Destiny – Post D-D 9/27-10/2/08 Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman – Review & Capers

[falkcor]

Destiny – Post D-D 9/27-10/2/08 Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman – Review & Capers

(15) OCHO RIOS, JAMAICA – CAPERS

It was a long and sometimes challenging (Dunns River Falls) day in port, and we were happy to come back aboard. Here’s what was going on!

 

 

 

 

 

Another great night on board. This was perhaps the night when people were most reserved – tired from the daytime activities, and with early excursions planned for the next day in Grand Cayman, but we still didn’t have to try very hard to have fun. Some of the ‘regulars’ were still about, but an early night all around, for the most part. In just a few hours, we’d arrive in Grand Cayman, and I had a date with some sting rays.

[ready2sail76]

This was the best! The entire thing!! I am so excited 39 more days and I will be using these capers. I was not planning on doing any excursions, but you are making it really hard!!!

[falkcor]

This was the best! The entire thing!! I am so excited 39 more days and I will be using these capers. I was not planning on doing any excursions, but you are making it really hard!!!

 

i'm glad you're enjoying it, and i'm not done yet!

 

if you think it's hard to resist scheduling a few excursions now, wait until we get to the sting rays ;)

 

for your (and everybody else's) information, i neglected to post the cost of the excursion above - dunns river falls & the sky explorer - booked through carnival it was 59.00 per person.

 

you could also get dunns river falls & the jamaican bobsled (also at mystic mountain) for 59.00, or all three (dunns, sky explorer and bobsled) for 79.00 per person.

[falkcor]

Destiny – Post D-D 9/27-10/2/08 Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman – Review & Capers

(16) GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – DEBARKATION

After a relatively mellow night before (we closed down the piano bar at 2.30 or so – and just… well… didn’t go anywhere else…) we woke up bright and early the next day, anticipating a less than painless debarkation.

What’s the only downside to being in Grand Cayman? I know – it must seem like a silly question. But really, it’s simpler and more pointed than you might think. Grand Cayman doesn’t have a dock! From what I understand the water surrounding Grand Cayman is too shallow to allow for a dock, and so this is one of those islands where tender boats must be employed.

We selected the second tour for our excursion, so we didn’t have to get off the boat first thing and had a little more relaxed debarkation ahead of us. But it still wasn’t a ‘breeze’ like Jamaica. Lines were longer, probably about 20 minutes, to catch a tender to shore, even with our later departure. The tender boats themselves have a capacity of something like 250 people – a lot more than you’d think to look at them.

Extenuating the situation was the fact that this day, there were three other boats anchored in this port – a spirit class carnival ship (not sure which one), the Valor if I’m not mistaken, and a Disney cruise boat. The tenders were of course making their stops at each, I’m sure it would have been less of a wait if there were less ships, but I know Grand Cayman is a pretty popular port, too.

It was about a 10-15 minute boat ride I believe to port. The tenders pull right up to the port facility, and after passing through a security check point, we were ‘there’! For those who have not visited yet, I’ll post the Grand Cayman / port and shopping guide before we go any further.

[falkcor]

Destiny – Post D-D 9/27-10/2/08 Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman – Review & Capers

(17) GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – MAP & SHOPPING GUIDE

Next up was Grand Cayman, and it was a very easy port facility / shopping area to navigate.

 

 

 

[vplsh]

I love Grand Cayman, but you're right, it's difficult when there are other ships in port. A couple of years ago we were on Caribbean Princess and in addition to us there were 2 other ships in port, including Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas! What lines! Then this year we were the only ship in port! Awesome!

 

Can't wait to hear your review of Stingray City. We did it a couple of years ago and it was really neat.

 

Keep it coming!!

Loving the review!!

[cruisin USA]

Hey Falkcor,

 

I'm really enjoying your review. Mary Ann and I are sailing Feb 28th.(We're reversing your cruise with Grand Cayman first). Your cruise director....Jorge. Did he like to say "Before 5pm I'm George, and after 5pm I'm "Hor-Hay"? We were with him on the Imagination last January. He was sooo funny, and we'd love to sail with him again.

 

Again, thanx for the GREAT review.

 

 

Gary aka cruisin USA

[falkcor]

Great review so far!! Were you able to save any of the menus to post or can you tell us what is on the menu?? I am also anxious to hear which excursions you chose.

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to write this!!:)

 

i didn't save any of the menus. but if you have any questions, just let me know and i'll do my best to answer.

[falkcor]

falkcor--Did you go to the past guest party? If so, what night was it? Thanks so much for the reviews and capers. You are helping me get through the next 5 months. :)

 

know what? it was NEVER in the capers as far as i saw. i even checked for you. and i have no idea when it was, and did not attend.

