Grand Turk

Good afternoon CC

I have been on 10 cruises now and honestly have grown tired of Nassau. Looking at a cruise in August that's going to Grand Turk. Any advice? Is it nice?

Thanks so much!

We are going to GT for the 2nd time. It's a nice relaxing beach day for us. Carnival built the cruise center/port and there is shopping, a Margaritaville and a very large swimming pool for all cruise passengers to use. The beach at the pier offers lounges (no fee). You can walk further down the beach to some independent beach bar type places as well. There are also excursions offered. Very safe and I would choose GT over Nassau any day!

Beach is nice, although nothing special. Snorkeling and diving are very good. Not much to offer if you do not care about beach or water activities.

Grand Turk is 100X better than Nassau.

Walk off the dock, and there is a HUGE FREE beach, right to the left.

Margaritaville, with large free pool, bar/restaurant, straight ahead.....

OR......

Hang a left and walk down the beach 10 minutes to Jack's Shack.

Nice family run shack, with the infamous dog, Topher.:D:D

Also, the BEST jerk chicken in the WORLD!!!!!

Either way, you will LOVE this island.

Small, but LOTS to do. Enjoy!:D:D

I've had Jacks Shack jerk chicken on 3 different occasions, and it is tasty. But best in the world? That's a stretch IMO.

Jamaica wins any jerk contest, chicken or pork.

GT is a nice relaxing island. I've never stayed in the immediate port area or Margaritaville, but have always walked down the beach to get away from the crowds. Less rocks in the water the further you go. Some excursions have great snorkeling or diving on adjacent isles.

I've had Jacks Shack jerk chicken on 3 different occasions, and it is tasty. But best in the world? That's a stretch IMO.

 

Jamaica wins any jerk contest, chicken or pork.

 

GT is a nice relaxing island. I've never stayed in the immediate port area or Margaritaville, but have always walked down the beach to get away from the crowds. Less rocks in the water the further you go. Some excursions have great snorkeling or diving on adjacent isles.

I've been to Jamaica 4 times.......Jacks chicken was better than ANY I had in Jamaica....I must have missed the good places.;)

Scotchie's just outside Ocho Rios, Jamaica. No one else's jerk even comes close.

Grand Turk. You can rent a golf cart and go exploring.

Grand Turk is 100X better than Nassau.

Walk off the dock, and there is a HUGE FREE beach, right to the left.

Margaritaville, with large free pool, bar/restaurant, straight ahead.....

 

OR......

 

Hang a left and walk down the beach 10 minutes to Jack's Shack.

Nice family run shack, with the infamous dog, Topher.:D:D

Also, the BEST jerk chicken in the WORLD!!!!!

 

Either way, you will LOVE this island.

 

Small, but LOTS to do. Enjoy!:D:D

I agree completely!

We got to experience GT last August for the first time and I would LOVE to get to return. We never did make it to Jack's Shack but I will definitely do so next time around! We did a snorkel excursion through White Sands and it was a neat experience. We went to "The Wall" where there are three drop offs: the first is about 65 feet, the second is about 100 feet and the last one is about 7,000 ft!!! It was unlike anything I've ever seen.

I think you will really enjoy your day in GT and it will more than likely be a place that you'd like to return!

We hit Grand Turk on our first cruise. We took our snorkel equipment and spent most of the day on the beach and in the water. We found what looked like a cannon on the bottom near the edge of the swimming area. I wish I had gotten a pic of it. We did a little eating and shopping too, but mostly just enjoyed the beach.

Grand Turk is 100X better than Nassau.

Walk off the dock, and there is a HUGE FREE beach, right to the left.

Margaritaville, with large free pool, bar/restaurant, straight ahead.....

 

OR......

 

Hang a left and walk down the beach 10 minutes to Jack's Shack.

Nice family run shack, with the infamous dog, Topher.:D:D

Also, the BEST jerk chicken in the WORLD!!!!!

 

Either way, you will LOVE this island.

 

Small, but LOTS to do. Enjoy!:D:D

We had a good time at Jack's Shack. Nice beach, nice people and strong drinks

Topher digging for conch shells

Very nice beach day, lots of shady lounge chairs at margaritaville and no pressure to buy drinks.

Easy walk back to the ship for lunch.

Let me add I am no longer allowed to drink rum after my visit to GT!!!

Let me add I am no longer allowed to drink rum after my visit to GT!!!

:eek::eek::eek: Do tell!:rolleyes:

Grand Turk is nice..Nassau is a waste

Just 5 mins from the ship is Jimmy Buffets margurittaville , with a HUGE POOL thats free completely free.

