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Scuba Forum / Scuba Locations / December 2006Grand Cayman Trip Report
Trip Dates 2006-12-03 to 2006-12-10 The Providers Air Canada Vacations, http://www.aircanadavacations.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/home_page?storeId=10 001&langId=-1 Beach Club Colony Hotel, http://www.caymanresortsonline.com/beachclub/ Resort Sports Ltd, http://www.caymanresortsonline.com/beachclub/resortsports.htm The Resort The resort was quite nice. It's on 7 Mile Beach, next door to the Hyatt Recency. It wasn't spectacular, but it was nice. Our room was pretty basic but it had a tv with that all important video input so I could look at my photos after each day of diving. While a tv is not as good as a computer for this, it's better than the camera display. We were on an all inclusive package. Breakfast was a buffet plus eggs cooked to order. On the Sunday, they had a Caribbean style breakfast which included scrambled eggs and fish, fried plantains, cooked bananas, and a few other things. I tried some of it, but didn't really like it. On some days lunch was dogs, burgers, or sandwiches, and on other days there was a buffet. Suppers were very good. Sometimes there was table service, sometimes it was a buffet. The beach was nice - easy entry and no rocks. The resort also allowed cruise ship passengers to come in and use the facilities - for a small fee of course. The Dive Shop I have mixed emotions about the dive shop. They have several redeeeming qualities, and one very bad one. The dive shop is one of the services offered by Resort Sports. They also rent out snorkelling gear and jet skis, and have some boat trips. Their customer base is guests at the hotel, the sister hotel (Spanish Bay), and cruise ship passengers. To a certain extent, we got to compare this shop to Red Sail Sports, which caters to guests of the Hyatt. The routine was that a vehicle would pick us up and take us to a pier in the cruise ship area on the northern part of Georgetown harbour. We would two dives on the west side come back to the pier and get driven back to the hotel. From the time we left till the time we got back was usually 3.5 to 4 hours. Sometimes we dove with cruise ship passengers and sometimes it was just hotel guests. By comparison, Red Sail did beach pickups and drop-offs. The boats were large and had marine heads, which occasionally got used. We were never crowded - the mamimum number of divers we had on the boat was 18. However, when asked, the crew said that they were prepared to take up to 35 divers. That would make it a cattle boat. All dives were guided, and had time limits. On all dives we had either two or three dive guides, so we could divide up into smaller groups. The price list on the dive shop's website is accurate but incomplete. They also offered dive packages. A five day package would work out to $61 per day. This was much less expensive than Red Sail Sports. The Diving Water was in the low 80s. There was little if any current. Visibility was good. Coral was in good shape. Fish population seemed a bit down from what I remember from my last Grand Cayman trip, but that was over 10 years ago so who knows. Quite a few lobster, usually out strolling about. Also saw a fair number of turtles. We also saw a new divemaster trick - eel gardening. One of the dm's dug a garden eel out of the sand and held it in hand for awhile. The rest of us gathered around and made sure a nearby snapper didn't swim in and eat it. After a minute or so, the dm let it go and the eel burrowed back down into the sand. The Unpleasant Part We had purchased a six day package so we should have dove every day. On the Friday we didn't, but lots of other people seemed to. When diving was over for the day, the dive shop would moor their boats a couple of hundred yards off shore, right in from of the hotel. There were other boats there as well, as well as some on neighbouring resorts. On the Friday, when we got up for breakfast, there were no boats anywhere, so we knew something was up. But it was a nice sunny day so after breakfast we went for a walk along the beach. As we were getting back to the resort, we saw Red Sail loading up their passengers, so that part was normal. That was at 08:30. We were scheduled to leave 15 minutes later. When we went to the dive shop to wait for the vehicle, we were told that the weather was about to turn bad and that the dive boats had been taken to the south side for protection and that there would be no diving. While it was nice out at the time, we just accepted this. If it was going to turn crappy that morning, we would just as soon not dive anyhow so that was ok. At the time, I thought that Red Sail had decided to take a risk that Resort Sports was unwilling to take, so that was fine It stayed nice all day. In the evening, I met one of the dm's and asked him what he did all day. He said he