 

but a note - you CAN attend both captain's receptions. i did. lol.

[falkcor]

Thank you soo much! This is the itinerary that I am sailing on Dec 6, so reading about your cruise is wonderful!! I love hanging out at piano bars, but a new entertainer will be on board when I get there, I hope he is even half as good!!

 

I am waiting for the rest of your review!! You are doing a great job. I really like your common sense approach and you don't let the little things get to you! You realize you are on vacation!!! YAY!!

 

Terry

 

maybe martin will still be there when you cruise. i sure hope so, because he's awesome. i'll try to figure that out for you.

[tw67]

maybe martin will still be there when you cruise. i sure hope so, because he's awesome. i'll try to figure that out for you.

 

Thanks, but I looked at his web site and it doesn't look that way! I will just hope for someone as good!!

 

Terry

[bsdmhutch]

Thanks, but I looked at his web site and it doesn't look that way! I will just hope for someone as good!!

 

Terry

 

I think he's going to be gone within the next week or so. Some of our group emailed him to see if he would still be on and he said he wouldn't.

[mrsfuzzmo]

Awesome review!!! Keep it coming!!

[mouche]

Thanks Falkcor, for that very detail review I too was a little worried as I read past reviews about the Destiny, since I 'm sailing on her Mar 14th 2009. But you have put my mind at ease and i love reading your post. Thank you!!! Oh I did want to ask on the 5 day cruise is there only one formal night? This is m y second cruise and the first one was a short 3 nighter.:)

[MissMokey]

Thanks for all your pictures, Capers and review! We will be going on the Destiny in June 2009 and my daughter will be getting married in Ocho Rios. Although we have cruised on Carnival to Grand Cayman several times and to Ocho Rios once, it is so nice to have your info for our next curise to these ports.

[falkcor]

I think he's going to be gone within the next week or so. Some of our group emailed him to see if he would still be on and he said he wouldn't.

you guys are right! i got a message back from him this morning confirming that he's only on the destiny for the next 9 days. what a shame! i never would have though that he'd only have a one month contract. good luck with getting a piano player as good, i'll cross my fingers for you!

Thanks Falkcor, for that very detail review I too was a little worried as I read past reviews about the Destiny, since I 'm sailing on her Mar 14th 2009. But you have put my mind at ease and i love reading your post. Thank you!!! Oh I did want to ask on the 5 day cruise is there only one formal night? This is m y second cruise and the first one was a short 3 nighter.

don't worry yourself with the negative reviews - i found them totally unfounded and had an absolute blast. yes, you are correct - there is only one formal night on the five day cruises - and at least for our itinerary, i can confirm that it's the first 'fun day at sea' (the second night).

and thanks missmokey & mrsfuzzmo - more to come tonight. i'll work on getting at least the sting ray city excursion and grand cayman capers up!

let me know if any of you have any other questions as we go along. :cool:

[falkcor]

Hey Falkcor,

 

Your cruise director....Jorge. Did he like to say "Before 5pm I'm George, and after 5pm I'm "Hor-Hay"? We were with him on the Imagination last January. He was sooo funny, and we'd love to sail with him again.

 

i think you're right! from what i understand, he was a comedian. he likes to crack jokes, constantly, but sometimes i think he thought he was a lot funnier than i did ;)

 

he definitely has his moments though.

[tw67]

Hey Falkcor,

 

I'm really enjoying your review. Mary Ann and I are sailing Feb 28th.(We're reversing your cruise with Grand Cayman first). Your cruise director....Jorge. Did he like to say "Before 5pm I'm George, and after 5pm I'm "Hor-Hay"? We were with him on the Imagination last January. He was sooo funny, and we'd love to sail with him again.

 

Again, thanx for the GREAT review.

 

 

Gary aka cruisin USA

 

Until I read this I didn't realize I had also been on the Imagination with Jorge last December!! That is too funny! It was that "Before 5pm.." joke that made me remember him!! If you didn't post that, I never would have realized it! I guess I get him again this December!! He was ok last year. He had a good sense of humor, maybe not the best, but hey, I am not cruising because of the CD!!

 

Terry

[falkcor]

Destiny – Post D-D 9/27-10/2/08 Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman – Review & Capers

(18) GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – ARRIVAL, PORT & TOUR

As I mentioned in the previous posts, the tender boat ride to port, the Royal Watler Cruise Terminal, was a short 10 or 15 minutes or so. Since the boats are much smaller than a cruise ship and can thereby come closer to shore, the walk down the dock to the terminal was very short and a breeze. There are restroom facilities and a bunch of little shops all around (see port and shopping guide posted above).

