Small boats - which one?

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marianne777

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Location
New York
# of dives
50 - 99
hi everyone -

my friend and i just booked our trip to grand cayman staying at the Beach Club Colony Hotel for 4 nights during memorial day weekend. we have 3 full days there. we can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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we are both advanced divers and definitely want to check out north wall and (of course) sting ray city. we're looking for a small boat with more personal attention - no more than 8 divers max. we've tried the cattleboats and we honestly prefer the small ones. also we both have great air consumption so we'd like the option to stay underwater as long as possible. any recommendations for dive ops? i've heard wall to wall, neptunes, off the wall and ambassador. which one to pick? help!

we arrive at 11:30am. do you think we can squeeze in an afternoon dive?

what are your favorite dive sites near there? so we can request!
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do we need to pre-book because it's a holiday weekend?

for memorial day weekend, will my 5mm wetsuit be too thick? i tend to get cold and i wear it even when the water temp is high 70s.

sorry, so many questions!!!
 
Water temp will be roughly 80F, so bring your 5mm.

You might want to consider shore dives for your first afternoon. If your flight lands about 11:30, then it could be 12:30 by the time you have cleared customs, immigration, and gotten to a taxi or rental car. That's cutting it close for an afternoon boat, and if there is a flight delay there is no chance. Instead go to Sundivers at the Cracked Conch and do a shore dive or two.
 
The 4 dive ops you named are all good.

As Drew says, you can squeeze in an afternoon shore dive, but your schedule doesn't really work for a boat dive.

You should pre-book with the dive op, certainly!

Water temp was 81 last Sunday.
 
The new place at the Cracked Conch is EXCELLENT! I was diving there a few weeks ago. It's not far to the wall, lots of interesting corals, fans, critters, fish... They have a cool little beach bar there, Makabuka right by the big ladder... actually it's more of a staircase than a ladder, incredibly easy in and out into a shallow cove, then about 30 yards to a short drop off, then maybe 30 more yards to the BIG dropoff. It was one of the best dives we did on Grand Cayman. AND, one of the best meals at the Cracked Conch. I swear their cracked conch tastes just like abalone. I think they charged $10 for tank rental but there are discounts in some of the magazines and we found a food/dive package for under $20! If you have not been to the Caymans before, that is an INCREDIBLE DEAL. Things there are pretty expensive.
 
I have started to use Peter Milburn,he runs a boat that takes 8 max. I like his style and attitude.He charges $90.00 U.S. for a 2 tank dive and last time I was there we were the only two on the boat and he would go where we wanted to dive if the weather permitted.He leaves earlier than most 7:30 A.M. and is usually back by 11 ish.I spend 4-5 weeks a year in GC .Peter also let us dive alone if we wanted or he would guide if requested,both of us are Instructors,it is the closest to divng your own boat that I have found in GC.
 
We always go with Jason at Ambassador Divers. They run 6 divers max and always give computer divers up to one hour bottom time.
 
Hi Marianne,

Like the others have said, you will be pushing it to squeeze in an afternoon dive on a boat as most of the boats leave at around 12.30pm. What about a night dive? They are excellent here as the conditions are so easy and there are hundreds of little critters to be found. I really like Eden Rock for shore diving, they are helpful and will send out a DM with you if you want to show you around. Also DiveTech has a great shore-dive at Lighthouse Point and they do the same deal if you give them some notice.

Have a look at CAYMAN DIVING SCHOOL for your boat dives, they have small 6 pack boats (6 divers max) and cater to the individual - they have 2 boats so usually split the training guys on one boat and the certified guys on the other so everyone gets the right dive experience. These guys will also do complimentary pick ups and drop offs from your hotel :) and do diving on both the North and West sides of the island dependent on requests and weather conditions.
Its definitely advisable to book in advance, especially with the smaller operators as they only have limited spaces available.

You must dive the North Wall whilst you are here - my favorite site is Princess Penny's, its great for photography and amazing topography. And on the West side Orange Canyon has got to be up there, as well as Royal Palm Ledges, which is shallow but so so so so pretty.

Good Luck with your trip and Be Safe :)
 
I just got back from GC last Saturday. Diving there was awesome! I ended up diving with Jason from Ambassador Divers. Excellent customer service!!! We only had 3-4 divers on the boat everyday - it was like a private charter! When I lost my underwater camera (1st time ever!), Jason looked for it for 10 minutes and found it!!! Thank goodness for calm seas that day! I dived Stingray city as opposed to snorkeling. I brought my non-diving, non-snorkeling friend on the dive boat with us and Jason was nice enough to show her a couple of stingrays up close! What a guy! Will definitely dive with him again when I go back.

Dive ladder - thanks for the recommendation!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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