went diving with a group of cruise ship passengers. I think he said something about this being an afternoon dive. When I mentioned that our dive was cancelled he said words to the effect that the other boat may have had trouble getting around from the south side due to rough water. So at this point, it appeared that maybe we were just unlucky. On Saturday the weather was cloudy and windy, but we went diving with the other crew anyway. I asked one of the dm's what they had done the previous day. She said that they took a large group of cruise ship passengers out at 10:30 in the morning. While there is still an element of doubt, my current opinion is that the dive shop cancelled the dives for the hotel guests so they could make more money from the cruise ship passengers and then lied to us. Nothing else makes sense. They did refund our money for the day we didn't dive though. Other Comments Early December is not normally a busy travel time. This was reflected in the fact that our hotel seemed like it was only 30-40% full. One day, I asked our driver when the busy season was expected to start. His answer was that historically, it was always busy season but that the number of tourists seemed to fall dramatically after that crocodile guy got killed by the Sting Ray. He thinks people are reacting to that the same way they reacted when Jaws came out. There were between 2 and 8 cruise ships in the harbour every day. When we dove with cruise ship passengers, I asked some of them how full their boats were. One person said their cruise was sold out. Another said that their ship could hold 2500 passengers, but only had 2000. While it's not something that appeals to me, the cruise ship industry seems to be doing better than the resort industry. Final Word This was a pleasant trip, even with the Friday shenanigans. Also, despite the Friday thing, I think we were still better off with our dive shop than we would have been with Red Sail. They are way too expensive. And, while we are unlikely to return, we have no regrets about going. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. >The Unpleasant Part >On Saturday the weather was cloudy and windy, but we went diving with >the other crew anyway. I asked one of the dm's what they had done the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >the dives for the hotel guests so they could make more money from the >cruise ship passengers and then lied to us. Nothing else makes sense. It makes absolute sense. I see this happen all the time to me when I travel, especially when it comes to hotel accomodations, restaurant seating etc. because I travel alone. I always seem to get the crappiest room assignments and tables etc. because the "better" ones, the "seats by the window" or the "rooms with the fantastic view on the highest floors" etc. seem to be reserved for "parties of two or more", since more money can be collected from them in that instance for the same accomodation. In your case, I imagine the Cruise ship company represents more business over a longer time than any one individual guest at a hotel... So they get the attention. Quick Horror Story - Two years ago in Kyoto, I had reserved an "Executive Club" room in one of the fancier hotels. Knowing this hotel from a previous stay there, I knew that all the "exectuive club" rooms were on the 10th - 11th floor. I arrive at 12:30pm on a Friday in August, well ahead of the "weekend wedding" crowd and after the business exec's had checked out for the day, so they couldn't claim they were "full.". I had a confirmed reservation booked months in advance, and had asked for the "highest floor, with a city view." My initial assignment: 5th floor facing the inner courtyard. My esteemed desk clerk spent 5 min. attempting to convince me that this *was* and Executive club room, not realizing that I had half a brain, could read the posted signs on the wall, and had stayed there previously. So after another 5 min he came back with: 9'th floor still facing the courtyard. I told him to "try again." After another 5-10min, He came back wtih the 11th floor (the highest *and* executive floor), so I went upstairs with the floating concierge. The room wasn't even made up yet, and it faced the opposite side of the city! Mind you I'm being absolutely polite with the hotel staff. An ugly attitude will get you nowhere fast in Japan. I asked the concierge to try again. Finally after almost 1/2 hr, they gave me a suite on the 11th floor facing the city that had been pre-assigned to a local couple (I know this from the "welcome gifts" left for them in the room). But of course, by that time, the damage was done. To get into the "club lounge" where the "free food" etc. was located, "executive club" guests had to present their room key cards to the attendant. I didn't have to show mine even once!!! Apparently, this hotel chain pre-assigns rooms before the guests arrive and gives