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Dive Review of Various shore based/Morrits Grand in
Cayman Islands/Grand Cayman

Various shore based/Morrits Grand, Aug, 2002,

by James & Kandace Heimer, TX, USA (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 10 reports). Report 329.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving 4 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments After several years going to Grand Cayman, we do very little boat diving because we find the shore diving to be very good and much cheaper. The Grand Cayman boat dives are very expensive, even when you get a package. We avoid them except to get to the North wall or for a few wreck dives. We prefer Tortuga Dives at the Tortuga Club next door to the Morritts Grand, where we have a time share. We have tried the much praised and nearbyy Ocean Frontiers and found the dive staff to be more interested in keeping divers off the coral than in ensuring they had a pleasant dive (and kept clear of the coral, of course), so we go with Tortuga. We have also used Treasure Island Divers on 7-mile beach, but the quality of their dive staff is not as high (cursory briefing, little assistance or guidance during the dive) as has been our experience in the past.

The best shore diving is from the DiveTech shops at Cobalt Bay or the Turtle farm. The first wall at 60 feet is an easy swim (easier at the Turtle farm) from a ladder leading down to the water from a location near the dive shop. It costs about $7 to rent a tank. To reach the outer, deep wall, you can do a long swim or take the DiveTech shuttle boat for an additional $7. They also have UW scooters for rent, and you can tour between the two dive shop locations, both of which are on the NW tip of the island.

Other shore dive locations abound south of Georgetown,like Eden Rock, and these locations are also good for night dives. We use the standard references (Cayman Divers Guide, Guide to Diving and Snorkeling...) for site information. Of course, you do need a rental car, especially when staying out on the East end of the island, as we do. By the way, the East End is much quieter than the touristy 7-mile beach, and there are several good restaurants nearby, like The Edge. It is also close to Rum Point. The diving is also more unspoiled, with genreally better soft corals and fish life.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Indonesia, Malaysia, Tahiti, Hawaii, both coast of Mexico, California, Texas GOM, Norway, Bahamas, Aruba, Bonaire, Honduran Bay Islands, Belize
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm, noCurrents
Water Temp 80-85°F / 27-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 50-70 Ft/ 15-21 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Boat dives are limited to 100 feet and bottom time to that allowed by the tables for the planned depth; however, deviations are allowed for computer users, who can dive their profile within the time limit
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 2 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Boats go out from shore on generally short trips and have minimal camera facilities - a small table for set up / storage and a "dedicated" rinse tank (but thery are often used by less experienced divers for mask rinsing).
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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