Georgetown Grand Cayman

Day 4……Grand Cayman Islands, So Beautiful

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Day 4– Welcome to George Town Grand Cayman Island. Overseas British Territory.

Arrival 7am.–First Tender Boat, 7:45–Last Tender Boat 5:15,–Departure 6pm.

We arrived at George Town about daylight. I went out on the Balcony to watch the approach to the island. What a beautiful morning it was. We watched as the Pilot Boat from the harbor approached our ship

The Pilot boat from George Town meeting our boat. Look how little the fishing boats are. This was taken from our balcony on the 7th floor.

The Pilot is dropped off on the lower level of the boat while still moving towards the Port. It is his duty to help the Captain navigate the Ship into the harbor. He knows his Port, the sand bars, the waters entering the channel and all things important to docking the ship. Here at Grand Cayman, the harbor is to shallow for the cruise ships to dock. They use Tender Boats {water taxi’s} to transport the passengers between the ship and the Port. The first Tender Boats showed up by 7:15 after the ship had anchored. All the passengers that had booked excursions were the first ones off the boat. We didn’t book any in this port as they were mostly all water fun. Diving, snorkeling, Trip to Stingray City to see the Stingrays in the ocean and possible pet them. Also, the many, many beaches and the Famous 7 Mile Beach. We have excursions booked on all the other Ports we visit, so we decided to just take it easy on this one. We waited till later to go souvenir shopping. Finally late morning, we went down to the 4th floor. We had to go through the x-ray machine like the airports and they also scanned our Sea Pass cards. You cannot leave or arrive at the boat without your cards. This is how they keep count of passengers on or off the ship. I like to book only Excursions with Royal Caribbean because they will wait till all excursions are back to leave. If you go ashore and simply take a tour somebody sells you, they won’t guarantee they will wait. Wouldn’t it be terrible if you arrived back late and seen your Ship with all your belongings sailing off into the sunset?……GOOD BYE…..Find your own way back to the states. We boarded the tender and proceeded to shore.

The Port pictures begin. 8×10 pictures every Port.
Loaded Tender boat arriving at George Town pier

These Tenders hold as many as 200 people. But remember our ship is technically a small ship of over 2000. You can imagine how many Tenders they have to transport passengers back and forth between the ship and the dock. We arrived at the terminal and did some shopping at the little shops. Then we proceeded out of the terminal into George Town. We found a few things but what was interesting was the cars drove on the left side of the street and the drivers sat in the right side of the car.

The steering wheel on the right side.
Vehicles driving on the left side of the road.

We walked the streets, did more shopping, walked by the fish market, where they were cleaning fish and many restaurants. We found this little Flea Market sort of tucked in an empty lot.

We bought a few souvenirs from the locals, and ran into a very interesting small time business man. He was selling items as well as Caymanite Jewelry. I had never heard of Caymanite.

This semi-precious gemstone is found only in Grand Cayman. It contains bands of red, orange, white, black and brown. The locals of the island make beautiful jewelry and gifts and sell it throughout the islands. This man makes trips to Miami to buy supplies for jewelry crafting as well as selling. Since he was such a friendly nice guy full of info, I asked him a question I had been wondering about. I had bought a visor. The visor and many of the things in the gift shops had “Grand Cayman BWI”…….“What does BWI stand for”? This was when I realized how stupid I was sounding…..Bristish West Indies. I knew that…..Grand Cayman is run by the British government.

Another well known fact is the Cayman Islands is home to over 160 banks from all over the world. They have been cited as a financial destination. They have so many tax benefits etc, that it has become known as a great place to park your money and grow your wealth.

RADIANCE OF THE SEAS from the Shore
Heading back to our Beautiful Boat on our Tender Boat.

We were getting really hot so we decided it was time to go back to the ship. We didn’t have to wait long. The Tender boat was loading and another one was ready to take its place after we left.

Our Tender Boat will drive right up to this open door. The ladder will be extended for us to board.
Our room is the floor above the lifeboats all the way in the back. Very last room behind the pole.

