Grand Turk’s Cruise Center, Poolside Cabana Rental

Our ship is going to be in Grand Turk from 7:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M., which means we have to be back on board by 1:30. We are traveling with two other couples. Is it worth even renting a cabana for that short time? Granted, we'll only be paying $40 per couple, which is what it would cost for beach chairs and umbrellas elsewhere. Is it noisy, being near Margaritaville?

Our other thought was going it alone to Jack's Shack. But it is more fun to be with friends.

I hope someone has rented a cabana and can share experiences.

Thanks very much.

Our ship is going to be in Grand Turk from 7:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M., which means we have to be back on board by 1:30. We are traveling with two other couples. Is it worth even renting a cabana for that short time? Granted, we'll only be paying $40 per couple, which is what it would cost for beach chairs and umbrellas elsewhere. Is it noisy, being near Margaritaville?

 

Our other thought was going it alone to Jack's Shack. But it is more fun to be with friends.

 

I hope someone has rented a cabana and can share experiences.

 

Thanks very much.

We rented a Cabana two summers ago when on a Family (10 members) cruise. It was more of a convenience than anything else. We were able to store all of our personals in the Cabana and lock it when we first arrived. Some of us took a bar crawl up the beach to Jack's Shack and stopped at 3 other bars on the way. Some stayed right in the Margaritaville pool all day. The Cabana comes with a Cabana Boy which you can summon by bell from the Cabana. In our case, since we didn't spend any time in the Cabana, we parked out at the pool bar and our Cabana Boy would bring us drinks to the pool simply by raising our hand. He was amazing. The Cabana is Air Conditioned. So if you are there on an exceptionally hot day you can get some relief from the heat. But other than the convenience of being able to lock your belongings and have a place to escape from the heat, there is not much advantage.

We opted for chairs on the beach. I didn't go all that way to be stuck in a cabana by the pool. We enjoyed walking the beach, and then down to the conch graveyard, shell hunting.

I don't see the point of those cabanas. There really isn't anything special about them and there are so many chaise lounges around the pool, you can easily find a spot for your group either near others or more removed from others if that is your preference.

I wouldn't bother with cabana especially given your short stay.

I just booked a family cruise. Trying to figure out what to do at this port. It will be 5 adults a 15yr old, 8, & 5. Would you still suggest against the cabanas if we just stayed near the pier using the beach and margaritaville pool?

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I have now rented a cabana three times at Grand Turk and doing it again in June.

The first time, it was a really hot day! Nice to have the option of the air conditioning to cool down (and to have a cool place to eat lunch). Also, love buzzing the server to order drinks and food - very convenient and the server was excellent! And, even if it rains, you have a place to hang out and stay dry. :) Also, love having a place to lock up our possessions while we are in the pool. We usually just stay in the area enjoying the drinks, service, and atmosphere.

We don't spend much on shore excursions (this was our only excursion on our last cruise) and, for our upcoming cruise, this was our one big spend, renting the cabana. We love it and are always sad to leave. :(

Our family visited Grand Turk as our port of call last year on Carnival Sunshine. We were there on July 17th. It was a family reunion cruise and there were 13 of us. My husband and I decided to rent 2 cabanas for our stay and we were so happy that we did.

By the time we docked (noon)and departed the ship (12:30pm), Margaritaville was slammed packed. There were no chairs to be had pool side! We were shocked that it had filled up in such a short amount of time.

We all made used of the cabanas for the whole day there. The day was extremely hot and it was great being able to have our own 'piece of real estate' to relax in, cool off, eat and drink comfortably etc. Everyone agreed hands down that Grand Turk was the best port of the cruise and that having the cabanas was the icing on the cake.

We are heading back on the Sunshine in August, and to Grand Turk, and sadly all of the cabanas are taken (and none by us :( I can imagine that it's going to be just as crowded and hot, so we're bummed about not having snagged one early enough, but I will keep trying everyday looking for a cancellation. If we aren't lucky enough to score one, it won't be for lack of trying. LOL

Do the drinks come from Margaritaville?

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Do the drinks come from Margaritaville?

 

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Yes. They were pricey yet delicious.

We ended up LOVING our cabana. It was great locking up our belongings, we had deck chairs in the shade right on the little porch, we pushed a button and received service right away. We arrived early enough that we had our pick of cabanas and deck chairs in the sun.

Should we be fortunate enough to sail to GT again, we'll definitely rent a cabana.

How is the cabana booked and what is the cost? Is there a limit on people? We will be on carnival valor when we visit Grand Turks.

Can anyone answer my question?

I paid $125 in 2012. You book it as a shore excursion on Carnivals website.

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I paid $125 in 2012. You book it as a shore excursion on Carnivals website.

 

 

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Hey thank you, it's much cheaper than I thought it be. We have a group of 20 cruising next July so depending on who is joining us poolside that day, we might need a few. Better jump on them now.

We have not rented cabanas here in GT but have in HMC (loved that one but we were there all day in August and it was nice to get out of sun). We were also in GT in August and walked down the beach (pool was packed and we were at one of the most beautiful beaches around and did not want to hang at pool) a little ways, stopped at Jack's, rented 3 chaise chairs and an oversized umbrella for $10 total, nice shade, oceanfront, beautiful scenery, breeze from ocean, and the drinks at the bar right behind us (drink guy came around often and once DH went up to bar to get food and drinks which they delivered when ready), perfect day!