How Bad Will This Be ? ?

[susanmaz]

I saw on the site for the Georgetown Grand Cayman that there will be 6 ships in port the day we are there in December - 16,023 pax... How bad will this be ? ? I think we've already decided that Stingray City will be out of the question, being over-run with people and kids from all those ships. Any idea of how it would be at 7 Mile Beach? Would it be worth-while to do the ship's excursion to guarantee a chair and umbrella? This is the first time we've been ANYWHERE where there will be so many ships and people in port the same time - the most we've ever had was two other ships.

[penny3333]

I've been there with 4 ships in port, and it really wasn't that bad. The most traffic was around the port area and the shops. 7 mile was relatively empty. There were some areas that were packed, but other areas where there weren't any people. However, if you need a chair and umbrella, it might be a good idea to book before hand. We just spread our beach towels out. When I was there last May, I didn't see all the little stands selling drinks that I had seen before. However, it wasn't that bad of a walk to get a drink. We had brought some water with us. It's surprising how well they seem to handle the traffic, but 16K is a lot of people.

[f-mattox]

Like Penny says, the biggest problem is around the tender loading area. With that many ships it could take quite a while to get ashore. And when returning to your ship, make sure you are in the right line. But once away from there it should be quite nice. I would book your excursion(s) through your ship to assure a space.

[Dave]

I think I read that the Cayman authorities limit the tourist volume at Stingray City per day. You may want to google that.

That is a lot of people, but then not everyone will go ashore. Grand Cayman doesn't interest me any more so we stay aboard if the ship goes there. Not saying I'll never go ashore there again, but it will have to be something new.

[peter l]

We were there again this past February and although our ship was not alone, tending seemed to work well and we did not encounter any problems in either direction...We found that on a previous cruise, we did Seven Mile Beach as we had done Sting Ray City before and found room on the beach...We just grabbed a cab and asked the driver to find an area that was not overcrowed that had some amenities to enjoy while we were there...No problem.
In February we did Sting Ray City on a private, non cruise line, tour and we were, at most only 25 people on a Cat...Very enjoyable and we did a two stop snorkel and found that we had a spot that didn't have others swimming in or over you during this experience. Very enjoyable day there and of course, a stop at Margueritaville is always fun before heading back to the ship.

Peterl