3 Carnival ships in Grand Turk

[jasong38501]

Has anyone been in Grand Turk on a day with three Carnival ships all docked there at the same time. I thought there was only room for two ships to dock so will that mean one of them will have to tender or is there another dock nearby?

[PhillyFan33579]

4 minutes ago, jasong38501 said:

Has anyone been in Grand Turk on a day with three Carnival ships all docked there at the same time. I thought there was only room for two ships to dock so will that mean one of them will have to tender or is there another dock nearby?

 

I have been to Grand Turk twice since mid February. Like you mentioned I have never seen more than two ships there and I don’t see how they could dock a third ship there.    Maybe someone with more knowledge will come along.  My knowledge of Grand Turk is limited to going to Jack’s Shack every time we go there.  

[mets123]

One ship will be there from seven am to noon or one pm. Another will be there from two to seven pm. Kind of like San Juan on busy days.

[jasong38501]

9 minutes ago, mets123 said:

One ship will be there from seven am to noon or one pm. Another will be there from two to seven pm. Kind of like San Juan on busy days.

That isn't the way Carnival has the ships scheduled. They have Elation from 8-4, Magic from 11-4:30, and Mardi Gras from 7-4. That is a ton of people there at one time.

[SNJCruisers]

6 hours ago, jasong38501 said:

That isn't the way Carnival has the ships scheduled. They have Elation from 8-4, Magic from 11-4:30, and Mardi Gras from 7-4. That is a ton of people there at one time.

With all of the people from the Mardi Gras and the Elation already ashore, those on the Magic may as well just stay on board.  Loungers on the beach as well as poolside at Margaritaville will be few and far between to be found.  Unless of course you want to pay the vendors for their "prime location" on the beach.

[schazzy]

There were 3 ships in GT when we were there in April 2017. We were on the Ecstasy and when we arrived, the Pride was already docked and there was another ship anchored near by, after looking it up, I discovered it was the Crystal Serenity and they were using tenders. Here's the schedule for that day:

 

Edited April 1, 2019 by schazzy

[jsglow]

I love GT.  But I sure wouldn't on a 3 ship day unless we were first to dock.

[Anyislandwilldo]

Where would all the people go?  There is not enough room on the beach loungers to support that many people.  I don't think they have enough golf cart rentals or other rentals to support this many people.  Maybe a lot of people will just stay on the ship.

[cruisequeen4ever]

That’s insane! I ❤️ Grand Turk, but I can’t imagine it being its true tropical paradise with that many pax storming its beach and Margaritaville! Too small of an area for that many people!

[kctwinmommy]

Wow! That will be tough! We were there with 2 ships and it was tight. We booked the cabana for part of that reason. Also because someone in our group had some recent health issues (like a month before the cruise), so it was also good to have the A/C and shade for her. But it just was a nice place to have so we could keep our things together. The husbands and kids would go down to the beach, we could hang at the pool, order food/drinks, etc... Then we didn't have to worry about the crowds as much.

[footballbabe3]

Where do I found out how many ships will be docked the day we are at grand Turk?

[schazzy]

19 minutes ago, footballbabe3 said:

Where do I found out how many ships will be docked the day we are at grand Turk?

 

http://crew-center.com/grand-turk-turks-and-caicos-cruise-ship-schedule-2019

[shof515]

3 minutes ago, schazzy said:

 

http://crew-center.com/grand-turk-turks-and-caicos-cruise-ship-schedule-2019

 

that site can be a bit inaccurate like cruisett and other sites. the best information is always on the port website: https://www.grandturkcc.com/Port-Schedule.aspx

[jasong38501]

I guess this will just be a good "stay on the ship" day. Maybe the lines for the Bolt roller coaster will be shorter. I booked the cruise simply to experience the Mardi Gras so I guess that is a good day to do that! Oh and for the people asking, I always use www.cruisetimetables.com  for my research. I have yet to find any inaccuracies on that site.

[coevan]

We are not fond of GT. We do a morning dive on the wall, excellent. We are back on board by noon and enjoy the peace and quiet of the Serenity area. Someone mentioned only one bar was open, we found all of the bars open. We actually had better service as the cocktail waiter knew where we were sitting and we tip. 

