Continued from above....And now for our Cayman Air story - finally!
We had booked a CA Otter flight to LCM when we made our reservations months ago, but a month before departure I received notice that they had made a slight change to our departure time from GC and I accepted the change. The day before we were to leave GC and travel to LC I tried to check in online and print our boarding passes - but I couldn't do it. I kept getting error messages that there was a "STOP on our tickets". I called CA and waited on hold forever and was finally told that the stop was because we had made a change to our flight time. I explained that we hadn't made the change - CA made it and I accepted it - but I couldn't get any resolution, so we decided to go to the airport early the next day to try and get it worked out.
The next day when we checked in, the ticket attendant had problems processing our tickets, she kept getting that STOP. Finally she asked "did you change your flight times?" I told her "No, Cayman Air changed our flight times a month ago and I accepted it!" She just said "Oh, I see!" and she overrode the error and checked us in.
We eventually made it to LC that day, but there were delays and we got there late - and the airline is very poor about communications. We sat in the departure lounge in front of the CA gates but couldn't get any information from the agents. They were focused on earlier delayed flights and wouldn't talk to us. Or they told us untrue stories - like the plane would arrive in 15 minutes - when we later learned that it hadn't even left LC yet! Eventually the plane arrived and we had a nice short flight over to LC.
Just a few words about the LCM airport. It is really small and there are no lights so the planes can only fly during daylight - and it cannot accommodate any planes larger than the Twin Otters - which adds to the worry about delays. Also, you are only allowed a total of 55 lbs. of luggage per person on the Cayman Air Twin Otter planes - and they may charge a fee per pound for over weight. When we were coming back from LC there was a guy with a lot of camera equipment and he paid $93 for overweight luggage. But they don't always charge for overweight - it may only happen when the plane is full.
And you might not be allowed to have carry-ons on the small Twin Otter planes - again if the plane is full. So backpacks and other small bags that you would normally carry-on a larger plane would have to be checked (and they might be included in the calculation of your 55 pound limit.) If you have a large purse or tote bag (or maybe a small backpack) that can be stashed under the seat in front of you - then you may be able to carry it on the plane.
If you are going to Cayman Brac, the airport is larger and can accommodate turboprops and jets and later flights - so you have a better chance of getting all your bags on Brac - at least that has been my experience.
On the day that we arrived on LC, one of our bags didn't get there until late afternoon on the following day, and several other people on our flight also had to wait a day for bags, too. Luckily our dive equipment arrived but most of our clothing did not. But I am familiar with the nuances of traveling to the Cayman sister islands, so I had stashed swimsuits, sea skins, a change of underwear, contact lenses, and our dive computers and C-Cards in my purse and we were fine. Some folks didn't receive their dive gear the first day, but the Reef Divers shop at Little Cayman Beach Resort provided free loaners until their equipment arrived.
For our return flights from LCM to GCM (and then on to ORD via UA) I was able to check in online in advance and print boarding passes so that was good, but we still had a snafu when we arrived at the LCM airport. Cayman Air lets each traveler from LC or CB pack a bag and send it to GCM a day in advance and we had taken advantage of that nice option - and we each sent a bag over the day before we left - or so we thought.
Normally, they give you the baggage claim tickets when you check in at LCM and you pick up your advance bags in the luggage terminal at GCM and then check all your bags in for your flight home. But apparently they had had a "mechanical problem" the night before and our advance bags never made it back to GCM, they were still sitting in the airport at LCM on the morning of our departure. We were afraid that only half of our luggage would make it home to Chicago on time because the Otter planes are so small, but miraculously when we arrived at ORD, all of our bags showed up, so that was good!
Another tip, when you fly back to GCM from Brac or Little, don't let the airport staff force you into the incoming immigration and customs lines with people that are just arriving in the country - you already went through I&C when you first arrived. Go to the lines for "Caymanians" or "Returning Residents" and tell the agent that you are doing inter-island travel and you just flew in from Little (or Brac) and they will waive you through to the luggage terminal so you can get your bags and check in for the flight home.
One more comment (non-air) about our LC trip. We rented a car for one day to drive around the island. The car rental agency is McLaughlin's and they are in the same small strip mall in Blossom Village as the grocery and liquor stores and the gas station. Check your credit card insurance and auto insurance before you travel to find out what is covered - because they will only sell collision and damage insurance (unless you waive it) but they do not sell any type of liability insurance.
That has not been my experience on other Cayman islands, but on LC we were told that they do not sell any liability insurance with rental cars. There's very little traffic on the island so the chances of an accident are low - but you will be driving on the left, so you might want to look into options for rental car insurance before you travel.
Also, bring you drivers license with you and they will sell you a temporary drivers permit that is good for a month on all 3 Cayman islands. We had rented a car on GC and the permit was still good when renting a car on LC.
Let me know if you have any questions, you may encounter some bumps on trips to the Cayman sister islands of Brac and Little - but it's worth it IMO - the diving is wonderful and the islands are lovely!
