2015 Cayman Islands – Grand Cayman
10th January 2015
Next morning we stopped in Grand Cayman. We arrived late due to the captain spotting a distress flare at 1.30 am. By law, any ship seeing a flare must go to help and search for several hours but after 40 minutes the coastguard took over so we were back on our way. The captain said we would depart later that day so there was no time lost on shore. Once again we just pottered around the shops and went to the beach which on this occasion was a 20-minute taxi ride away. We got a bit concerned on the way back when the minibus that was taking a few of us to the ship took a detour inland instead of going along the coast road. There was a Russian family who didn’t understand what was happening and were convinced they had either got on the wrong bus or were being kidnapped. I have an overactive imagination and must admit that kidnapping did cross my mind. Then I remembered that on the way to the beach, the taxi driver told me that at 5 pm the traffic was terrible so I guessed our minibus was avoiding that but it was still a relief when we turned a corner and saw the funnel of our ship.
One thing that became apparent during our short stay in Grand Cayman was that unless we went on an excursion which involved doing something specific, it didn’t really matter where we stopped off. A bunch of shops and a beach is pretty much the same experience wherever you are and once back on the ship, I couldn’t differentiate in my mind between the two previous days. The trouble was that in some places there was just nothing much to see and the excursions on offer didn’t appeal to us in the slightest.
At dinner, Sue and Clive outflanked Victor by getting to the dining room early and claiming the centre seat so we could sit together again. We felt a bit bad for Victor and his wife but we did our best to include them in the conversation. The problem was Victor never stopped complaining and he sent back at least 50% of what he was served. One night he proudly announced that he had ordered a special meal by phoning up the kitchen during the day and ordering a curry. He did this because the food on the menu was “so tasteless” whereas we all thought it was very good. I must admit he was served the most bizarre curry I had ever seen and certainly nothing like the specific curry that he had ordered. There was the usual plate of rice, curry and bits and pieces but then another plate of rice mixed with mayonnaise which looked horrific. Victor informed us that the chef was, “Catering to the American market” but my theory was that the chef was just taking the piss.
The two comedians we saw earlier in the week had been replaced by two new ones so we went along to see them. The first was another black comedian who was ok but not in the same class as the first one. The second was one of the fattest women I had ever seen and most of her entire act was taken up with intimate details of the sex life between her and her equally fat husband. It was so that bad I was beginning to miss Victor’s company.
Friday was the last day and was spent entirely at sea. The weather turned colder and it was windy but we managed a few hours sunbathing in a sheltered area mixed with some trips to the lovely hot Jacuzzi before it started raining and we went to our cabin. We docked early on Saturday morning and the disembarkation was equally well organised which was more than could be said about immigration control which took ages. It was a great week and there was no question we would go on another cruise one day although one week was just about right.
Now we come to the end of our Caribbean Cruise adventure 2015 and it is time for me to say “unhoist the mainsail” until next time.
2015 Caribbean Cruise
