Almost 20,000 passengers-What would you do?

We are going to be in Grand Cayman with 7 ships including ours (Magic, Breeze, Brillance of the Seas, Regal Princess, Celebrity Equinox and Silhouette, and Nieuw Amsterdam). We will arrive after everyone except Celebrity Silhouette, so I imagine most places will already be crowded. When we were here before we did Stingray City and also went to Royal Palms (it was crowded here and they ran out of loungers while there were only 3 ships in port so I don't think it is going to be an option). Most of these ships are large and will carry quite a few passengers.

A little more about us. We are in our 60's, like beaches, just a little shopping, don't drink much, and usually don't eat in port. What would you do?

I personally would stay on the ship.

That's too many people. Even for Grand Cayman can handle it, I would not want to deal with that many people.

Too late now for you, but I check the port load on every stop before I even book a cruise.

No worries...NO port take more passengers than it can handle. This is not uncommon. You'll be fine....there are other beaches besides Royal Palms!!!

I personally would stay on the ship.

That's too many people. Even for Grand Cayman can handle it, I would not want to deal with that many people.

 

Too late now for you, but I check the port load on every stop before I even book a cruise.

We usually do. But we booked this over a year ago and only had certain times we could go and it had to be from Galveston since we only had a week of vacation left. Carnival had cancelled our Valor cruise from San Juan and made us an offer that we decided to take. They gave us a 7 day cruise at the price of our cancelled cruise with a $100 OBC. At the time the itineraries were only open through the first half of April 2016. At this point we are paying over $600 less than if we were to book Last Call Early Saver now. And this is for an inside cabin. Of course this was also done as Early Saver. That was Carnival's choice, not ours.

Don't Panic! It's normal for Grand Cayman to have lots of cruise passengers PLUS those on land vacations.

Enjoy your day! :)

No worries...NO port take more passengers than it can handle. This is not uncommon. You'll be fine....there are other beaches besides Royal Palms!!!

I know there are other beaches but it's no fun to get there and find it so crowded that there are no loungers and barely enough room to put 2 towels near each other on the beach. My son and I run into this problem with less ships and not being one of the last ships into port. They had run out of umbrellas, but still had loungers when we arrived. A little later they also ran out of loungers and people were putting towels everywhere. It was difficult to get to the water.

I was just wanting to know if there was somewhere that may not be as crowded. The most popular places like Royal Palms, Calico Jacks, and Sea Grape will definitely be overrun.

We have considered Cemetery Beach. I know there are no facilities, but I heard there is some shade and good snorkeling. Seeing that there are no facilities it might keep some people from going there. Has anyone been there and could tell me if this would be a good option?

I know it is normal for many ships to be there. But we have the largest number of passengers in a single day for the whole month of March. And March is one of the busier times. This is not going to be the normal load for the island.

Did you consider renting a Cabana at Royal Palms so that you can have your space?

^^^My thoughts exactly. We rented one and it was great. Plenty of shade and you have your own loungers too.

I've been to cemetary beach and will confirm that it is quite secluded and there is lots of shade. no facilities at all and snorkeling cemetary reef is amazing. easy swim from the beach. hit the restroom before you go, stop and pick up sandwiches, snacks and drinks and tell the cab driver where you want to go. we love it there. if you can pack some collapsible chairs so much the better.

Has anyone found a website other than cruisett to find port load? We are 6 months out still but there is nothing for June 2016.

Has anyone found a website other than cruisett to find port load? We are 6 months out still but there is nothing for June 2016.

I use this site:

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/

It doesn't tell you how many passengers but is very good at which ships will be in port with you. You can always check to see the passenger capacity for each ship.

I looked through the month of June and there is no more than 3 ships in port on any day. Sometimes only 1.

I've been to cemetary beach and will confirm that it is quite secluded and there is lots of shade. no facilities at all and snorkeling cemetary reef is amazing. easy swim from the beach. hit the restroom before you go, stop and pick up sandwiches, snacks and drinks and tell the cab driver where you want to go. we love it there. if you can pack some collapsible chairs so much the better.

Thank you lifes-a-beach. We have been trying to decide if we should try Cemetery Beach or get the cabana at Royal Palms. We have been to Royal Palms 2 times already and there is only 2 of us, so $100 seems to be more than we want to spend just to have loungers and shade at a place we have been to before. So it looks like we will be going to Cemetery Beach and the snorkeling is a big factor. We are not much for just laying around in the sun.

I use this site:

 

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/

 

It doesn't tell you how many passengers but is very good at which ships will be in port with you. You can always check to see the passenger capacity for each ship.

 

I looked through the month of June and there is no more than 3 ships in port on any day. Sometimes only 1.

I use this site also, If you click on the ships name the next screen gives capacity. like you said you just have to add it up

We were on GC on November 12, 2015 and there were five ships in port. We decided we really wanted to get a sense for the island so rented a car from Cayman Auto Rental and spent a half day touring the island. We saw very few crowds once we got out of Georgetown. We ended up having a fun lunch at Rum Point that was starting to get busy at lunchtime but was still quite nice. Just another thought. It cost about $90 for the car including gas. Tripadvisor has a great driving tour under "Top Questions" that we used as a guide.

We were on GC on November 12, 2015 and there were five ships in port. We decided we really wanted to get a sense for the island so rented a car from Cayman Auto Rental and spent a half day touring the island. We saw very few crowds once we got out of Georgetown. We ended up having a fun lunch at Rum Point that was starting to get busy at lunchtime but was still quite nice. Just another thought. It cost about $90 for the car including gas. Tripadvisor has a great driving tour under "Top Questions" that we used as a guide.

