New booking policy for Clearly Cayman Beach Resorts

[KathyV]

I think Southwest is only running the direct flights from Houston to GCM in the spring, while we prefer to go in the late summer or fall. So our only non-stop would be with United, which puts us in at roughly 4pm to GCM, and is always a bit dicey on making the connection to LC. Our last trip to GCM on United, they lost one of our bags on that non-stop flight (which takes talent by itself) but then their crack Indian and Ukrainian Customer service teams could tell me nothing useful about where my bag was or when they would get it to me for three days. They were quite adamant though that their driver would be bringing the bag to me at the Little Cayman Beach Resort in Georgetown, Grand Cayman as soon as it got to the airport. Nothing I told them could convince them to change anything in their system about where I was or how the bag needed to get to me. So I just told them I hoped their “driver” was driving a submarine.

Here is the thing though...for me, 2 connections is the max I really want to put up with, and I only want to pay for my baggage once. So flying Southwest fhrough FLL to GC, then Cayman to LC works. SW won’t charge me bag fees, and the charges for GC to LC only apply to what is over the limit. Making me fly United to MIA in order to make a connection to a Cayman Air flight means I have to pay fees on United, then fees again on Cayman. When you are bringing dive and photo gear, that can add up to several hundred dollars over the base fare by the time you pay two sets of fees for two people both coming and going. If I lived somewhere that Cayman Airways flew from, I would probably feel differently, but right now this is really bumming me out, because I really love going to LC and LCBR. I understand that the airport is nearly finished, but I also understand that nothing they have done really changes the biggest problem, which is the 15-20 flights all coming and going within a 3-4 hour midday window on Saturday. I have plenty of options to fly alternate days, but LCBR seems to be closing the door on that option now. Maybe it is time to give Southern Cross Club a try after all these years. I’d rather pay more to the resort than give the money to United for baggage fees for the privilege to fly through Miami.

I have nothing against Cayman Air. But grabbing a quick inter-island flight as the last leg of the trip, where there is no choice anyway, is very different than using them for the rest of the trip. We can’t fly them from our home airport. And given the amount of status and miles my husband has on another airline, it’s unlikely we would want to. We can go free if we want, we’ll usually get upgraded, and get treated very well even if not. It doesn’t suck. And of course he wants the miles and segments to maintain that status. (I know thats not everyones situation, but its mine.)

Changing airlines in Miami gives that much more chance of luggage woes, and mixing airlines tends to result in higher prices.

Your concerns are valid and I do understand your points-of-view. It seems that the changes are less likely to affect me personally at this time so it is easier for me to take a "wait and see" attitude. But I do hope that you will share your feedback with the Clearly Cayman Customer Service because they need to hear how these changes may impact some of their loyal customers and affect decisions to return.

And if you are already booked for an upcoming trip, be sure to complete the survey after your trip. If they only hear from people that find the changes advantageous and like the new policy, they will never know that they may be alienating others.

They have added on new boats, done major renovations, and have announced plans for expansion, and it is often hard to find dates because they are booked up so far in advance. We are still in a holding pattern for our trip to LC in the fall (Sat to Sat) because we only have 6 nights confirmed and are hoping for a cancellation to give us a 7th night - although we may have to change rooms mid-week. And this has happened to us before, either because they didn't have hotel space or because we couldn't get a flight to/from LCM, even though we always book well in advance. Maybe that is an example of why they want to make the changes, to increase the opportunities of letting guests easily book full weeks, stay in the same room without a hassle, and fly in and out without problems?

Anyway, business clearly seems to be booming and they are selling a great product with excellent diving. So I have to believe that these changes are not only driven by a desire for profit, but that they are also truly trying to address customer complaints - but connecting in MIA to Cayman Air to CYB may make things easier for some visitors but harder for others - so please make sure that they get hear all sides of the story!

Contact Us | Little Cayman Beach Resort

 

[scubadada]

I'm interested in seeing what transpires.

I have a great nonstop flight from Philadelphia to Grand Cayman. I have no interest in flying to Miami and switching airlines to Cayman Air. I have flown to and from the Caymans on Saturdays and weekdays, the latter wins hands down. I do appreciate the improved airport, was there last November before it was fully completed.

For me, dive travel often comes down to ease, convenience, and reliability. Bonaire has been resurrected for my wife and me. American now flies directly to Bonaire from Miami. It is easy for us to leave Philadelphia in the morning and arrive on Bonaire by mid-afternoon. We used to have to fly to Aruba and take one of the local airlines (used in the loosest sense of the term) to fly to Bonaire.

 

[Doctorfish]

LCBR has new Newton 46s, New dining areas and lobby as well as new compressors.
I was there last week and everything was outstanding.
Given the huge investment the Tibbets family has recently made in this resort, I fully understand their wish to increase occupancy from the 85% level. If they think Saturday to Saturday will do this, good luck to them.
In view of the quality of the boats, diving, grounds, service, rooms, food etc. IMO the current pricing is a bargain. I will gladly put up with Saturday to Saturday if that is what it takes for LCBR to turn a profit.

