It seems to me that I don't see as many posts and trip reports for diving GC. I thought once it re-opened there would be more. Is it just me? What do others sense or think? I'm still interested in returning for a dive trip but Bonaire and Cur have edged out a GC trip this year and probably next.
Have SB divers lost interest in GC?
- Thread starter tkaelin
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I was wondering the same thing. My wife and I just got back from 2 great weeks in Bonaire. We are thinking of another shorter, week trip before the end of the year and Grand Cayman is on the list. I'm particularly interested in how Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease has affected the diving, with it being present nearly everywhere around the island. Are there site closures, haven't read about it since the temporary closures on the North Wall at the end of 2020? We are thinking of staying at Cobalt Coast or Compass Point, both places we have stayed at before, but not for some time. We have also been to Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, but are hoping to skip the extra travel for this short trip.
@mi000ke ?
@mi000ke ?
Damselfish
Contributor
Perhaps the length of time it took Cayman to open up compared to some others, and the constant jerking around on that - right or wrong - caused them to lose some mindshare? I think it did for me at least and I started thinking more about other places. Also our last trip there, pre-Covid and SCTLD, was disappointing. Maybe we got unlucky but seemed drab and very lacking in fish and critters, and that was East End diving.
We haven't been to Little in a while, and have thought about that, but I am put off by the whole Sat-Sat thing at LCBR. Maybe we need to try Southern Cross.
We haven't been to Little in a while, and have thought about that, but I am put off by the whole Sat-Sat thing at LCBR. Maybe we need to try Southern Cross.
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
Where's the advertising? Why aren't they drumming up business? If you aren't getting divers then look at what you're not doing. We're cheap as hell to advertise on, yet nothing.
AggieDiver
Contributor
FWIW, the LCBR folks will budge on that Sat-Sat thing if you tell them you are having trouble getting Saturday flights to work with your desired dates. As long as they have capacity, they will let you skew it if the later flights on saturdays going to LC are already booked.
We are supposed to be flying into LC this coming saturday, but this is supposed to arrive on Mon-Tues, so we are probably going to wait until Thurs or Fri and then postpone the trip if the models continue to show a near direct strike by a not insignificant storm.
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Tell it to Clearly Cayman Pete, doesn't SB have some marketeers? That could be generalized to many dive resorts... Maybe SB should make the first move, let them know what we have here. Maybe a modest SB discount?
Damselfish
Contributor
Yeah, hard to get Sat flights on my desired day - since my desired day is "anything but Saturday" for a multitude of reasons.
drrich2
Contributor
Interesting topic. I got in 2 dives on a cruise stop at GC many years ago, later did a Cayman Aggressor IV trip with 5 dives at GC, 18 at LC and 2 at CB (both at the Keith Tibbetts wreck). Here's how considering a Grand Cayman trip looks to me.
1.) If I want the reputed 'best scuba diving in the Caribbean,' Little Cayman gets the nod by reputation, with Cayman Brac a very close 2nd but averaging deeper dives. If I'm going alone, it'd make sense to hit one of those, maybe CB because I don't have much experience with it. I hear GC's east end diving with Ocean Frontiers is also very good, but it's well away from Georgetown, so if I'm going rustic for great diving...why not just hit LC or CB?
2.) Cayman Brac has shore diving, an edge over LC, but traveling alone I doubt I'd be adventurous enough to explore and take advantage of it, as it seems like a 'road less traveled' thing.
3.) Grand Cayman looks good for a 'scuba diving trip disguised as a family vacation' (wife's term), in that I could do a couple of boat dives in the morning, then spend time with family. As a cruise port, it's got topside excursions. But GC has a rep. for being expensive.
4.) A key resentment I have toward GC is it seems that, despite there being no law against it, most dive op.s prohibit solo diving. A key way to get around total trip cost while racking up dives would be to do solo shore dives to supplement the expensive boat diving, but that's not an option. Some people may come back with the sentiment 'It's their island.' Yeah, and it's my money and choice.
5.) I've got some GC dives, so it's not something I need to cross off the bucket list.
6.) If I did a family trip, Cobalt Coast is too expensive. With the kid, I'd probably be looking at Comfort Suites or Sunshine Suites, as at least in the past they seemed to be the value/budget leaders on 7 Mile Beach from the reports I saw. I'd also consider a condo., if it had good access to shore diving.
In a nutshell, Grand Cayman looks like a good option for a family trip, but pricy, bizarrely opposed to solo diving which I'd need to take advantage of the shore diving that's one of its advantages, and the diving is overshadowed by LC and CB.
Curacao has some similar 'selling points,' and has grudgingly gotten a little more solo diving friendly in places.
So I'm interested but not 'sold' as yet.
1.) If I want the reputed 'best scuba diving in the Caribbean,' Little Cayman gets the nod by reputation, with Cayman Brac a very close 2nd but averaging deeper dives. If I'm going alone, it'd make sense to hit one of those, maybe CB because I don't have much experience with it. I hear GC's east end diving with Ocean Frontiers is also very good, but it's well away from Georgetown, so if I'm going rustic for great diving...why not just hit LC or CB?
2.) Cayman Brac has shore diving, an edge over LC, but traveling alone I doubt I'd be adventurous enough to explore and take advantage of it, as it seems like a 'road less traveled' thing.
3.) Grand Cayman looks good for a 'scuba diving trip disguised as a family vacation' (wife's term), in that I could do a couple of boat dives in the morning, then spend time with family. As a cruise port, it's got topside excursions. But GC has a rep. for being expensive.
4.) A key resentment I have toward GC is it seems that, despite there being no law against it, most dive op.s prohibit solo diving. A key way to get around total trip cost while racking up dives would be to do solo shore dives to supplement the expensive boat diving, but that's not an option. Some people may come back with the sentiment 'It's their island.' Yeah, and it's my money and choice.
5.) I've got some GC dives, so it's not something I need to cross off the bucket list.
6.) If I did a family trip, Cobalt Coast is too expensive. With the kid, I'd probably be looking at Comfort Suites or Sunshine Suites, as at least in the past they seemed to be the value/budget leaders on 7 Mile Beach from the reports I saw. I'd also consider a condo., if it had good access to shore diving.
In a nutshell, Grand Cayman looks like a good option for a family trip, but pricy, bizarrely opposed to solo diving which I'd need to take advantage of the shore diving that's one of its advantages, and the diving is overshadowed by LC and CB.
Curacao has some similar 'selling points,' and has grudgingly gotten a little more solo diving friendly in places.
So I'm interested but not 'sold' as yet.
AggieDiver
Contributor
We were in the same boat, and in answer to the OP, I think the Cayman government's slow reopening and inconsistency in sticking with their plans definitely hurt them when it came to us. We were waiting and waiting for a chance to go back to LC, and finally after their messing around in the fall with reopening, not reopening, no this time we really mean it, but not yet, but no really now, we finally booked a trip to East Bay Resort when the Clearly Cayman folks took over. That would have been a trip to LC if the Cayman Government had gotten their stuff together. So yes, in our case, their Covid stance cost them at least one trip from us.
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