[jimbo5544]

14 hours ago, jasong38501 said:

That isn't the way Carnival has the ships scheduled. They have Elation from 8-4, Magic from 11-4:30, and Mardi Gras from 7-4. That is a ton of people there at one time.

which date is this for?

[OCruisers]

Gosh, just having two cruise ships at Grand Turk is one too many!  

Can't imagine what a zoo it would be with three!  

[jasong38501]

3 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

which date is this for?

I'm at work so I don't have it in front of me but I'm fairly certain it's Oct 29, 2020.

It's my Grand Turk day on my Mardi Gras cruise the last week of October, 2020.

[jimbo5544]

7 minutes ago, jasong38501 said:

I'm at work so I don't have it in front of me but I'm fairly certain it's Oct 29, 2020.

It's my Grand Turk day on my Mardi Gras cruise the last week of October, 2020.

Thanks, I cannot conceive how they could physically do that?

[jasong38501]

Just now, jimbo5544 said:

Thanks, I cannot conceive how they could physically do that?

That's what had me wondering. I double checked what I found on the website I used with Carnival's published intenararies for each of those ships and it all seemed to match. Luckily I booked this trip for the experience of a new ship and not the ports.

[Organized Chaos]

Has anyone had any luck spotting humpback whales while in Grand Turk during the first part of the year? They're down there for the winter from January to early April. We'll be there the second week of March next year. It'll be our third time there, but first for that time of year. Judging by other migrating animals, I'm guessing that since it'll be later in their season down there that some will have already started to migrate away. So I didn't know if they're still often seen by that time. I'd hate to spend money on a whale watching excursion only to come up empty.

[jimbo5544]

1 minute ago, jasong38501 said:

That's what had me wondering. I double checked what I found on the website I used with Carnival's published intenararies for each of those ships and it all seemed to match. Luckily I booked this trip for the experience of a new ship and not the ports.

I do not doubt you but I wonder if there sre dominos that are yet to fall regarding at least one of the ships going somewhere new or different.   Cannot claim it as a fact,  but that pier seems way to short from memory to have 2 ships on the same side.  

[schazzy]

Just now, jasong38501 said:

That's what had me wondering. I double checked what I found on the website I used with Carnival's published intenararies for each of those ships and it all seemed to match.

 

I just did that as well, and yeah, it's a match. It's unreal that they would have potentially over 12,000 passengers descending on to GT that day.

 

6 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Thanks, I cannot conceive how they could physically do that?

 

If they are really going to keep that schedule, my guess would be the Mardi Gras and the Magic will dock, and the Elation will have to tender, that seems like the only likely scenario to me.

[evandbob]

6 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

Has anyone had any luck spotting humpback whales while in Grand Turk during the first part of the year? They're down there for the winter from January to early April. We'll be there the second week of March next year. It'll be our third time there, but first for that time of year. Judging by other migrating animals, I'm guessing that since it'll be later in their season down there that some will have already started to migrate away. So I didn't know if they're still often seen by that time. I'd hate to spend money on a whale watching excursion only to come up empty.

 

I've seen whales, adults and babies, in the DR near Samanna  in January.  And oddly, I saw a small pod of whales from my balcony as the Glory was docked in St Croix towards the beginning of Feb.!  They were 5 just on the other side of the pier in rather shallow water for about 10 minutes.

 

I think the higher likelihood of spotting whales in the Northern Caribbean (Note that GT is technically in the Atlantic) occurs in Jan & Feb, so GT being further along might extend into early March?  Migrations are more dependent upon sea water temperatures than timing too.  Good Luck!

[evandbob]

8 minutes ago, schazzy said:

 

I just did that as well, and yeah, it's a match. It's unreal that they would have potentially over 12,000 passengers descending on to GT that day.

 

 

If they are really going to keep that schedule, my guess would be the Mardi Gras and the Magic will dock, and the Elation will have to tender, that seems like the only likely scenario to me.

Just crazy!