Review little cayman resort feb 2-6

[chibracdiver]

The "dive nazi" thing has been out there for some time and it could not be any further from the truth. They are strict about safety and that is about it. Dive within your limitations and computer and you will have no problem at all. I have never felt crowded, rushed, or uncomfortable on dives on the Sisters. Great dive staffs and great diving.

Sometime you just run into someone who has a axe to grind.

 

[South4Scuba]

We have been to Little Cayman Beach Resort more times than I remember. This is our favorite dive resort in the Caribbean. We will be there in May. I can't remember a year for a while that we haven't been to LCBR. Sometimes we are there twice a year.

We usually get a great package with 17 dives, 3 meals and 2 free drinks per day. The price has been stable for several years. Only issue is Continental Airlines gouging divers.

Their boats are great and are the large Newton aluminum Dive Specials. Maybe one time I've had up to 20 divers on a boat, but they DO NOT fill the boats. I've been there when they ran 3 boats with 6-8 divers per boat.

The resort is medium sized and yet we always feel like family when we've been there.

I highly recomment LCBR to new and experienced divers.

 

[keyshunter]

South,
How is Continental gouging divers?

BTW the Newtons have fiberglass hulls, not aluminum.

 

[South4Scuba]

You are correct about the Newton dive boats having fiberglas hulls. I guess I was thinking about the aluminum used for a lot of the topsides. Newton also makes a lot of welded aluminum boats for the oil industry and the government.

Now, about Continental (now officially United) Airlines gouging divers. There are numerous things that United does to gouge divers.

1) If you lived in Houston, TX you would realize that United charges 70 to 80% of the price of a ticket that folks flying from Dulles, Denver and other connecting cities pay. Why should I have to pay almost as much as someone flying from a connecting airport to get to Cozumel, Cayman, Roatan, Bonaire, etc. I am flying 2 to 4 hours and the connecting flights are 5 to 7 hours. There must be some correlation between cost and hours in the air. I think United subsidizes the connecting flights to get people to connect in Houston instead of using another airline via Atlanta or Miami and they make up the difference on the outbound Houston flight on which they have a monopoly.

2) Have you priced airfare lately to any dive destination? I recently looked at Cozumel and it was over $500 from Houston. I have flown to Cozumel dozens of times for $225 to $300. Again, there is no correlation between flight time or mileage and cost.

3) United charges more for checked bags to Caribbean destinations than to others. This is clearly aimed at divers and other vacationers that take extra bags.

4) I recently priced airfare through Tampa, FL to connect to Cayman Airways. The fare was $1,300 to Tampa. The reason, I believe, is because it offers connections to Grand Cayman on a competing airline.

Don't get me wrong. I am a firm believer in capitalism. I just hate spending hours on the computer to find one anomoly in their pricing structure that allows me to get to Grand Cayman for under $1,000 even though United has non-stop service from Houston to Grand Cayman.

 

[lulubelle]

I've been to LCBR twice (2010 and 2011) and Pirate's point most recently. I am hard pressed to say which one I like better, as they are both very good, but very different.

I'd probably give a slight nod to Pirate's point though I would be happy to return to either of them. Pirate's point only does two dives a day unless you elect to do a night dive or something, 9:30 ish and 12:00 ish, then a late lunch around 2:00. I like sleeping later when I am on vacation, and wanted some down time to read and relax which was missing a bit when I went to LCBR on a package. Pirates point allows you to manager you own dive profile, there is no attempt at making those dives a specific length. Mine were about 90 minutes, I came up because I was cold. It didn't disrupt anyone else, they would put me in the water first, and I'd rebuddy and play underneath the boat at the end. It was completely my call whether I wanted to follow a DM or not, some did, some didn't, and all of the groups were small. But there was always one DM in the water the entire time and the DMs were very experienced. I wanted to improve my fish id skills, so the DM would show me a couple of things in the book and give me a few things to look for. They were also very good at noting which divers needed a close eye and which did not. At LCBR, this was not always consistent from DM to DM though to this I say that divers are responsible for themselves and seeking the help and support that they need. And there were a couple of issues with lack of professionalism by a couple of dive staff members at LCBR although in general the dive staff was great. Probably just the day, the individuals, and the particular circumstances.

And as Craig said (hi Craig), to each their own. I did not like the food at LCBR and actually lost 4 pounds (a big PLUS in my book) as I'd only eat enough to get by. The food at Pirate's point is crazy good, and despite 3 hours of diving a day and a few really long bike rides, I gained 4 pounds. The owner did some time with Julia Child/James Beard, the head chef did his time in Napa Valley, and it shows.

I think my decision about which one to go back to would be very dependent on what kind of vacation I am looking for. And who I was traveling with.

Rooms at LCBR were much better, but I am a tub person!

 

[scubadada]

And as Craig said (hi Craig), to each their own.

Hi Leslie, glad you liked Pirates Point. Sounds like it was just what you needed for that trip. I hope I get the opportunity to try it sometime.

Good diving, Craig

 

[lulubelle]

Hi Leslie, glad you liked Pirates Point. Sounds like it was just what you needed for that trip. I hope I get the opportunity to try it sometime.

Good diving, Craig

Well LCBR did have some cool divers on board that first trip. We even made them honorary gypsies.

 

[scubadada]

Well LCBR did have some cool divers on board that first trip. We even made them honorary gypsies.

What a coincidence, I have a great Gypsy Divers t-shirt and I've still not made it to North Carolina. I have to fix that.

 

[AggieDiver]

South,
How is Continental gouging divers?

Fares from Houston to GC in the $275-350 RT range used to be easy to find when Continental and Cayman Air both had non-stops. Once Cayman Air quit flying to Houston, the Continental/United price pretty much immediately went up to $450, and right now they want $668. As a comparison, Somebody flying from Dallas to GC can get flights coneecting through Charlotte as a United code share or through Miami on American and will pay $462. So fuel costs are not the explanation. There is no way that it is possible that flights connecting through Charlotte or Miami from Dallas will use less fuel than a direct flight from Houston. But United wants to charge $200 more to fly from Houston simply because they know they have a captive audience and that we don't have other carriers to compete against them. That is why United is trying to play hardball with Houston Airport Services to keep Southwest from developing an international terminal at Houston's Hobby Airport. If Southwest starts flying to the Caribbean and Latin America from Houston, it will take a big bite out of United's monopoly fares they currently charge Houstonians.

 

[lulubelle]

What a coincidence, I have a great Gypsy Divers t-shirt and I've still not made it to North Carolina. I have to fix that.

Will send you a PM. We have a nearly full boat chartered to kick off the season here at home. You are welcome to join us. Lots of DAN folks and some random others.