George Town is our last port before we sail back to Ft. Lauderdale.
We have never been here and are excited to visit the island as we heard so much about the Grand Caymans as an important trade center and banking center.
The weather yesterday and today has been very windy. This is a tender port so getting ashore is tricky enough without the wind. The Captain's announcement this morning told us the winds are so strong that we will be landing on the other side of the island and that there were six cruise ships scheduled and the place where we are landing can only accommodate 3 ships. Consequently 3 ships were turned away and sailed towards their next port.
Later we found out from the Staff Capt. that the reason our ship and the other Celebrity ship were allowed to land guests is that the cruise line hired all the buses and shuttles which did take us to and from town for free.
Our shuttle bus ride to George Town took about 10 minutes and we could see nicely kept homes, schools, markets, and churches on the way. A big difference compared to the cities of the ports we just visited as well as most other Caribbean islands we visited on previous cruises.
We were dropped off in the center of town. We stopped for a photo by the welcome sign and were amazed by the rough surf/waves splashing on the promenade.
The downtown was very colorful as the buildings were painted in bright pastels and well kept. We were going to shop for rum cakes and rum and gifts for our sons here. Shopping at the other ports was not so good and this was the place to find the best gifts. In addition to the rum, rum cakes and gifts we even bought a bamboo shirt and a set of bamboo sheets.
We had lunch at the Hard Rock cafe which was full of other tourists and had a nice lunch.
The all aboard for the ship was 4:30 and since we knew it took at least an hour to line up for the tenders to get back on board we got the shuttle at 1:30 to go the the port. When we got there, there were long lines waiting for the tenders. One line for ea. of the 3 ships there. Fortunately because of the heat the ships crew was handing out glasses of water to people in line.
There was also food booths and hand made souvenirs available for travellers to buy for last minute gifts.
We have never been here and are excited to visit the island as we heard so much about the Grand Caymans as an important trade center and banking center.
The weather yesterday and today has been very windy. This is a tender port so getting ashore is tricky enough without the wind. The Captain's announcement this morning told us the winds are so strong that we will be landing on the other side of the island and that there were six cruise ships scheduled and the place where we are landing can only accommodate 3 ships. Consequently 3 ships were turned away and sailed towards their next port.
Later we found out from the Staff Capt. that the reason our ship and the other Celebrity ship were allowed to land guests is that the cruise line hired all the buses and shuttles which did take us to and from town for free.
Our shuttle bus ride to George Town took about 10 minutes and we could see nicely kept homes, schools, markets, and churches on the way. A big difference compared to the cities of the ports we just visited as well as most other Caribbean islands we visited on previous cruises.
We were dropped off in the center of town. We stopped for a photo by the welcome sign and were amazed by the rough surf/waves splashing on the promenade.
The downtown was very colorful as the buildings were painted in bright pastels and well kept. We were going to shop for rum cakes and rum and gifts for our sons here. Shopping at the other ports was not so good and this was the place to find the best gifts. In addition to the rum, rum cakes and gifts we even bought a bamboo shirt and a set of bamboo sheets.
We had lunch at the Hard Rock cafe which was full of other tourists and had a nice lunch.
The all aboard for the ship was 4:30 and since we knew it took at least an hour to line up for the tenders to get back on board we got the shuttle at 1:30 to go the the port. When we got there, there were long lines waiting for the tenders. One line for ea. of the 3 ships there. Fortunately because of the heat the ships crew was handing out glasses of water to people in line.
There was also food booths and hand made souvenirs available for travellers to buy for last minute gifts.
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