Trip report: Grand Cayman, stay at Cobalt Coast

[tkaelin]

I shore dive GC everytime we visit the island and Kathy is right on the prices. The prices for air were Stingray Watersports $12.50, Turtle Reef CI12, Eden Rock $12.50, Lighthouse Pt $12.50. We don't rent wts place to place so don't know what the charges may be.

The only correction for KathyV is I a believe Turtle Reef Sundivers is well-stocked with Nitrox. Nice new tanks with blue paint top for air, green for nitrox, unless I am thinking of another op.

 

[ljwillia]

Enjoyed your report. Spectacular video! Thank you for sharing.

 

[Doctorfish]

Sundivers is very well stocked for Nitrox. Olin blends on site and has the nicest compressor and blending equipment I have ever seen. He will be happy to provide a tour.

 

[KathyV]

...The only correction for KathyV is I a believe Turtle Reef Sundivers is well-stocked with Nitrox. Nice new tanks with blue paint top for air, green for nitrox, unless I thinking of another op.

Sundivers is very well stocked for Nitrox. Olin blends on site and has the nicest compressor and blending equipment I have ever seen. He will be happy to provide a tour.

Thanks for the correction, I have deleted that information from my previous post.

 

[KathyV]

We finally got around to editing and posting our photos from this trip last summer. We had an excellent long weekend where we were able to jam in 10 dives. Highlights included the silversides at Devil's Grotto and a squad of squid on Macabuca. This was right before the hurricanes and we actually got to see the Kittiwake while it was still upright! Link here

@ChyLn Just curious, why did you select Cobalt Coast for a weekend trip to Grand Cayman? Don't get me wrong, CCGCR definitely has some advantages in that they have a house reef, an onsite dive op, and food is included at a reasonable price - but the location is "Hell and Gone" from many of the sites on the island - and I mean that literally because they are located close to Hell!

(No one should bother going to Hell, IMO. Okay, you should go there one time to mail "post cards from Hell" to friends and family - but that should get it out of your system and you won't bother to go back!)

Since you were only on the island for a few days and your main goals were to dive Eden Rock and the Kittiwake, I'm not sure that Cobalt Coast was the best choice.

If I were on GC for a short trip, I might stay at Comfort Suites because it is cheaper than many hotels, breakfast is included and it is are centrally located in the 7MB area and not very far from George Town and Eden Rock. And there are lots of dive ops in the 7MB area so you could arrange diving and a Kittiwake trip pretty easily.

Sunset House would be another option. They are located close to Eden Rock and they have an onsite dive op, and shore diving, and breakfast is included.

Don't get me wrong, I think that Cobalt Coast has a lot going for it, but (in my opinion) it is for people that mostly want to stay on campus to sleep, eat, and dive - but it also gives guests the opportunity to get off-campus and explore GC a little if they have the time and have rented a car and don't mind doing some driving.

You mentioned that "none of the shops were open for an unscheduled night dive" but I was under the impression that you can shore dive the house reef at Cobalt Coast at night, is that not correct?

BTW, if you enjoy wreck dives then consider going to Cayman Brac the next time to dive the Russian Frigate - but probably not for a weekend - Cayman Brac is an extra (short) flight from GC.

 

[ChyLn]

@ChyLn Just curious, why did you select Cobalt Coast for a weekend trip to Grand Cayman? Don't get me wrong, CCGCR definitely has some advantages in that they have a house reef, an onsite dive op, and food is included at a reasonable price - but the location is "Hell and Gone" from many of the sites on the island - and I mean that literally because they are located close to Hell!

It was our first time to GC and we weren't super familiar with the general layout of the island. We were looking for a place with a nice house reef and had read some decent reviews on CCGCR, and the prices weren't terrible. They do leave tanks out for night dives there but in our hurry to get to Eden Rock the first afternoon we didn't finish our "check in" paperwork. By the time we got back to CCGCR in the evening the shop was closed.. oops. We ended up doing a nice dusk dive there the second day.

We did drive over and check out Sunset House, and it seemed like a nice place and we may do that inext time. Cayman Brac seems quite laid back, which we like. That's definitely on our list for a longer trip!

I shore dive GC everytime we visit the island and Kathy is right on the prices. The prices for air were Stingray Watersports $12.50, Turtle Reef CI12, Eden Rock $12.50, Lighthouse Pt $12.50. We don't rent wts place to place so don't know what the charges may be.

