Grand Cayman Review

We went to Grand Cayman in 2003. We revisited in 2004 on a Carnival Cruise, and things were much the same as they were in 2003. I can't guarentee that things may STILL be the same as they were back then, but these are some of the things that may spark your interest if you are thinking of traveling there.

Everything is expensive. We ended up staying in a timeshare which was beautiful, but we bought a lot of our own food from the local grocery store and everything was two to three dollars more than it was in Miami. Everything has to be shipped to the island, so I am sure they have to charge more because of the fact.

Don't buy any of those touristy trinkets at your timeshare or hotel. They offer the same stuff in town (which is also much like most of the other trinkets and souvenirs you get on the other islands - no joke) and it's for a MUCH lower price. We were going to buy this "Grand Cayman" ashtray as a joke for one of my friends at the timeshare gift shop - it was $6. When we went in town to a gift shop - the SAME EXACT ashtray was $3. Seriously.

Stingray City is worth EVERY penny. I think I loved this excursion the best. When we stayed on the island we went on a catamaran - which was incredible. Our boat captain had snacks for us and everything and we got to snorkel before we reached Stingray City. Don't be afraid of the stingrays. The captain told us that they have been around people all their lives - they don't know anything else - so they are gentle. If you are scared to go near them because what happened to Steve Irwin - don't be. I do believe that that was a different kind of stingray entirely. I think that it's sad to hear that people won't visit Stingray City because of their fear and to tell you the truth, I was scared at first too! It was so worth it though because I got to see something that I might never see again in my entire life. I loved the experience so much, I dragged my friends there when we stopped in Grand Cayman on our Carnival Cruise.

Hell isn't that great. It's a bunch of rocks that look like burnt charcoal. Seriously. You can get your picture taken in the "Welcome to Hell" face cutout thing to show everyone you have been to Hell. That's about it.

The beaches are incredible and INCREDIBLY clean. This whole island is just clean, clean, clean. I had never been in water that was so crystal clear and SO warm. If you are from the north, like me, you'll question why you swim in the ocean in New England.

Overall, Grand Cayman was a nice, relaxing vacation. I liked the fact that I could sit on the beach and just chill out. Also, there weren't any people coming up to you all the time, when you were in town, trying to sell you stuff. It was nice to be able to relax and not have all these touristy things to do everyday. Grand Cayman is the place to go to just relax and enjoy the weather - which I guess is the same temperature (about) year round.

One weird thing that I found out while I was there was that the calling cards that you can buy at like Sam's Club and Wal-mart do not work in Grand Cayman. You have to buy their "special" calling cards which, seriously, cost about $20 for 20 minutes. I am not really sure on the price, but that sounds about right. One thing that you may want to do before traveling there is check to see if there is some calling card around that works in Grand Cayman. It would save you a lot of money if you intend on calling home.