diversmith
Contributor
Went to Little Cayman for 10 nights at SCC June 1 thru 11. Had an excellent experience and just want to pass on some details for those who might be considering LC and/or SCC.
Wife & I went sans kids...our 2 boys stayed with Grandparents so we were looking for peace & quiet, relaxation and great diving. We got all 3 in spades!!!
Just some quick background so you can get a feel for what we look for. I'm a fireman & my wife is a stay-at-home Mom. I work hard for my money and am looking for a good return on our investment when vacationing. We are not high class "foodies", nor are we boozers. We just want good quality meals and we have a few cold ones after the diving is done. Usually in bed kinda early to be up rested & ready to go diving. Definitely NOT demanding, Four Season's-type people. I'm a former PADI instructor who certified my wife, so I always look after her and always take care of our own gear unless the staff beats me to it. I don't really care about "valet" dive service, I just want a clean boat and some snacks & fresh water.
I posted last summer about our stay at Bohio in Grand Turk and the issues we had there and the generally poor customer service we experienced (you can find it in that forum). Long story short, SCC blew the doors off of Bohio! The customer service, food quality, room quality, and countless other little things were head & shoulders above Bohio. Now granted, SCC does cost more, but when you factor in paying for dinners, it really isn't that far off when comparing the same number of dives. At Bohio we had the plan that included fixed menu breakfast & lunch, but no dinners or non-alcoholic drinks for lunch & dinner. SCC includes what is basically all-you-can-eat plus juices. They alternate buffet dinners & plated service with multiple choices for app, main course & desert. We can't remember anything we didn't really like (I think I gained 4 pounds on the trip!! lol). Plus, the head chefs were always stopping by the tables to check on our satisfaction which was a great extra touch.
The on-site dive op was great and there was plenty of room in the dive hut for drying gear. All of the divemasters were very friendly & helpful. The 36' Newton was always clean, well stocked and had plenty of room even if there were more than usual on the boat. We dived a good variety of sites and had very thorough briefings with a lot of topography & fish ID info given. They seemed to let everyone dive their computers and never gave us a hassle over staying down 60-75 minutes each dive. We are usually first in & last out & like to max out time U/W. After having some dives close to LCBR boats a couple of times, it appears they dive in bigger groups...we were always divided up into smaller groups which was great. Lots of great experiences with nurse sharks, big/friendly Nassau groupers, spotted eagle & southern rays, turtles of all sizes, lots of big lobsters & crabs. Tons of huge sponges and really cool swim-throughs.
The rooms are pretty nice...a little bit rustic but pretty well maintained and definitely clean. and you can see where they have upgraded different things. Plenty of towels, soaps, conditioners etc. Beds were comfy and pillows were pretty good. There was a little bit of a mix-up regarding our choice for upstairs/downstairs and they went out of their way to "fix it" by offering us the "honeymoon suite" at no charge for the last 3 nights! We ended up staying in 3 different rooms and they were all great. The outdoor showers were amazing as was being right on the beach/water and having the patios to relax on.
Top to bottom, the staff were all very friendly & helpful. The newer/ish pool was really nice, kept extremely clean and was always the perfect temp. Unlike Bohio, the collection of beach cruisers with handy baskets were all in excellent condition, and the paddleboards/kayaks were all in good shape & very serviceable. The grounds were kept clean and it always seemed very quiet & mellow.
Now for the bad!
The Sargassum weed influx was pretty bad. A lot of it came into the sound and the beach was packed with it. It didn't affect diving on Bloody Bay Wall but the south side was pretty bad. Don't plan on swimming at the beach! You can, however, kayak over to Owen Island and enjoy the great beach there. Since the pool is so nice, it wasn't that big of a bummer for us. It made us chuckle a bit because at Bohio, the beach was so spectacular but the pool looked like it had a red tide. At SCC, the beach had the red tide but the pool was perfect! Figures! LOL! But...this is abviously not the fault of SCC.
This is a total nitpick, but the SUPs could use some new deck pads.
Sooooo...all in all...we highly recommend Southern Cross Club! It's obviously not the cheapest place to book, but it was definitely worth it to us. Feel free to ask any questions & I'll be glad to help out.
