Cruise 2011- Day 3

George Town, Grand Cayman

Updated: 02/13/11

Yes, it is Monday. The day we visited George Town, Grand Cayman.

What you are looking at is a panel inserted in each elevator floor telling the guests the day of the week. Not only did we need to be reminded where the front of the ship was, a reminder of the day of the week was helpful. 

We arrive in the port before dawn.

It was interesting watching island tenders tie up to our cruise ship to load passengers for transport to Grand Cayman island.

 Looking at the size difference, it is hard to believe each tender carried 250 people.

Loaded tenders were busy while we enjoyed breakfast.

Looking out the side window of the tender the Navigator of the Sea was getting smaller as we approached the dock.

 Over the front window of the tender was a welcome to the Cayman Islands. 

Two other cruise ships were in port Monday.

Vendor tents greeted us. Also, private taxi drivers were soliciting passengers.

We took a Land and Sea tour of Georgetown. We arranged the tour through Royal Carribean.

You located your tour company's sign carrier and followed it to the bus in 'Pied Piper' fashion.

The Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory. Therefore, they drive on the 'wrong' side of the road.

This statue honors the man credited with starting tourism in the Cayman Islands.

Our first stop was The Nautilus, an air-conditioned 80 foot long semi-submersible vessel. 

Besides fish, two shipwrecks and a coral reef could be seen through the windows. A stingray was also seen.

The stingray . . .

The narrator told us that he could prove fish can be trained. He said to watch how the fish swarm around the diver expecting to be fed.

..           

The diver used stale bread to attract the fish.

Still driving on the wrong side of the road . . .

. . . we saw a cemetery, a concrete blue iguana and a beautiful public beach.

A typical island house in 1905 . . .

A stop at the famous Seven Mile Beach . . .

We went to Hell.

A visit to the Devil's Hangout Gift Shop in Hell, Grand Cayman . . .

Hell, Grand Caymen is a group of short, black, limestone formations in the town of West Bay.

The area is roughly the size of half a soccer field. People are not allowed to walk in the formations, but two viewing platforms are available. There are several versions of how Hell received its name, but they are a variation of "a local official exclaiming, 'This is what Hell must look like'".

The next stop was the Cayman Turtle Farm. Farm is the correct term. They raise green sea turtles for three purposes - to provide turtle meat, for return to the wild and for research. Established in 1968 to supply the market with a source of product that did not deplete the wild populations, the farm can produce upwards of 1800 turtles a year.

Just outside the door of the building leading to the exhibits, everyone had an opportunity to hold a month old turtle.

At one time the cement tanks may hold as many as 16,000  green sea turtles weighting from 6 ounces to 600 hundred pounds.

Head up for air . . .     

. . . turtles can stay under water for long periods when sleeping. But, only 20-30 minutes when awake.     

A sandy beach adjacent to the large turtle pond closely resembles their normal habitat.

A bigger turtle to hold . . .

Then, bigger . . .

People were warned not to put their hands in this pool. These turtles BITE.

Hosting tourists was never the Turtle Farm's main goal, however, it has become the Grand Cayman's oldest operating tourist attraction, attracting up to 340,000 people a year, primarily cruise ship passengers.

Our last stop was The Tortuga Rum Company. A great place to taste test rum and rum cakes.
If you purchased a bottle of rum it was delivered to the ship for delivery to
you the last night onboard.

The bus driver pointed out expensive homes and the canals where owners docked their 'boats'.

An interesting photograph . . .

During the 18th century, the islands were well known to pirates like Blackbeard. The pirate ship on the right is available for excursion to relive the days of the Caribbean Pirates.

Back to the ship . . .

Time to relax and enjoy the view from our balcony . . .

When Mary Lou was sitting down, the railing was in her line of sight - a minor inconvenience.

Leaving Grand Cayman . . .

Tonight's dinner - was different . . . fun!

All of a sudden our usually quiet dinner was interrupted with loud music and people clapping. It was the night for the wait staff to entertain us.  The waiters danced on the stairs and around the dining rooms.

Our waiter, Ayhan, and our assistant waiter, Olenka, joined in the fun.

The guy at a table close ours was 'feeling good'
and was in the spirit of the evening in a different way.

He gave our head waiter a hug.

At the table next of ours, two daughters and two granddaughters were celebrating their mother's/grandmother's 80th birthday by taking her on a cruise. They were having "Princess Night" - all wore tiaras and other cheap jewelry. One of the granddaughters came to our table and 'anointed' each girl an honorary princess. 

The "original" Drifters performed at the evenings entertainment.

In spite of the loud music and singing, Princess Lily was sound asleep when it was over.

Tonight we were greeted by a swan.

In addition to adult performances in the bars, some evenings the Metropolis Theatre offered more adult content at late shows.

Michelle encouraged us to go to the 'Love & Marriage' show because she and Steve had seen it on a previous cruise. So, she stayed with the girls while Steve went with us to the show.

Here's where the couple married 69 years get back onto our Web site. We expected they would be part of the show. The couple in the center were married six years, the other couple had been married for ten days.

While we think the two younger couples were not set-ups, the old couple were so funny, they had to be clued into the questions and answers.

When he got an answer correct, she would kiss him.

Fred does not know if Steve enjoyed the show or watching Mary Lou enjoy the show more.

The old couple won the 'game'. All couples received a travel bag. The winners also received a bottle of wine.

It was a fun show.       Michelle could watch it on television Ch 14 later.

As long as were were out with the adults, we stopped by the big 'Dancing Under the Stars Pool Party'.

Steve returned to their stateroom. We took a short walk on Deck 4.

Top of Page

Our Cruise - 2011 . . . Main Page