Planning June, 2018 Trip to GC - Suggestions?

[mi000ke]

GC is certainly a divers heaven and I do love it, but be aware of the added costs. The US $1 is worth $0.80 Cayman...BOO. Things just plain cost more,

Well GC certainly is expensive but it has nothing to do with the exchange rate. With the exchange rate at US$1.25 US to CI 1.00 (or $US1.00 to CI 0.80) then a CI 8.00 beer will cost you the same as US$10.00. If the exchange rate were at parity (that is, US$1.00 to CI 1.00) - and lord only knows why it is not - then you would have been charged CI 10.00 for the beer, but it would still have cost you US$10.00. If the exchange rate were US$1.00 to CI 100.00 you would have been charged CI 1,000.00 for the beer, but it would still cost you US$10.00. Now, maybe $10 for a beer is a bit high (although go have a beer at a nice joint in New York, London, or Singapore), but that has nothing to do with the exchange rate. And I sincerely apologize for my pedantry. I need to get back under the water.

 

[Macabucan]

This is why the Economist’s Big Mac exchange rate table is so useful! Unfortunately Cayman deliberately does not have a McDonalds (only Burger King, easily found next to Cheeseburger Reef dive site)

 

[EastEndDiver]

Mike I'm not a beer drinker can you re explain that using tacos.....thanks.


But I am from NY

 

[mi000ke]

Mike I'm not a beer drinker can you re explain that using tacos.....thanks.

OK, if one beer is equivalent to 3 tacos, ... wait - now I'm confusing myself.

 

[FindingMenno]

Well GC certainly is expensive but it has nothing to do with the exchange rate. With the exchange rate at US$1.25 US to CI 1.00 (or $US1.00 to CI 0.80) then a CI 8.00 beer will cost you the same as US$10.00. If the exchange rate were at parity (that is, US$1.00 to CI 1.00) - and lord only knows why it is not - then you would have been charged CI 10.00 for the beer, but it would still have cost you US$10.00. If the exchange rate were US$1.00 to CI 100.00 you would have been charged CI 1,000.00 for the beer, but it would still cost you US$10.00. Now, maybe $10 for a beer is a bit high (although go have a beer at a nice joint in New York, London, or Singapore), but that has nothing to do with the exchange rate. And I sincerely apologize for my pedantry. I need to get back under the water.

Thanks for this! It is one of my pet peeves when visitors just declare 'Cayman is so expensive because 1 USD = 0.8 KYD'....

If beers would cost the same (say hypothetically 10 USD) in the US and Cayman, you'd go to the bank here, exchange your 10 USD for 8 KYD, go to the bar, and pay 8 KYD for your beer, so you'd end up spending the same 10 USD for your beer.
That the beer costs not 8 KYD here, but maybe 10 or 12 KYD (so you end up paying 12 or 15 USD), is due to import taxes/less economy of scale on an island. Not due to exchange rates!

I do sometimes wish the exchange rate was either 1:1 or 1:1000 (or some other big difference), as that would end this argument either way. With the small difference now at 1:0.8 most point to this, and think is some 'scam' to make their dollars worth less, and use that as argument that things are so expensive here.

 

[KathyV]

Well GC certainly is expensive but it has nothing to do with the exchange rate. With the exchange rate at US$1.25 US to CI 1.00 (or $US1.00 to CI 0.80) then a CI 8.00 beer will cost you the same as US$10.00. If the exchange rate were at parity (that is, US$1.00 to CI 1.00) - and lord only knows why it is not - then you would have been charged CI 10.00 for the beer, but it would still have cost you US$10.00. If the exchange rate were US$1.00 to CI 100.00 you would have been charged CI 1,000.00 for the beer, but it would still cost you US$10.00. Now, maybe $10 for a beer is a bit high (although go have a beer at a nice joint in New York, London, or Singapore), but that has nothing to do with the exchange rate. And I sincerely apologize for my pedantry. I need to get back under the water.

Thanks for this! It is one of my pet peeves when visitors just declare 'Cayman is so expensive because 1 USD = 0.8 KYD'....

If beers would cost the same (say hypothetically 10 USD) in the US and Cayman, you'd go to the bank here, exchange your 10 USD for 8 KYD, go to the bar, and pay 8 KYD for your beer, so you'd end up spending the same 10 USD for your beer.
That the beer costs not 8 KYD here, but maybe 10 or 12 KYD (so you end up paying 12 or 15 USD), is due to import taxes/less economy of scale on an island. Not due to exchange rates!