Wife & I went sans kids...our 2 boys stayed with Grandparents so we were looking for peace & quiet, relaxation and great diving. We got all 3 in spades!!!
Just some quick background so you can get a feel for what we look for. I'm a fireman & my wife is a stay-at-home Mom. I work hard for my money and am looking for a good return on our investment when vacationing. We are not high class "foodies", nor are we boozers. We just want good quality meals and we have a few cold ones after the diving is done. Usually in bed kinda early to be up rested & ready to go diving. Definitely NOT demanding, Four Season's-type people. I'm a former PADI instructor who certified my wife, so I always look after her and always take care of our own gear unless the staff beats me to it. I don't really care about "valet" dive service, I just want a clean boat and some snacks & fresh water.
I posted last summer about our stay at Bohio in Grand Turk and the issues we had there and the generally poor customer service we experienced (you can find it in that forum). Long story short, SCC blew the doors off of Bohio! The customer service, food quality, room quality, and countless other little things were head & shoulders above Bohio. Now granted, SCC does cost more, but when you factor in paying for dinners, it really isn't that far off when comparing the same number of dives. At Bohio we had the plan that included fixed menu breakfast & lunch, but no dinners or non-alcoholic drinks for lunch & dinner. SCC includes what is basically all-you-can-eat plus juices. They alternate buffet dinners & plated service with multiple choices for app, main course & desert. We can't remember anything we didn't really like (I think I gained 4 pounds on the trip!! lol). Plus, the head chefs were always stopping by the tables to check on our satisfaction which was a great extra touch.
The on-site dive op was great and there was plenty of room in the dive hut for drying gear. All of the divemasters were very friendly & helpful. The 36' Newton was always clean, well stocked and had plenty of room even if there were more than usual on the boat. We dived a good variety of sites and had very thorough briefings with a lot of topography & fish ID info given. They seemed to let everyone dive their computers and never gave us a hassle over staying down 60-75 minutes each dive. We are usually first in & last out & like to max out time U/W. After having some dives close to LCBR boats a couple of times, it appears they dive in bigger groups...we were always divided up into smaller groups which was great. Lots of great experiences with nurse sharks, big/friendly Nassau groupers, spotted eagle & southern rays, turtles of all sizes, lots of big lobsters & crabs. Tons of huge sponges and really cool swim-throughs.
The rooms are pretty nice...a little bit rustic but pretty well maintained and definitely clean. and you can see where they have upgraded different things. Plenty of towels, soaps, conditioners etc. Beds were comfy and pillows were pretty good. There was a little bit of a mix-up regarding our choice for upstairs/downstairs and they went out of their way to "fix it" by offering us the "honeymoon suite" at no charge for the last 3 nights! We ended up staying in 3 different rooms and they were all great. The outdoor showers were amazing as was being right on the beach/water and having the patios to relax on.
Top to bottom, the staff were all very friendly & helpful. The newer/ish pool was really nice, kept extremely clean and was always the perfect temp. Unlike Bohio, the collection of beach cruisers with handy baskets were all in excellent condition, and the paddleboards/kayaks were all in good shape & very serviceable. The grounds were kept clean and it always seemed very quiet & mellow.
Now for the bad!
The Sargassum weed influx was pretty bad. A lot of it came into the sound and the beach was packed with it. It didn't affect diving on Bloody Bay Wall but the south side was pretty bad. Don't plan on swimming at the beach! You can, however, kayak over to Owen Island and enjoy the great beach there. Since the pool is so nice, it wasn't that big of a bummer for us. It made us chuckle a bit because at Bohio, the beach was so spectacular but the pool looked like it had a red tide. At SCC, the beach had the red tide but the pool was perfect! Figures! LOL! But...this is abviously not the fault of SCC.
This is a total nitpick, but the SUPs could use some new deck pads.
Sooooo...all in all...we highly recommend Southern Cross Club! It's obviously not the cheapest place to book, but it was definitely worth it to us. Feel free to ask any questions & I'll be glad to help out.