We boarded our ship, went back through the x-ray machine, scanned our sea pass card, so they know we were onboard. We went to our room and was exhausted. But what do you do after you’ve cooled down? off to the Windjammer Buffet. We hadn’t eaten since we left that morning.

We found a great table overlooking George Town coast Isn’t that just a Beautiful Site
Beautiful Grand Cayman from Deck 11. I think we were leaving

We found a nice table, filled our plates with goodies, and relaxed. Rich loves cookies. He had found which food island they put them out every meal. So he started bringing a bunch to the table every day. Then I had to stash them in my purse to take up to the room. I wish I had taken a picture. He loves the Oatmeal. Of course, we found Conmelia. We had to say our “Hi’s”. We found out something exciting. Conmelia is engaged. He fiance is the CHEF on board. His name is …..Shane……More about them on further blogs…….At 6pm, we finally pulled up anchor on time and “away we went” Now 1 more day at sea before we arrive at Cartagena Columbia. We seen several Entertainment Shows in the Aurora Theater. They were wonderful. Their was different shows every nite.

Royal Caribbean Dancers and Singers Can you imagine dancing like this with the boat “rocking”
Piano Man in the Aurora Theater. He was very good.
Evening in the Centrum. Look Close…..See the people sitting down below? Their are people standing 2 floors up while the Entertainer is playing the guitar on the stage below. This area was so busy. At least 6 or more different shows a day. Always checked out the shows as we walked by. The music carried down the halls.
Doing some more exploring as we leave port.

We had a nice time in Grand Cayman but we did miss alot. After reading more about the Island, their were many places to see, and it would be easy to get around by taxi or many reputable, local tour agencies. But that’s ok, we can always see more another time. One day at sea and then…….Next Stop…..Day 6 Cartagena Columbia. It will be much more exciting. We will be boarding a bus and traveling through the city seeing so many beautiful sites and then stopping at a fishing village. We will take a canoe trip in hand carved mahogany canoes through the Mangroves. It was hot but so exciting….As long as we didn’t tip the canoe….lol

Souvenir License Plate

…….Stay Tuned…….

……We Met a Wonderful Lady that Helped Us Celebrate Our Belated 50th Anniversary…..

w2bergen 2 Comments

The weather so far as been beautiful. Nothing but blue – blue skies, and lazy white clouds. The water is a beautiful blue with a few white caps as we sail south. No bugs in the air either. That is wonderful. But then we are miles and miles from land. So, no mosquitoes, or flies. But it is so quiet. No birds tweeting, nothing but sounds of the ship and the waves as we slide through the water. At night we usually sit out on our balcony after dark. Sometimes you may see the lights of a ship far, far away on the horizon, sometimes it’s just black.

The Moon and a star….and the Beautiful Sunset

Nothing out there but the sounds of the waves crashing into each other as the ship powers through the water. Sleeping has been no problem. I didn’t know if I might get a little nauseated. Rich has even done well. For me it was like being rocked to sleep gently like a baby. There wasn’t much movement. I would wake up in the morning and go outside and check the weather for the day. The TV was all Royal Caribbeans channels. Several Movie channels, but mostly channels about RC destinations and ships. The Activity Directors have a channel telling you all about the itinerary for the day. Then it was time for breakfast at the Windjammer and fun for the day.

On the last blog we stopped our exploration at the Solarium. After walking through their and testing the water….brrrrrr. we headed towards the double glass doors heading towards the front of the boat. There was a little hallway. In the center of the boat was another set of elevators. On one side was the entrance to the Hair Saloon and Spa. You can get anything done you want from your hair all the way down to your toes including a Fantastic Massage. They are there to please you. We took the stairs to the next level and followed it all the way down the side of the ship. It opened up to the very front of the ship….The Helipad…..

Helipad on the front of the ship.
Rich sitting on the bench of the Helipad area.

