11Midge11

The Seven Mile Beach Break w/ Transport , 10 a.m.- 1:30
This is the description & sounds like a very short visit .
"Be met and transported – by your guide -- to Grand Cayman's newest beach, Sea Grape Beach Enjoy welcome drink , lounge chair. Walk the beach, go for a swim, bask in the sun, or sample the food and drinks at the nearby beach bar and grill.Board your bus for transportation back to your ship.
Note: Water sports rentals available on site. Food and drinks are available at the guest’s expense.
QUESTION PLEASE: How do we do a longer similar day trip to be back at ship probably by 3:30. How is the snorkelling there ? Want to swim, lounge and easy snorkelling. 4 adults &3 adult kids (23 &,26) THKS MUCH

TurtleTagger

What time does your ship depart? Be advised, Grand Cayman is a tender port so you need to factor in the tender to ship time. You can take the public bus (really a mini van) to anywhere along Seven Mile Beach. A beautiful spot with decent snorkeling is the Cemetery Beach section of SMB, about 1 mile farther than Sea Grape. Only downside is there are no amenities or facilities on-site.

11Midge11

Departure time is 4PM. Will need some amenities and for some of the group to rent gear. We're not big fans of 'groups' but they do take the guesswork out. Thk you so much for helping on this.

tejana

I would recommend against it. Just take a cab to Seven Mile Beach -- it is a short cab ride and there is NEVER a shortage of cabs to get you back to the boat on time. You will have a better time on your own.

KVR

How much are they charging for this "tour"? How many ships will be in port at the same time as you? Sea Grape beach is a cruise ship passenger dump off point so it will be very crowded especially if there are several ships in port at the same time.

No need to pay for this as a shore excursion. Just take a cab or mini van to/from the beach and just pay for the fare.

Also, check cruisecritic.com in the ports of call section and read about other places on 7 Mile Beach for cruise shippers that might not be so crowded.

Kristen1206

I agree..don't waste your money on a cruise ship excursion. Overpriced and crowded.

11Midge11

You are all so nice to reply! There are five cruise ships arriving between 7 and 9am. Our is a 7am with ship departure at 4. It is $25PP. Some in the group want to jet ski & i'm sure there will be no shortage of rentals available1 Will check out CruiseCritic to try and find something less crowded. We understand we are 'the tourists' and yu don't see the realness of the island, but your advice will affect the trip more towards our liking. You are all terrific . Welcome any comments. If anyone needs any help on visiting MAINE, ask away!

tejana

If it is your first time to Cayman, I think that hanging out and playing on Seven Mile Beach is a good plan. It is one of the most famous beaches in the Caribbean, and when you get back from the cruise, someone will ask you what you thought about SMB. On top of the fact that it is incredibly easy to do on your own (just grab a cab at the dock), I think you will get an least a slightly more authentic experience if you don't get grouped in with a cruise ship tour (meaning you will at least meet people vacationing who are NOT on your boat!).

KVR

One of the highlights of Grand Cayman is swimming with the Sting Rays and snorkeling the great reefs.

On our cruise we did a ship sponsored excursion in which we went on aqua boats to the ship wreck of Cali and snorkeled. We were on Princess. There was only 4 couples on the tour. We have previously been on a land vacation in Grand Cayman and have done all the highlights. We also enjoyed the full day Island tour and got a nice over view of the Island.

11Midge11

Thank you all again. With your help, at this point we're going to grab a cab; ask the driver to take us to SMB to a less crowded (relatively speaking!) area on the beach with easy access to rent snorkel gear and jet skis. As we are dropped off at 7am (hello!?) we should have a beautiful nice long day.
If i drop off this page it is because i messed up on my password. once i close this page i may have to re-register. Thks for your 'favorites' as we are a party of 7 including three young adults, 23 & 27 andwill be dividing up as well. Welcome further comments. thx again.

sfreelancer65

Swimming with the stingrays at Stingray City was the absolute highlight of our 6 day stay in the Caymen Islands. We went via a catamaran (see site below.) The site discusses being atuned to the cruiseliners time frames for shore excursions. It's an experience to remember!

http://grandcaymancruiseexcursions.c...tyCharters.htm