Carnival Fun times - April 23, 2020

[Host Carolyn]

Well I'm sorry to report your cruise director fell asleep before midnight and didn't get today's Fun Times to the guest services desk for distribution😯😬

 

Today we docked at beautiful Grand Turk. Beautiful beach, conch fritters and lots of chairs under the palm trees near the dock. And no other ships today! What's your plan for the day?

 

Edited April 23, 2020 by Host Carolyn

[HxFx]

Since yesterday was a dive day, today I think I will go on an excursion to Gibbs Cay. I love snorkeling just as much but have to admit the conch ceviche is just as big a draw!

[Butterbean1000]

Get off the ship,  walk around the port for a while and then walk way down the beach and find a place to relax in the sun water.

 

[pirate4me2]

I just went on a horseback riding excursion and fell off. No major injuries, just a bit sore! So, I am going to heads to Jack's Shack for some liquid painkiller and conch fritters. :)

[some_body]

I'll share my actual plan for Grand Turk in Jan 2021 - 

 

Never been there, but are traveling with another couple that has this as their favorite.   They say, "Come on! We'll take you to all the great spots! - Jack's Shack first!"    I'm not sure what I signed up for. . .  .

[pirate4me2]

35 minutes ago, some_body said:

I'll share my actual plan for Grand Turk in Jan 2021 - 

 

Never been there, but are traveling with another couple that has this as their favorite.   They say, "Come on! We'll take you to all the great spots! - Jack's Shack first!"    I'm not sure what I signed up for. . .  .

 

Best plan ever! Jack's Shack is awesome, we were lucky to discover it back in 2013 on our first stop in GT. We were in an aft balcony and had this family on vacation together surrounding us on each side....we didn't know that leading up to the cruise they kept calling Carnival hoping to book our room! They took us in and made us family members for the week, and they told us that we had to go down to Jack's when we got to GT. We also hear from other friends that we made onboard to go there. We were so glad that we did! The food and drinks are good, the dogs are fun, and that water....oh its Heaven on Earth!

[Organized Chaos]

We always head south. Turn right as you're leaving the pier. Even close to the pier, there's a lot less people, but the farther south you go, the quieter it gets. And it's better snorkeling off the beach than at the main area where the crowds gather. Nothing spectacular, but always enjoyable for us. We're not bar people, so Jack's & Margaritaville aren't attractive to us. We'll be there in January. Thinking about renting a golf cart for the first time and checking out more of the island.

[l2f]

25 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

We always head south. Turn right as you're leaving the pier. Even close to the pier, there's a lot less people, but the farther south you go, the quieter it gets. And it's better snorkeling off the beach than at the main area where the crowds gather. Nothing spectacular, but always enjoyable for us. We're not bar people, so Jack's & Margaritaville aren't attractive to us. We'll be there in January. Thinking about renting a golf cart for the first time and checking out more of the island.

 

We always head to Jack's Shack or a little further down.  Want to get away from the crowds but also want an umbrella and chair/lounger.

 

Organized Chaos..... heading south, are there any vendors down there that rent umbrellas/chairs?  We always heard nope.

 

Thanks

Edited April 23, 2020 by l2f

[Liverpoollovely]

4 hours ago, Host Carolyn said:

Well I'm sorry to report your cruise director fell asleep before midnight and didn't get today's Fun Times to the guest services desk for distribution😯😬

 

Today we docked at beautiful Grand Turk. Beautiful beach, conch fritters and lots of chairs under the palm trees near the dock. And no other ships today! What's your plan for the day?

 

 

I do not like this particular beach in Grand Turk, it is quite rocky. I will get off the island, take some pictures of the beach and the sea as it is truly beautiful blue colour, I then go to the shops and buy some souvenirs for people and get some Christmas Tree ornaments and bandannas from Ron Jon Surf Shop. and then get back onboard to put away my purchases and enjoy a walk around the ship.

 

 

[pirate4me2]

15 minutes ago, Liverpoollovely said:

 

I do not like this particular beach in Grand Turk, it is quite rocky. I will get off the island, take some pictures of the beach and the sea as it is truly beautiful blue colour, I then go to the shops and buy some souvenirs for people and get some Christmas Tree ornaments and bandannas from Ron Jon Surf Shop. and then get back onboard to put away my purchases and enjoy a walk around the ship.

 

 

 

If you get away from the beach that is right there at the port, it isn't rocky at all. Or at least it hasn't been when we have gone. Down by Jack's it is wonderful!

[UGACamper]

Jack's is where its at.

[Organized Chaos]

7 hours ago, l2f said:

We always head to Jack's Shack or a little further down.  Want to get away from the crowds but also want an umbrella and chair/lounger.

 

Organized Chaos..... heading south, are there any vendors down there that rent umbrellas/chairs?  We always heard nope.

 

Thanks

 

Yes & no. To the right (south) of the pier, there's an area of lounge chairs under some palm trees. Not nearly as many as there are in front of Margaritaville, but whenever we've been there, hardly anyone goes to that south side of the pier, so there's always been plenty of open chairs. And shade under the trees. The downside to that spot is, there are some large rocks under the water right along the shoreline. They're smooth, sometimes a little slick, but mostly they're just awkward to get over with the waves coming at you. Once you're past them, though, it's deeper water to swim & snorkel in. The last time we were in Grand Turk was 2018. They had done a lot of work to this particular area compared to when we were there in 2016. They hauled in a lot more sand, tore out the existing palm trees and planted several new ones, and added more chairs. Even so, hardly anyone was hanging out there a couple years ago. At that time, the chairs were free, but there weren't any vendors. But it's very close to all the hoopla. My avatar photo is from right behind this area in 2016. I went back to that same spot in 2018 to take the photo again, but it's different now because of the new palm trees.

 

Past that area farther to the south, there aren't any chairs or anything at all, but if you want to swim, you don't have to navigate over rocks farther south. We like to go down around the southern point, which is only about 1/4 mile from the pier, and snorkel down there. We go down there to snorkel and goof around. We don't hang out on the beach for long periods of time, so we don't mind that there aren't any amenities down there.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Organized Chaos