Unlike the relative chaos in Ocho Rios, this was a really pleasant experience. There weren’t any pushy vendors, and a good deal of the shops were directly adjacent to the cruise terminal. I’ve read some people say that this port was a bit commercialized, and yeah, that may be so, but that’s not always a bad thing. There were several smaller establishments where you could purchase ice cream, Jamaican beef patties, hot dogs, smoothies and the like – great pre-excursion snacks, and then some larger establishments, like the obligatory Margaritaville.

 

 

Also directly adjacent to the port facility are the tents set up for the shore excursion stands. There were of course plenty of Carnival excursions available, but also a good deal of the independent tour companies as well here in port and in the general vicinity. Having researched available activities beforehand, I found that there were a number of well-reviewed independent tour operators, especially for the perennial favorite Sting Ray City tour, and having read such good things, I opted for an independent tour with Moby Dick Tours.

Here’s their website:

http://www.mobydicktours.com/

 

 

And a summary of the tour, with some of the reasons why this tour is different than the Carnival excursions:

http://www.mobydicktours.com/Stingray-City/Stingray-City.html

And the photo galleries:

http://www.mobydicktours.com/Stingray-City/gallery.html

They make some valid points. Particularly, on the summary page, take a look at the size of the groups on the Carnival excursions, and you have to wear life vests, even though the water’s only 3-4 feet deep. Some of the other tours also don’t provide squid to feed to the sting rays (and that’s what really gets them going, AND stick around, let me tell you!)

Moby Dick Tours is the #1 rated sting ray city tour on tripadvisor, and often the #1 rated (out of 138) attractions in all of Grand Cayman (they’re #2 right now). Take a look at the reviews on tripadvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147365-d641547-Reviews-Moby_Dick_Tours-Grand_Cayman_Cayman_Islands.html

 

Some of the headlines for the most recent reviews say it all:

“my new favorite excursion”

“A must do! Totally the best excursion of our trip!!!!!!!”

“Amazing experience with Stingrays”

“Best Stingray City Tour”

“Breathtaking!”

“We Took a 7 Day Cruise, Stingray City was the Best Part!”

“Excellent excursion!!! Top of the To-Do list!!”

You can also check the cruise critic boards here – there’s always a discussion about this tour operator, and with good reason. A note on that – Captain Mark specifically noted that he knows a lot of people find him through these two sites (tripadvisor and cruise critic), and thanked us for considering them, and to spread the word if we had fun – I did, so this one’s for you Captain Mark.

They had enough people registered for tours this day (probably because there were four boats in port), that they had two tours – a morning (at about 8.30-9) and late morning (at about 11.30-12) tour. Knowing that we would have to tender, and check in at least 30-45 minutes before the tour, we opted for the later tour, slept in a bit later, and explored the port & shopping before the tour. Mark Button also had told me that the later group would likely be less populated, and he was right. There were only about 15-20 people in our tour group (the boat can take up to 50 people), which made for a rather personal experience. Once the group was all present, we made our way to the parking lot to start our trip across the island.

[falkcor]

Destiny – Post D-D 9/27-10/2/08 Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman – Review & Capers

(19) GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – ON THE WAY

The parking lot where the buses are is a short 2-3 minute walk from where the shore excursion tents are set up. As we approached, we were directed to board what they lovingly refer to as ‘the barney bus’ since it’s painted purple – don’t ask me why. The bus was nothing special (an old school bus), but the driver was rather amicable. As we were driving from Georgetown along seven mile beach, he provided us with some key points of information about the history of Grand Cayman. He pointed out that all of the cemeteries on the Island are actually in pretty prime locations along the beach, because before the advent of the backhoe / excavator, it was a lot simpler to dig through the sand than the rockier land inland – interesting point. Seven Mile beach, as we could see from driving by, looked great and was sparsely populated. If I were more of a beach person, I’m sure I would have enjoyed a stop here.

After about a 15 minute or so bus ride to a parking lot and port bordering the North Sound, we arrived at the tour boat, and as the previous tour debarked, we were invited to jump on. There was lemonade and fruit punch available on board, and they do sell re-usable underwater cameras for 20.00 on board. Once we were all on the ship and ready to take off, the staff removed the lines tethering us to the dock and we were on our way. Captain Mark Button came on the public address system, and covered some of the details of the tour, and provided a brief history of how Sting Ray City came about. Here he is (not the best photo – it was nicely shaded on the boat):

 

 

As we approached the sand bar where the sting rays live and the adjacent coral reef, Mark lead a talk about sting rays and these ones in particular. They have some favorites which are named, like stubby and tripod, and we even saw stubby (he doesn’t have his tail) as we approached. One of the crew members – I forget his name but remember his nickname was ‘the Italian stallion’, stood on the bow of the boat with a stuffed sting ray, using it to demonstrate what Mark was talking about:

 

 

They explained that the stingrays have a hard ridge along their backs, that the top of their bodies are somewhat more rough than their bellies, the texture of which they likened to a smooth portabella mushroom (and I’d tend to concur). They talked about their tales and barbs, and the difference between the males and females. Despite the obvious gender differences, the female rays are about 3-4 times larger than the males, and females are far more prevalent on the sand bar.

