Little Cayman Trip Report April 14-21 2012

[swim deep]

This report is way overdue, but I guess it's better late than never.
I read so many great reports here on Scuba Board before my husband and I went to Little Cayman Beach Resort. I feel like it's all been said, but I wanted to be sure to thank everyone who takes time to write and share all the information that makes planning and diving so much easier and fun.
It's just as good as everyone said. Beautiful place, friendly people, delicious meals, unspoiled reefs, great wildlife encounters.
Be sure that you understand what type of accommodations you will have. We had asked for a king bed, but got 2 doubles. The oceanfront, ground floor room was fantastic after I got past the bed issue.
My husband and I enjoyed the other divers on our boat. I like that they kept us on the same boat, with the same great divers and the best crew all week. It was fun to get to know them all. Most divers seem to go to LCBR in groups, so we felt a little left out at first, until six divers from our boat (repeat visitors) invited us to dine with them all week and made us feel very welcome.
The diving was safe and so easy, even though the first few days were a bit rough with high winds, we never missed a dive. Our crew made sure we were well cared for in every way. They chose the best sites each day depending on the winds, and we were able to see everything we expected and so much more!
Thank you to everyone who participates on this site. You all make our dive trips better.

 

[AggieDiver]

Glad to hear you had a great experience. We just booked our next trip back for mid-September, and I can't wait!

 

[dflaher]

AggieDiver - Am looking into LCBR and would appreciate a report from your upcoming trip, if you don't mind. Thanks, Dan

 

[AggieDiver]

No problem. This will be our fourth trip there, so if you have general questions, fire away and I will do my best to answer them.

 

[Damselfish]

Some places start out well then drift down the tubes over the years or are inconsistent - nice thing about LCBR is that it pretty much maintains quality or just gets better. We were there recently for the first time in awhile, and after seeing things and talking to one of the managers, I get the sense that will continue.

 

[dflaher]

My husband and I enjoyed the other divers on our boat. I like that they kept us on the same boat, with the same great divers and the best crew all week. It was fun to get to know them all. Most divers seem to go to LCBR in groups, so we felt a little left out at first, until six divers from our boat (repeat visitors) invited us to dine with them all week and made us feel very welcome.

swim deep - that is an excellent point you make. As divers who typically don't travel with groups -- not because we don't like to, we just haven't found one yet -- we often find ourselves as sort of a "fifth wheel" on dive boats with groups. In Grand Cayman (Cobalt Coast) and Roatan (Anthony's) we were taken in by friendly groups of divers and it made the trip so much more enjoyable. Dan

 

[AggieDiver]

That is a very common occurrence at LCBR. The last two trips we made there, we were taken in by the group from our boat one trip and ended up hanging out with another unattached pair of divers the other trip.

 

[carriemak]

OK, for all you divers that want to be part of a group, we go to LCBR every June and usually take a group with us. This past June we had 8 divers with us. So, if you are interested, let me know and I will put you on the list when I get the arrangements firmed up.
FWIW - I am neither a travel agent nor a dive shop. Just someone that loves Little Cayman and has been going there since 1996.

 

[AggieDiver]

AggieDiver - Am looking into LCBR and would appreciate a report from your upcoming trip, if you don't mind. Thanks, Dan

Dan,

I will put up a much more comprehensive report along with some pictures within the next few days, but I will just say that this was our 4th trip to LCBR, and everything about the trip was just as good as it was the last 3 times. We had Clive (he's back at LCBR after a stint in Fiji for those who knew him) as our boat captain for most of the week, had Sharon for a day, and had Ed and Nick alternating out as DM. All 4 were really professional and great to dive with. As far as the diving, I just can't say enough good things about it...we had nearly flat conditions (see the picture of my wife on the boat in the "picture of the day" thread for an idea of how flat) for almost the entire week. The vis was generally in the 150'+ range every day except one when we had a little current washing out the vis in the shallows at Mixing Bowl. We saw everything from 6-7 ft reef sharks, turtles, stingrays (southern and several yellow), down to lots of nudis, jawfish, blennies galore, juvenile trunkfish, etc. The corals, fans, sponges, etc. seemed very healthy as they were in 2010 and 2011, and there are dozens of grouper of various species including many friendly ones on nearly every site, showing the results of protecting the spawing aggregation at the end of the island. We didn't see nearly as many lionfish as we did in 2010, so the staff culling expeditions that all of the resorts are participating in have been effective.

As for the resort, I will walk you through all of what to expect in the full report, but let me just say that with people like Clive handling porter duties, Claudia manning the dining room, Anthony and Joanna as chefs, Emma at the front desk, and Jason managing the place, there is no need to worry about things slipping there. They all take such joy in what they are doing and are genuinely happy to see you come back again. I watched both Anthony and Joanna have dozens of conversations with guests about what was in the dishes they had prepared for us, and they went out of their way to accomodate some specific food allergies and requests for some folks while we were there. Emma gladly switched our room from one with 2 doubles to one with a king and got my wife a different pillow when the first one was too firm.

It is just a really effortless place to go diving...everything is so well managed and so conveniently set up that you just can't help but have a good time. Oh...and I forgot Lara at the spa...if you like massages, go get one from her. She did a great job, and my only regret was that I waited until friday to get one.

Anyway, I will make a separate post for the full trip report, but I just wanted to let you know that I would absolutely recommend the place to anybody without reservation (except non-divers...not much for them to do). I listened to at least a dozen other folks at various times during the week, and all of them were just raving about the experiences they were having, from the food, to the diving, to the operation of the resort, so I know my opinion is not an isolated one.

Oh, and for the first time this trip, there were no dive shop groups. But there were plenty of friendly folks on the boat and we shared meals and beach/bar conversations with several other couples, so you definitely won't feel isolated or like a stranger.

 

[dflaher]

Thanks AggieDiver! LCBR is now definitely on the short list for 2013/2014. Just had an offer I couldn't refuse to go to Coz next March, so need to juggle some things around a bit. Dan