They were running the 2 small planes, and it seemed pretty random as to which bags got delayed and which didn't. All our bags showed up within 3 hours of us, so it wasn't a big deal.

On our return, they did ask us to send a bag out a day ahead of time. As it turned out, that wasn't necessary for our flight (the early flight), since there were only 5 people on the plane.

One odd thing - they now hand inspect all luggage for departures to the USA from Grand Cayman. They make you remove all batteries from checked luggage and put them in your carryon. That wasn't a big deal, except for the 4 lb NiCad battery in my light. Then, when I went through security to the gates, they pulled the NiCad out of my carryon bag and asked me what it was and why I needed it on the plane!