One day in Grand Cayman

[halfpint]

Recs?
We have a 2yo and a 6yo with us.
It’s a cruise stop, so there are excursion options, but it’s hard to tell what works well for a toddler. We considered taking a taxi to the Turtle Farm and then just kicking it on Seven Mile Beach for the afternoon. I think snorkeling is out with the toddler. I’m also interested in shopping a bit, and I’m not sure if we land on the beach for the afternoon if I could walk anywhere.
One of my friends is doing a dolphin swim, but I’m not sure how I feel about that. My oldest would go nuts for a dolphin experience, but I feel sketchy about dolphins in captivity. And I’m not sure how great they are?
Suggestions? Must go places or experiences?

[winelady]

Following.
We will also have a cruise stop there. I’ve been debating making it just a beach day.

[halfpint]

Oct 17, 2019 22:29:26 GMT -5 winelady said:

Following.
We will also have a cruise stop there. I’ve been debating making it just a beach day.

We are planning on the cruise line's private island being a beach day - so I'm hoping to do at least a little adventuring on this stop! 

[sunseeker]

Grand Cayman is my favorite port. Haven't done it with kids, so I can't help there, but the shopping is fabulous. Expensive, but fabulous. The turtle farm seems like a good option for the 2 yr old. Snoop around on cruise critic, and be sure to look at the family board for suggestions in GC. Also, consider a sting ray excursion for your DH and your oldest. I went along on the boat ride but didn't get in, so this might be an option? If so, I recommend Captain Marvin. Easy walk to the meeting place, and much smaller than what the cruise line offers.

[mslhb]

We had a cruise stop there last year and did close to what you described. We took the public bus to the turtle farm. The bus is actually air conditioned vans and very cheap and easy. I’m glad we did turtle farm on our own. We got there ahead of any excursions so the place was pretty much empty. My DD had the turtle wading area to herself. After the farm we took the bus to Calico Jacks on seven mile beach. There we could rent chairs and hang out on the beach. The restaurant was good and it was probably my favorite beach from the trip. Ended up taking a taxi back to the port. There seemed to be shopping right around there you can walk to. You have to tender in Grand Cayman and the line to get back to the ship was pretty long. Overall it is a super easy port to navigate on your own.

[ssmjlm]

Grand Cayman is still the best snorkeling I've ever done. Plus then we did the stingray encounter and it was amazing. I have a picture somewhere. We took DH's niece and nephews, but I think the youngest was 10, so they were all good swimmers and could snorkel.

I found the island pretty walkable and everyone was friendly. DH's niece and I ended up walking around after our excursion while the guys headed back to the boat.

[ssmjlm]

Oct 17, 2019 23:26:54 GMT -5 halfpint said:

Oct 17, 2019 22:29:26 GMT -5 winelady said:

Following.
We will also have a cruise stop there. I’ve been debating making it just a beach day.

We are planning on the cruise line's private island being a beach day - so I'm hoping to do at least a little adventuring on this stop! 

Can I ask what cruise you're doing that is hitting GC and the cruise line's island?  All of the intinearies I find are Eastern to go to the private island.

[buckeyegirl]

When our son was 2 or 3 we went to Stingray City and snorkeling. The trip included some snorkeling which we did. We took him in the water with us because he happily floated in his puddle jumper while we snorkled. He loved swimming with the sting rays. We have another recruiter planned this spring break and the kids will be 3 and 7 and we hope to do the same type of excursion.

[ribollita]

Oct 18, 2019 7:08:05 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

Oct 17, 2019 23:26:54 GMT -5 halfpint said:

We are planning on the cruise line's private island being a beach day - so I'm hoping to do at least a little adventuring on this stop! 

Can I ask what cruise you're doing that is hitting GC and the cruise line's island?  All of the intinearies I find are Eastern to go to the private island.

Harvest Caye Belize on NCL is often with GC.

With young kids, we stay in the boat. It’s a tender port which is a PITA. I’ve gone snorkeling, to the stingray city, in a deep submarine on the reef, and to the turtle farm before kids. When they’re older we will likely snorkel.

[tennisgal]

Our cruise ship stopped there last year. We rented a private charter boat (there were 19 in our group!) They took us to Stingray City, and area where we snorkeled and another area where there were tons of starfish. The name of the company was Rowan Watersports.

ETA: we had the excursion set up prior to arrival in port

[halfpint]

Oct 18, 2019 7:08:05 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

Oct 17, 2019 23:26:54 GMT -5 halfpint said:

We are planning on the cruise line's private island being a beach day - so I'm hoping to do at least a little adventuring on this stop! 

Can I ask what cruise you're doing that is hitting GC and the cruise line's island?  All of the intinearies I find are Eastern to go to the private island.

5 night Disney - it departs from Miami, hits Grand Cayman, and Coco Cay. 

[jamaicam]

I would avoid any dolphin experiences. No matter how well run they are and how 'kind' they are to their animals, they are still keeping these intelligent animals in captivity and making them perform.

[halfpint]

Oct 18, 2019 10:14:04 GMT -5 jamaicam said:

I would avoid any dolphin experiences. No matter how well run they are and how 'kind' they are to their animals, they are still keeping these intelligent animals in captivity and making them perform.

Thank you for confirming my bad feelings about this.