preference to: 1) Their local constituents - who obviously patronize them more frequently and over time; 2) Those who pay "rack rates" for hotel rooms 3) parties of two or more (who end up generating more revenue for the same accomodation). I had a similar incident in a restaurant in Tokyo where I was in line for the next seat in a high rise eatery where there are seats against windows and you can look out at the gorgeous view. The place was, of course, crowded at lunch. As my turn came up, the last of those windows seats became available at the same time. The Matre-D sees me waiting next, and then he turns to a Japanese couple already seated and eating in the inside of the restaurant and asks them if they want to move to the window! Thankfully, they refused, and I got the seat. Trust me, that could have gotten *very* ugly!!!! Bottom Line - Money talks. The more people paying over time, the better service they get. >They did refund our money for the day we didn't dive though. They better have. ____________________________________________ Regards, Arnold Good report Dan, thanks. The last time at GC (a couple years ago) I noticed reduced tourist numbers. The locals said business was bad and that GC had lost its appeal due to high prices. There is also the conversion of many hotel properties to permanent living accommodations reducing the number of offerings for hotel-type visitors. "ben bradlee" <NoWay@Way.Bite.Me> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :The last time at GC (a couple years ago) I noticed reduced tourist numbers. :The locals said business was bad and that GC had lost its appeal due to high :prices. There is also the conversion of many hotel properties to permanent :living accommodations reducing the number of offerings for hotel-type :visitors. Something I didn't mention is that there also seemed to be fewer dive boats out there than what I remember. I'm not sure if it's a price thing though, Cayman has always been expensive. I think that's cruise ships have just become more popular for whatever reason, which takes people out of the hotels. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. > "ben bradlee"wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > :living accommodations reducing the number of offerings for hotel-type > :visitors. A problem that was then compounded by Hurricane Ivan. Cayman has taken quite a hit from lower-priced destinations such as Cozumel and their 'strategy' has been to try to escape upscale. Seems to havef worked some for the non-diver family crowd who is afraid of Mexico stereotypes, but overall, it probably has hurt in that they've priced themselves out of the 'frugal' dive market, with the loss of the Magnificant Dive Dump, the Enterprise B&B, Holiday Inn and others. > Something I didn't mention is that there also seemed to be fewer dive > boats out there than what I remember. Could partially be Ivan again, as there were many boats that were damaged in that storm, and while this should be passing to some degree, there still is a relative shortage of on-island hotel rooms to represent business. > I think that's cruise ships have just become more popular for > whatever reason, which takes people out of the hotels. The "Cruise Ship out of Florida" does very much seem to be the post-9/11 vacation that is increasingly popular for by many Americans. Reports in Grand Cayman is that they're now receiving up to ten (10) ships per day, and since the port fees which the Government receives from this they consider to be "easy" money, the trend is likely to continue: it looks pretty certain that they're going to dump fill on a live coral reef inside the Marine Park on the Brac simpy to install a cruise ship dock. In the meantime, the proposed closure of 11 of 22 dive site moorings on Little Cayman that I mentioned two months ago remains in dispute. -hh Tourism has not been the number one industry in the Caymans for a very long time. Lee > Tourism has not been the number one industry in the Caymans for a very long > time. "Tourism is also a mainstay, accounting for about 70% of GDP" https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cj.html > > Tourism has not been the number one industry in the Caymans for a very long > > time. > > "Tourism is also a mainstay, accounting for about 70% of GDP" > > https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cj.html www.cia.gov? Aren't these the boys that sold Dubya on WMD in Iraq? >> Tourism has not been the number one industry in the Caymans for a very >> long >> time. "Tourism is also a mainstay, accounting for about 70% of GDP" > https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cj.html If you were the number one money laundering country in the world, what would you claim was the source of your wealth. All those banks must just be a coincidence or perhaps it's because Grand Cayman is so conveniently located for international banking, being only a few thousand miles from the nearest legitimate financial center. >> Tourism has not been the number one industry in the Caymans for a very >> long [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cj.html It depends on where you assess the revenue for all the hyperbaric treatment...  