It was very windy up there. The row of the dark windows is the bridge of the ship. Where the pilots control the ship. Above the Bridge, {which you can’t really see}, there are several more decks with some walk areas with lounges to lay and enjoy. They are lined with tall glass railings so you can’t fall off. Also a deck above the Hair Salon and Spa, facing the front of the Ship was the large Fitness Center

Exercising with a Beautiful Window view, looking out the front of the Ship

The small port holes were more rooms. I’m not sure if they are some of the officers’ rooms and other staff or not. On the map diagram they are not listed. The Heliport area was freshly painted, and everything was very clean and fresh. I was surprised the wooden benches looked so good, not sunbaked or waterlogged. We continued around the other side.

Beautiful view of the waves made by the ship.
This bird kept circling feeding on fish from the ocean.

We walked back to the elevator and went down to the 6th floor. There was the Aurora Theater. It is in the front of the ship and actually is setting on Deck 4, 5, and 6. It is beautiful.

As you see, It is huge. It contains 868 seats. It has entrances on Deck 5, and 6. The seats were so comfortable. They have regular scheduled shows every day with Singers, Dancers, Comedians, movies also informational slide shows with presentations of upcoming Ports that we were stopping at. It was also the area we had to go to when we were in port and ready to leave for our Port excursion. We decided early on to enter on Deck 6. We liked to sit in the balcony. It was less crowded, easier to get to our favorite seats.

Entrance to the Cinema

Also on this floor they have a Cinema. It is small but sufficient. They show several movies every day. We tried to see a movie one day but it was so packed.

After the Cinema, heading back to the Centrum, is the Casino. It has a very nice bar, lots of slots and game tables. Usually, we don’t gamble much. This time also. The only thing I really like to do is play the slots. But I always lose. Its just my luck. On Deck 5, just below us is The Shops of Centrum.

They sell many high-priced items like diamond and other precious stone jewelry, Lots of souvenir items and a small area called the Drug Store for personal items you might need. Also the Photo Gallery is down the hall. They have walls of pictures displayed that they have taken of the guests on board. The photographers are always roving the boat as well as setting up outside at each port. They also have dress up sittings by the Centrum for your formal pictures. The Photo Gallery is where you pick out your pictures that you may want to buy.

Conmelia is from Jamaica. She has a delightful accent.

When we were in the Windjammer one day, we were wandering around choosing our food. There was a lady with a tall white Chefs hat on. She was standing very professionally watching and checking the different food islands, making sure everything was full and the servers were in place to help the people. She was very friendly. We started talking and I mentioned that this was our Cruise for our 50th Anniversary, January 14, 2022. It was delayed because of covid so it was really 51. She was so nice and excited for us. She is from Jamaica and has a wonderful accent. Her name is Conmelia. She is a Sous Chef. Definition of Sous Chef…..A chef who is second in command of a kitchen. They rank just before the head chef. They generally manage the members of the kitchen for the Chef who is busy with other duties. She came over and visited with us at our table. She works in the Windjammer and down in the main dining room Cascades. She told us to come back the next day and she was going to do something special for us. We came back and she was so excited to see us again. After we eat our meal, she came back with this beautiful dish….

Conmelia brought this plate with a beautiful tasty dessert and 2 forks. She even sang a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY song to us. It was wonderful. This became the start of a new friendship. We all started looking for each other for each meal just to visit a little.

OMG….What a picture. Did I really look like that? lol

I’ve covered most of the big areas of the ship. There are many areas I haven’t covered. There are many bars and lounges situated all over as well as 11 different dining options. Some are just little snack areas, and some are upscale restaurants. I will probably cover some of those later. We have been at sea for 2 1/2 days. We will be Docking at our first stop, “Georgetown Grand Caymen Island, British West Indies” in the morning. It’s time to head for our room and get ready for bed. We are excited.

This is our hallway to our room from the Centrum at the middle of the ship. I bet you can’t see the last room at the left. Thats our room…….so far far far away…..