Swodog's E. Caribbean Adventure: Carnival Pride 23-30 July 17

[swodog94]

Grand Turk (Cont.)

The cabana has two very important features which are crucial in the summer months, because it is HOT and the help keep you cool. There's a ceiling fan, and more importantly, and air conditioner!

 

 

Inside are some very comfortable couches with throw pillows and a wicker coffee table.

 

On the coffee table are some menus. One is a food menu while the other is a drink menu. [Note: I took pictures of every page in the food menu and if you really want to know everything you can order, let me know, I'll post them].

 

Basically, a server is assigned to the cabanas, and if you want anything to eat or drink, you press this call button, and she'll come out and take your order.

 

Margaritaville is an independent restaurant, so your S&S card does not work there. You will have to pay using cash or a credit card, but the server will hold one of your S&S cards as collateral. You'll get it back after you settle your bill.

[swodog94]

Grand Turk (Cont.)

The cabana also has a tub, that can hold drinks and ice. Last time we were here, I ordered a bucket of the local beer (Turks Head) and the server brought me a bag of ice, so I was able to ice the beer down in the tub.

 

This time I ordered the same beer again. Turks Head beer is brewed in the Turks and Caicos Islands; however, it's brewed on a diffrent island, so you don't get to take a tour of the brewery while in Grand Turk. Sadly, our server didn't bring me ice, so I had to chill the beers in the mini-fridge that's provided in the cabana.

 

The beer, by the way, is an ale and it's very good! It's not available outside of the Turks and Caicos, so if you like beer, I highly encourage you to try it while you're there!

 

The cabana is a right next to the pool so you can cool off there and buy drinks from the many bars available, one of which is a swim-up bar. The ship towers over everything!

 

[swodog94]

Grand Turk (Cont.)

Once we relaxed for a bit we decided to head down to the beach. It's a very short stroll from the cabana. You walk by the Flow-rider and there's a gate that let's you out onto the sand.

 

 

There are tons of chais available on the beach for free. The closer to the pier you are, the more crowded it is. My recommendation is to head down a ways and you will find many open chairs.

 

The vendors on the beach are prolofic, and pushy! Don't let them intimidate you.The chairs and umbrellas at the cruise center are free...if they try and charge you, blow them off. If you've gone so far down the beach that you've ended up in a not-free area, move back down a little. Don't pay for chairs and shade unless you want to!

 

[swodog94]

Grand Turk (Cont.)

The beach right outside the cruise center is pretty busy, but it's not too bad as long as there's only one ship in port.

 

 

 

 

 

[swodog94]

Grand Turk (Cont.)

 

As mentioned, the beach by the cruise center is very convenient, but it is right next to the ship. It's not a very vibrant reef area there, but there is some things to see there in the water. I brought my mask and fins with me and went snorkeling.

 

Despite being close in to shore, there are some cool things to see in that area.

 

 

[Jamman54]

After two visits to Grand Turk, we have yet to leave the cruise center and Margaritaville area...does anyone know what building this is? Looks fun!

 

Swodog, that used to be a casino. The small Santa Maria Casino, shaped like a pirate ship, closed it's doors in 2013. I don't ever remember it being open the many times we were there.

[nicole9s]

I'm enjoying your review!

We will be on the Pride in April, and will be renting a cabana at Grand Turk. Do you happen to remember what number cabana is closer to the zero entry part of the pool, and also, would that be closer or further away from the DJ?

 

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[swodog94]

Swodog, that used to be a casino. The small Santa Maria Casino, shaped like a pirate ship, closed it's doors in 2013. I don't ever remember it being open the many times we were there.

Thanks for the info! Good to know.

[swodog94]

I'm enjoying your review!

We will be on the Pride in April, and will be renting a cabana at Grand Turk. Do you happen to remember what number cabana is closer to the zero entry part of the pool, and also, would that be closer or further away from the DJ?

