Trip Report - Little Cayman Beach Resort

[DeputyDan]

My daughter and I visited Little Cayman Beach Resort and dove with their dive operation the last week of September 2016.

We have heard from may different people that this is their favorite dive destination/resort in the Caribbean.
We have also heard many horror stories regarding Cayman Air.

The restaurant opens for breakfast at 7:00 am. The dive masters want you at the boat at around 7:50 am for an 8:00 am departure. The first dive will have a 110 foot max depth with a 50 minute dive time. The second and third dives of the day will be 60 foot max depth with a 60 minute dive time. All the dives will be on the Bloody Bay side of the island if the weather allows it. The planned surface interval between dive one and dive two is 40 minutes. You do not have to follow the dm that is in the water. The dive boats were Newton 46's. I don't remember exactly but I think there were approximately 16 divers on our boat for the morning dives. Most divers did not dive the third dive so the would combine groups to fill a boat for the afternoons. Our afternoon trips varied from 10 to 16 divers.

After dive two, the boat returns to the resort, where you have lunch and then you can either hang out or scurry around for dry clothes, nitrox tank analysis, lunch and be back to the boat to go out again. I would recommend they add an additional 1/2 hour here. I always felt rushed even though there was enough time.

The dive masters pretty well take care of everything for you - thus valet diving. This service didn't do much for me - but my 5' 105 lb daughter loved it. No dragging gear - no carrying tanks - you do have to carry your mask and fins. The set up was ideal for divers with physical limitations (for whatever reason).

The meals at the restaurant were very good. Of the three meals a day for seven days there was only one lunch that didn't do much for me.

We did not have any issues with Cayman Air but I can certainly see where you could. Out flight to Little Cayman was about an hour late and it was getting close to dark and with no lights they don't fly there after dark. None of the air line employees seemed to give a big hairy rat's ass about anything. If there was a way to avoid Cayman Air I would.

We did not go to the bar even for the free rum punch. My understanding is that the drinks there are very expensive but during our trip the mosquitos were really really really really bad. We did not venture out except from the dining room to our room once the sun started to set. Mosquitos were so bad that the resort provided repellent at the gear room and the nitrox tank stations for guest use.

My daughter would go back in a heart beat. She enjoyed the valet diving and thought the extra cost was worth it.

I probably would not go back. The price was really high for three dives a day (around $2,050 each for the week for the three dive package and an ocean front room). This coupled with the uncertainty of Cayman Air leads me to my conclusion.

I will be attending the Scubaboard event on Brac in January, 2017. I have never been there either and thought that I might as well check them both out.

DD

 

[KathyV]

I have had both very good and really annoying experiences with Cayman Air, but that is true about most airlines. I am an "equal-opportunity airline hater" and I don't much like any of them, but there are usually not many alternatives when you are trying to get someplace.

What have you heard that was so bad about CA? I think my worst experience was making me stop on Cayman Brac on a trip home from Little Cayman, to deplane and then claim and recheck bags, and reboard another plane to GCM where I had to do it all again - adding unnecessary time and inconvenience. Quite annoying but I can top that with stories about Delta, United, American, and many more.

And I have had some very interesting experiences on small inter-island airlines in the past, CA looks like a dream in comparison to some of them. At least CA never made me pick out "the one bag that should arrive on time!" I've never thought of CA as especially uncertain, just a pain in the neck like most other airlines. Although the flights to and from LC can book up fast because it is such a popular destination.

Thank you for the excellent report but you didn't talk about the diving. What did you think about the reefs and the fish life and how do you think LC compares to some other Caribbean dive locations you have visited?

The Caymans are expensive, I don't think anyone would deny that, and Little Cayman is more expensive than Brac because the BBW is so popular. It's true that $2050 for 17 dives ($120 per dive) does seem pricey, but keep in mind that the price included your clean, ocean-front accommodations, and all of your (very tasty) meals, and the valet diving services - which are not appreciated by everybody but some of us really like that. Plus the price included all taxes, airport transfers, hotel service charges, and that yummy "free rum punch" that you skipped! We got a pool view at LCBR room last year and it saved a little money and it was still very nice.

Sometimes a resort looks very economical until you read the fine print, like on Roatan where all the resorts add 19% tax to the base price. And some places add resort fees and/or charges for the use of electricity, or WiFi, or a bucket of ice, at least at LCBR you know what you are paying in advance, you don't have to worry about all the "extras" except for the dive op tips. Other hidden costs we have encountered in some destinations are the need to drink bottled water, and even the need for vaccines and preventative medications prior, during, and after travel.

And we can usually find fairly reasonable airfare to the Caymans, where air travel to other Caribbean destinations can sometimes be complicated and expensive. So it all seems to work out IMO.

But if you want to do a lot of diving in the Caymans, there are other options that may be a better choice for you. The Aggressor liveaboard will provide the largest number of dives as long as the weather cooperates, and there are some resorts that offer 4 dives a day, like Compass Point on the East End, and there are places on GC like Sunset House and Cobalt Coast that include unlimited shore dives in their packages.

But getting back to your trip report, I was quite disturbed by your information about the mosquito problem. We were on Grand Cayman and LC last fall and there were mosquitoes but they weren't too bad. Of course they were the worst at dusk but we still spent plenty of time at the bar without big problems. We will be on Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac soon and I am not happy to hear that news.

Another suggestion, my husband and I each took a bottle of liquor with us and bought mixers and made most of our own drinks because the bar bill can add up quickly - but that is true at many places. But there are other fun activities going on around the bar in the evening that adds to the trip enjoyment, including Trivia Night which brings out the guests, staff, locals, and even the marine research scientists. We also enjoyed the opportunity to meet other divers and have good conversations.

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences, I hope you have a good time on Brac and I look forward to reading your report.

 

[drrich2]

Glad to see what looks to be an even-handed, critical but objective review from a relatively neutral perspective. Especially when you pointed out that some things, like having a tank hauled around for you, are a big deal to some people and not to others.

Mosquitos seem to 'like' some people better than others. Any idea if most everyone was as harassed by them as you guys were? Kudos to the resort for putting out repellant for customers to use, instead of just trying to sell it to you.

Richard.

 

[Doctorfish]

When you add up condo cost, food, car rental and day diving costs to stay on Grand Cayman, LCBR works out more or less the same amount for what arguably is better diving.
If you are comparing value for money, shore diving at any of the sites on GC does not compare to the dramatic drop offs out on the wall, so just counting dive numbers is not totally valid.

.


I've never found lunch rushed at LCBR. The trick is to check and label one extra nitrox tank on day one so that you never have to go to the tank station at noon.