SignaturePopeye You can get much further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone. -Capone www.finalprotectivefire.com "-hh" <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :The "Cruise Ship out of Florida" does very much seem to be the :post-9/11 vacation that is increasingly popular for by many Americans. :Reports in Grand Cayman is that they're now receiving up to ten (10) :ships per day, and since the port fees which the Government receives :from this they consider to be "easy" money, the trend is likely to :continue: Highest number I saw was 8. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. Forgot to mention when I wrote up the report. We saw a new divemaster trick. Sometimes they feed sharks, sometimes they feed morays, anything to amuse us. One guy gardened eels. He would dig up a garden eel and hold it in his hand for a bit. Then he would let it go and it would burrow back into the sand. He briefed us on this before the dive. Our job was to scare away other fish so the eel wouldn't get eaten. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. > This was a pleasant trip, even with the Friday shenanigans. Also, > despite the Friday thing, I think we were still better off with our > dive shop than we would have been with Red Sail. They are way too > expensive. And, while we are unlikely to return, we have no regrets > about going. I think you would have been still better off with any number of small independent shops like Dive N' Stuff. You know, the six-pac types that don't have "Sports" in their names. > > This was a pleasant trip, even with the Friday shenanigans. Also, > > despite the Friday thing, I think we were still better off with our [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > independent shops like Dive N' Stuff. You know, the six-pac types that > don't have "Sports" in their names. The only time I ever dived (one day) with a dive shop before I went on the Aggressor was with the shop that was next door to the Georgetown Pier, with its small hotel operation at the same place. I described it in a post about diving from the cruiseship in Grand Cayman: RF> Had I known the (tender) location, I could have dived with Parrot's Landing, which is only a 5 minute walk from the Georgetown Pier. I did two dives with them back in 1991, the day before boarding the Aggressor. Sue and I were the only 2 divers, and the DM said he would take us to any site on the SW side, so we did the Big Tunnel and a new site (then), the Rapsody Reef. Would rate it an excellent operation then. Don't have any idea how they are now. Dan, in your detailed report, you never mentioned the DIVE SITES you did. What were they? Any of the good ones besides those few on the SW side of the island? -- Reef Fish Bob. Greg Mossman wrote: :> I think you would have been still better off with any number of small :> independent shops like Dive N' Stuff. You know, the six-pac types that :> don't have "Sports" in their names. Maybe. Hindsight is always 20-20. Over the years, I have grown to appreciate the convenience of using the on-location dive shop. In this case, I didn't have to do any prior research, no phoining around, or any of that stuff. Plus, even though we had to catch a vehicle to get to the boat, the vehicle came right to our resort so we didn't have to do any walking. But, then again, there was the Friday schmozzle. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. "Reef Fish" <large_nassua_grouper@yahoo.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :Dan, in your detailed report, you never mentioned the DIVE SITES :you did. What were they? Any of the good ones besides those :few on the SW side of the island? West side, north of Georgetown, south of the Turtle Farm. In chronilogical order: Orange Canyon Bonnie's Arch Trinity Cave Oro Verde Deep Tunnels Aquarium Dragon's Hole Wildlife Reef Eagle's Nest Killer Puffer Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. > "Reef Fish" <large_nassua_grouper@yahoo.com> pounded away at his > keyboard resulting in: [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > West side, north of Georgetown, south of the Turtle Farm. In > chronilogical order: Then you missed all of those sites north of the corner of Bonnie's Arch, not that Stingray City is worth diving. > Orange Canyon > Bonnie's Arch > Trinity Cave > Oro Verde All farely nice standard sites. > Deep Tunnels Could they have possibly called the Big Tunnel the Deep Tunnels? The swim through hole actually (not a tunnel) was at 90 feet and below, so that's "deep" by Grand Cayman standards. I don't know of any tunnel in GCM that's deeper than that. > Aquarium > Dragon's Hole Not familiar with that one, the Dragon's Hole. > Wildlife Reef > Eagle's Nest > Killer Puffer Not familiar with the Killer Puffer either. Sounded like they made up the name because you saw a balloonfish there. :-) -- Reef Fish Bob. "Reef Fish" <large_nassua_grouper@yahoo.