I do sometimes wish the exchange rate was either 1:1 or 1:1000 (or some other big difference), as that would end this argument either way. With the small difference now at 1:0.8 most point to this, and think is some 'scam' to make their dollars worth less, and use that as argument that things are so expensive here.

I understand what you are saying, that things are pricey and "cost what they cost" because it is an island nation (and an affluent and popular island country) no matter what currency you are using. We pay with $USD in the T&Cs and it is every bit as expensive as Cayman or even more so and the Bahamas are right up there, too.

Things don't cost more just because of the currency conversion, but they certainly feel more expensive when that is a factor and your currency compares unfavorably to the local dollar. You feel slightly shell-shocked when the cashier tells you the price of groceries in $CID, and then pushes a button to convert to $USD which adds 20% to the already eye-opening total.

And it can be confusing too, but that's part of the fun of traveling to a foreign country. It is especially confusing when the restaurant tab shows the currency conversion and automatically adds a 15% service charge to the total.

I remember one time we were dining at Pappagallo, a rather high-end restaurant, and we noticed a young couple sitting nearby that had a look of panic on their faces after they received the tab. The young man started searching his pockets for cash and the girl was digging through her purse. My husband took pity on them and went over to quietly explain the tab, the currency conversion, and show them that a 15% service charge had already been added - but that they were welcome to increase the tip if they wished. They were very grateful for the information and I could see their bodies relaxing. They thought that they were going to have to add another 15-20% tip to the already steep price. He also told them to check their credit cards to see if it automatically adds a foreign transaction fee, and if they have a card with them that doesn't charge fees - that's the one they should be using.

I love the Caymans but they are pricey, and the strong Cayman dollar compared to the weaker US and Canadian dollars makes it feel even more expensive. But I still maintain that sometimes you get what you pay for - and that there are good options available in many price ranges in the Caymans if you are willing to look for them.

 

[FindingMenno]

Things don't cost more just because of the currency conversion, but they certainly feel more expensive when that is a factor and your currency compares unfavorably to the local dollar. You feel slightly shell-shocked when the cashier tells you the price of groceries in $CID, and then pushes a button to convert to $USD which adds 20% to the already eye-opening total.

I love the Caymans but they are pricey, and the strong Cayman dollar compared to the weaker US and Canadian dollars makes it feel even more expensive. But I still maintain that sometimes you get what you pay for - and that there are good options available in many price ranges in the Caymans if you are willing to look for them.

Some additions:
"Things don't cost more just because of the currency conversion..." should be "Things don't cost more because of the currency conversion...". The original sentence reads as the currency conversion plays a role in the difference of costs, and that is not the case.

And to be slighty pedantic, it doesn't add 20% to the bill, it just gives you the USD equivalent of what you would be paying in the local currency which you were quoted in originally.

Also in this case it is not a case of 'stronger' and 'weaker' currencies as that applies only with fluctuating exchange rates. For example, I get paid in USD, when the USD gets stronger against the EUR that is a benefit when I get home to The Netherlands as I now get more EUR in exchange for my USD then before.
As the KYD is pegged at a fixed exchange rate to the USD, there is no effect of 'stronger' or 'weaker' currencies.

All in all, the KYD is just a completely different currency then the USD, just as the Euro, Rupiah, Yen, Rand, Australian Dollar, Ruble, Singapore Dollar, etc etc is and should be seen as such. Don't compare!

 

[mi000ke]

Also in this case it is not a case of 'stronger' and 'weaker' currencies as that applies only with fluctuating exchange rates.
As the KYD is pegged at a fixed exchange rate to the USD, there is no effect of 'stronger' or 'weaker' currencies.

Thank you for pointing this out. I was about to say the same. Just wish they would peg the CI to US$ 1:1 for marketing purposes. It would be so less confusing to US visitors. However, being a BOT you would think if they were going to peg it to something it would be the pound - just to make it even more confusing.

 

[KathyV]

No matter how you phrase it - items and services will be perceived as more expensive to US and Canadian visitors to Cayman. That's because they usually are more expensive - for a reason - and also because the differences in currencies make them seem even more pricey.

 

[FindingMenno]

Thank you for pointing this out. I was about to say the same. Just wish they would peg the CI to US$ 1:1 for marketing purposes. It would be so less confusing to US visitors. However, being a BOT you would think if they were going to peg it to something it would be the pound - just to make it even more confusing.

Yes, I would love either 1:1 or something way off parity like 1000:1 to end this argument/confusion being used all the time!