BDSC
Contributor
A group of 22 of us traveled from the Raleigh/Durham, NC area to Little Cayman on May 2nd. Getting into Grand Cayman was easy and the Delta flights were on time. From Grand Cayman we took the twin otter over to Little Cayman. It holds about 19 people I think and a limited amount of luggage.
We arrived at the airport after a 30 minute flight and the resort staff was there to pick us up. Five of us didn't get all of our luggage that day but it came in on the first flight the next morning. So while some of us were a little on edge until our luggage arrived, it all worked out just fine. Just remember that Cayman Air allows one 55 lb. bag and one 15 lb. carry-on for a total of 70 pounds each and they will weigh the luggage. They charge .50 per pound over the limit. But it depends on the agent you get because some of us were charged and some were not.
We arrived at the resort and check-in went very smoothly and our luggage was delivered to our rooms within minutes. The resort is really nice and well designed. We had an oceanfront room and I think it was worth the difference in the price. The view was spectacular. They have just finished a renovation of the rooms and our room was not only the nicest room we have ever had at a dive resort, but it was as nice of a room as we have ever had anywhere. They really did it right when they renovated. There was plenty of hot water all week and the A/C would keep your room like an icebox if you wanted it to.
The food at the restaurant was served buffet style and was excellent! There were always lots of choices at every meal. Lunch and dinner usually had soups, fresh salads, and at least 3 main entrees. Usually there was some type of chicken, fish, and either beef or pork. So I can guarantee you won't go hungry. There were a couple of desserts at lunch and maybe 4 or 5 different ones at night. You had your choice of eating in or out on the screened porch.
Now for the diving. Ten of us were assigned to the Reef Fantasy dive boat with Alex and Sharon as our DM/captains for the week and they were awesome. I can't possibly say enough good things about them. They made the week a lot of fun for all of us but at the same time they had a focus on safety that they were serious about. One big rule is to go down with your buddy and come up with your buddy but that was easy enough to live by. All the dives had a time limit of 60 minutes and that was fine by all. I think that's pretty good when you realize they have to keep a reasonable schedule during the day. It really is valet diving. You just sit at the back of the boat when you are ready and they bring your BC to you. Slip it on and off you go. You could go and do your own thing or wait for one of them and get a tour. We did our own thing after an excellent briefing of the dive site.
The conditions for the week were perfect. Calm seas and great visibility. As usual, the first dive allowed for a deeper profile (usually 110ft) while the second dive would have a profile of about 60ft or so. No one really policed that but most folks had no problem with those depths. We pretty much saw it all. Eagle Rays, stingrays, sharks, tons of turtles, lobsters, crabs, big green morays, all kinds of reef fish, groupers that liked to be petted, sponges, corals, and I even found a lionfish at the site called Mixing Bowl. I reported it to Alex and Sharon and I think they pass that on to the folks that come out and collect them. That same fish was spotted the next day at the same site. Our boat for the week found two Lionfish.
The staff at the resort as well as the staff of Reef Divers are excellent, helpful if you need them, and friendly. Some of us wanted to get together one night and watch a movie so they set up a conference room for us and let us tie in to the projector so we could all watch. One person in the group had a birthday that week and they made him a great birthday cake that evening. They are all really great people.
They do like for you to pack at least one bag and have it ready by 3:00pm the day before you leave because of the limited amount of luggage carried by the twin otter. We did that and it was waiting for us at Grand Cayman when we arrived the next day.
All in all it was a great week and we hated to leave but you can be sure we will return for more of the same. I can highly recommend Little Cayman Beach Resort and Reef Divers as a great vacation destination.
We arrived at the airport after a 30 minute flight and the resort staff was there to pick us up. Five of us didn't get all of our luggage that day but it came in on the first flight the next morning. So while some of us were a little on edge until our luggage arrived, it all worked out just fine. Just remember that Cayman Air allows one 55 lb. bag and one 15 lb. carry-on for a total of 70 pounds each and they will weigh the luggage. They charge .50 per pound over the limit. But it depends on the agent you get because some of us were charged and some were not.
We arrived at the resort and check-in went very smoothly and our luggage was delivered to our rooms within minutes. The resort is really nice and well designed. We had an oceanfront room and I think it was worth the difference in the price. The view was spectacular. They have just finished a renovation of the rooms and our room was not only the nicest room we have ever had at a dive resort, but it was as nice of a room as we have ever had anywhere. They really did it right when they renovated. There was plenty of hot water all week and the A/C would keep your room like an icebox if you wanted it to.
The food at the restaurant was served buffet style and was excellent! There were always lots of choices at every meal. Lunch and dinner usually had soups, fresh salads, and at least 3 main entrees. Usually there was some type of chicken, fish, and either beef or pork. So I can guarantee you won't go hungry. There were a couple of desserts at lunch and maybe 4 or 5 different ones at night. You had your choice of eating in or out on the screened porch.
Now for the diving. Ten of us were assigned to the Reef Fantasy dive boat with Alex and Sharon as our DM/captains for the week and they were awesome. I can't possibly say enough good things about them. They made the week a lot of fun for all of us but at the same time they had a focus on safety that they were serious about. One big rule is to go down with your buddy and come up with your buddy but that was easy enough to live by. All the dives had a time limit of 60 minutes and that was fine by all. I think that's pretty good when you realize they have to keep a reasonable schedule during the day. It really is valet diving. You just sit at the back of the boat when you are ready and they bring your BC to you. Slip it on and off you go. You could go and do your own thing or wait for one of them and get a tour. We did our own thing after an excellent briefing of the dive site.
The conditions for the week were perfect. Calm seas and great visibility. As usual, the first dive allowed for a deeper profile (usually 110ft) while the second dive would have a profile of about 60ft or so. No one really policed that but most folks had no problem with those depths. We pretty much saw it all. Eagle Rays, stingrays, sharks, tons of turtles, lobsters, crabs, big green morays, all kinds of reef fish, groupers that liked to be petted, sponges, corals, and I even found a lionfish at the site called Mixing Bowl. I reported it to Alex and Sharon and I think they pass that on to the folks that come out and collect them. That same fish was spotted the next day at the same site. Our boat for the week found two Lionfish.
The staff at the resort as well as the staff of Reef Divers are excellent, helpful if you need them, and friendly. Some of us wanted to get together one night and watch a movie so they set up a conference room for us and let us tie in to the projector so we could all watch. One person in the group had a birthday that week and they made him a great birthday cake that evening. They are all really great people.
They do like for you to pack at least one bag and have it ready by 3:00pm the day before you leave because of the limited amount of luggage carried by the twin otter. We did that and it was waiting for us at Grand Cayman when we arrived the next day.
All in all it was a great week and we hated to leave but you can be sure we will return for more of the same. I can highly recommend Little Cayman Beach Resort and Reef Divers as a great vacation destination.
