Karen,
So sorry about the screw up! Please let me know when you want to come next time. I'm thinking about arranging a "girls trip" in late June. It will mesh with Celine's trip, and maybe you and I and Sandy could stay at North Pointe. What fun!

Just returned from GC and it was the best vacation hubby of 25 years and I have every had alone. As KVR's post noted, we like the americanization, etc. which several posts don't like.

We found the food, restaurant decor and style to be to our taste and of high quality. Service 99.5% of time outstanding and uber friendly. If you stay in a condo you can cook several of your own meals to balance out cost of dining out. Enjoyed the Marriott Beach Resort but would stay in a condo next time to save on meal costs. Lots of good condo recommendations on this site and we visited some while there. I think with some pre-planning and researching this site you can find less expensive dining.

We concentrated our time along 7 MB, not go into Georgetown except to do a drive by for curiousity. It was very busy as it was a weekday. Did Stingray City with Captain Marvins on Sunday to avoid weekday cruise ship traffic. What a blast!

We are golfers and would love to see better golf courses but were pleasently surprised by the challange and quality of the greens and fairways of Safehaven. A deal at $70/18 holes, though pull cart only. Arizona will always be our golf vacation destination and will return to GC for beach and relaxation.

It is a bit hard to swallow the Cayman/US exchange rate though we went to do Sandals in Jamaica several years ago spending as much as we did in GC and HATED IT. The crime, beggers, food - yuk, service, resort (I could go on) were not to our liking. Golf was acceptable.

Look forward to returning to GC with friends next to explore north and east areas of Island.

why am I not going? On a matter of principle I refuse to go to any Caribbean country that requires a visa from me.

ESPECIALLY the ones that we had rule over! X-(

We enjoy the Caymans. Got lucky in early 80's purchased a condo by where the Ritz is now for low low 90's. For some it is too busy and comericialzed. But as u grow older u like the comforts of grocery stores like u have at home. The option of shopping if u want. Medicial care if u need it. They accept my insurance no questions ask. Easy 2 get too from most U.S. gateways. LOW CRIME rate. But it is not for everybody, young people like it wild and a party scene. Oh we remember those days.

I have to admit that I entertained the idea of going to the Cayman Islands for my honeymoon. However, we wanted a fun all-inclusive hotel with some charm and there were none to be found. Plus, we kept hearing that it is so americanized. I will say that a friend of mine just did a cruise and said she would take the Cayman Islands over Jamaica anyday!

Sue...

No worries on any mix up. Your place is our place of choice, I guess it shows we must really feel that way, so that when we couldn't get it, we are going elsewhere! :D

The three of us in June! What a handful for the Northside! Hope they can handle it.

I do want to say that Grand Cayman may be Americanized, but only there and Providenciales have I ever felt more safe when traveling. Low crime rate, no one on the beach pushing you to buy stuff...(how I hate that), and the ability to just pull over and swim out from about any location on the shore is amazing. To walk a beach for half an hour and not see anyone else...ahhh, that is my kind of beach paradise heaven. Not for everyone, I know.

Cruise ship passengers have no idea how much they miss when they only get to see Georgetown and do the stingray city trip.

A trip to the Northside, where the living is slower, and the people are fewer - yet seemingly sweeter, or the color of the water right there in Boddentown...sigh. Makes me miss it more.

An all day trip with Captain Marvin's...that's just icing on an already perfect little cake.

WE'll be back...shoot, looks like I may be back in June!

~Karen

Karen,
We also like Captain Marvin's...there crew that took us out was great!:)

Christie

Hubby & I returned from GC early April. Absolutely loved it and we can't wait to return next spring. This site helped us prepare.

Besides the obvious reasons (weather, beaches, ocean) we enjoyed it because of the high quality food with restaurants and menu's you would find in any nice city in the states, the low crime rate, absence of peddlers, and the friendly people. The young people, from all over the world, working there provided fantastic service and were enjoyable to talk with. While we liked the familiarity of the types of restaurants & merchants we were glad to not see an over abundance of American franchises. Island is fairly easy to get explore by car and there is lots to do on 7MB.

Also enjoyed meeting a good mix of young & old, couples & families vacationing on the island.

