Skatepark in Cayman?

[cruisinonup]

Anyone been to the skatepark in Cayman? My son would die to go there and I am just wondering how good it is? Thanks.

[drew sailbum]

I'm no skater, but apparently The Black Pearl skate park is regarded as one of the best in the world.

 

The Black Pearl is located at the rear of the Grand Harbour shopping center, about a 10 minute taxi ride from the port. There is a large bookstore, a major grocery store, a liquor store, and several other shops in the center.

[hollywood34711]

My son and nephew would also like to check it out on our stop there, but I am not sure if we will have enough time to make it worthwhile. The website ( www.blackpearl.ky ) says they open at 10 am weekdays, and we have to depart at 2pm. I believe it is the biggest in the world and some pro videos have been made there recently.

[cruisinonup]

Thank you! We definately want to stop there, even if it's just for an hour. My son loves his skateboarding. I just hope the cruise line doesn't give him a hard time about bringing his board onboard.

[wcdive]

I am cruising with Carnival and asked about bringing our dive gear with us and they told me that people bring all sorts of sporting gear like surf boards and mountain bikes, so I'm sure they will have no problem with his skateboard! Have fun!:)

[cruisinonup]

Thanks! I appreciate the help!

[caymanjohn]

Not sure if it runs in low season but there has been a bus service, good resturant out there as well and the wave machine.

[polyfan]

We were on Freedom of the Seas in April and took or boys- ages 8 and 11 there. They loved it. The guy working there is very nice and helpful. They open at 10am, you can rent everything right there-board, helmet and pads. We ended up being there all day. There is a restaurant there also where you can get something to eat, and an ice cream shop. Any questions, ask and I can try to help.

[cruisinonup]

Do they require them to wear padding or can they just wear a helmet? Thanks.

[polyfan]

I don't know if it is actually required, it may be-everyone had the pads on- knee and elbow pads

[drew sailbum]

Pads are mandatory. Shop policy.

[cruisinonup]

Thanks. That may do my son in and keep him from going because he does not wear pads when he skates. Maybe not the safest way to skate, but, it is what he is used to.

[polyfan]

My son doesn't where them at home, but had no problem wearing them there.

[cruisinonup]

I guess it will be a matter of how badly my son wants to go there! It is definately just for him cuz no one else in our group skateboards. I think he would have a blast if he goes there. We won't get to stay for too long because there is way too much that the rest of us want to see. Did you do any lessons when you were there? I emailed them and asked about the camp but they said that the week we are going is for beginners. I just wonder if they have good teachers for more advanced skaters.

[polyfan]

There wasn't anyone receiving lessons when we were there. In fact, there were only a handful of people there-maybe a total of 8 kids the entire time. I don't think many people are aware of it. ARe you planning to take a taxi to get there? If so, beware, getting one to go back to the ship can be a problem if there are alot of ships that day. The shop owner and restaurant manager tried for about an hr. to get us a taxi and couldn't- the restaurant manager ended up taking us back to the pier.

[cruisinonup]

No, we are renting a car. That is good to know that it is difficult to get taxis there. I can't believe it was that slow there. It is good for the kids who do go. Probably with me starting this thread, they might get a little more busy. You really have to have a kid into skating a lot to go out of your way to go there. Especially if like us, you only have a day to spend there. Thanks for your help with this!

[hollywood34711]

We will be in Grand Cayman Aug. 6th, (Carnival Inspiration), and I was really thinking I would skip the other excursions to get my son and nephew to the Black Pearl. But now hearing about the cab troubles getting back, I might not. We only have until 2 pm. I don't think I can count on the kindness of the manager to drive us back. Darn, it was kind of the only thing that my 16 year old was looking forward to about the cruise. He is pretty good and on a local team here. I know he would have loved to get some video there. :( Darn.

[cruisinonup]

Hey guys, we did go there on our cruise this past week and it was great! If you can take a taxi from the port to the park, I am sure you can make some kind of a time to be picked back up with the taxi driver. Do not prepay the taxi driver as you may not see him again. We did manage the rides with taxi's and got back to the port on time but our taxi driver ripped us off(it is a long story). This park only had maybe 5 kids skating there so there is lots of room for your kids to enjoy it. The surf part looked like a lot of fun too and my son was sorry that we did not have time to do that as well. If you want to email me with questions, my email address is :dancermom22@bellsouth.net. If you have skaters in your party, they won't want to miss this experience! For surfers, the surf area is supposed to be one of only a couple in the world!

[allbrtt]

I am just wondering if anyone has been there lately? Did you have a problem getting there and back and how much was a cab?

[mitsugirly]

My husband owns a skateshop here in the US and has been skating since he was 12. It's his heart and his passion. I know he would love to go and check this place out, but we are doing an excursion with Nativeways. I'm not sure if we'll have enough time to check it out though. :(

[CayManTA]

There wasn't anyone receiving lessons when we were there. In fact, there were only a handful of people there-maybe a total of 8 kids the entire time. I don't think many people are aware of it. ARe you planning to take a taxi to get there? If so, beware, getting one to go back to the ship can be a problem if there are alot of ships that day. The shop owner and restaurant manager tried for about an hr. to get us a taxi and couldn't- the restaurant manager ended up taking us back to the pier.

 

If you can give the taxi that takes you there a time to come back and pick you up, they will usually be happy to oblige! You can negotiate that with the taxi driver before you head over there, and they're usually happy to give you their mobile phone number so the skate park can call them for you if need be.