whale statue
Grand Turk
Grand Turk is the capital island of Turks and Caicos and the largest island in the Turks, but there are two in the Caicos island archipelago that are bigger. Turks and Caicos together make up a country which is also an overseas British territory, though they use US dollars for their money. English is the official language, but some residents speak Spanish or Haitian Creole. The cruise port at Grand Turk is the only cruise ship port within the Turks and Caicos. Annual rainfall is about 21 inches. Average summer temperatures run from 85 up to the mid 90’s F (29-35 degrees Celsius) from June to October. From November to May the average temperature is 80 to 84 degrees (27-29 degrees Celsius). Water temperature in the summer is 82 to 84 degrees (28-29 degrees Celsius) and in winter about 74 to 78 degrees (23-26 degrees Celsius).
Grand Turk Cruise Port
The port at Grand Turk has a dock with space for two large cruise ships. If one comes in while another is there the dock is closed while the second ship approaches and until it is secured. Anyone from the first ship is stuck onboard or onshore, wherever they were at the time the dock was closed. There was a bin near the ships where people could dispose of any questionable substances before walking down the dock and a sign on the dock that said Carnival passengers would be subject to inspection by a sniffer dog.
swim-up bar at Margaritaville
The port in Grand Turk has plenty of things to do right where the ship docks. There’s a beach where people can swim, snorkel, or sunbathe. Local beach bars line the area next to the cruise ship beach and people can get drinks or rent beach chairs at them. There’s often locals offering things to do like banana boat rides from shore as well. The cruise port area has shops, restaurants, and a flow rider. It costs extra to use the flow rider, which you can book onboard as a shore excursion even though it is right at the port. There is also an extensive Margaritaville with an expansive shallow pool with swim-up bar and cabanas. You have to pay to use the cabanas. Margaritaville also has indoor bar space and a logo shop. It’s one of the port’s most popular attractions.
Apollo display
There’s also a display about an Apollo splashdown right by the beach. Next to the shopping area there’s a taxi stand for people who want to go off exploring on their own. There’s usually a place to book local last-minute tours available in the port area as well.
whale themed bar near the statue
A whale statue on the beach is a favorite photo spot for a lot of people. Next to it there’s a whale-themed bar with food.
beach with beach chairs
Day at the Port in Grand Turk
We’ve been to Grand Turk on several cruises, but rarely leave the port. It’s a good spot for not spending any money, though you could also spend a lot without ever leaving the port. Things changed a bit between our last visit and this one. There were both more free beach chairs scattered about out in the sun and more of the sort with shade that you have to pay for.
fish and rock structure just beyond the rope
The far end of the swimming beach used to have the most underwater structure for fish to live in so it was the best snorkeling area. On this visit several water trampoline things had been installed in what used to be the prime snorkeling spot within the roped off swimming area of the beach. There were numerous schools of tiny fish near the beach. Farther out in the water the fish got bigger. Just when you get to some big rocks perfect for snorkeling over to see way more fish you get to the rope marking the end of the swimming area. You can’t go beyond the rope so all of what would be the prime snorkeling spot is roped off. You can see fish at the edge of that structure from within the rope, but there’s a lot more beyond the area where people are allowed to go.
Out of the water the beach was pure sand, but at the waterline it got rocky. Not little rocks in the sand, but the entire bottom was mainly rock with a bit of sand covering. Enough to make the ground uneven so it is easier to swim over than to walk on, but not enough to make a lot of places for fish to hide.
shops at the port
I hadn’t really checked out the shopping area at this port before our port stop there on Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam. My sister wanted to check out the shops so we first went out for that figuring to go back to the ship to change and put away anything we might buy before going snorkeling, There are a lot of shops selling overpriced clothing and jewelry, as well as some with souvenirs, but none with any sundries or other practical things for people who may have run out or forgotten to bring them.
We wandered around the shops awhile without finding anything we actually wanted to buy. They did not have anything that my sister was looking for, nor did we find anything we wanted that we weren’t specifically looking for. We went back through the duty-free shop which is where you go to get back to the ship intending to change and come back out. Just as we got to the door to leave port security closed off the way out off by pulling one of those barrier strips across the exit just as the people directly in front of us were about to pass through the exit. The security people would not let anyone else through. That is how we found out that people are not allowed on the dock if another ship is on its way into port even if that ship is not yet close enough to actually see it. There was no ship visible, but one was on its way there. They had to clear the dock area before it could come alongside. It took awhile before it finally arrived, and awhile longer before they finally let anyone back out onto the dock. We’d already looked at everything we wanted to see onshore so we just sat on the edge of an unused cabana that people are supposed to pay for and waited until we could go back to the ship. We were not the only ones doing that and nobody made any effort to chase anyone away. That was the only place with shade.
Carnival Freedom coming into port
We watched the ship come in and dock next to ours. After awhile they let people who worked there walk down the dock, but it took longer before passengers from either ship were allowed to go to or from the ships.
By the time we got back to the ship it was lunchtime so we had a salad before going back out to snorkel. The other ship was Carnival Freedom on a round-trip cruise out of Port Canaveral. It’s a bit bigger ship than the Nieuw Amsterdam so things got a lot more crowded, but we still managed to find beach chairs to put our things on while we went out to snorkel. It turned out to be somewhat disappointing since most of what there was to see was beyond the rope now so we didn’t stay as long as we otherwise would have.
just a small section of the Margaritaville pool
The pool at Margaritaville which had been too cold to give a try on my last visit was warm enough to swim in this time. It’s a shallow pool, but deep enough to swim. The flowriders got going once the Carnival ship arrived. They were off when it was just our ship. In general Holland America isn’t much of a flowrider type crowd. The passengers off the carnival ship were for the most part considerably younger. You could guess with probably about 90% accuracy which ship any given person was from by their age, though there were a few gray hairs with carnival towels and a handful of younger people with Holland America ones. Partly due to the cruise line, but also because of the length of the cruise. Ours was 3 weeks whereas the Carnival itinerary was just one. In spite of the sign on the dock we did not notice anyone getting checked by a sniffer dog even after the Carnival ship arrived.
FlowRider when it was closed with no water running
Ship’s Excursions Offered on Grand Turk
Although there is plenty to do right at the port in Grand Turk, there are other things to do on the island if people want to leave the port area. For those looking to book organized tours the Nieuw Amsterdam offered quite a variety of excursions there. The list included jeep, ATV, or dune buggy adventures, several snorkeling options, semi-sub or sailboat excursions, touring by hummer, duck boat, tram, or golf cart, a trip to a private beach house, or a couple bus tours of which one ended at a beach and the other included a painting class where people could paint their own masterpiece for a souvenir. The snorkeling from an excursion would probably be a lot better than what’s left now at the beach. We have done excursions there a couple times. Once a power snorkel and the other a semi-sub.
Cruise Stories 