George Town, Grand Cayman diving opportunities

[2airishuman]

We're now booked on a NCL trip next March that has a stop in George Town, 8:00-4:00. I'll be with non-diving family though some like snorkeling. Ordinarily I dive solo, and I like shore dives.

Looking at maps, web sites, and reviews, it seems like I ought to be able to bring my gear, step off the tenders, and walk in to any of several dive shops for weights and a tank, then across the street and into the water next to a reef.

Will this work? Should I do any planning beyond this very basic approach?

 

[diversteve]

It could be a lot more complicated by then. Cayman decided to build a cruise dock in the same general area in 2015. It seems like it's going slow, (design? lawsuits?) but there has been talk of dredging in that area which may smother the coral etc. at Eden Rock and probably Devils Grotto to the south. cruise dock facility : Cayman News Service

So I wouldn't assume anything and make some calls about a month b4 you sail.

The other thing to consider is that all the shops belong to CITA who sets the rules for diving there. I'm not positive for shore dives but at least on the boats I've been on Buddy diving is the rule. I do know if you dive somewhere not marked as a "diving area" you need a flag. Safe Diving Standards | Cayman Diving, Dive Caribbean | Dive Cayman

If you are going to try to dive around the Georgetown area - here's some places to check with:
Eden Rock Dive
Don Fosters (I think they shuttle cruise pax) at Casuarina Point
Sunset House (by cab) - the Dive Resort.

Off the Wall, Wall to Wall, Deep Blue - all at Lobster Pot walking distance north. From what I've read they shouldn't be affected by the cruise dock construction - they're on Cheeseburger Reef.

Honestly though the best shore dives are 30-40 mins. north in the NW point area because they have access to the North Wall.
Those places are Turtle Reef (Sundivers), Cobalt Coast (Reef Divers) or Lighthouse Point (Divetech) Turtle Reef was our favorite shore dive. All have food/facilities also. And start shallow if you have any snorkelers with you .

Eden Rock later that week was very disappointing. The coral is broken off, lots of junk (concrete, old tires, etc.) in a few sandy spots and the reef was clusters in some areas and ended just about 60' or so - there was a big sand flat but with jetskier's overhead and a cruise ship moored further out, we didn't want to chance it. It is kind of shallow - some of the coral clusters rise to within 15' or so of the surface so OK for snorkelers. As is Sunset House, they have a lot of shallow reef there to the north - and a salt water pool for easy entrance (walk down the steps).

I've heard Devils Grotto is even more barren due to less light from the overheads. And only really good when the Silversides are there in summer. We chose not to go that way so IDK. Although we probably should have in restrospect as it was July.

Site descriptions/videos are here: Best Dive Sites Grand Cayman - iDive

hth,

 

[DEEPLOU]

Don't waste your time with a beach dive in GC. The walls and Kittywake are the places to dive.
Off the Wall was mentioned, I have used them whenever I am in GC and they can accommodate me.

 

[Bubbles below]

I just did a cruise in November with Carnival. We did use the cruise line operator, Cayman Diving. They gather us up at the near the end of the dick and we had to walk to their shop which is 5-10 mins walk. I used a roller bag for my gear! We did a wall dive and Kittawake Wreck dive and both dives I got 50-55 mins. Our ship dock at 8am and we hit the water at 9:30am. After everyone got their rental gear! We return to dock at 12:30pm. If the operator knows you're comfortable in the water he let you first in the water and last out. After our boat dives, we did a shore dive in front off their shop. Our shore dives at 1:30pm 35/29ft for 60mins to the Wreck of Cali was good. We saw two big tarpons and two southern sting rays! It cost us $15. We rinsed our gear before heading to the tender line. Supposedly, our last tender was at 3:15pm and we got to the line at 3pm. The line was long and our ship didn't really leave port until 4:30pm. We got 3 awesome dives in Grand Cayman! We dive Nitrox if it's available and pay extra. We didn't use Nitrox for the shore dives since it was a shallower dive and we knew we weren't doing a dive longer than 60mins.