 

[KathyV]

LCBR has new Newton 46s, New dining areas and lobby as well as new compressors.
I was there last week and everything was outstanding.
Given the huge investment the Tibbets family has recently made in this resort, I fully understand their wish to increase occupancy from the 85% level. If they think Saturday to Saturday will do this, good luck to them.
In view of the quality of the boats, diving, grounds, service, rooms, food etc. IMO the current pricing is a bargain. I will gladly put up with Saturday to Saturday if that is what it takes for LCBR to turn a profit.

Good to hear that the recent renovations at LCBR are working out so well, have they opened up the new photoshop and studio yet?

Did you see any big problems with sargassum weed around LC last week? Apparently the East End of GC was hit hard by the nasty stuff in recent months!

 

[AggieDiver]

LCBR has new Newton 46s, New dining areas and lobby as well as new compressors.
I was there last week and everything was outstanding.
Given the huge investment the Tibbets family has recently made in this resort, I fully understand their wish to increase occupancy from the 85% level. If they think Saturday to Saturday will do this, good luck to them.
In view of the quality of the boats, diving, grounds, service, rooms, food etc. IMO the current pricing is a bargain. I will gladly put up with Saturday to Saturday if that is what it takes for LCBR to turn a profit.

I am kind of the opposite. For the amount of money I am spending on a dive trip to the Sister Islands, I would gladly pay an extra $100-200 per week to be able to fly in and out when I want and not have to sit in a crowded airport on a saturday. And maybe that is the ultimate answer...to offer one set of pricing for Sat-Sat trips and another for those who prefer a different schedule.

 

[AggieDiver]

For me, dive travel often comes down to ease, convenience, and reliability.

I am the exact same way. I just like things to be relaxed and easy. Maybe I was just born in the wrong century and should have been an 18th century hermit, but I just don't like being around great big crowds of people when I am travelling or trying to relax on a vacation. Motoring around the ocean locked on a cruise ship with 2000-3000 of my closest not-friends? Not my thing at all. Sitting on a quiet beach in a hammock after a few dives and not seeing anybody except a few folks around the pool? Perfect!

So for me, LC, and in particular LCBR, checks a lot of boxes, especially in the August-September period when all the other resorts are closed. The very last thing I want to do after a very relaxing week of diving at LCBR is to go to GC and have to get in a big line to get checked in and through security early so that I can wait for 1-2 hours packed like a sardine in the "new and improved airport" (where so far it doesn't sound like there was much "improvement" to the Saturday afternoon crowding in the waiting area).

My wife and I have been going to LCBR pretty much annually for close to a decade now. We keep talking about going someplace else, but it has always just been so easy to do another relaxing trip to LC that we keep punting that idea of going someplace else down the road until next year. I would much rather fly through GC on a Friday or a Wednesday and skip all of the crowds and would be willing to pay extra if needed to retain that option. If that becomes no longer an option, maybe we will search a little harder than before for someplace else to relax.

 

[caydiver]

We had heard from a recent x employee that the new policies were for peak periods and other options would be available in slower periods. The special deal was only on the week stay. Lots of folks don’t care as much about the “special” deal if it makes their trip awkward. I am sure this will all be resolved in a way that everyone content. They are at the mercy of the airlines and sometimes there is just more going on behind the scenes than people realize.

 

[ReadyDiverOne]

Sorry, not what I’m hearing from them, directly. See my earlier post.

 

[KathyV]

…My wife and I have been going to LCBR pretty much annually for close to a decade now. We keep talking about going someplace else, but it has always just been so easy to do another relaxing trip to LC that we keep punting that idea of going someplace else down the road until next year... maybe we will search a little harder than before for someplace else to relax.

If you find someplace comparable please let me know. We love Cayman and the Sister Islands and we keep coming back because it is easy, affordable, and more enjoyable (in our opinion) than most of the other places that we have visited in the past or recently researched, and of course we appreciate the diving; but I would love to hear about any other great options that you find.

 

[jdcpa]

The special that came out recently does not seem to have written into it anywhere about a requirement that you have to travel through Miami to the Brac on Cayman Airways. Maybe you find that out when you try to book it.

I would assume that a lot of visitors book their air first and then the room at LCBR? Or do I most visitors book the room first and then the air?

I think that you could make the turnaround from the Brac to Little and return to the Brac to depart again in about 40 minutes. Of course with the example earlier of 60 people, that would still mean four trips and would still take 2 hours and 45 minutes to get everyone to Little. I would also assume that if all of the passengers were going to LCBR, that some luggage would not make it on those four flights due to weight issues.

I am very interested to see how this all shakes out.

I try to determine why people/businesses do what they do. This change seems to be a two part change. First, Saturday arrivals and departures are heavily encouraged. Second, flights on Cayman Airways from Miami to The Brac, then ferry over to Little.

I am not sure of the correlation between the two, but the Miami to Brac flight only operates on Saturday may be part of it.

I am thinking that part of the issue sis that most of the guests like to travel Saturday to Saturday and their current booking policy does not allow them to accept all of the people that want to travel Saturday to Saturday because some rooms are being occupied by guests not on a Saturday to Saturday schedule. Maybe the current policy excludes them from getting more of the group travel?

It will be very interesting to watch this work itself out.