Travelling to Grand Cayman -- extra fees

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“Plan on extra fees and increased costs everywhere”

We left on Friday and spent the first night in Charlotte, to skip the hassle of getting up early in the morning, dropping off and parking at the airport. The Wingate Inn at the airport has a Park ‘n Fly option, which worked really well for getting to the airport. A decent/pleasant room, the usual marginal lobby breakfast and a shuttle to the drop-off near the check-in location.

Saturday: Check-in went fine, lots of people, but lots of desks open; security went fairly quickly. It’s right after the check-in now at the Charlotte airport, so there’s access to all the shops and eateries. Our gate was close to the main lobby with the rocking chairs, which I’ve always enjoyed - they were all full. Lots of flights had been delayed from yesterday due to NE weather, etc.

The plane was fairly full, but not completely; we left 20-30 minutes late because of the plane’s late arrival from Buffalo. Coffee even costs $1.00 now, and beer is $7.00. I got us a lunch snack from Chili’s ToGo -- about $16.00 (a sandwich to split, good-sized fruit salad, 1 small chips, and water). DGS had trouble with ears on landing - all the remedies we brought along didn’t work. It is quicker getting down there than some other places, tho.

Flight went very well, and the crowd had cleared out when we got in, so we were the only flight arriving (used to be several flights came in at the same time, and getting through customs and baggage seemed to take forever). They have made some improvements, and it went very smoothly (except when I mistakenly stuck the customs form in the suitcase that got put on the bottom of the luggage cart)! It’s advisable to get a luggage cart, if you’re getting a rental car (unless you can travel with carry-ons). Most of the rental cars are about a block’s walk away; thankfully, they have also made a good wide sidewalk almost all the way there now (although, our cart did get tipped over at one point - DGS (dear grandson) walked in front of it and DD (dear daughter) had to veer out of the way).

We ended up with a Ford Focus (the rental car lady called it a “free upgrade” and it does seem a little bigger than the Yaris we had last time, in the same rental class). It has a dent over the driver side back wheel, but is very nice, comfy and roomy enough for us and our stuff. It is left-hand drive (as in U.S), which is disappointing for DD, but it seems to work just fine for driving on the other side of the road than she’s used to. No trouble getting to our first hotel (although I did have to be a bit insistent about which way we needed to go. This is our third time driving here, and although there seems to be even more construction going on, we do kind of know our way around.

Check-in to the Westin went fine, which I was a little concerned about since we got “bumped” here (actually an upgrade) from the Courtyard by Marriott, which is currently closed. It’s pretty and room is fine (no fridge/micro like the Wingate, but fancier beds, bathroom, toiletries and coffee setup). Wonderful beach and excellent pool.

We opted to run errands before water time much to DGS’s disappointment. We were on a search for orange rum liqueur for DD (cheap beer fine for me - GM ); and first place we went didn’t have it. Found it at the Tortuga store (orange rum, 23.95 CI$ --ouch) -- didn’t realize we were across the street from our planned grocery stop at Foster’s (well, we don’t totally know our way around). We were really hungry so we ended up at Burger King for “dinner” and then backtracked to Foster’s. I was running on US dollars the whole time, so had to got through their standard spiel each time about the conversion and the change being in CI$ (which was fine; it’s our first day, and the exchange rate is the same everywhere; it’s about $1.25 US to each $1.00 CI. Just picked up a few things at Foster’s to get us through Sunday, when the grocery (and liquor) stores are closed.

Then back to the hotel for the sunset from our balcony. I figured we would have a parking lot view, being “refugees” for one night here, but we have a beach view (and the restaurant, but that’s okay). There’s a table set up out on the beach for a romantic dinner for a couple. DGS and DD went for a walk on the beach, and I went out a while later. Then we had some balcony time while the couple was dining - a very pleasant (long-distance) view for us. Took DGS down to the pool for a swim and the water was cold, but he spent close to an hour puttering around - had the pool to himself.

It’s Saturday night and very quiet here; the hotel is far from busy. I think this used to be a popular time here - over the holidays, so one has to wonder if the economy is affecting things here. We had some stressful moments over the course of our day getting here - par for the course when in travel status (there’s always something, eh?) - but sitting out on the balcony is so wonderful.

Oddly, I’m writing this in the bathroom (moved a chair in here) while DD and DGS are trying to get to sleep. DD called down to request a rollaway since the lovely beds are doubles, not queens, and we ended up with a huge, tall air mattress for DGS - he loves it. It’s early for me, and since I snore, I like to let them get asleep before I try to settle down. It will be so nice to have separate bedrooms and living space for the next 13 days - one of the main pleasures of timesharing (and having a kitchen - putting stuff in the bathtub with ice from the machine is a drag).

Extra fees seem to be the name of the game everywhere these days. We didn’t have to do the luggage fees, because I bought the plane tickets so far in advance. There’s an extra fee per day ($2.00) to have an additional driver. The hotel has a resort fee (for what used to be standard things like coffee, and an “energy” charge). So, build in more flexibility for additional charges for everything when you’re planning any trips from now on.

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Photos

Beach side of the Westin
12/20/08 in the evening