Grand Cayman is a beautiful port. Only real negative is having to tender to the port. Unless you go very early or wait until the crowd is gone and miss a part of the day, plan to wait in line. We were in line about 30-40 minutes to get to the tender. We were trying to leave the ship about 9:30 a.m. Coming back to the ship was no problem at all. We didn't do an excursion here. They had told us on the ship that the prices were so good with the current exchange rates, but not so much for us. My husband was watch shopping for a TAG or RADO watch and discovered that the selection was limited and the prices were comparable to Macy's and our local Costco back home. It just wasn't worth purchasing there and losing the comfort of a local store in case of a problem. We didn't shop for other jewelry so can't say about that. We then took a cab to 7 mile beach and walked the beach before returning to the ship. A very safe and lovely port.

Grand Cayman (Georgetown)

This is a beautiful spot to enjoy the beach and water. We had booked parasailing for this port, but it was cancelled due to wind. We were disappointed, but happy that they were safety conscious. The day was warm and sunny, but the wind did prove to be a factor in other areas. We couldn't rent an umbrella due to wind so had to search for shade not wanting to get too much sun. They had also closed one of the snorkeling sites so the area to snorkel was quite crowded. None of the was RC fault and couldn't be helped. Just as an FYI, we had wanted to rent a cabana and I had read on the CC site that you could put your name on a list as soon as you arrived on the ship and would probably get one, but we found a much different story. We arrived on the ship the first day about 11:30 and went straight to the excursion desk. Both ladies there snickered at me when I asked to be put on the list for a cabana. They said most of those are booked and year in advance and never available on the ship. We are emerald and were in a JS so not preferred status. They humored me and said they put me us on a wait-list, but I think they just punch buttons to make me happy and nothing came from it. The only other note for this port is the food. It was awesome. Outdoor barbeque style with ribs, chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs along with vegetable selections and salad and several dessert options.

Perfect Day at CocoCay

We were in a junior suite 9348. It was a hump JS and we would opt for that area again. We have had JS class before and always enjoy it. For us it is worth the price jump for the extra space, closet, tub and extra balcony area. We truly enjoy our balcony privacy. As a note we have sailed on 8 other cruises and this was our first time to have a balcony that wasn't on the aft. We were afraid we would miss it, but have to say, we now prefer the side balcony. Much more air movement and with the hump, we also felt the view was just as good.

This port is a good-bad experience. We booked the Dreamer catamaran through the ship. It was a great excursion that we enjoyed very much and would highly recommend. We had read negatives about the amount of time snorkeling, but felt is was adequate and the crew on the boat seemed to be very helpful to first timers. They provided great service with drinks and a snack. We had about a 30 minute boat ride to and from the snorkeling site that some felt was too long but we are boat people and found it fun and relaxing. The bad is that the port is far from everything. Our bus ride to the starting point was 35 minutes and we found that was one of the shorter commutes when talking with others. The other good is that we had always felt you HAD to book and excursion in Jamaica, but with the new area in Falmouth, we would have felt perfectly safe and would have enjoyed spending part of the day in the gated shopping area and returning to a deserted ship.

Summary - No cruise is bad, but this one missed the WOW factor.He travels a great deal overseas and says that it is still acceptable to smoke there, while in the US there seems to be a great deal of courtesy for non-smokers.

Independence of the Seas Review

Independence of the Seas - Cruising still awesome but slipping

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