In Cozumel, we arrived at 10am and our excursion was at 1:30pm with Sand Dollars. We opt to shop and I did a fish pedicure while some just sat on the beach chair near the cruise dock. We went back to the ship at 12pm and had a leisurely lunch before meeting the Sand Dollar excursion people. Make sure you talk to your fellow divers so you can be group with like experiences. I usually like to be in group A. Usually, group B gets to the boat first at 35-40mins while group A gets 50mins. Our site was Tormentos Reef 60/50ft used Nitrox and Paradise Reef was 45/35ft. A spotted Eagle Ray came to join our dives at the end!
Next time, I'm going to email the cruise operator if we can met them at the shop instead of the dock so we can do a shore dive near their shop before going on the boat dives. Have fun!
Jamaica we did 2 boat dives with Kelly's at Montego Bay. We didn't really see anything exciting. They let us do 2 drift dives: Caverns to Spanish Anchor 85/45ft and Sand Chute to Seawinds 70/35ft. Both dives were 50-60mins and we had time to just chilled at the resorts. Bring snacks/lunch since Kelly's is located in an all inclusive resort before heading to the cruise in a Taxi which cost $20 each way!

 

[tursiops]

We're now booked on a NCL trip next March that has a stop in George Town, 8:00-4:00. I'll be with non-diving family though some like snorkeling. Ordinarily I dive solo, and I like shore dives.

Looking at maps, web sites, and reviews, it seems like I ought to be able to bring my gear, step off the tenders, and walk in to any of several dive shops for weights and a tank, then across the street and into the water next to a reef.

Will this work? Should I do any planning beyond this very basic approach?

Nah, your plan is fine. Just ignore all the input and do what you want. Then come back on here and complain about how crappy the diving and service is in GC.

 

[Altamira]

Dove with Lobster Pot last week and was very happy with their dive op and the dives. As others have said, they are about a 7 minute walk North of the cruise terminal, and between them and the two other dive ops that work from the same shop, one of them should be able to accommodate your needs. If you have not cruised to GC before, make sure you get in line very early for the tenders taking you to shore. Some of the tenders can take 200-300 people, but they take a pretty long time to board and disembark. Also, try to stay close to the loading platform if you have a choice to reduce the time it takes to get off the tender (of course everybody else is trying to do that too).

 

[2airishuman]

Nah, your plan is fine. Just ignore all the input and do what you want. Then come back on here and complain about how crappy the diving and service is in GC.

I'll never be part of the inner circle on SB because I'm not very good at that sort of thing.

Based in part on the advice upthread, and a lot of asking around, I got in touch with Off The Wall Divers and was very pleased that they could accommodate my group by scheduling a boat that will fit our shore window. They're taking me and two non-divers who are traveling with me and who would like to snorkel. We'll be out for a reef dive then a wall dive.

 

[tursiops]

I'll never be part of the inner circle on SB because I'm not very good at that sort of thing.

Based in part on the advice upthread, and a lot of asking around, I got in touch with Off The Wall Divers and was very pleased that they could accommodate my group by scheduling a boat that will fit our shore window. They're taking me and two non-divers who are traveling with me and who would like to snorkel. We'll be out for a reef dive then a wall dive.

Well done.

 

[2airishuman]

Recently returned from this trip. Off The Wall did everything right. I had two great dives. The snorkelers who accompanied me stayed on the boat because of rough seas.

Off The Wall Divers has recently purchased a second boat. They share dock space and shop space with Lobster Pot, also mentioned upthread.

 

[Knockout Diver]

My wife and my favorite dive spot is Lighthouse Point by DiveTech. Awesome shore diving facility with affordable good gear if you need to rent. It has a shallow entry to refresh your skills, a ladder entry and a platform entry. From my cruising diving experience, take your regs, masks, and computers and rent everything else. They have a great place to setup your gear. The reef is right there, goes from 30-60 feet with a mini wall that is awesome then you can do a long swim out and go from 100 feet plus to the deep wall. The cab ride is $32 each way for up to 4 people, ask for lighthouse point DiveTech by the turtle farm. Ask the driver to pick you up 1.5 hours or whatever you're comfortable with before time to get back on the ship. I made this trip 3 weeks ago, in four hours I got 4 dives in and had a great time. I rented all my gear this time. 4 dives and gear $83. Plus the cab and tip. Hope this helps.