GRAND CAYMAN | CAYMAN ISLANDS

Grand Cayman is a place that has been on my list for quite some time and I finally got the chance to visit on our recent 7-Day Western Caribbean cruise. When we visit a new port on a cruise, we typically like to maximize our time and spend as much time exploring as we can. We may have taken that a bit too far in George Town.

SCUBA DIVING | GRAND CAYMAN

We booked an excursion through Carnival to scuba dive the USS Kittiwake and another reef/wreck in the morning. I wrote a complete review of the excursion so if you want details, click here. It was a two dives at spots just off the famous 7-mile beach. The first was the popular USS Kittiwake, a purposefully-sunk ship that is a diver's delight. The second was a shipwreck and the reef that it struck before sinking. Spending the morning exploring the incredibly clear waters of Grand Cayman made for the perfect start to the day. Our excursion only lasted 3 hours so that gave us plenty of time to further explore George Town.

GEORGE TOWN | GRAND CAYMAN

After making our way back to the docks, we set out to explore the port area around George Town. We did a bit of souvenir shopping and even stopped by Margaritaville for a drink before catching a taxi to the white sands of 7-mile beach. There was four of us so we found a minivan taxi and got quoted $20 total for the one-way trip. Unfortunately, we got dropped off at a beach club that required us to pay another $2-3 per person to enter. There was a restaurant and a stretch of beach with lots of lounge chairs but it was very crowded and not what we were looking for. We paid our admission fee and made our way down the beach toward a more deserted stretch of sand (there were still quite a few people).

We found a nice shady spot to plop our stuff down and take a swim in the crystal-clear water. As you can tell, we can't get enough of these tropical waters. There were quite a few interesting shells in the water that we collected for jar at home. The beach was so beautiful and I am glad that we made the extra effort to go. I even got a chance to fly the drone. After relaxing on the beach for a bit, it was time to head back. Instead of going back to the beach club, we walked through one of the condo communities and made our way to the main road. We were able to flag down a city bus (another minivan) and he only charged us $10 total for the ride back to the port.

CARNIVAL PORT | GRAND CAYMAN

Grand Cayman is different from a lot of ports in that you have to take a tender or ferry to and from the ship. There was a published time for the last tender but based on our cruise from last year, it seemed like more of a general time. So, once back in the port, I decided to fly the drone and get a few shots of the ships in the harbor. I found out that you aren't allowed to fly the drone from within the port, but I already gotten my shot, so I was happy to land the drone and be on my way. We got in line to board the tender only to find out it was for the wrong ship. We made our way to another dock and got in line again, only to realize that it was another ship - but not our ship. We finally found the right line and was able to catch the last ferry back to the ship *phew*

Read the review of our Carnival scuba excursion in Grand Cayman. Additionally, you can follow along with our 7-Day Western Caribbean cruise on board the Carnival Legend that also stopped in Roatan, Belize and Cozumel or read the review of the entire cruise.