Koningsdam - Grand Turk - 2/14/17

[richwmn]

Having a wonderful time on the Koningsdam! Grand Turk 2/14/17

[1ANGELCAT]

She's looking Fabulous [emoji3]. What a great way to spend Valentines Day❤️❤️

 

 

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[ger_77]

It looks beautiful - wish we were there, too!

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

 

[Himself]

Nice ship but a bit big and it can be somewhat noisey

[jtl513]

Nice ship but a bit big and it can be somewhat noisey

:confused: Noisy where? We didn't notice that.

[Cruising-along]

Have a great time, Rich!

[Happily@Sea]

Nice ship but a bit big and it can be somewhat noisey

 

 

I agree, a big age mix on this cruise. Lido pool area is extremely noisy, especially the volume of the 'background'music. It feels like they are trying to compensate for two decks height. It's not loud enough so you can't carry on a conversation, but it isn't at background level either.

 

Families, young adults, working age and us 'oldsters' - it's a little early for spring break, or we'd probably have them too. Not our usual quiet ship - and they stay up past 11 pm - :eek: :eek: :D

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hope you are enjoying your Grand Turk day.

 

Do tell us what you did today.

Edited February 14, 2017 by CobyTA

[Carvell]

Hold on!!! We are on our way!!! Will board on Feb 19th for 21 days!!

[Love the beach]

Gorgeous photo! Thanks!

[Spunky946]

We love it there. I hope you had a great day.

[sppunk]

Rich, so happy to hear you're having a great cruise.

 

She is a pretty special ship, isn't she?

[Carvell]

What did you,do there for the day?

[OlsSalt]

We shared a port with the Konigsdam while on the NA in Grand Turk. The dock unfortunately was not long enough to allow two gangplanks to be opened up for the K'dam - you could see where the extra door opening was, but it was beyond the end of the dock.

 

Consequently we watched a huge line develop for passengers getting back on the Konigsdam, as they were leaving earlier than we were on the NA. This must not have been a happy occurrence, for all concerned. There was some talk about this might be the last time the K'dam would dock in Grand Turk.

 

 

The NA was able to open two gangplanks so we just cruised past those poor waiting K'dam passengers. One of the travails for a maiden run. Though I think it was also a maiden port stop for the NA too.

 

 

We found Grand Turk to have some low-key, easy charms - old historic building of Cockburn town, shaded lanes, white plaster stone walls, a lovely small Hotel Osprey with a snorkel site beach at the end of Cockburn.

 

 

There is almost no tourist development, but we found a friendly attitude by those who were there to help us at the tourist office or the many taxi drivers that would stop to offer their services in the nicest way. We walked from the dock to the town - 4 miles, not particularly recommended but doable. There were lots of casual sport vehicles for rent, just outside the port entrance that others used to scoot around the island on their own.

[perfect match]

Beautiful picture of Koningsdam! Thanks for sharing it! :D

[jbhcw]

What a beautiful picture of the K in Grand Turk...sadly we missed that port on our Jan 8th cruise due to bad weather!! Thanks for posting.

[jtl513]

Lido pool area is extremely noisy, especially the volume of the 'background'music.

Okay, we never hung around the pool (just walked by) but now that you jog my memory it did seem noisy when we ate lunch at the NY Deli.

[Sea Belle]

We found the MDR to be noisy. The only time the Lido area was above normal level was when 1 particular child would squeal as his mother chased him around. They were having fun but no-one else in the area appreciated their game. ;)

[djhsolara]

We shared a port with the Konigsdam while on the NA in Grand Turk. The dock unfortunately was not long enough to allow two gangplanks to be opened up for the K'dam - you could see where the extra door opening was, but it was beyond the end of the dock.

 

Consequently we watched a huge line develop for passengers getting back on the Konigsdam, as they were leaving earlier than we were on the NA. This must not have been a happy occurrence, for all concerned. There was some talk about this might be the last time the K'dam would dock in Grand Turk.

 

 

The NA was able to open two gangplanks so we just cruised past those poor waiting K'dam passengers. One of the travails for a maiden run. Though I think it was also a maiden port stop for the NA too.

 

 

We found Grand Turk to have some low-key, easy charms - old historic building of Cockburn town, shaded lanes, white plaster stone walls, a lovely small Hotel Osprey with a snorkel site beach at the end of Cockburn.

 

 

There is almost no tourist development, but we found a friendly attitude by those who were there to help us at the tourist office or the many taxi drivers that would stop to offer their services in the nicest way. We walked from the dock to the town - 4 miles, not particularly recommended but doable. There were lots of casual sport vehicles for rent, just outside the port entrance that others used to scoot around the island on their own.

 

 

When were you there on NA sharing with Koningsdam?

 

 

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[OlsSalt]

When were you there on NA sharing with Koningsdam?

 

 

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It was Jan 31, this year. Just 2 weeks ago. (Sigh)

 

We also shared port with a ship in an A-B-C port called "Freewinds" - never heard of it or the cruise line. We thought it must be some student maritime training ship as the passengers while young and casually dressed, lined up in formation and then left the ship on a group jog. Turns out it is a training ship for the advanced levels of Scientology - look up the wiki entry for the details. I believe it is based in Curacao and confined to the A-B-C islands due to not meeting US maritime standards.

[djhsolara]

We were on Koningsdam that day.

 

Part of the issue was that when NA was coming into port, without any notice they shut the doors to the dock until NA was tied up. I know it's basic procedure, but we were in the shop for about 20 minutes and they didn't announce that they were shutting the door, so suddenly we (and the line kept growing and growing until it went the whole way through the shop) were trapped in the shop for about another 30 minutes when we were ready to go back onboard. Lots of unhappy campers.

 

 

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[OlsSalt]

We were on Koningsdam that day.

 

Part of the issue was that when NA was coming into port, without any notice they shut the doors to the dock until NA was tied up. I know it's basic procedure, but we were in the shop for about 20 minutes and they didn't announce that they were shutting the door, so suddenly we (and the line kept growing and growing until it went the whole way through the shop) were trapped in the shop for about another 30 minutes when we were ready to go back onboard. Lots of unhappy campers.

 

 

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Interesting, thanks for the back story. Yes, we also got the impression there were a lot of unhappy campers. You must have been staring daggers at us on the NA for botching things up. My surrogate apologies. What did you do in Grand Turk and what do you think of it as a cruise port?

[CherryG]

We were there on Jan 31st this year as well, on the Nieuw Amersterdam, and saw the massive lineup for the Koningsdam. We must have been on the same cruise, OlsSalt. I missed the sign that said the umbrellas and chairs were free on the beach, and ended up paying a local $20 to use his. I don't think the port area should allow locals to do this, as it was very deceiving. The Freewinds ship in Curacao does belong to the Church of Scientology. Apparently this is where it is moored when not sailing.

[easyboy]

Nice ship! Hope you enjoy your cruise.

[Happily@Sea]

We were there on Jan 31st this year as well, on the Nieuw Amersterdam, and saw the massive lineup for the Koningsdam. We must have been on the same cruise, OlsSalt. I missed the sign that said the umbrellas and chairs were free on the beach, and ended up paying a local $20 to use his. I don't think the port area should allow locals to do this, as it was very deceiving. The Freewinds ship in Curacao does belong to the Church of Scientology. Apparently this is where it is moored when not sailing.

 

I was also on NA except I had view of water instead of the pier.

 

About Freewinds, it is tied up in Aruba most days. The PTZ-tv webcam for Aruba, shows it there most everyday. Including today. http://www.portarubawebcam.com/