To rent a car or not rent a car ...that is the question

Hello all,

I have been trying to figure out the best way for my family to have a great time in GC with as little stress as possible. Some people say rent a car it's great. Others say don't because of to much traffic. I thought I would open a thread up and take a vote from all the people who have actually rented a car on GC. Please help me decide. THanks !!!!

If you are in Port for a long enough period to where you can see several attractions without being rushed, it would probably be cost effective to rent. A car that will be comfortable for 4, will cost in the area of $100 for a day once you figure gas, required license, and insurance. I know most credit cards offer some type of insurance, but if you go that route and something happens you could get caught up in some legal issues and miss your departure. Seven Mile Beach does have traffic issues, but there are several relatively new bypasses that can help you get around. Heading out of Georgetown after about 4:30, the traffic can be slow out to the Savanah area. Non rush hour if you were to head toward the east End and around to Rum Point will take you about 1 1/2 hr. If you take the cutoff at Breakers, it will knock off about 45 minutes.

The one thing that may sway you from renting, since you say you want to be stress free, is if you are comfortable driving on the left and manuvering through roundabouts rather than typical US intersections. Roundabouts are abundant there and can be intimidating if your not familiar.

Mike

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

Thank you so much for responding. I haven't had much luck with people responding to my questions lately. I get a few here and there...so thanks. What do you think about taking the ferry to Rum Point? Have you heard much about it? THanks again for your input.

I'm not sure if the ferry is running yet. We were there for a week the end of Oct and drove out to Rum Point several times and never saw the ferry. If it is running, it's on a very reduced schedule. It is operated by the Hyatt and I know they are still fighting with the insurance company over damages from Ivan.

Mike

http://www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

One last question. We are in port form 7am-4pm, ship time. Is that long enough to drive to Rum Point and spend some time there and drive back. Could you also tell me the actual time in Cayman time. I keep asking and all I can get out of people is "just stay on ship time". THey are killing me. If I do that I am either going to pick my car up to early or lose an hour. Thanks you so much for helping me. We will be in GC in January. I tried to look up old posts to try and figure it out, but they were talking about daylight savings time and all. I am afraid I would screw it up. :D Thanks again!!

As far as actual time in Grand Cayman, in January it will be the same as Eastern Time. Don't know where the Miracle sails from but I'm guessing Fla., so it will be the same if that's the case. I know what you mean about getting conflicting opinions on whether the ship stays on it's departure port time the entire cruise or changes to local time. I've seen it answered both ways for the same ship at times, so who knows. My only experience was on the Rhapsody out of Galveston, and we stayed on Galveston time the entire cruise. We are on the Grand in Feb. and half the people on the Princess boards say it changes to local time and half say it stays on Galveston time:confused:

As long as you get an early tender, you don't have any car problems, and you actually get into Port, you should have plenty of time. There is one Rental Car place that is at the Harbor, either Avis or Budget that should enable you to get on the road quicker than going to the airport to pick up a car. Just do a search on Grand Cayman car rental and you should be able to find a link.

Mike

http://www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

so it will be the same if that's the case. I know what you mean about getting conflicting opinions on whether the ship stays on it's departure port time the entire cruise or changes to local time. I've seen it answered both ways for the same ship at times, so who knows. My only experience was on the Rhapsody out of Galveston, and we stayed on Galveston time the entire cruise. We are on the Grand in Feb. and half the people on the Princess boards say it changes to local time and half say it stays on Galveston time:confused:

Hi Mike,

Thanks for answering. On the Grand Princess they stay on local time. At least the 2 times that we were on board. They would list it in the bulletin and they make several announcements. She is a great ship. I am pretty partial to her. We were married on her. Carnival is the only cruise line that I know of that does this stay on ship time versus local time. They are killing me. Some people are telling me that one of the ships went to local time this last week. Please try and confuse me more.:eek: Take Care

We were in GC in Sept, and we just got off the ship, and went to a table where we got off the tender, and asked about a car rental. It was not from the airport. The guy came and picked up up in about 5 minutes, and it was just to the left of downtown, along the main road. The cost of a small car, for 4 was $70. with the insurance included. We drove over to Rum Point, spent a couple hours, and drove back. Be sure to take the cutoff road that goes right though the center of the island, it was almost an hour drive. Definitely work it! I would definitely recommend this over 7 mile beach. There are very few people there, and it is absolutely gorgeous! Very private. They have chairs you can use free of charge, and their bathrooms/changing rooms are very clean.

New to the board and this thread has prompted a related question. Several of us will by on the Voyager the week of January 14th and, thanks to all of you, are sold on making it over to Rum Point when in Cayman. Is it possible to just perhaps get a taxi (van for maybe ten of us) and just pay for a day so we keep them there? Any guess what it would cost?? The two of us are going over there whatever it takes. Others in party are nervous about the rental. Thanks for any help you can give.

First let me say that I don't know how much, but I do know it would be expensive. The link below is has probably the most contact info available for GC. Scroll down to Taxis and you get a list of all the major cab companies there including phone numbers. You should be able to get a quote for what you are looking for.

http://www.ecayman.com/

Mike

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

We just got back from Grand Cayman and we rented a car while we were there. We were there on the Grand Princess from 11:00-6:00. We rented a small compact car big enough to seat 5 people from Avis for only $45 for the entire day including the driving permit, insurance, and gas. The total price including tax was $47.50. I think their website is www.aviscayman.com. ;)

Avis gave us a real good map and showed us on the map how to get where we wanted to go which was the turtle farm and hell. Driving on the left side felt weird, but it wasn't as hard as we thought it would be. Just follow the flow of traffic as many people are headed the same way you are. The only difficult part was the little traffic circles they have where you go around the traffic circle on the left and then turn back onto the street you were on. It may seem a little daunting, but as I said earlier, just follow the flow of traffic and you'll be just fine. There are only a few main roads on Grand Cayman so it's hard to get lost. The roads are all marked real well and most of them run parallel to the beach.:)

We wanted to go to Rum Point but the kids had their hearts set on Hell and the Turtle farm, so that's where we went. The kids got a real kick out of holding the turtles and it made for a great picture. Also, it was very educational for the kids to see every stage of the turtles developement from conception to adulthood. Hell is just a small place with hellish looking rocks but the real fun is sending postcards marked from Hell saying "I went to Hell and back to get you this postcard" or "Hell aint so bad after all." The t-shirts were really fun with sayings like "I'd rather be in Hell than in school" or "I'd rather be in Hell than work." I got one that said "I drove on the left side of the road in Hell and survived." That t-shirt got lots of comments when I wore it on the ship.

Overall, we really enjoyed driving around in Grand Cayman and would do it again in a heartbeat, we just wished we were there longer so we could explore some more. I guess we'll have to just go on another cruise to do that.:D

That is a very good rate on an all inclusive car. MamaMicki......if you can handle the driving, that would be the way to go. Mobility on your own is great. Driving on the left is not that difficult...you just need to take a little extra precautions like looking to the right last as you pull out. The only time I had problems was at night when you could'nt tell what side of the road the car coming at you was on...but that was out in the boonies where it is pitch black at night. In town, you just go with the flow:) I checked their site and they are completely booked from 12/15 to 01/06 so I wouldn't delay since your cruise is on 01/08.

Rum Point/Kaibo Harbor is a very nice area and being on the North side, the pine trees and other vegitation survived the hurricane much better than other parts. The pics in my link with the lizard statue and hurricane signs are from Rum Point.

Mike

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/