Grand Turk...at the port

Hi there-

Husband and I are considering another carnival cruise. This one stopping in Grand Turk. I have seen the pics before of the pool, bars etc right there at the port..Does it get crowded and does I need to purchase tickets to access? Is it considered an excursion? TIA

Hi there-

Husband and I are considering another carnival cruise. This one stopping in Grand Turk. I have seen the pics before of the pool, bars etc right there at the port..Does it get crowded and does I need to purchase tickets to access? Is it considered an excursion? TIA

Yes. No. No.

Grand Turk is a great port. Free pool at Margaritaville. Free beach too. Drinks are pricey at Margaritaville. I'd get off the ship early to get a lounge chair - especially if there are two ships docked that day.

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Just walk 5 mins tll you get to Jack shack, done deal!

Just walk 5 mins tll you get to Jack shack, done deal!

I agree, Jack's shack. Great jerk chicken.

We took advantage of the free beach that's just right there. Made sure we were among the first to get off, which allowed us to choose just the right loungers and location for us. Also, we got snorkel stuff from the Shore Ex desk for a few bucks and we made a day of it under a palm tree.

Don't worry.....recurring theme of Grand Turk....I think that's why everyone loves it! Why worry?

Thanks everyone. Pardon my incorrect English in my OP. It was late at night and I was typing fast. It should "do" not "does." I am my own grammar police. LOL!

Happy cruising!:)

Thanks everyone. Pardon my incorrect English in my OP. It was late at night and I was typing fast. It should "do" not "does." I am my own grammar police. LOL!

Happy cruising!:)

Take a peek at www. Jacksshack.tc you can print a coupon for a free shot of rum. If your drinkers you won't really need it though!!

The owners jack and Janet will be there and it's a nice little beach bar about 10 minutes up the beach to the left when you get off the ship. Cheap stiff drinks not like margaritavilles $20 drinks and good jerk if your hungry and no crowds!

We got alittle drunk once and Jack drove us back to the ship! Also our friend dropped her camera inside his car and he sent it back to her. That's the kind of people they are.

Take a peek at www. Jacksshack.tc you can print a coupon for a free shot of rum. If your drinkers you won't really need it though!!

 

The owners jack and Janet will be there and it's a nice little beach bar about 10 minutes up the beach to the left when you get off the ship. Cheap stiff drinks not like margaritavilles $20 drinks and good jerk if your hungry and no crowds!

 

We got alittle drunk once and Jack drove us back to the ship! Also our friend dropped her camera inside his car and he sent it back to her. That's the kind of people they are.

They sound like great people! We'l! be going there on the next cruise! Can't wait!

We took advantage of the free beach that's just right there. Made sure we were among the first to get off, which allowed us to choose just the right loungers and location for us. Also, we got snorkel stuff from the Shore Ex desk for a few bucks and we made a day of it under a palm tree.

How was the snorkeling there?

Hi there-

Husband and I are considering another carnival cruise. This one stopping in Grand Turk. I have seen the pics before of the pool, bars etc right there at the port..Does it get crowded and does I need to purchase tickets to access? Is it considered an excursion? TIA

Grand Turk is a great choice of ports for your cruise. The free beach and free swimming pool are perfect. The shopping right there at the port is fun too. I just thought I'd mention this since I didn't see anyone else has mentioned it: If you like to gamble on the ship, Grand Turk is one of the very few ports where the ship's casino slots remain open while the ship is docked, and the casino is much less crowded with way less cigarette smoke.

Have a great cruise!

You're gonna love it there! My favorite port! Have fun!

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GT is actually one of my favorite ports because it is so simple. We have done the beach hanging out, with some time by the pool for one stop. And then this past year, we opted to pay for one of the cabanas at Margaritaville. We split it with the other family we traveled with, so it was like $60 for each of us. It worked out especially well since the wife of the other family was just starting cancer treatments, and had just had surgery a few weeks before, so she really loved having the shade, private cabana, a/c, etc... But otherwise, the pool and chairs are all free for the taking. Yes, the food/drinks are expensive, but that's all we got (some nachos, calamari, and a round of drinks).

We are also going to Grand Turk- the free pool and free beach sounds great!

That being said, are there other parts of the island worth touring, and how much would it be to book a local tour of the island.

The Carnival activities look very expensive. A private cabana is about $300, though sometimes I think it may be worth it to stay out of the sun.

Grand Turk is a great port. Free pool at Margaritaville. Free beach too. Drinks are pricey at Margaritaville. I'd get off the ship early to get a lounge chair - especially if there are two ships docked that day.

We were just in Grand Turk. Really loved this stop. Margaritaville was really, really crowded and we were the only boat in port. We did go to the beach, but we took a cab to the market area and shopped awhile and then just walked across the street down to the beach and wandered around awhile. Unlike the port area, there wasn't another sole on the beach in this area. It was great.