It is a bit pricy for dining but there are bargains to find if you consult Fodors. Next time will likely stay in condo to save on food and adult beverages.

I'll tell you one thing that left a very bad impression is that after my last trip, I took the time to write a trip report on the Cayman Activity Guide site, and it was not posted because I had mentioned "unapproved" vendors in my report. What a crock!

Cayman Sue - I've been researching a Cayman trip and I'd like to stay in a condo somewhere else other than 7MB. But have the other areas recovered as well? I've read some reports on Trip Advisor that make it seem like the East Side, Rum Point, Kayman Cai, are still torn up. But maybe I need to do more research. What area do you recommend for those wanting to avoid the 7MB craziness but want a pretty beach and some good snorkeling?

Kath,
North Side had less damage than the rest of the island. That being said, our building, North Pointe, had to be rebuilt from the foundation up!
There are only a couple of damaged homes left (ones not insured).
I would suggest looking at www.caymanvillas.com or www.caymanvacation.com
I love the beach at the Sea Lodges of Cayman Kai. Great walk from there down to Rum Point.

A number of years back, a large cruise ship geared toward gay travelers on holiday was refused entry to the Cayman Islands. Bigotry is a turn-off! I will not put one cent into their economy unless/until they change their ways.

bosoco,
I've been posting on the CAG board since shortly after it's formation. I am always in trouble with Joe, and have just learned that I can no longer pm anyone there. (I'm NorthSideSue there) That board is totally advertiser driven.

Experttripplanner... please keep up to date... what you say is indeed true, and was not a proud moment in Cayman history.

However, another similar ship called on Cayman last year and was warmly received.

This I just googled :

An all-gay cruise visited the Cayman Islands on Tuesday, the first such port of call there since the Cayman government denied docking rights to a Norwegian Cruise Line ship filled with gay tourists in 1998.

Government officials of this tourist-dependent British colony in the Caribbean expressed their desire to put the 8-year-old incident behind them as they welcomed nearly 2,500 gay and lesbian passengers on a tour organised by Atlantis Events.

Approximately 1,000 guests participated in organised tours throughout the island, while another 1,400 explored the island on their own.

Tuesday's docking was significant for its lack of incident, according to Atlantis.

Although the decision to allow the ship to dock received extensive local press coverage and threats of boycotts, organised protests failed to materialise, according to Atlantis.

"A handful of protesters carrying signs were far outnumbered by supporters," an Atlantis spokesman said.

"We're thrilled that we have been able to put the incident that took place in 1998 in the past," said Rich Campbell, Atlantis chief executive officer.

"Atlantis' guests visited the Cayman Islands as tourists, just as any other visitors would."

Although Atlantis doesn't have any more stops planned for the Cayman Islands, the success of this week's event may make such ports of call a possibility in the future, the spokesman said.

Kath - Check out the Reef Resort on the east end. Beautiful beach, excellent snorkeling, beach bar, nice pools, etc. all on the quiet and peaceful east end. The rooms/condo's are very nice. The Reef Resort was one of the first resorts on the island to open post-Ivan. No signs of any hurricane damage remain, we've been there every winter since Ivan.

Thanks for information from the "press release," TomCayman. One baby step in a positive direction, but not enough, yet, for me to feel safe from the threat of bigotry or violence. I'll stay tuned...

bosoco, I too post to CAG and not on Joe's good side. I also have been posting on the CAG board since shortly after its formation (117 to register). Most of my post go in "Beyond the Guide" because they are not about CAG advertisers. He has deleted some of my post and warned me that I was about to get a "time out".

Kath - YES, check out The Reef Resort.

Thanks for the follow up guys. I'll look at those. I've been looking at VRBO too - any opinions about Kaibo Yacht Club or Webster House at Cayman Kai? Those look nice - pricey though.

Cayman Sue - Thanks for the links, I'm checking those out next. Also, thanks for all the great Cayman advice you give on this board.

The Reef Resort gets very good reviews on trip advisor. But I think we are looking for something with a little more privacy than what I'm reading there. Guess we are leaning more towards renting a condo or a small house than a true "resort".

We like the Sea Lodges at Cayman Kai. Not the thing for everyone but perfect for us.

Check out http://www.caymanhaven.com/#reservations and
http://www.sealodgical.com/