This was going to be my suggestion....get away from Georgetown. The island is easily drivable and there are some really cool beaches and great vistas driving around the island. Once you get out of town, there will be few cruise passengers to deal with. It might be possible that you can find a taxi/driver that you can hire for the day as well to take you around the island. We've done that at a lot of other ports, but never Cayman. Not sure if that type of driver rental is avail. but it's worth a shot.

We were on GC on November 12, 2015 and there were five ships in port. We decided we really wanted to get a sense for the island so rented a car from Cayman Auto Rental and spent a half day touring the island. We saw very few crowds once we got out of Georgetown. We ended up having a fun lunch at Rum Point that was starting to get busy at lunchtime but was still quite nice. Just another thought. It cost about $90 for the car including gas. Tripadvisor has a great driving tour under "Top Questions" that we used as a guide.

Thank you. This is something we would consider. It would be great to see other parts of the island. What type of car did you rent? Should we rent a Jeep or would a regular car be sufficient?

Regular car is sufficient for driving. Flat, paved roads. If you want to get some sun and go topless (the car that is) rent a jeep. But the Jeep is not necessary for the drive.

Here is a picture of Cemetery Beach from our trip in 2014. It is very rustic and restrooms are a drive/ride away from the beach. We are returning to this beach on our upcoming cruise. We will be renting a car and driver for our day in Grand Cayman so we can get away from Georgetown. We prefer Rum Point and the East End.

there are plenty of lounges and umbrellas there to rent and the bar is quite reasonable with soso food. I think they have a shuttle to return you to your pier.

I will be in GC with you that day from the Celebrity Equinox. To be fair, even if you had checked about which ships will be there that day, you might not have known about us. The day after we booked this cruise, Celebrity completely switched the order of our ports to accommodate an overnight stay in Cartagena. We were originally going to GC the prior Wednesday (with far fewer ships in port) so I wasn't thrilled about this change and to be there with 20,000 other cruise passengers! I have never been to GC before (nor to any of our other ports on this cruise), so I am going on a boat tour to sting ray city... kind of a bummer that it will be super crowded, but we'll make the best of it. Planning to go to 7 mile beach after the tour, but only for an hour or two and so late in the day that we won't get lounge chairs so we'll just walk around and find a spot to put down our towels in the sand :)

I will be in GC with you that day from the Celebrity Equinox. To be fair, even if you had checked about which ships will be there that day, you might not have known about us. The day after we booked this cruise, Celebrity completely switched the order of our ports to accommodate an overnight stay in Cartagena. We were originally going to GC the prior Wednesday (with far fewer ships in port) so I wasn't thrilled about this change and to be there with 20,000 other cruise passengers! I have never been to GC before (nor to any of our other ports on this cruise), so I am going on a boat tour to sting ray city... kind of a bummer that it will be super crowded, but we'll make the best of it. Planning to go to 7 mile beach after the tour, but only for an hour or two and so late in the day that we won't get lounge chairs so we'll just walk around and find a spot to put down our towels in the sand :)

I think you will enjoy sting ray city. That is what we did the first time to Grand Cayman and then we had them drop us off at 7 mile beach. We put our towels on the sand that time.

Yes it will be super crowded. Most of the ships are large, about the largest for each line expect for the RCCL ship which is smaller. We will just have to make the best of it.

If you've already experienced the stingrays we'd recommend renting a car and heading for Rum Point. Easy 45 min drive and a very nice beach with a beach bar and jet ski rentals.

I will be in GC with you that day from the Celebrity Equinox. To be fair, even if you had checked about which ships will be there that day, you might not have known about us. The day after we booked this cruise, Celebrity completely switched the order of our ports to accommodate an overnight stay in Cartagena. We were originally going to GC the prior Wednesday (with far fewer ships in port) so I wasn't thrilled about this change and to be there with 20,000 other cruise passengers! I have never been to GC before (nor to any of our other ports on this cruise), so I am going on a boat tour to sting ray city... kind of a bummer that it will be super crowded, but we'll make the best of it. Planning to go to 7 mile beach after the tour, but only for an hour or two and so late in the day that we won't get lounge chairs so we'll just walk around and find a spot to put down our towels in the sand :)

Look at Fat Fish Adventures for a more private jet ski experience to the stingrays and other spots. A local favorite, and ours.

Look at Fat Fish Adventures for a more private jet ski experience to the stingrays and other spots. A local favorite, and ours.

thanks for the suggestion, but for some reason, jet skis (and ATVs) petrify me!! We are booked with Marvin so there should be just a handful of us on our boat ride. There's no way to avoid crowds at sting ray city, but at least our group with our guides won't be that big :)

thanks for the suggestion, but for some reason, jet skis (and ATVs) petrify me!! We are booked with Marvin so there should be just a handful of us on our boat ride. There's no way to avoid crowds at sting ray city, but at least our group with our guides won't be that big :)

Actually FFA hits different spots (mangroves, reef, and either Rum Point or starfish beach) so they can be flexible when they hit the city. Especially their last ride of the day which lasts longer for the same price. But unless you're docked late you can't take advantage of that, it's more for locals and land-based tourists. And I do understand not being comfortable on them.

You'll enjoy your first visit to stingray city regardless!