The only correction for KathyV is I a believe Turtle Reef Sundivers is well-stocked with Nitrox. Nice new tanks with blue paint top for air, green for nitrox, unless I am thinking of another op.

You guys are right about the pricing. We went back and checked our CC statements and it seems like we just misremembered the prices. Oops. Sorry for the mis-information and we'll fix that in the blog.

Not sure why Macabuca ran low on nitrox when we were there, maybe because it was the mid/late afternoon? We were told it'd take 40min or something to fill up tanks for us, but it was getting late so we didn't want to wait. They did have a couple of spare tanks but said it'd be a huge help if we used air, so we did. It seems like it's not normally an issue, but if you really need nitrox I'd just call ahead to check.

 

[KathyV]

It was our first time to GC and we weren't super familiar with the general layout of the island. We were looking for a place with a nice house reef and had read some decent reviews on CCGCR, and the prices weren't terrible. They do leave tanks out for night dives there but in our hurry to get to Eden Rock the first afternoon we didn't finish our "check in" paperwork. By the time we got back to CCGCR in the evening the shop was closed.. oops. We ended up doing a nice dusk dive there the second day.

We did drive over and check out Sunset House, and it seemed like a nice place and we may do that inext time. Cayman Brac seems quite laid back, which we like. That's definitely on our list for a longer trip!

You guys are right about the pricing. We went back and checked our CC statements and it seems like we just misremembered the prices. Oops. Sorry for the mis-information and we'll fix that in the blog.

Not sure why Macabuca ran low on nitrox when we were there, maybe because it was the mid/late afternoon? We were told it'd take 40min or something to fill up tanks for us, but it was getting late so we didn't want to wait. They did have a couple of spare tanks but said it'd be a huge help if we used air, so we did. It seems like it's not normally an issue, but if you really need nitrox I'd just call ahead to check.

Thanks! Since you were looking for a place with a house reef that definitely limits the options and Cobalt Coast was probably a good choice, you just had to do a little driving.

What did you think of the resort? I have visited and dived with their dive op but we have never stayed there. They have been doing remodeling lately to replace the air-conditioning, were you bothered by construction noise and how was the AC in your room?

What did you think of the hotel and the food and how did the house reef compare to Macabuca?

What is the process for gear storage and doing shore dives (including night dives) on the house reef? I ask because at the other Clearly Cayman resorts that we have stayed at, you leave your weight belts, BCDs, and regulators on the boat and just carry your mask, fins, snorkel, and wetsuit ashore after diving to rinse and hang.

But that wouldn't work if you want to do any shore diving - you would have to retain access to your gear. How can they offer "valet diving" and still give you the freedom to shore dive when you wish?

And what is the process for night diving on the house reef? Leaving out some tanks is easy but what about gaining access to your gear, and rinsing and hanging it after the dive? Just wondering how it all works - they must have a system.

Sorry for all the questions, I am just curious because I like the Clearly Cayman resorts on Brac and Little Cayman and I am curious about the one on Grand Cayman.

 

[Alucard]

Not sure if it changed, but there used to be ventilated lockers on the road side of the dive shop (this was back in the DiveTech days, though).

 

[KathyV]

Not sure if it changed, but there used to be ventilated lockers on the road side of the dive shop (this was back in the DiveTech days, though).

Thanks, I had forgotten about this recent review of the resort that said the lockers will be removed as part of the current renovation project; I guess we will have to wait and see the changes when they are finished!

Trip Leader's Perspective - Review of Cobalt Coast Grand Cayman Resort, West Bay, Cayman Islands - TripAdvisor

 

[Damselfish]

Good question about gear access for shore diving. Interesting that they're removing the lockers - I'm wondering if they will have a gear room arrangement instead that would make it easier for them to load and unload stuff for the boat, which probably doesn't work so well with individual lockers? (Pre-valet Divetech days, you got your stuff out of your locker yourself if you were going and threw it on the gear truck.)

Perhaps someone who stayed there recently can comment, but the thing about that location is I wouldn't think they would be leaving gear on the boat anyway? It's not like Little or Brac where it's a more remote place and the boat is moored right off the property. While Cayman seems a relatively safe place I don't think they would want to leave all that gear on the boat in some other location. On Grand the boat is not necessarily using their own dock, either due to conditions or a shorter haul to the north wall from a different dock. (Times we stayed there we have never gotten on the boat there - always the West bay dock, or a dock in a marina in the sound.)