Kevin and Sandee Chambers
August 2004

As the name implies the Cayman Islands have a little more sophistication thanks to their British influence. We dropped anchor in the harbor about 6:30am. You are required to ride tender boats into the docks and this adds some new twists to disembarking. If you schedule an excursion via Carnival, you get a tender ticket. If you are on your own, you have to go down to the Toulouse Latrec and get a number. Tendering added about 30-45 minutes to the process. Sandee and I had booked an excursion through a third-party tour company. After going across the harbor on the tender, we had some time to kill. The easiest way to kill time in Grand Cayman: shopping. We met up with our tour company and took a wonderful 60 minute beach horseback ride up in West Bay. We worked with a family owned stables and had a incredible time. I will be glad to share the information via email if anyone is interested. They take very good care of their horses and only allow two rides a day for 10 people maximum. We also got a short tour of the Georgetown area and some great insights on the beautiful island commonwealth. We completed the day by shopping and finding some good deals on souvenirs. They are building a new two story strip mall near the dock. On the upper level they are putting in a shark tank. This is also the location of the Blackbeard Rum Cake Outlet, which makes for great take home gifts. Many folks we met raved about the turtle farm and Stingray City. We will visit these the next time we come to Grand Cayman. Excellent day, wonderful visit. Back to the ship via tender. Do this a little early because the last tender leaves the dock at 3:00 pm. After that you swim. Getting back to the ship early, we got to take in some more sun. I also noticed the maintenance that was going on while the ship was in port. The Conquest has taken some bad criticism on a lot of reviews I have read. Mostly, it was little things and the statement, “I can’t believe a ship this new is in such bad shape.” Now, given the fact this ship is at sea nearly 365 days a year, I think it’s in excellent shape and I have an eye for details. There was routine painting and cleaning happening during non-peak hours. The worst I saw was some non-slip surfaces were in bad shape by the sliding board. This area was roped off shortly thereafter and the area was repaired overnight. I don’t know how else they would be able to keep up the high quality conditions without this type of labor being conducted. Now, Thursday is also the last formal night. Another fantastic affair, superb dining and a much more relaxed atmosphere. By this time, you get to know people and when you see them dressed up, it just makes it nicer. We raced some other ships to Mexico during overnight. Getting to see other ships lit up makes for some great photos. Grand Caymans was definitely worth the stop and would be a great place to revisit.

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