Little Cayman trip, August 19-29, 2017

[flyboy08]

Our trip overlapped. The first day we had a crowded boat, but from then on, no more than 10-12...one DM in the water, one on top. The briefings were always first rate and fun...Sharon and Lena work well together and yes, they did haul each setup to the rear of the boat and then changed out tanks. Other than that, your on your own ..those ladies hustled!

 

[KathyV]

Sure thing. The main difference compared to when we first started diving with them about 10 years ago is that they would have 2 dive guides in the water for a boat, usually meaning about 6 or 7 divers per guide. On one of our dives, we had at least 20 divers with one guide...I had actually asked about them cutting back on staff before our previous trip, and they had replied that it was an effort to keep the costs down. It is a trade-off, for sure.

...I don't think we ever followed a guide. 20 divers on the boat seems like a lot (never counted heads). That might slow down the "valet" diving a bit. I always tried to use that to my advantage by being one of the first off/last on. I could get an extra 10 min on the dives without upsetting the crew or the schedule.

I suspect that it may also be related to it being "low season" from August to October when quite a few of the staff take time off. They may have unexpectedly gotten more guests than usual and not had the staff to add extras. I think I have been on a boat there a few times when they had 20 on it, and while it made for a bit of commotion trying to get everybody in the water, with the size of the boats, it is never really crowded. I am more used to seeing about 12-14 which is comfortable...

Our trip overlapped. The first day we had a crowded boat, but from then on, no more than 10-12...one DM in the water, one on top...

We will be heading to Cayman in late October for a week on GC and a week at LCBR and one of the things I like about traveling in the slow season is that it's usually quiet and less crowded. But now I am getting nervous because the Trip Advisor travel forum is loaded with posts from vacationers who have cancelled trips for the US and British Virgin Islands and other areas hit hard by the hurricanes, and a lot of them are rebooking vacations for the Caymans. This may turn out to be a busy, crowded trip with short staffing during the traditionally slow season.

 

[Erwin Poliakoff]

Erwin - nice report! It was nice meeting you while Abby and I were there. And again..great images!

I went diving locally this past weekend here in greater Boston. Although we stayed shallow, water temp was 57F. My old drysuit (purchased 2004) was retired due to leakiness just prior to the Cayman trip, so I was diving a 7mm wetsuit. I was missing the 86F Cayman water ;-)

Chris

It was great meeting you and Abby and diving with both of you. You are a brave man (diving in 57F water!). I hope you have a great trip to the Galapagos! - Erwin

 

[Erwin Poliakoff]

We will be heading to Cayman in late October for a week on GC and a week at LCBR and one of the things I like about traveling in the slow season is that it's usually quiet and less crowded. But now I am getting nervous because the Trip Advisor travel forum is loaded with posts from vacationers who have cancelled trips for the US and British Virgin Islands and other areas hit hard by the hurricanes, and a lot of them are rebooking vacations for the Caymans. This may turn out to be a busy, crowded trip with short staffing during the traditionally slow season.

I understand your concern, but I would not be at all worried about LCBR as they are a small resort and will only take a limited number of guests. I am sure that they have enough boats to handle the resort even when it is full. Crowds on Grand Cayman could be an issue, but you might be able to avoid those completely by diving on the East End, which is never crowded, in my experience. I have had very good experiences staying at Compass Point and diving from there. Just a thought.

 

[KathyV]

I understand your concern, but I would not be at all worried about LCBR as they are a small resort and will only take a limited number of guests. I am sure that they have enough boats to handle the resort even when it is full. Crowds on Grand Cayman could be an issue, but you might be able to avoid those completely by diving on the East End, which is never crowded, in my experience. I have had very good experiences staying at Compass Point and diving from there. Just a thought.

Thanks, we are staying in Bodden Town with easy access to the entire island, including East End.

 

[AggieDiver]

We will be heading to Cayman in late October for a week on GC and a week at LCBR and one of the things I like about traveling in the slow season is that it's usually quiet and less crowded. But now I am getting nervous because the Trip Advisor travel forum is loaded with posts from vacationers who have cancelled trips for the US and British Virgin Islands and other areas hit hard by the hurricanes, and a lot of them are rebooking vacations for the Caymans. This may turn out to be a busy, crowded trip with short staffing during the traditionally slow season.

I have seen all those posts on Tripadvisor too, and that is what had me thinking about "unexpected guests". I will be at LCBR next week and will let you know what the crowds look like on the boats.

 

[Doctorfish]

I was at LCBR last week and there were 10-14 divers per boat + DM.
Their overall capacity is limited by the total number of rooms. Even in high season, with 4 boats, they should not exceed 18 per boat. Their boats are very big; 42 and 46 foot Newtons and are not crowded, even with 18 divers.
If the boats are that full, I would have a chat with the dive shop manager, Sharon, about sending out divers in 2 groups rather than one.

 

[Erwin Poliakoff]

I was at LCBR last week and there were 10-14 divers per boat + DM.
Their overall capacity is limited by the total number of rooms. Even in high season, with 4 boats, they should not exceed 18 per boat. Their boats are very big; 42 and 46 foot Newtons and are not crowded, even with 18 divers.
If the boats are that full, I would have a chat with the dive shop manager, Sharon, about sending out divers in 2 groups rather than one.

So your mileage may vary. I was there for 10 nights. The first seven days of diving, our boat had the same group of 13 divers. The eighth day of diving, many of our original group left, and our boat had 20 divers; the other boat had 22 divers (yes, they counted). I saw the lady who arranges these things (very nice woman, forgot her name, maybe also talking about Sharon?). I mentioned that I thought that the boat was too crowded and would appreciate being moved to a boat that was less crowded for our ninth and final day of diving. She said that the problem was that the third boat was out of commission that day, but had been fixed, and that it should not be a problem the next day. So the next day, they did have the additional boat going out, but we still had 20 divers on our boat. (There were 13 divers on one of the other boats, according to a friend on that other one.) The bottom line is that they probably strive to keep a reasonable number of divers on a boat, but they do not always succeed. On my first couple of trips to LCBR starting about 10 years ago, this never happened; on our last 2 trips, it has happened occasionally. So back to my original point, your mileage may vary. I agree with Doctorfish that chatting with Sharon would be a good idea, but I think that circumstances are sometimes outside of her control and she cannot help but crowd the boats somewhat; after diving for one week with 12 other divers, you really notice it when the boat has 19 other divers. With that said, I will still return because the diving is so good. On the other hand, I am more tempted to consider other options, both Caribbean and Indo-Pacific, while in the past LCBR was my undisputed first choice.

 

[Doctorfish]

Hmmm. Maybe time to check out Southern Cross.

 

[Erwin Poliakoff]

Hmmm. Maybe time to check out Southern Cross.

That is a good point that I had not considered.