Grand Turk Dock Damage

[Mr305]

Hearing that the dock at Grand Turk has been damaged by Hurricane Fiona, with some pieces breaking apart.  Has anyone heard of the same?  We have a cruise to this port in November, this would be a shame.  Thoughts and prayers to everyone on the island, wishing them the best.

[mz-s]

11 minutes ago, Mr305 said:

Hearing that the dock at Grand Turk has been damaged by Hurricane Fiona, with some pieces breaking apart.  Has anyone heard of the same?  We have a cruise to this port in November, this would be a shame.  Thoughts and prayers to everyone on the island, wishing them the best.

 

Where did you “hear” this?

[Mr305]

There's a Twitter video from The Big Speaker that shows the beach area and says the dock is damaged.  You can see the metal walkways on the beach and in the distance you can see pieces of the pier/dock still standing.

[Mr305]

I recently heard they were expanding the pier/dock to better handle Mardi Gras, currently too short, only the front gangway can be used to exit/enter the ship.

[atricks]

 

Been trying to confirm this too, the eye of Fiona was within 10 miles of here earlier today  as a category 3 hurricane, so I could believe it.

 

Edited September 21, 2022 by atricks

[crewsweeper]

Webcam at port still dark but trees in port area are still standing and buildings in view don't appear to have roof damage.  Can't see the pier.

[pe4all]

Dock can be repaired.  Hopefully no lives were lost or people injured.  

[lostsoulcruiser]

Time will be necessary to evaluate the damage to the island's dock and other infrastructure (power, water etc).  Interestingly there is nothing yet on Carnival's website which is probably best since the assessments will just be starting.  

[jedi bobs]

They can aways tender in in grand turk

 

[crewsweeper]

Obviously based on the video there's some damage.  Not sure where those pilings on the beach are from, but it does look like gaps in the outer portion of the pier.

[Theosprey247]

Things can be fixed or replaced.  I just hope no one was hurt.

[kelkel2]

How sad. Grand Turk is one of my favorite ports, and we’re looking forward to our cruise stopping there in January. As sad as I am for us that it may not happen, I hope the islanders are safe and their homes are still standing. 

[dolphinsfan246]

1 hour ago, jedi bobs said:

They can aways tender in in grand turk

 

I don’t think they have enough/adequate water shuttles to tender Mardi Gras 6,000+ passengers every week plus she’s usually there with Freedom. That’s almost a 10,000 port load. 

[havanadaydreaming]

Just booked Dec cruise this past weekend, mainly to get back to Turk.  Godspeed to all.  

[bobbins1961]

Scheduled to be at Grand Turk on the Mardi Gras next Thurs Sept 29th.  We'll see if we even get to visit.  Also supposed to go to San Juan, PR and to Amber Cove, Dominican Republic.  Might be a wholesale rerouting of our cruise.  😬

[kelkel2]

10 minutes ago, bobbins1961 said:

Scheduled to be at Grand Turk on the Mardi Gras next Thurs Sept 29th.  We'll see if we even get to visit.  Also supposed to go to San Juan, PR and to Amber Cove, Dominican Republic.  Might be a wholesale rerouting of our cruise.  😬

You’ll have to come back and let us know what Carnival does. I’m sure once the damage can be surveyed they’ll know more. But I don’t have a good feeling about your cruise going to GT. 

[CeleBrat]

3 hours ago, jedi bobs said:

They can aways tender in in grand turk

 

 

2 hours ago, dolphinsfan246 said:

I don’t think they have enough/adequate water shuttles to tender Mardi Gras 6,000+ passengers every week plus she’s usually there with Freedom. That’s almost a 10,000 port load. 

And...I don't believe there is an adequate dock near their terminal for the shuttles to dock at.

[mz-s]

It's tough for me to say for sure judging by that video but it's plausible to me that what we are seeing is just the segmented sections of the pier which are visible on google maps. https://goo.gl/maps/v4dM4hruHXmkc1cY9

[crewsweeper]

5 minutes ago, CeleBrat said:

 

And...I don't believe there is an adequate dock near their terminal for the shuttles to dock at.

small dock where snorkeling and whale watching boats depart. 

[crewsweeper]

Out on Jack's Shack FB page there's a US Coast Guard video surveying the entire island for damage.  Lots of roofs off (some might be from prior hurricane).  Small excursion pier looks undamaged from air.  Main pier looks like the very end got washed away.  Might have been part of the new extension construction.  Lots of damage on beach heading up to Jack's and lots of flooding.

[mz-s]

3 minutes ago, crewsweeper said:

small dock where snorkeling and whale watching boats depart. 

 

If the strong concrete pier didn't survive I find it hard to believe that one survived, but stranger things have happened...

[crewsweeper]

25 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

If the strong concrete pier didn't survive I find it hard to believe that one survived, but stranger things have happened...

I think the portion of the big pier that washed away was the under construction portion.  Not sure how complete that was at the time.  Pilings still up.

[pe4all]

1 hour ago, bobbins1961 said:

Scheduled to be at Grand Turk on the Mardi Gras next Thurs Sept 29th.  We'll see if we even get to visit.  Also supposed to go to San Juan, PR and to Amber Cove, Dominican Republic.  Might be a wholesale rerouting of our cruise.  😬

Yikes! 3 of the 4 ports you were visiting have significant hurricane damage.  Don't be surprised if you get switched to a totally different route.  But look at the bright side - you will be going somewhere!

[kelkel2]

1 hour ago, bobbins1961 said:

Scheduled to be at Grand Turk on the Mardi Gras next Thurs Sept 29th.  We'll see if we even get to visit.  Also supposed to go to San Juan, PR and to Amber Cove, Dominican Republic.  Might be a wholesale rerouting of our cruise.  😬

We’re on the same itinerary in January. It will be interesting to see what damages there are. If there is major dock damage, I don’t know how long that takes to fix but I’m sure it not quick. We really love this itinerary because the only port that is a repeat is GT and I love it. And Puerto Rico is somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit too. It’s a bummer, but I’m sure if needed, carnival will change it around to allow us to have a good cruise. 

[BeachDiva101]

18 minutes ago, pe4all said:

Yikes! 3 of the 4 ports you were visiting have significant hurricane damage.  Don't be surprised if you get switched to a totally different route.  But look at the bright side - you will be going somewhere!

 Yeah, I'm in the same boat, so to speak, I'm supposed to be in Jamaica on Tuesday (27th), Grand Cayman on Wednesday (28th), Cozumel on Thursday (29th).  With this big tropical storm approaching, possibly turning into hurricane this weekend, don't think I'm gonna visit any of my places either. This is cruising during hurricane season, you gotta be ready and flexible for changes.

Edited September 21, 2022 by BeachDiva101