 

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

All of the cabanas are clustered around that end of the pool, so any of them would be good. As to the DJ, I'm not sure.

[jst]

Enjoying your thread, do you have a copy of the Fun Times? any day just interested in the bands on board for

dancing in the evening.

Thanks

[Jamman54]

I'm enjoying your review!

We will be on the Pride in April, and will be renting a cabana at Grand Turk. Do you happen to remember what number cabana is closer to the zero entry part of the pool, and also, would that be closer or further away from the DJ?

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

The zero entry part of the pool is the furthest from the DJ booth. The higher number cabanas are at that end, :cool:

[kesrya]

Loving this. The anticipation is killing me. We leave this coming Sunday. I'm hoping you get through the rest of the review by then (but I know you have work, too, so I totally understand if it doesn't happen before our cruise).

[swodog94]

Loving this. The anticipation is killing me. We leave this coming Sunday. I'm hoping you get through the rest of the review by then (but I know you have work, too, so I totally understand if it doesn't happen before our cruise).

Glad you're enjoying it! I'm trying to finish this up in the next couple of days. Either way, have fun on your cruise next week!

[swodog94]

Grand Turk (Cont.)

While there isn't any pretty reefs or anything like that, you do see some live things snorkeling just off the beach. Here's a fish!

 

There are some items that have clearly been placed there for snorkelers to see. Also, as you swim near the edge or the roped off swimming area, there's a huge drop off and the most interesting stuff can be found there.

 

 

 

[swodog94]

Grand Turk (Cont.)

After snorkeling around for a bit I decided to head over to the other side of the pier. It's very rocky there so be careful when getting in to the water. Last time I was in Grand Turk I found a conch over here, but no such luck this time.

 

 

 

 

[Griff61]

Embarkation (Cont.)

 

With our luggage unpacked and put away, I decided to go walking around the ship. I'm not going to post pictures of every single space on the ship, I'll just concentrate on a few specific areas. And I think that as the review continues on through the week, I'll actually show you most of the ship.

My first stop is my second-favorite part of the ship (ranked only behind my balcony): Serenity Adults Only area. This is a great place to hang out and relax. There's a pool, a hot tub, loungers, hammocks, couches, chairs, and tables. It even has it's own bar! The only downside to Serenity is the non-stop chair hogging! There never seems to be an open lounger, regardless of the time of day. But I could always find a spot to sit around or in the pool, I spent a lot of time back there this cruise, making new friends.

 

Loving the review swodog94

Having not cruised before and going on the Freedom in Feb 2018 I have a question about the clamshells in Serenity. Are the clamshells chairhogged or can one reserve them ?

 

TIA

[swodog94]

Grand Turk (Cont.)

After an hour or so in the water, I was getting pretty hungry. We headed back to the cabana and ordered some food. We got the appetizer platter and some sliders.

 

 

This turned out to be more food than we needed, but it was pretty good. We spent some time hanging out in the cabana, catching up digitally since we had good cel reception here. There is wifi at Margaritaville, but it's not very good. We kept getting kicked off because there are just too many folks trying to use it. [Note: We use AT&T as our cel phone carrrier, and it was very easy to turn on our International Plan while we were on cruise. If you use your phone in a foreign country, AT&T will charge you $10 for the day and you'll use data and minutes just as if you were at home.]

After a while I went and hung out in the pool for a bit. It's actually three interconnected pools. One has a zero entrance, then you go under a footbridge to the pool with the swim up bar, then under another footbridge to the "deep" pool...it's not that deep, maybe 4ft.

 

 

[swodog94]

Loving the review swodog94

Having not cruised before and going on the Freedom in Feb 2018 I have a question about the clamshells in Serenity. Are the clamshells chairhogged or can one reserve them ?

 

TIA

Sadly there's no way to reserve any chair on the ship, clamshells included. You have to either be very lucky, or get out there very early and chair hog with the best of them.

[swodog94]

Grand Turk (Cont.)

