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Dive Review of Pirates Point Resort in
Cayman Islands/Little Cayman

Pirates Point Resort: "Still the Best!", Jun, 2016,

by Richard M Tavan, CA, US (Reviewer Reviewer 5 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 9041 has 2 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 3 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling 3 stars
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Long our favorite destination, Pirates Point had somehow not made it to our itinerary for several years. We were at least curious what might have changed after the passing of founder/owner Gladys Howard. The answer: Nothing for the worse, several things for the better. Unchanged: Gay and Eddie Morse continue to run the place like a Swiss watch. The hospitality remains friendly, relaxed, family-style, and genuine. The rhythm of the dive day remains the same and suits us "to a T," that is, unhurried breakfast, two boat dives with no time limit before a late, great lunch, and no diving or other plans between lunch and happy hour.

The food is still outstanding although the new chef has put his own mark on PP dining, to wit, dinner is now plated instead of family style. The presentation is therefore more elegant and there is less temptation to overeat shortly before bed. There are many new recipes, all excellent. Lunch is now my favorite meal of the day but the dinners are more gracious and very good. Divers often abandon the other resorts and sign up for available spots in the PP dining room. Happy hour continues to include a different appetizer each day and open bar for diving guests.

The ambiance is still funky, cool, and fun. The dart board, replaced a few years ago to my delight, is still lightly used and lightly lit but I enjoy it. Dominoes after dinner are now optional. ;-) They have cleaned up the bar by removing a lot of the guest-made craft art. There is still plenty of it left, though, and they still seem to bring out stuff made by current guests. The atmosphere continues to relax and delight me from the moment of arrival. (If they don't hear the plane overhead, one of the two airport employees gives them a call to come pick you up.) The DMs are still knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly. (The dour one we encountered one time is gone.)

Gladys' daughter Susan is now the owner and lives part-time in Gladys' lovely house on the property. When she is there, as she was for our recent trip, she continues her late mom's tradition of hosting a sushi and cocktail party once a week, inviting the resort guests and friends from around the island.

The diving has improved since our last visit when the coral and wildlife seemed to be suffering a bit. The reef is in better shape. We only saw a few of the invasive lionfish thanks to conscientious harvesting by divemasters. More groupers seem to be returning. Our favorite dive sites are still great and we saw a few new ones. Variety of terrain from site to site is one of the reasons I love Little Cayman. And, of course, Bloody Bay Wall is what this island is all about. Miles long and deeper than forever, it provides the most enjoyable diver profiles I've ever experienced: Drop down in 15-20 feet of water, group up if you want a guide, swim over or through the wall and down and out along the wall as far as you like (100 FSW marine park limit), swim back and up to the boat, and continue sightseeing in the shallows as you complete your safety stop and breathe your air down to the limit or decide you've had enough. Once they are confident in your abilities, you can wave goodbye to the DM and do your own thing. They still offer a night dive once a week when conditions permit. They are pretty conservative about that but this time we got one.

Pirates Point is a vacation gem. It's easy, purely recreational diving. The marine park doesn't seem to serve technical divers but I'm not one. Only two months back and I'm again ready to return.

One caveat: Don't bring along non-divers unless they really enjoy "just relaxing." There is very little else to do on this six by one mile, barely populated island. There is some fishing available - ask around - but so far we haven't participated.
Websites Pirates Point Resort   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Monterey, CA Channel Islands, Hawaii, Galapagos, many places in the Caribbean.
Closest Airport Edward Bodden Airfield Getting There US-Grand Cayman-Little Cayman

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, rainy Seas calm, no currents
Water Temp 80-84°F / 27-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 40-70 Ft/ 12-21 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 100' depth, back on boat with (500? 600?) pounds of air
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments I've only dabbled in UWP, so my ratings are not particularly significant. There is a camera table in the dry, covered part of the boat. There is a rinse tank on board where you can leave your rig. They are happy to hand gear to you after you jump in. Once you earn their trust, you can go off without a DM and shoot to your heart's content. There is household electricity, 120V with US outlets, throughout the resort.
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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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