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :Not familiar with the Killer Puffer either. Sounded like they made up :the name because you saw a balloonfish there. :-) The explanation was that one day some divemasters saw some fornicating blowfish at that site, who did not appreciate the interuption. About the north wall, as far as I know, it was too rough for anyone to dive there. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. "Reef Fish" <large_nassua_grouper@yahoo.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :Could they have possibly called the Big Tunnel the Deep Tunnels? :The swim through hole actually (not a tunnel) was at 90 feet and below, :so that's "deep" by Grand Cayman standards. I don't know of any :tunnel in GCM that's deeper than that. Ya never know. It was up in the Bonnie's Arch area and my depth on that dive was 97 feet. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. > "Reef Fish" <large_nassua_grouper@yahoo.com> pounded away at his > keyboard resulting in: [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Ya never know. It was up in the Bonnie's Arch area and my depth on > that dive was 97 feet. Then that's definitely the Big Tunnel. That's why I said it's at 90 feet and BELOW. So, you were not even at the bottom of the tunnel hole. :-) I usually went a bit deeper, along the chute, to maybe 130 or 140. That is close to the Tarpon's Alley also. You can do two sites in one dive, or even three in that bunch of sites. That's why I chose the Big Tunnel when I was given the choice of ANY site within 10 miles of Parrot's Landing the year I did the boat dive that was not the Aggressor. Did that dive from the Aggressor at least half a dozen times, and still thinks it's possibly the best site on the SW side of the island. -- Reef Fish Bob. "Reef Fish" <large_nassua_grouper@yahoo.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :I usually went a bit deeper, along the chute, to maybe 130 or 140. :That :is close to the Tarpon's Alley also. You can do two sites in one dive, :or even three in that bunch of sites. I thought Tarpon Alley was on the North Wall. This site was on the west. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. > "Reef Fish" <large_nassua_grouper@yahoo.com> pounded away at his > keyboard resulting in: [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > :is close to the Tarpon's Alley also. You can do two sites in one dive, > :or even three in that bunch of sites. http://www.divecayman.ky/flashmap/default.asp If you ZOOM in on this map, you'll see a clutter of about six sites around the Big Tunnel. They are all within a short distance swim from the Big Tunnel. I am sure I saw tarpons on an adjacent site and mistakenly thought that was Tarpon's Alley. http://www.skin-diver.com/caymanislands/gc_main.stm This is a much more readable map. It placed Tarpon's Alley at "3" near the Stingray City, while the Big Tunnel is at "38" nowhere close to that Tarpon's Alley. So, the adjacent site in which I saw quite a few tarpons swimming between an alley wall could have been any one of the named ones in "38" of this map, or the sites Easy Street, Sentinel, or Dragon's Hole on the first map. > I thought Tarpon Alley was on the North Wall. This site was on the > west. You're correct. There are actually more than one site that's called Tarpon's Alley on the North side. But the Big Tunnel site is unmistakable. It is sometimes called just "The Tunnel" as in the Grand Cayman Island book (1988) by my former boss at the Yale Computer Center, Carl Roessler, who was fired by Yale in the late 1960s and became a world class UW photographer, and also diving travel agent. :-) Call calls the Tarpon's Alley outside of Stingray City the "New Tarpon's Alley" without naming the old Tarpon's Alley. There are not many DEFINITIVE dive sites that are called the same by everyone because so many DMs make up names for the approximate sites (so that divers think they are somewhere no one else dived. <G>), but the Big Tunnel is a site whose location and characteristic are so distinct that I don't think it can ever be mistaken for any other site or location on GCM. Just your description of "near Bonnie's Arch" pinointed it. -- Reef Fish Bob. Photos from this trip can be viewed at http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/underwater/index.htm. They are the ones marked New. Speaking of new, I used only natural light for these pictures, something new for me. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. |
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