GCM Airport upgrades

[BDSC]

We used it a couple of weeks ago. We were able to skip the long lines, and it took about 20 minutes from the time we got off the plane to when we were out on the street. It would have been even quicker, but we travel with our dog and he had to go through the dept of agriculture inspection process. It is well worth it if you will be landing at a busy time (and you are traveling with small children or a crazy dog). On the other hand, we have had three different sets of visitors since we've been down this winter (and that's another story...) and all got through the immigration and customs process in less than 30 minutes without meet and greet. So you may get lucky without it.

Since we are arriving on Friday I suspect we may not need it as much. But we have an additional 31 folks arriving on Saturday. I will definitely send them the link and they can decide.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Damselfish]

When planning Cayman trips I try to avoid Saturday arrivals and departures. Especially if traveling to Little Cayman - while IIRC there's extra flights Saturdays, getting seats still seems to be easier on other days.

 

[Doctorfish]

The airport upgrades are very nice and having better departure lounge space is welcome, but, the problem seems to be the bottleneck at Immigration. Unless more skilled agents are hired and trained as well as the system upgraded to scan in passports, we will still be waiting in line for an inordinate duration.

I love Cayman but hate the airport both coming and going.

 

[mi000ke]

The airport upgrades are very nice and having better departure lounge space is welcome, but, the problem seems to be the bottleneck at Immigration. Unless more skilled agents are hired and trained as well as the system upgraded to scan in passports, we will still be waiting in line for an inordinate duration.

I love Cayman but hate the airport both coming and going.

According to the local news, the issue is not staffing (as it usually is), so it is not clear what the problem is. They blame it on a lot of little things going wrong - whatever that means. Our several visitors over the past week have had no problems getting through immigration quickly, so it is not always a problem, but the system seems to break down when several planes land about the same time. The airport claims to be working hard to solve the problem.

Plea for patience over airport lines | Cayman Compass

 

[Diver Dave1]

Just back from there. Arrived on a Friday aftn and the airport was nearly empty. Waited maybe 5 minutes for passport control and luggage was there when we got to it. The pre-flight seating area was nearly empty.

The connection to Little Cayman was easy but you could not understand the man announcing flights. Ours was at different gate than on the ticket, the monitors above the gate never listed our flight. Had I not constantly asked the man what he had said with each announcement, we would have missed our flight to Little Cayman. I imagine I irritated people asking about the announcements but the distortion of the PA system was terrible. Everyone was asking over and over.

Left Grand Cayman on a Saturday. Will never do that again. Every seat in the pre-flight area was taken, us taking what seemed to be some of the last ones, 3 hours before flights starting leaving. People standing everywhere. Long line to buy food/water/drinks, etc. Loud, sometimes crying little ones with no reasonable way to distract them.

Strongly recommend non-Saturday arrival/departure. Cannot speak about Sunday as we were not there for it.

 

[KathyV]

Just a reminder about a nice service that may make your GCM experience more pleasant.

The George Town Yacht Club at the Barcadere Marina offers a free shuttle from the airport to the Yacht Club Restaurant only 2 or 3 minutes from the airport. We used this option twice during our recent vacation to Grand Cayman and Little Cayman.

We shuttled to the GTYC after checking in before our flight to Little Cayman and also during our trip home after returning from Little Cayman and checking in for our flight to Chicago. It's a much nicer experience than hanging around the airport, especially during the construction. Good food, beautiful ambience, and friendly service.

We check in, check our bags, and walk outside to board the gray GTYC van. The driver takes you to the restaurant and they have space to store your carry-on bags. Enjoy good food and drinks in a beautiful setting and then take the shuttle back to the airport and go through security to access the awful departure lounge. There can be long lines for security on weekends so don't cut it too close. The van will be waiting to take you back at the time you specify.

The restaurant at the GTYC is owned and operated by the same people that own Macabuca and the Cracked Conch and I think that the conch is even better at GTYC - especially with their special tartar sauce.

I know that this service is available on Saturday and Sunday, I don't know about other days and times but you could enquire.

They open early on Saturday and Sunday and serve breakfast until 11 am for early travelers. We got there around 10:15 am Saturday during our trip home, but we had already eaten an early breakfast at the Little Cayman Beach Resort and we wouldn't eat again until late afternoon after arriving in Chicago; so they graciously agreed to make their famous cracked conch for us - the appetizer portion is the perfect size and it's delicious!

See this link: Home

 

[Doctorfish]

The delay coming in to GC is not an airport problem, it is an immigration problem. Until the government increases the number of officers and provides them with a faster way of entering data, we will all continue to wait. For a country that depends so heavily on tourism, it is shortsighted to have such poor facilities for travelers arriving both by air and ship.

Saturday and Sunday arrivals are a PITA and having a paid Meet and Greet service is not the solution.

 

[mi000ke]

The delay coming in to GC is not an airport problem, it is an immigration problem. Until the government increases the number of officers and provides them with a faster way of entering data, we will all continue to wait. .

And yet according to the local paper, they recently had 11 of 12 immigration stations working (way more than we have ever had) yet still had long lines due to the number of planes landing at the same time. They need to work the landing schedules better. As @kcmayes1 mentioned, and as our recent visitors have experienced, there are times when you can get through very quickly. Hopefully the new airport will have room for more immigration stations for those peak time until they can smooth out the landing schedules. At least one airline mentioned they were trying to work with Cayman Airport Authority on this issue.

 

[KathyV]

The delay coming in to GC is not an airport problem, it is an immigration problem. Until the government increases the number of officers and provides them with a faster way of entering data, we will all continue to wait. For a country that depends so heavily on tourism, it is shortsighted to have such poor facilities for travelers arriving both by air and ship. Saturday and Sunday arrivals are a PITA and having a paid Meet and Greet service is not the solution.

And yet according to the local paper, they recently had 11 of 12 immigration stations working (way more than we have ever had) yet still had long lines due to the number of planes landing at the same time. They need to work the landing schedules better. As @kcmayes1 mentioned, and as our recent visitors have experienced, there are times when you can get through very quickly. Hopefully the new airport will have room for more immigration stations for those peak time until they can smooth out the landing schedules. At least one airline mentioned they were trying to work with Cayman Airport Authority on this issue.

The airport continues to estimate record numbers of new arrivals along with delays during the construction, but they are trying to provide covered areas for waiting, and other amenities to make things move faster and easier for the individuals waiting in long lines.

Apparently they had 2900 new arrivals last Saturday as compared to 1600 the previous Saturday! They say that they are not receiving more flights but that all the flights are packed.

Airport seeks improvement, but warns queues ‘inevitable’ | Cayman Compass

 

[scubadada]

My last pass through Grand Cayman in October was Monday-Monday to Brac. Made all the difference in the world, I barely recognized the (old) airport. I went straight through immigration, picked up my bag and passed through customs, checked in for my Cayman Airways flight, went through security, and had my choice of seats in the departure lounge next to an outlet. This all took about a half hour or less. All I had to do was wait for my flight to the Brac, it was on time

Don't get me wrong, I'm also glad the upgrades are finally coming to fruition