Mark also explained how these sting rays are different than those you might find in the open sea, or that sting ray that Steve Irwin aka the croc hunter encountered that fateful day. Sting Ray City has been frequented for about the last 30 years by several tour groups, and hundreds of thousands of people. In the beginning, local fishermen used to stop at this sandbar to clean their fish before heading to port, dropping the refuse overboard. The stingrays caught on, and as they’d hear the boats motoring to the sandbar, they’d show up for an easy meal – and that’s how Sting Ray City was born. Today, thousands of people visit these rays every day, and they are very used to human interaction. As they’re not threatened in anyway, they pose little danger, and nobody from Moby Dick Tours has ever been injured on the tour.

As we approached, there were a few boats on the sand bar already, so Mark said we’d save the best for last, and start out by snorkeling at the adjacent (very close – maybe about 2-3 minutes by boat) coral reef, and then visit the sting rays after, by which time the other groups would have left. So, next up, snorkeling!

[falkcor]

Destiny – Post D-D 9/27-10/2/08 Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman – Review & Capers

 

(20) GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – SNORKELING

 

All of the snorkeling equipment – mask, snorkel and flippers were provided, and the crew provided a few helpful tips, such as do NOT try to climb the ladder back on to the boat with your flippers on! Good point. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and in this case I’m inclined to agree – so here’s some photos captured on my underwater camera, with some quick explanations along the way.

 

Off the boat, gotta get a photo in this surreal environ, right? Here’s me – waving hello:

 

 

This is one of the first fish I saw:

 

 

There was an abundance of different types of coral living in the reef. That big round one had to have been a good 6’ across, and you can see a few of the fish species I’d encounter here:

 

These little striped fish were all over the place, and pretty handsome fish:

 

 

And yet another type of fish – this one was kind of grayish-blue and a bit bigger than some of the others:

 

I thought the black fish with white stripes on top and bottom was a pretty neat fish – their fins are on top and bottom, not on the sides:

 

 

Last two photos in the next post – apparently you can only post 6 per message.

[falkcor]

Destiny – Post D-D 9/27-10/2/08 Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman – Review & Capers

(21) GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – SNORKELING CONTINUED

Here’s some more of those neat black fish, and this is when I really felt like I was snorkeling through a national geographic channel special – or planet earth:

 

 

We snorkeled all around the reef for about 45 minutes or so. Some people didn’t last the whole time, but I sure did. With such a small group, it was pretty easy to find yourself alone in the midst of the reef. It was almost disarming at times, to look all around with the myriad species of fish schooling around and coral everywhere you could see, thoughts like ‘what if a shark is around the corner?!’ cross the mind. But the tour guides made it clear – no sharks. Good thing, too. As our time elapsed, I heard the sound of a horn as ‘the Italian stallion’ blew into a conch shell (nice touch, I thought) to call us back to the boat. By this time, I was a good half a mile from the boat, I’d estimate, so it was a five plus minute swim back toward the boat.

Just before reaching the boat and getting closer to the sandbar, I noticed a harbinger of what was to come. Next up, the sting rays!

 

[thelmalouise-n-thekid]

Thanks so much for your wonderful reviews, pictures and the capers. We are going on the Destiny in March, with this same itinerary and until I read your review I didn't think I could be anymore excited about it, but you just bring it all to life.

 

Can I ask what kind of underwater camera you were using?

[falkcor]

Thanks so much for your wonderful reviews, pictures and the capers. We are going on the Destiny in March, with this same itinerary and until I read your review I didn't think I could be anymore excited about it, but you just bring it all to life.

 

Can I ask what kind of underwater camera you were using?

 

the camera was the simplest of simple underwater cameras from a walgreen's drug store around the corner - 10.00 or so, but it worked out rather well if you ask me!

[valancy1]

the camera was the simplest of simple underwater cameras from a walgreen's drug store around the corner - 10.00 or so, but it worked out rather well if you ask me!

 

FWIW I concur. I got Fuji disposable cameras and they worked great. Some people say that the Kodak brand is "better" but the Fuji ones have a rubber band as a handle that worked great for us.

 

Falkcor, I've been thoroughly enjoying your review. I appreciate your take on things I've not yet participated in but now want to (piano bar). I'm disappointed that Martin will not be on my 11/22 cruise, but hopefully someone taking his place will be a close second.

 

Where did you get his CD? I love the words to that one song you posted.

 

Looking forward to more!