Just returned from Grand Turk almost 2 weeks ago on the Glory and DH and I loved it! We don't want to hang out with thousands of people in Margaritaville or on the beach right at the port, so we took a cab to their downtown area. We toured the museum that is there. It was $5 per person and you just walk through at your leisure. Before we left home I had done my research and found a restaurant called The Sandbar. It was a few minutes walk from downtown. Very tiny house with a large deck built right over the beach. There were maybe 6-8 tables and there were a few people from the ship and few that were staying on the island. We ordered some food which was very good and got some drinks. There was no one on the beach by the restaurant. You had the whole place to yourselves. It was amazing! We stayed there for a 2-3 hours and then made our way back to the port and walked down to Jack's Shack and hung out there until a few minutes before we had to be back on board.

It is a very laid back island. DH and I talked to one of the couples staying on the island and they told us the name of the house they rented and we are thinking of going back there and staying for a few days. It was very relaxing!

We got to experience GT last August for the first time and I would LOVE to get to return. We never did make it to Jack's Shack but I will definitely do so next time around! We did a snorkel excursion through White Sands and it was a neat experience. We went to "The Wall" where there are three drop offs: the first is about 65 feet, the second is about 100 feet and the last one is about 7,000 ft!!! It was unlike anything I've ever seen.

 

I think you will really enjoy your day in GT and it will more than likely be a place that you'd like to return!

White Sands. How was that specific experience with them in GT please?

We hit Grand Turk on our first cruise. We took our snorkel equipment and spent most of the day on the beach and in the water. We found what looked like a cannon on the bottom near the edge of the swimming area. I wish I had gotten a pic of it. We did a little eating and shopping too, but mostly just enjoyed the beach.

Wow, you think it was a cannon? How cool is that right off the shore!

Gran Turk would be nice if you are the only ship in port. We had two ships in port, The Liberty and the Victory..... it was a total clustermuck.... Margaritaville and the shops were shoulder-to-shoulder... it was a complete zoo as was the beach area....

Also, this is just my honest opinion, but Jack's Shack is totally overrated. Perhaps it is because I am from Florida and am used to really good beach bars.... Jack's is just a normal beach bar, very ordinary , nothing special.... yes the dog is cute but that was about it.

If I were to visit again, I would book an excursion or rent a golf cart and tour the island.

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Nassau is a waste.

I've always said the same thing about Nassau after being there countless times and doing the same thing over and over; Downtown or Paradise Island. But yesterday I had to eat my own words. I had a chance to go to Nassau for work and stayed in the Cable Beach area. Wow, what a difference. Just the drive from the airport to the hotel showed me a side of this island that I had never seen before. It completely renewed my desire to return and explore beyond the immediate port area, which has been the reason why I've grown so sick of that place.

Grand Turk is nice..Nassau is a waste

 

 

 

Just 5 mins from the ship is Jimmy Buffets margurittaville , with a HUGE POOL thats free completely free.

Limoguy if you would rent a car and drive past cable beach towards love beach you will find some of the most amazing beaches in the world. If you just stay near the cruise port you will probably be dissapointed.

As far as Grand Turk if you get away from margaritaville and the area near the port you can also find some really beautiful secluded beaches

A picture is worth 1000 words...

I always count Nassau as a "Fun-Day Onboard"

Gran Turk would be nice if you are the only ship in port. We had two ships in port, The Liberty and the Victory..... it was a total clustermuck.... Margaritaville and the shops were shoulder-to-shoulder... it was a complete zoo as was the beach area....

 

Also, this is just my honest opinion, but Jack's Shack is totally overrated. Perhaps it is because I am from Florida and am used to really good beach bars.... Jack's is just a normal beach bar, very ordinary , nothing special.... yes the dog is cute but that was about it.

 

If I were to visit again, I would book an excursion or rent a golf cart and tour the island.

 

 

 

 

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Thanks for this info. I was just about to write to ask if anyone had any feedback on how crowded it gets with two ships in port. I was in GT for the first time in November and loved it - such a nice, relaxing (and free!) beach day. I'm going again in a few weeks on the Glory, but we're sharing with the Sunshine that day - and that ship arrives 3 hours before we do. [emoji17] Just a bit worried that it'll be really crowded.

Personally I found Grand Turk to be really boring. I walked around for a little bit, got a drink, checked out the space exhibit and just went back to the ship because of boredom. I finally ended up getting back off to do a 30 minute helicopter tour which was $100 for 2 of us. They wanted a lot more but no one was doing it so I talked the guy down. That part was fun, but I'd rather have an extra sea day over another day at Grand Turk. Some people love it there, but for me there was nothing of interest to do.

I'd rather have a port day in Nassau and find something new to do or like I said have another sea day.