Soon it was time to go. The on board time was listed as 2pm, so we settled the tab with our server using a credit card and she gave us back our S&S card. We headed for the pier, making a couple of stops in the shops on the way through to buy a couple of things. Having seen them the last time, we did not make it over to see the NASA Mercury Program display, or the large whale statue, although I was able to snap a quick pic from the pier.

As stated, the on board time was supposed to be 2pm, so we were in line by about 1:45. It was a long line, and there were still some folks shopping, or even still on the beach or in the water! Security guards were going around hurrying those folks up.

 

The line was moving pretty well, though, and we started chatting up some of the other folks in line with us, so things moved along. We were walking across the brow about fifteen minutes later, or so.

Amazingly, the ship was ready to get underway just after 2:30. The Captain took in all line, backed away from the pier and then put a wicked port twist on the ship. Grand Turk was soon behind us.

[swodog94]

Grand Turk (Cont.)

We got back to our stateroom and found the Room Steward had left us some gifts.

One was a gift certificate to use at Pixels for pictures. We had already bought the pics we wanted and didn't buy any more after that, so we didn't use that cert.

We were also given a $200 gift certificate to use at an art auction. We have always steered well clear of those things. For starters, not really a fan of the style of artists they push, and secondly, all I've ever heard about these art auctions is that they are pushy, hard sell events. We chose not to use it, and my worst fears were reinforced later that day when we got a call from some guy pushing the art auction. He urged to "not be suspicious" of the gift and come use it...I'm sorry, when you have to specifically ask folks not to be suspicious, you look especially shady!

[swodog94]

Grand Turk (Cont.)

After a fun half day in Grand Turk, we needed a nap! [Note: we've been back from our cruise now for three weeks, and my wife still bemoans the fact that she misses her daily nap!] After a solid nap I got up and walked around the ship for a bit, killing time until dinner. I stopped by the specialty coffee bar on deck 2 and decided to get a frozen coffee drink.

 

 

 

 

 

By now it was early dinner time so I headed up to the Lido to see what kind of things they were serving for dinner that night. As I've mentioned, this was our 4th time on this ship, and I'm still discovering new things every time. In this I discovered that they put out cheese and charcuterie in the evenings!

 

 

I made us a small plate with some cheese and cold cuts to take back to my room, as our dinner time was still a couple of hours away.

[swodog94]

Grand Turk (Cont.)

I also found the food for the Camp Ocean kids. From what I've read, many of the kids participating in Camp Ocean quickly make friends and as with most tweens and teens, they would rather hang out with friends than be seen with their parents (who are, apparently, the font of all embarrassment). So they can opt to eat with their friends under the supervision of the camp counselors. An area on the Lido is roped off for them and they even get their own food: chicken nuggets, mac-n-cheese, hash browns and corn.

[swodog94]

Grand Turk (Cont.)

As we got close to sunset I headed up to deck ten to try and get some cool sunset pics. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy to get a clear shot of the sun going down, but I did still manage to get some nice visuals.

 

 

 

 

 

As I headed back down to my stateroom to get ready for dinner, there were folks hanging out watching that night's Dive In Movie. I think it was "Beauty and The Beast". Here's my gripe about the movies: they are poorly scheduled. They start at 7pm, which if you eat dinner early (like kids and seniors early) you'll be able to finish eating and get up there to watch the movie. But if you do the late seating, you can watch part of the movie, but you'll have to leave before it's over to eat dinner. And there's no late showing (10 pm, or for that matter midnight), which I for one would gladly attend.

[apey9995]

I'd like to see the Margarittaville menu if you don't mind posting please! :)

[swodog94]

Grand Turk (Cont.)

We headed down to dinner and were soon joined by two of our tablemates. We compared notes about that day's activities. They had gone on the ATV excursion and had a blast!

 

My wife started out with the asparagus vichyssoise, while I got the pumpkin soup.