MSC1 Day 11: Georgetown, Grand Cayman

Sunset west of Grand Cayman

Meraviglia from Georgetown

Chickens crossing the road

We had breakfast in our cabin, as has become our habit, then got ready to go ashore. Georgetown is a tender port, so we had to board a smaller boat for a short trip to shore. This trip was much shorter than Belize – about 5 minutes. And, unlike most people, we didn’t have to wait for our number to be called. We had two more “priority boarding” passes, a perk, apparently, due to our “back-to-back” status.

Georgetown is an upscale port. No poverty here. It is also a great place to snorkel and swim with the stingrays. The fountain in downtown is a tribute to the importance of stingrays to the local economy. However, the chickens roaming the streets belie the upscale nature of the city.

We had a light lunch at the Paradise restaurant, right on the shore with a clear view of the 5 ships in port: Carnival Paradise, Holland America Nieuw Statendam, Celebrity Reflection, Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas and the MSC Meraviglia. That is a combined capacity of well over 15,000 passengers so the port was very busy. With both tenders and people. I think the chickens would have been wise to run and hide.

We did some shopping but didn’t buy much. Souvenirs and trinkets mostly. The most interesting part of the shopping experience was the table at the entrance to the Harley Davidson shop – a glass top on a huge V-12 marine diesel engine.

Upon return to the ship Jett went in for a nap and I went down to get the banana gelato and homemade hot chocolate that I had been jonesing for from Day 2 when I spotted them. I was mildly disappointed with both – the gelato was too sweet and the hot chocolate wasn’t a lot better than Swiss Miss.

Our new dinner companions again were MIA. We may be dining alone the rest of the cruise. But that is fine. We discussed both of our families and may have found ways to fix all of you.

Homemade hot chocolate and banana gelato

V-12 marine engine table

The casino was unkind again. We are getting dangerously close to break even. But, as the gambler said, “I am glad I broke even. I need the money.”