Hi there-

Husband and I are considering another carnival cruise. This one stopping in Grand Turk. I have seen the pics before of the pool, bars etc right there at the port..Does it get crowded and does I need to purchase tickets to access? Is it considered an excursion? TIA

I am so glad that I listened to the advice on Cruise Critic and did not book an excursion. The cruise port there is so very nice and you do not need to purchase a ticket to hang out there. Our boat was the second one to arrive in port (we docked at 12:00), so I was afraid that there would not be any loungers available. Boy, was I wrong. We were one of the first families off the Magic and there were tons of free chairs and umbrellas available. We walked off the dock and turned left to Margaritaville and there were tons of chairs available around the pool and beach. Because the ocean is so stunning in Grand Turk, we decided to find chairs on the beach instead. We found a nice spot with four loungers under palm trees in front of the Flo Rider spot. We were very close to the DJ playing the music in Margaritaville, so we could hear great music while we gazed at the ocean. There was a local selling cold beer under a red tent for $5 a bottle and 2 cups of rum punch for $5, so that is where we bought our drinks. The same beer in Margaritaville was $8.50 a bottle! We were chilling under the palm trees, and looking at the beautiful ocean when someone came by asking if we wanted to go on a banana boat ride. The girls wanted to, so we paid them $20 per person and walked to their tent. We filled out a permission form, the girls climbed on the banana boat, and I hopped in the boat with the driver and took some awesome pics of the girls as they were being pulled around in that crystal clear water. They had a blast and said they wished it had lasted longer, but I was ready to get back to my lounger. After a while, the girls met up with their friends at the pool at Margaritaville and we visited the beer tent again.Heeding the advice of my cruise critic pals, we walked about 5 minutes down the beach to Jack’s Shack for lunch for some of the best jerk chicken I have ever put in my mouth. For $14 a plate, we had jerk chicken and fries (my daughter had rice and beans instead of fries), and we had plenty of it. You could get the chicken by itself for $10 a plate. We had signed up for a free shot of rum on Jack’s Shack website prior to our cruise, and got our free shots after our lunch. After lunch, we played ball with Jack’s dog, Topher, and headed back to our loungers. We passed a place that sold $4 beers, so we grabbed two. They weren’t as cold as the $5 beers, so I wished we had waited until we got back to the guy in the red tent to buy our beers. We had such a fabulous time and stayed on this beach until we had to be back on the boat. We did save about 30 minutes to shop in the stores. We found the best t-shirts here. This was an amazing port with plenty to do just a few yards from the boat. Highly recommend staying here for the day instead of booking an excursion.

How was the snorkeling there?

Honestly, not the best we've experienced...at least on that particular day. But we paid only a few bucks for the mask and snorkel and still saw a few fish, and were able to enjoy the water, so no complaints. I'd say if you really wanted to see a ton of fish, this may not be your best option.

How was the snorkeling there?

We did an excursion to snorkel with stingrays- that was a lot of fun. Not many other fish though except barracudas :eek: so if you are looking for beautiful tropical fish this may not be a good snorkeling port (at least not where we went).

The Carnival activities look very expensive. A private cabana is about $300, though sometimes I think it may be worth it to stay out of the sun.

They must have doubled the prices then. We were there in November and paid I believe around $120-130.

How was the snorkeling there?

My husband and son really enjoyed the snorkeling there. There are a couple of objects down below to look for. They just went right off the beach, close to the ship. I put pictures in my review (in my signature), so you can see where they were in comparison to the ship. We didn't pay anything to do an excursion, just did it for free right off the beach. ;)

Here are my thoughts on Grand Turk, again these are MY thoughts and opinions, everyone has them. Don't flame for them....

You are on a cruise, going to exotic place and seeing foreign countries. Why people take a cruise and get off at the port and stay in a chain establishment that you can find in virtually any beach city in the United States, is beyond me. You are in a new place for crying out loud, get out and enjoy it! Go to Margaritaville when you're back home.

Rent a golf cart, drive around the island. Check out the locals way of life. See the wild animals roaming the streets. Look at the salt salinas which use to be the locals way of life before the cruise industry took over. Go to Her Majesty's Prison and tour it. Check out the museums, go to the light house. Ride down to Governor's Beach, stop at Jack's Shack for lunch. Enjoy the island while you're there. You can't go there every day without going on a cruise. You can always go to a Margaritaville or a pool. Just my 2 cents.

Grand Turk is especially nice when yours is the only ship in port.

It does get crowded when there are two ... even at Jack's Shack and elsewhere.;)

You can rent a golf cart for about $100 for the day and drive around the island and check the sites. Nice beach but gets crowded so get out there early.

Here are my thoughts on Grand Turk, again these are MY thoughts and opinions, everyone has them. Don't flame for them....

 

You are on a cruise, going to exotic place and seeing foreign countries. Why people take a cruise and get off at the port and stay in a chain establishment that you can find in virtually any beach city in the United States, is beyond me. You are in a new place for crying out loud, get out and enjoy it! Go to Margaritaville when you're back home.

 

Rent a golf cart, drive around the island. Check out the locals way of life. See the wild animals roaming the streets. Look at the salt salinas which use to be the locals way of life before the cruise industry took over. Go to Her Majesty's Prison and tour it. Check out the museums, go to the light house. Ride down to Governor's Beach, stop at Jack's Shack for lunch. Enjoy the island while you're there. You can't go there every day without going on a cruise. You can always go to a Margaritaville or a pool. Just my 2 cents.

This is the kind of stuff I'm looking for, posts like this that give us newbies an idea. We have a golf cart rented with Wet Money and now I'm making our list of what/where we want to go.