Visiting Grand Cayman on Carnival Vista #CruisingCarnival

One of the reasons we chose to sail on Carnival Vista (aside from it being the newest Carnival ship) was that it went to Grand Cayman. Neither my best friend or I have been to the Cayman’s before. I have family that used to live there and have seen many photos of the island's crystal clear water and breath taking beaches. Visiting the Cayman's was on my must visit places.

We planned on taking an excursion to Stingray Beach and Coral Garden Snorkel. However, the weather report the night before wasn’t looking great for us with high winds and waves so we never booked. We were honestly lucky to even port that day. Without an excursion planned, we jumped on a taxi and headed over to 7 Mile Beach.

7 Mile Beach is a stretch of beaches on West side of Grand Cayman.  If you are looking for something to do without planning in advance, 7 mile beach is for you. There are a variety of places you can be dropped off at, from resorts to beach bars.

Our Taxi driver suggested we go to Coconut Joe's. The beach had chairs for rent for $5 a person, water activities and a restaurant/bar. Once we arrived at Coconut Joe's, neither of us really felt that was where we wanted to be. It was too crowded and all we wanted to do was relax along the incredible water (they did not exaggerate about the beauty of this island). Before we left, I did try a local beer to the Island, White Tip Lager.

After a walk down the beach, we stumbled on Coccoloba, a restaurant on the beach that is part of the brand new Kimpton Seafire Resort and Spa. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and decided to use our unspent excursion money on a bottle of Veuve Cliquot. I mean, why not?!

We sat at Coccoloba for a little more than an hour, drinking our delicious bottle of champagne, overlooking a beach that I swear has been a screen saver on my computer back in the day.

While we were sad to miss out on Stingrays and Starfish, we made the best of the day and turned it into an impromptu day in paradise. If you are visiting Grand Cayman, here are a few excursions that intrigued us.

Deep Stingray City, Reef and Coral Garden Snorkel ($59.99)
VIP Cruise Snorkel & Champagne Adventure ($119.99)
Stingray Sandbar & Starfish Point $69.99

I will say, after being to many islands via port, Cayman was the nicest, safest one I’ve seen. I never once felt unease and there weren’t cops walking around with Assault Rifles. Along with being gorgeous, it was very clean. I will absolutely visit here again.