Go to the beach instead...
Written: Jan 20 '09 (Updated Feb 08 '09)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: It gets you off the ship for the day, if you don't like beaches.
Cons: This is heat you can taste. Wear a hat and drink water.
The Bottom Line: Its a cute idea, but only as a last resort.
|
|
|
| andre98's Full Review: Hell |
I'll make this short and sweet. If you only have a day to spend on Grand Cayman, go to the beach they brag about. We were on a cruise in '05 and they only give the daylight hours on most Carribbean stops to get out and see what you can. If you sign up for the excursions, you get packed into vans and led by the nose - told to look left, look right, get off and get on the bus, and tip your tour guide and bus driver. The town of Hell and the Turtle Farm was the two main attractions, and frankly the thought of close encounters with gigantic turtles and Stingrays did not thrill me.
We decided to wing it. First we wanted to see what was around the main dock area. Our Costa cruise line ship was "tendered", meaning they shuttled us to the island in smaller boats and told us when the last boat out was. There were a collection of bar and soveneir joints, even a KFC, but we took the local bus line out to "Hell", hoping to make it back in time to go see the seven mile great beach. I have to say, the bus ride to and from Hell was the most interesting. The locals riding with us ranged from old to young, and though I was anxious to strike up some conversation, we end up just looking at each other. We were playing the tourist role to the max, with my loud tropical print shirt. Yet another swollen up American in town for the day.
The cruise guides played up the "mail a postcard from Hell" activity as though it was a major deal. Words cannot express how underwhelmed we were when the bus dropped us off, and there was nothing - NOTHING in sight but the black lava rock, the souvenier shop and the Hell Post Office. I couldnt believe the shop actually had a big men's 3x size t-shirt, then couldnt believe what they wanted for it, so I passed. We copped some postcards and went to the post office and mailed them. Then there was nothing else to do but go out and wait for the bus to come back. The heat was so oppressive, had to be high 90s, that we gave up on the beach and headed back to the ship to take advantage of the amentities we have already paid for.
My wife returned in 2007 with her girlfriend and they made it to the fabled beach, and she raves about it. That's why I'm recommending the beach over the town of Hell if your time schedule is limited. I would like to note that this island is refreshingly absent of beggars and people aggressively hawking wares.. Perhaps the first wave of tender boats took that wave away, but I think it mostly reflects an economy that is doing much better than many in the Carribbean.
Recommended:
No
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Dec - Feb
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
andre98
|
|
Location: Bergen County, NJ
Reviews written: 65
Trusted by: 6 members
About Me:
Web Wanderer
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.