Great Stirup Cay Virgin - Suggestions?

[vols_159]

Loved the GSC was just a peaceful day at the beach.. We enjoyed laying in the hammock and falling asleep was very relaxing.. And there was a small cat on the island i wonder what happen the the cat was there march 2010 also i had ran out of sun screen on board in was 10 bucks on the island it was 4 so that was a great save.. I will miss that stop this march 2011 when im on the sun on the western c. cruise!

[sparks1093]

Does anyone know if you get priority tender tickets if you pre-book the snorkel excursion? We want to spend as much time on the island as possible.

 

Thanks,

Tony

 

I don't believe they use tender tickets for GSC, but if you get up early enough you shouldn't have a problem getting on the first or second tender.

[disneykins]

We booked this as an excursion on ncl.com way before the cruise.

 

When we got to our cabin, our tickets for tender #1 :D ( yes first one's to leave ship :p ) were right there.

 

So first on GSK, lots of choices for chairs, no line up to exchange vouchers at snorkel kiosk.

 

If you get in line late for tickets for the tender you could end up arriving on the island at noon :eek:

 

Beautiful place don't wanna miss it !

 

p.s. If you don't wanna stress about your 25$ ugly ship towel being stolen, bring a cheap one from Walmart ( thats what we will do on our next visit to GSK )

 

Have fun

 

Did you get the first tender tickets because you were pre-booked to snorkel or was it a perk for a suite or Latitudes or something else? Just wondering coz we'd love to get there ASAP and avoid the tendering lines.

 

Thanks,

Tony

[mjkacmom]

I don't believe they use tender tickets for GSC, but if you get up early enough you shouldn't have a problem getting on the first or second tender.

 

They do use tender tickets for GSC, and you will get them for anything you pre-book, even the slide. And for a PP, the clamshells give you amazing shade (my poor mom has prescription sunglasses, and had a hard time reading).

[sparks1093]

They do use tender tickets for GSC, and you will get them for anything you pre-book, even the slide. And for a PP, the clamshells give you amazing shade (my poor mom has prescription sunglasses, and had a hard time reading).

 

I think it depends on which ship you are on, I should have said "we didn't use tender tickets on the Sky".

[sebas030]

Did you get the first tender tickets because you were pre-booked to snorkel or was it a perk for a suite or Latitudes or something else? Just wondering coz we'd love to get there ASAP and avoid the tendering lines.

 

Thanks,

Tony

 

Only because we pre-booked the thing.

 

Was our first cruise, so no lattitude and were in a standard OV cabin.

 

Have a good one !|

[jollycruise]

Loved the GSC was just a peaceful day at the beach.. We enjoyed laying in the hammock and falling asleep was very relaxing.. And there was a small cat on the island i wonder what happen the the cat was there march 2010 also i had ran out of sun screen on board in was 10 bucks on the island it was 4 so that was a great save.. I will miss that stop this march 2011 when im on the sun on the western c. cruise!

 

We found out on our last visit there that a group of NCL employees stay on the island for 4 months at a time and I'm sure the cat is well taken care of :D. They had some great stories of how they kill the time when the ships don't stop due to wind and weather, I would kill to have that job for one 4 month stay. That would be such an adventure!

[Friscorays]

how much is the clamshell and does it really make it shady for you? Thanks.

 

Last I heard, $29. Includes priority tender tickets and great shade.

 

Pics here:

 

[commission1]

Clamshell,, nah, first I dig a huge whole in the sand then I use one of those recling lawn chairs, for a roof, I aints paying no 29 dollars to go to beach.

[Alimo711]

I'm concerned about leaving anything unattended, like when we're in the water. How do you handle that? We'll have our flip video and the digital camera with us, and I dont really want to leave anything sitting out on a chair. Are there lockers or anything like that?

[geo229]

The Sky does not give out tickets it's first come first serve.

 

 

Alimo711: no there are no locker, we always leave our stuff on the lounge chair but covered with our towel and always keep an eye on it from the water.

[IDKaren]

We will be in the carribean in November and at GSC. Wondering how the weather is this time if year??

 

 

 

 

 

I was at GSC in August on the Sky and November on the Pearl. If it is available, do the wave runner excursion. It was the bomb! They show you a safety video, suit you up and take you in a group of about twelve, 100ft apart around the island. They canceled my wave runner in November because the seas were just too rough, I hope that doesn't happen to you. There were plenty of chairs both in August and November. The tender was a pain, I was number 13 and didn't get there until noon. If you have little ones, the Hippo slide is pretty cool.

 

November GSC

 

August GSC

 

August GSC

 

August GSC

 

Hippo Slide GSC

 

November

[BBTT]

Can anyone comment on the price for using waverunners at GSC

[LivingLifetotheFullest]

We've been to GSC twice and loved it. It is a pain if you have to wait for a tender, but don't remember that being too long. If you like a quieter spot.... go to the right when you get off the tender. There are more trees there for shade as well if that's what you like.

The first year, we brought good water shoes and went for a hike along the rocks for quite aways. There's a small private beach area but it would be about a 30min. hike.

One year we hiked on a 'trail' across the island stopping at an old light house. It was hot and not all that interesting, but we were curious.

We bring our own snorkeling gear and life vest. It's not great, but not bad for snorkeling.

As others have said, it's a nice relaxing day - especially if you're there on your last cruise day. I missed not stopping there on our last cruise.

There's a small 'straw market' with some inexpensive souvenirs too.

[C Cruise Dude]

We will be in the carribean in November and at GSC. Wondering how the weather is this time if year??

 

When the Pearl was there in November of '10, the beach water was like a warm bath but when you stood up the air temp sent a chill through you. Sitting in the sun was nice, you dried out good but not like August. We were told that the wave were pretty high the day before (I think 20'). It was questionable whether we could tender at the time. The tenders did bounce around a bit. The people on the second level (I was on the top) got a bath before the beach. :D